Month: June 2024

Assateague and Chincoteague

 

June 3, 2024

We slept in on Thursday before driving the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel into Maryland. We are thankful to have an EZ Pass accepted for tolls in many states.

At the Chincoteague Refuge, we visited the lighthouse and drove Beach Road out to Tom’s Cove before walking the Woodland Trail to a pony overlook.

We could see the ponies from across the marsh, but a Sitka elk bounded away feet from us on the trail.

The Wildlife Loop drive was open to cars in the late afternoon, so we circumnavigated the scenic Snow Goose Pond, which had lovely views (but no ponies). We camped for two nights in an idyllic site at Pocomoke State Park, with a return trip to Chincoteague for a private pony boat tour with Chincoteague Island Adventures.

Captain Randy Birch is a native “teaguer” with tons of local knowledge and stories about the island. He knew where the ponies frequent and could get us close to a small band.

We headed to Assateague National Park and Seashore on Saturday, where horses were everywhere, including under the sign!

At the Visitor Center, we watched a movie on the history of the island and another about the horses themselves. On the Assateague and Chincoteague Islands, all the horses have round bellies from all the salt they consume with the marsh grasses, meaning they drink a lot of fresh water. The herds on the Islands are kept separate and managed very differently. The Chincoteague “ponies” are owned by the Chincoteague Fire Department and are rounded up yearly by the famous pony swim. Sales of ponies after the swim manage the island population. Assateague horses belong to the National Park Service, which does not handle them other than to dart them annually with a contraceptive to control their numbers. While the horses are wild, they have learned that people = food, so they can be destructive in searching campsites. Our campsite was just behind the dunes on the beach, and the horses did visit us there—we keep a clean campsite, so there is nothing for them to eat!

Larry assembled our bikes, and then we biked to the park’s south end, the Old Ferry Landing and Bayside Campground, where we hiked the marsh and forest trails.

Not stopping!

We were at a lifesaving station exhibit across the parking lot from the campground area and heard our car alarm start to go off. A group of children had been playing basketball and bounced the ball rather soundly against the truck grille, which set off the alarm. Though that kept them from playing ball near the truck for the next few days, they enjoyed using our picnic table and biking through our site. Welcome to summer camping! 😬

On Sunday, we biked back to the mainland for two programs at the Visitor Center.

Larry got his Junior Ranger badge before a talk on horses, and then we enjoyed the touch tank, where another ranger let us hold whelks, clams, and crabs.

Summer and winter ranges of the Assateague horses

On the way back across the bridge, we saw some rangers patiently herding some horses away from the bridge and wondered if any had ever crossed over to the mainland.

We participated in two more ranger programs in the afternoon, clamming and crabbing.

Larry was quite successful finding clams, and we each caught a crab, which isn’t easy as the wily crustaceans in that area are well-versed in avoiding capture.

We asked the rangers about horses crossing the bridge, and they told us that it is rare but can happen if the horses are frightened by people or traffic and choose the bridge as an escape route. Our stay on Assateague ended with a perfect sunset!

Next…did we really drive a truck camper through downtown New York City during a Friday rush hour 🤔

 

 

 

Trivia?

Chinky the Banker Pony by Sanford Tousey, published in 1941, “might” have a similar storyline to Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, published in 1947.

Islanders are grateful for the tourism generated by Marguerite Henry’s book series.

Cape Henlopen, Cape May, and New York City

 

June 9, 2024

 

This week’s ultimate destination was the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but we took a meandering route to get there. We spent several days on Cape Henlopen in Delaware, where Larry unloaded the bikes for us to explore the area. There is a network of hiking and biking trails in and near this park, so we spent several hours biking around Cape Henlopen Loop and Walking Dunes Trail.

Another day, we biked the 16-mile round trip on the wide and hard-packed gravel Gordon Pond Trail to Rehoboth Beach. The boardwalk wasn’t too busy and struck us as a tamer version of Venice Beach in California.

We also explored the Fort Miles Historic area, where we had fun walking around the artillery and buildings, though the museum and nature center were closed during our visit.

Found this fierce little guy on the path, too.

Larry started going through his two bags of “concentrates” from Crater of Diamonds, which would make anyone cross-eyed as they closely examine each small rock!

On Thursday, June 6, we were first in line for the ferry from Lewes to Cape May.

It was a clear day with some wind but not enough for rough seas on the 1-hour crossing.

We had deviled crab cakes, scallops, onion rings, and clams fresh from the sea for lunch at Rick’s Seafood in Cape May!

Our campsite at Brendan T Byrnes was pretty rustic for a State Forest. Still, it was a good overnight when Larry finished sorting through the Crater of Diamond concentrates and was reasonably sure he found a little diamond!

He called the park, who said that we would have to return in person to check it out and get a certificate—so maybe we’ll have to go back and do some more digging, too.

