November 1st we left Aunt Marice’s for the Maryland coast on Assateague Island National Shoreline. We camped on the barrier island that was the home of 87 wild horses and their 5 new foals. The weather was continuing to warm as we headed south and the kids played on the beach and quickly met new friends, Nicole and Fred, who were shore fishing for red drum and blue fish.
The horses of Assateague Island were beautiful, short, stocky ponies that have adapted to the salt and wind of the barrier island. The romantic version of how the horses got there was from a shipwreck off the coast and the horses swam ashore and became feral. More likely we were told settlers put horses on the island in the late 17th century to avoid grazing taxes in Virginia. However they arrived, Assateague Island’s horses are as unique and charming as their coastal home island. Our favorite was an all brown colt who had a white spot on one side in the shape of a heart. November 5st we continued south, down the “Del-Mar-Va” peninsula. We were out of New England and entering Mid-Atlantic country. The land became flatter as we approached the engineering feat that is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. 17 Miles of narrow elevated roadway and tunnels that span the mouth of Chesapeake Bay with no turnoffs. We have heard stories of semi-trucks and RV’s clipping mirrors in the narrow two lane tunnels. We spent the night in the toll plaza on the north end so we could get going over the bridge early in the morning when the winds were down. The next morning November 6, the winds were not down, but our crossing of the Chesapeake Bay entrance was uneventful nonetheless. We headed to Chippokes Plantation State Park in Surry Virginia. We got a nice camp site and met up with a ranger guided tour of some of the farm animals, old farming equipment, and a mansion. The plantation is one of the oldest working plantations still in existence. It was first farmed in 1617 by William Powell of the Jamestown settlement. Having explored the plantation, we got an early start on the 7th to cross the ferry and visit the Jamestown Settlement, part of the Colonial National Historic Park. Lance was feeling a bit queasy so Lily and Dan attended most of the interpretive presentation about the settlement. It was a fascinating history lesson and great to walk the same grounds as the earliest European settlers from 1607. It was pointed out how the history of the Plymouth Settlement is so prominent in American history even though it was established 13 years later in 1620. Much of this, we were told, has to do with the North winning the Civil War and promoting the settlement of Puritans in America rather than the Virginia Company of London at Jamestown. With Lance not feeling his best, we ate some lunch on our way to historic Yorktown. Lance was feeling better and we toured the battlefield. Both the War of Independence and Civil War were fought at Yorktown. We toured the battleground and learned Yorktown was the beginning of the end of the War of American Independence. While in Yorktown, there was a Spanish ship, El Galeon, in port and they were offering free tours. The ship was very much like the Mayflower replica we had seen in Plymouth. It is hard to imagine crossing oceans in merchant sailing ships like that. Wanting to be sure Lance was 100%, the next day Kim, Lily and Lance stayed home and got some school work done while Dan went into back to Jamestown to see some more history. Kim and the kids met the camp host and their kids who were also home schooling. Lily and Lance helped their new friends with their chores of cleaning up the vacant camp sites of leaves and spiffing up the plant beds. Next on our list was to visit Colonial Williamsburg and the Virginia Living Museum (kind of a bigger version of the High Desert Museum) which we did November 9th. The Virginia Living Museum had outdoor trails with local wildlife. There was a large dinosaur area that the kids enjoyed quite a bit. Inside they had a nice little aquarium where we got to handle a live horse shoe crab (Dan has an unmatched fascination for living fossils). This museum was free for us to visit with our membership to the Sun River Nature Center, an ASTC museum. Colonial Williamsburg was sort of a living history museum. It is about a 10 to 15 blocks of colonial era buildings. Some are shops, some museum type “living workshops” (print shops, weavers, candle makers) and there are some private residences that are regulated to not have electric lights or TV’s in plain sight ruining the experience. The highlight was a colonial parade that ended in the town square and General George Washington gave a rousing speech to prepare the troops for a march on Yorktown. We should have explored Colonial Williamsburg more, but we were off to Flanners Beach National Recreation Area near New Bern, NC. We stayed for five days getting a lot of home schooling done. There was a pleasant trail system for walks and runs. The beach here was sandy and uncrowded while we visited. Fortunately for us, the New Bern Mum Festival was rescheduled for the weekend we were in town. Hurricane Mathew, which came through the area earlier, was the reason the Mum Festival was re-scheduled. New Bern is an old city in VA, dating back to the 1710. It was founded by the Swiss and Germans and has a European feel in its historic district. New Bern is also the birth place of Pepsi Cola!!!! We all had a Pepsi float at the site of the old drug store where “Brads Drink” became Pepsi Cola. We squeezed in one more Civil War battle site on November 14. In New Bern, the Union army overtook the Confederate army just outside town in 1862. It did not seem like the Confederates put up much of a fight as we walked around the breastworks where the battlefield remains. The battle at New Bern was short and afterward the Union forces held New Bern for the remainder of the war. Take that ....Run away!!! Off to Holden Beach...
