WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 5
Having arrived at the Janes
Island State Park [in Crisfield, MD] the previous afternoon, I spent all day
writing my blog and selecting the pictures to post. I don’t have Wi-Fi at my site (this is a
state park after all) but I sure did enjoy, especially after the full and busy
week I just had in the D.C. area, the quiet time to write…and to gaze out at
the Daugherty Creek Canal.
Since I knew that I
could access the internet in (or near) the office, I walked over there before
they closed to test the signal strength.
My mobile was out of range but I could use my iPad to check for
emails. The draft of my blog is ready to
post. I’ll come back in the morning.
THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 6
As soon as the office
opened at 9:00 a.m., I was right there with my laptop. Since I had a lot more pictures than usual to
go with my new story, it took me nearly three hours to get the story and
pictures formatted and ready to post.
Luckily, the internet connection hung on long enough for me to do that!
On my way out to return
to my camper I asked the lady there for the latest update on Hurricane
Matthew. She showed me the projected
tracking on her computer and it showed Matthew was expected to veer out to sea
after it hits South Carolina. My
itinerary at this point, starting tomorrow, included overnight stops in Ocean
City and Assateague, Maryland, Chincoteague and Virginia Beach, Virginia, and
finally, the Outer Banks and Ocracoke, North Carolina.
Since hurricanes can be
unpredictable, and often are, I had feelings of uncertainty about keeping this part
of the itinerary. Not only that, I had just
received an email informing me that my reservation on the island of Ocracoke
was cancelled. That email pretty much
clinched it for me and I sent a text to my sister Evelyn and asked her to call
the RV Parks that I had previously reserved to cancel and request refunds of my
deposits and/or payments. She did that
and then texted me that none of them would grant refunds. They said – “Matthew isn’t going to affect us.”
At 1:00 p.m., Navidad
and I left this lovely state park, drove back to Rt. 50 and took a couple of
rural roads to Nanticoke, MD where I had a one-night reservation at the Roaring
Point Waterfront Campground. The owner
there gave me a great site – directly in front of the Nanticoke River. The recreation here is mostly fishing and crabbing. I sat out on the beach, and with my Rum and
Diet Coke cocktail, looked out at the water, watched some of the people fiddling
around with their fishing poles, and considered my potential options over the
next few days.
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 7
Oh, the sunset last
night was lovely…as was the sunrise this morning. A decision was made – go on to Ocean City for
my two-night stay there. We left
Nanticoke at 10:00 a.m. and made our way back to Rt. 50, heading east to the
Atlantic Ocean.
 |
The
Nanticoke River at sunset (10/6), as seen from my camper’s rear.
|
 |
The
Nanticoke River shortly after sunrise (10/7).
|
After checking in at
the Castaways RV Resort & Campground, I drove around this spacious RV Park and
felt glad to be here. Situated on the
Sinepuxent Bay, this is a lovely (and pricey!) family campground with lots of
amenities, including a waterfront Tiki Bar, a café, a “Bark Beach” (dogs, not
trees), another beach for humans, and fun stuff to rent for the water. My site was nowhere within view of the water,
but as soon as I got set up I discovered I had excellent internet, mobile, and
cable TV access. I immediately tuned in to
CNN, my favorite news program, and watched footage about Hurricane Matthew. I walked around for a bit, sat outside in my
camp chair for awhile, and then kept company with Navidad inside the camper.
SATURDAY,
OCTOBER 8
Another decision was
made – drop all plans to boondock on my oceanfront site on Assateague Island
National Seashore. Matthew was whipping much
closer, having hit South Carolina, and I knew it would not be fun, nor
pleasant, to camp on the beautiful Assateague without hookups [and
communication access]. The free-roaming
ponies that lived there might not even come around to the beach, sensing
already the impending storm. So, I
walked over to the office and paid for a third night at my site.
Disappointed but
feeling better for this decision, I told Navidad I’d seen him later and walked
over to the “bus stop” to catch the Castaway’s 10:00 a.m. shuttle bus to the
Ocean City boardwalk.