Since Larry has relatives buried in Middle Village, New York City, we went to the cemetery and took flowers to pay our respects. We underestimated both the time it would take and the Friday traffic in New York City. Our various navigation apps and devices tried to route us in the best possible way, though we ended up on side streets with either pop-up restaurants or parked cars, leaving only a narrow passageway.

Larry did an excellent job driving in the crazy traffic, and we actually leaned into the experience, stopping on the fly at street vendors for a hot dog and then sliced mangoes with chili lime sauce.

We eventually got to our campground right off the Hudson River within view of the Statue of Liberty. The Liberty Harbor RV Park is a parking lot, but the amenities were clean, and we felt secure. We had two quiet nights there, which we didn’t expect in the big city.

Look who we can see!

On Saturday, we took a 20-minute walk to the Liberty Cruise Terminal and boarded our ferry under a bright blue sky.

The Empty Sky Memorial whose steel walls point to Ground Zero are inscribed with 9/11 victim names.

We skipped Ellis Island and went to the Statue of Liberty first.

We had purchased tickets to the pedestal, which gave us a great view of the harbor.

When you are under Lady Liberty, you can see her robes and a part of the torch.

Behind my head in the harbor are people on a wave runner tour—how did I not know about this?!

There is a small museum in the Statue and a more extensive museum on the Island where Larry got his Junior Ranger badge.

This is the original beacon flame.

The blue dot is us, and the aqua target is our campground!

We split a pastrami hamburger and a pineapple mango smoothie for lunch before reboarding the ferry for Ellis Island.

Ellis Island was a much more extensive visit than we had imagined, and we spent several hours there watching movies and exploring several floors of exhibits.

A photo of Slovak mother and her children

The collections and displays of how the Island looked during its time as an immigrant entry point were captivating. Much of the building is as it originally was, well built and old, even to the bathroom sinks. Thinking of all the hopes and dreams of those whose feet walked the same floors and steps as ours was sobering. Since Larry’s parents were sponsored by family already established in New York City, they did not come through Ellis Island. We ferried home inspired by the independence and determination of those who traveled here and the patriotism embodied in Lady Liberty.

 

 

 

Quotes about liberty from the museum under her feet:

Just so you know

And then there were two.

We are brokenhearted.

For five years, two people and one really cool cat have been together all the time, a three-piece puzzle that fits together perfectly to make a whole adventure team. Now, the cat piece has gone to heaven’s puzzle box, and both the devastated people pieces are lost. 💔

We miss him riding with us in the cab to our adventures, sleeping on Larry’s chest or under the covers between us, announcing himself when he wanted to go outside or get our attention, and most of all, his unconditional acceptance and love. There is that ONE pet who is a once-in-a-lifetime companion, and for us, his name is Pumpernickel.

Sunbathe on God’s lap until we meet again.

Some of Pumpernickel’s photo memories

Connecticut

June 20, 2024

We spent almost two weeks in Connecticut, revisiting places from 2019 and adding new experiences. After Lady Liberty, we stopped to see some friends related to Larry’s mother, who had been instrumental in her family coming to America. We visited the Mark Twain House in Hartford, where a costumed actor playing Mark’s minister friend showed us the house as if we were potential 1903 buyers. The home inside (no photos allowed) and out is gorgeous as Mark’s wealthy wife had Louis Tiffany do the interior.

We camped at West Thompson Lake Army Corp of Engineers Park, an excellent springboard to visit Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. This outdoor history museum is a preserved 1830s-era town with homes, workshops, barns, gardens, fields, a small town, and a farm. Costumed period actors talked to us about blacksmithing, tin making, farm life, the workings of a carding mill, and so much else. We had an obligatory “Joe Frogger” molasses spice cookie at Miner Grant Store and Bakeshop, went back to the Ute midday for lunch and then spent several more hours walking around the grounds.

When our daughters were young, every night Larry would read one of The Boxcar Children’s book series to them, and the author, Gertrude Chandler Warner, was born near our campground in Putnam, Connecticut. The Museum honoring her work isn’t open this summer while they work on stabilizing the boxcar, but we stopped by anyway and found it very cute! Putnam itself has a wholesome small-town atmosphere just as portrayed in the Boxcar Children books.

Although we did some chores at the campground, we hiked nearby trails and sat by the campfire.

On Friday, June 14, we drove into Mystic, Connecticut, and our very first stop was at Abbott’s for a lobster roll. Abbott’s is where we had our first lobster roll in 2019, and the repeat this year was worth the wait—warm buttery lobster on a toasted bun 😍.

We stopped at the CVS in town to pick up some prescriptions and met some locals who suggested we go to the nearby monastery on Enders Island, which required passing through a private development. When we drove up to the security gate, you could see the guard puffing up to deny this lowly pickup camper access, but when we said we were going to Enders Island, he visibly deflated and reluctantly let us by. Insider’s tip—the code is Enders Island 😉, and the monastery, grounds, stained glass, and art exhibits are worth the effort, though the guard gate was hilarious.

