We left off last time on Assateague Island National Seashore.  From there, we drove down Virginia’s Eastern Shore…

 

…and across a bridge.

 

And a tunnel.

 

Another bridge.

 

And then another tunnel.

 

And still one more bridge.

 

I kid you not.  This thing, which spans the Chesapeake Bay inlet, is 21 miles long!  And costs $31 for a Chieftain and her TOAD to cross!  (The Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Annapolis was “only” $12!  It reminded us of crossing the bridge to Washington State from Astoria, OR, but that was FREE!)

 

But it was SO super cool!  We saw a pod of dolphins (sorry, no pictures) and a double rainbow!

 

It’s like we left one side of the bridge, dreary and rainy, and landed on the other side of the bridge in the bright sunshine!  Allright!  Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

 

We could not believe the campgrounds!  It keeps heavy foliage as privacy between each site.  We backed up to the beach and had the walkway to the beach right beside us.  Although we know we had neighbors, we never saw them!

 

Here’s a picture from the walkway, looking down on our rig.

 

You cannot tell, but you are actually looking on LOTS of campsites, but you cannot see them from here because of the foliage.  It’s kinda like the Japanese on Iwo Jima, in a way.

The campground laundry had extremely inconvenient hours.  With 5 or 6 loads staring me in the face, some of them stinky and fishy and wet, I drove about 10 minutes to the the laundromat (with my strong and generous friend Uriah) while the rest of the family ran beachward!

 

Here are some pictures of our beach afternoon following Williamsburg & Historic Jamestowne.

 

And these are from the day I spent writing VOTB posts using the WiFi at the Camp Office while everyone else was on the shore.

 

Aftermath of “mom’s day out:”

 

A sweet morning alone with Uriah on the beach (a reward for helping me with the laundry.)

 

And finally, our final night.  A short, chilly dip, complete with grape Kool-Aid sundowners!

 

These pictures are so deceiving because of the sunshine and frolicking children, but it really was downright cold.  Cliff and I still wore long pants and jackets (with hoods)!  Once they exited the water and the sun went down, there were tears.  Chivalrous Cliff lost his jacket to one of the shivering kiddos!  (Can you tell which one?)

It was nice to have a bit of leisure here, considering our taxing itinerary since we had left Indiana.   We have a few more days of go-go-go ahead of us before we lose ourselves in Appalachia.  I’ll try to keep you along for the ride!