The shuttle dropped us
off at the Baltimore Avenue/Somerset intersection. Walking north on the boardwalk, I was
remembering with nostalgic amazement many a time I had been there with friends,
summers and winters. Although I later
joined the gang and transitioned over to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, I will
always have a soft spot in my heart for Ocean City.
 |
It’s still
there! I don’t think any hurricane is ever going to destroy this gaudy
boardwalk landmark!
|
From the Somerset
intersection, I walked to the very end of the boardwalk – approximately 30
blocks. As I remembered it, the stores,
junk food and food/bar establishments soon morphed into a long stretch of
motels and rental cottages. On my right
was the beach, empty but for a few people and their dogs. I had a destination and six reasons for going
there.
 |
An empty
beach chair, a lone seagull – and the Atlantic – a picture of calm on a cloudy
day.
|
A few blocks from the
end of the boardwalk, on Baltimore Avenue, I arrived at Higgins Restaurant and
told my server I wanted just one thing – a half dozen of steamed Chesapeake
Blue crabs, with melted butter, and a glass of water. It’s been a long time since I had this
Maryland delicacy. Not a meal to rush
through, I took my time – two hours to be exact – to pick through the meat of
these six crabs. It brought back
memories, especially of Bobbie, Billy, Mary, Ernie…
 |
My platter
of steamed Chesapeake Blue crabs.
|
Back on the boardwalk,
I walked south to the inlet end of the boardwalk. The amusement park is now closed for the
season but the lingering smells in that area triggered other memories. Ah, there it is – the perpetually long line
for Thrasher’s French Fries! Next time,
I told myself!
Cloudy, but pleasantly
cool and breezy all day, it started to drizzle around 3:30 p.m. The shuttle came at 4:15 p.m. and by the time
I was back inside the camper, the drizzle became a steady rain.
SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 9
It rained all through
the night and through most of today. The
camper windows all fogged up and it was cold enough inside for me to turn the
heat on. I tuned in to the Weather
Channel and learned about the havoc Matthew had just caused in the Carolinas
and in parts of Virginia. There was wind
damage but flooding was the major problem. The Outer Banks was
mentioned and I knew immediately from video footage that I couldn’t go
there. Ocracoke had already been
cancelled…and then, there it was, an email from the First Landing State Park in
Virginia Beach, cancelling my October 11th reservation there.
For the past several
days, I had been communicating via text with my siblings – Welby, Evelyn, and
Bill. Like me, Ev and Bill live in
California. Welby lives in Norfolk, VA,
very close to Virginia Beach. After
several text exchanges this morning, we determined and agreed that I had best
abandon all plans to continue south along the coast and turn back west directly
from here. A look at the map will show
why. There’s just too much water – the Atlantic
Ocean to the east and the bays, rivers, and sounds to the west. What a bummer – to have managed to come this
far and not get to see my older brother.
Around mid-afternoon,
the rain stopped. Then the sun came
out. I looked out the window and saw not
one cloud in the sky.
MONDAY,
OCTOBER 10
Waking up to a
beautiful blue-sky morning, it was hard to believe that the scenario a hundred
or so miles down south was preventing me from going that way. So, “turning tail” – thanks to Matthew - Navidad
and I left Ocean City going back the way we came, on Rt. 50 W.
We crossed the Bay
Bridge, drove past Annapolis (yo, Dad, Class of 1941, Naval Academy!),
connected to Rt. 3 N and got a site under tall trees at the Capitol KOA in
Millersville, MD. While this was a good
place to stop for the night, my feelings were conflicted. I so wanted to go south…see Welby…enjoy the
Outer Banks/Ocracoke…
TUESDAY,
OCTOBER 11
By 10:00 a.m. this
morning, Navidad and I were heading on out of the Washington, D.C. area –
taking Rt. 3 N and Rt. 50 W to the beltway (495 S), making the connection to
I-66 W and then to I-81 S. After a
couple of hours on I-81, we passed Staunton, VA, where I had visited with
Daphne Cox on September 24th, and soon reached the exit for Lexington,
VA.
Looking for the Lee Hi
Campground, located on Rt. 11, right at the exit, I missed it. Totally perplexed, I kept going north on Rt.
11 for about six miles before I found a place to turn back south. My turn took me directly though the beautiful
and historic town of Lexington, including the prestigious Virginia Military
Institute. I eventually found the campground
– it was easy to miss since it was right behind a truck travel center.
Being here now, the
third “leg” of my trip has begun, sooner than planned – the drive back home to
Palm Springs. I have a choice – hurry back
home or stretch this out to a leisurely travel to California, arriving home on
my target date of November 1st.
Navidad is my cue, especially since he does have a medical condition that
I need to keep an eye on. From this
point on, he’s going to call all the shots.
Methinks - let’s hurry
on home, Navidad, shall we?
 |
Navidad – after
41 days in the camper, he’s ready to go home…
|
Beautiful trip- I see you have crabs!!!! yes I am so sure Navi
ReplyDeletewill be glad to come home!