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Where we stayed: Winter Island Park: This campground is on an island with a marina, an old fort, and very near downtown Salem. It was a great place to be able to explore the shore but also easily get into Salem. It’s a little over a mile to downtown Salem, so you can ride your bike or walk if you wanted. If you go, be sure to follow the directions from the campground and NOT your GPS. There are narrow roads that you wouldn’t want to get stuck on with your RV! Scussett Beach State Park: This campground is right before the bridge to Cape Cod and is bordered by the beach on one side and the canal on the other. It’s a great place for hanging out at the beach, fishing from the pier by the visitor office, or walking or biking the canal path. We were able to pick our site since there was hardly anyone there, so we had a site with some trees and a big grassy area across from us. One of the trees was great for climbing (that’s why Lily wanted the site)! What we did: Salem: The campground was part of the trolley ride that went around town, so we caught the trolley at the campground and learned all about Salem while on the trolley. We were able to get off at different stops and explore. We went to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and visited the Customs House. Unfortunately the Friendship ship was not in port because it was under repair. We also explored the pier area a bit to learn about the history of the items that were brought in from different parts of the world. We hadn't thought about it being October when we were there. There were lots of people dressed up. According to the locals, October is a crazy month to be in town! Cape Cod: We explored Cape Cod by first stopping at the national seashore visitor center, watching the two of the movies and exploring the exhibits. We then drove to Provincetown, exploring areas along the way, and walked around town. There is an awesome library in town! We were just going to take a picture of the outside, but a lady walking by told us we had to go inside to the kids section and see the ship. It was a half sized replica of the Rose Dorothea schooner that won a 42 mile race despite losing a mast in the final leg of the race. They had lots of kids puzzles and toys, so a perfect break for the kids. Lance wasn’t very excited to go into a library but then we couldn’t get him to leave! Plymouth: We visited the Plimoth Plantation and went aboard the replica of the Mayflower II. The plantation is a living museum so people play the parts of the pilgrims and Native Americans. They talk to you as if it is was 1620 (?) so you need to ask them questions about how they lived and what they did. The houses are also replicas of the time period so you really get a sense of what it was like. We also joined a ranger talk about the women of the Mayflower. We learned that there was 19 when they first arrived, after the first month of winter there was only 6 then by the end of winter only 3 were left. We also were able to walk down the first street in America (Lyden St) This is where the pilgrims built their first houses. Boston: We went to the Children’s Museum for a few hours (ASTC member). We realized we should have gone to the Science museum instead (also ASTC) because our kids have outgrown children’s museums. They did have fun making bubbles, dodge balls with lights, and rock wall climbing. We then went to the USS Constitution. We walked through the visitor center then bordered the ship to check it out. While on the ship, we listened to a sailor talk about the battle against British frigate ship Guerriere. This is where it got its name “ironsides” because of the Live Oak that was the inner hull of the ship and was so hard the cannon balls would bounce off. We didn’t get to do much of the Freedom Trail because we ran out of time. We did read and see the Bunker Hill monument. We definitely could have used more time in Boston. Trick or treating! The Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association was at the campground for the weekend. There were kids that Lily and Lance made friends with while riding bikes. They invited us to participate in their pumpkin carving and trick or treating that night. The kids had lots of fun playing with the other kids. If you want to join a fun group, look them up. They clean up beaches and campgrounds as part of their activities. They were a lot of fun and very welcoming! Dinner and swimming: We had met a family in Gettysburg and talked to them about our trip. They were visiting the East Coast with their daughter (after visiting Europe for 4 months) and are thinking of RVing in a couple years. They were in Plymouth the same time we were, so one night we met them at their hotel for dinner and swimming. The kids love having someone else to play with and we loved having adults to talk to!
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AuthorKim: I've seen very little of the US and can't wait to see it all with my family. This is a crazy adventure that I never thought I would have the guts to do! Archives
April 2017
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