Saturday-Monday, October 31- November 2, 2009

Days 55-57

When we arrived in the late afternoon at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, it was 80 degrees. We got settled at our site, lined on both sides with thick Live Oak trees, and right across from Chesapeake Bay.

Of course, we immediately headed for the dune crossover to the beach. Nothing quiets my mind and heart and nurtures my soul more than being near the water, especially the ocean. (Walking in the woods on a crisp fall day enjoying the colorful foliage is a close second!) We walked the beach breathing in the fresh ocean air.

We could see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the largest in the world. It was selected as one of the “Seven Engineering Wonders of the World”, measuring 17.6 miles from shore to shore. (12 miles of trestled roadway, 2 mile long tunnels, 2 bridges, 4 man-made islands, 2 miles of causeway) Just the concrete support columns, called piles, if stretched end to end would reach from Philadelphia to New York. We met our neighbors on our way back to camp, an elderly couple who RV’s full time. After dinner, we went back down to the beach. The nearly full moon was dancing on the waves and illuminated our way down the beach. We noticed some fishermen checking their nets. Curious as too what they were doing, we went over to watch. They were pulling in a 1400 foot seine net with fewer speckled sea trout in it than they had hoped. They sold us a 3 lb. trout for $5 ($6.50 lb. in the store) and gave us a small bluefish. There net had some small flounder, conch, and blowfish in it, but they did not keep them. The trout was absolutely delicious, but the bluefish was a little oily and mushy.

Before going to bed, we sat out in our t-shirts loving the balmy weather and moonlit night. This is what we had been anticipating!

We had heard so much about the Virginia City boardwalk and wanted to get a walk in so we headed for Atlantic Boulevard. It was breezy and overcast and the boardwalk was abandoned, except for the parks and rec guys putting up Christmas light displays and preparing huge mounds of sand for a sandcastle competition.

Walking along the boardwalk, we were greeted by a colossal 34-foot high bronze statue of King Neptune that rises from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. It was impressive. We could only imagine how crazy this place gets at Spring Break and in the summer.

Another highlight, was visiting Cape Henry and the First Landing National Memorial. On April 26, 1607, the beginning of our American colonial history, 105 colonists on 3 English ships landed here and raised a wooden “crosse”, claiming the land for England and naming it after Henry, Prince of Wales.

The new settlers eventually sailed inland and established the first permanent colony at Jamestown, VA. That will have to be another trip. We also walked up to the top of the first Cape Henry Lighthouse, a octagonal lighthouse made from limestone, established by an Act of Congress in 1789.

It was our countries first public works project among many. The second lighthouse was built in 1881 nearby and is the tallest of its kind being 100% cast iron.

Since the Coast Guard personnel act as “keepers” at Fort Story, we were not allowed to go up. It was, also, here that the French Adm. De Grasse drove off the British fleet, resulting in General Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown.

There is still so much to see and do here, but we are looking forward to seeing the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and decide to head south on Tuesday.