In 2019, we had so much fun in Mystic that we decided to stay for a week this time, using the same campground now named Sun Outdoors Mystic.

It was great to have more time to explore the area beyond Mystic. We visited the Submarine Museum in nearby New London, where the first nuclear-powered submarine, The Nautilus, was moored on permanent exhibit. Although it was Children’s Day, we arrived early and avoided most crowds.

We also toured the Custom House Museum, which provided customs from the era of tall ships. Thankfully, the building was saved from demolition so that you can see the concrete spiral staircase, arches, and maritime artifacts.

Mystic is a very bikeable town, so we biked into town several times. (Of course, you always have to be careful. While we were there, famous chef Gordon Ramsay posted that he had just been treated in New London for a serious bike accident!) We biked to Mystic Seaport Museum, where we liked the old ships and shipyards. Last time we were here, the Mayflower II was being refitted, and we’ll stand on her decks later this summer in Plymouth. This year, we stood on the Susan Constant in Jamestown, and she is due into Mystic for a multi-year refit at the end of this week! Our favorite part is always where the craftsmanship  happens, so we enjoyed the cooperage where barrels and casks were made and the forge. Larry impressed the gentleman at the chandlery with his knowledge of sextants and chatted with the workers replacing the caulking on a deck about their technique with oakum and hot tar.

We stayed so long that we had a very late lunch at Captain Daniel’s Packers Inn. We split a huge and delicious serving of their famous fish and chips.

Yes! This is one order!

On another day, we biked into Mystic Seaport, returning to the Museum for a shipyard tour before going into town for a sail. At the shipyard, we learned that the biggest enemy of the wooden ships is the shipworm, and being moored in one location invites these destructive pests to get to work.

We then had a two-hour “sail” in the afternoon aboard the Argia, a replica of a 19th-century aff topsail schooner (built in 1986). The wind was light, so we had to motor sail a bit, but it was cooler out on the water—this heat and humidity are what we came north to escape! The crew shared some islands’ history and showed us where we could see Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York from the water. We sailed past Abbott’s, too.

It was a bit of a drive from Mystic to Newport, Rhode Island, but we did take a day trip to see the mansions. We arrived early one morning and parked on Narragansett to do Cliffwalks. We had the beautiful 2.5-mile trail to ourselves along scenic northeast coastal beauty with the mansions as a backdrop.

At the end of the walk, we took the free trolley back to the truck and then parked at The Breakers. This palatial Gilded Age summer home of the Vanderbilts was stunning, with extensive craftsmanship and artwork. Every detail in every room, space, and structure was exquisite in its artistry. The self-guided audio tour worked well, so we could walk around at our own pace. Although these mansions were ridiculed in their time for their excesses, I’d like to think that skilled artisans who created all this beauty appreciated the wealth that funded their work.

After touring this mansion, we relocated to the Marble House parking lot for lunch. The Marble House was not as ornate or lavish but impressive in that it was made entirely of marble of different colors and origins in each room.

Larry sweetly got us a brownie and soda at the Chinese Tea House to sustain us for our last tour of the day at Rosecliffe.

We found Rosecliffe the least interesting, perhaps because it was always a party house and never a real “home.”

Mystic has been a lovely revisit, and next, we’re looking forward to adding our last state to the map!

 

“Down East” and “Up Island”

These terms never made sense to me until the Chandler at Mystic Seaport Museum explained them. The ancient Greeks divided our Earth along its height from the North Pole to the South Pole by longitude lines, starting at 0 in the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, England, and moving west with increasing numbers. For example, a location to the East of Mystic, CT, would have a lower number of longitude so that you would travel “down” to get there. A location west of Mystic would have a higher longitude so that you would travel “up” to get there. Long ago, Mariners communicated directions by longitude, so the western part of an island would be “Up” island, and the eastern part of a coastline would be “down east.” Now I understand why Northeastern Maine is “down east” (and hopefully you do too).

This understanding will also help when we get to Martha’s Vineyard.

Rhode Island & Martha’s Vineyard

 

June 28, 2024

 

On Friday, June 21, we drove to Fishermens Memorial State Park in Narragansett, Rhode Island, where we’ll camp for the next two nights. With this stay, we completed having spent at least a night in all 50 states—it only took us five years! Fishermens Memorial is a short bike ride to the ferry landing to Block Island and is very popular as it was one of the harder campsites to book for this summer. We’ve never camped under one of the giant wind turbines, and although it didn’t disturb our sleep, there is an assortment of mechanical groans and clanks when it is moving that let you know you are under a wind farm. On Saturday, we were ready to go quite early, with our bikes each carrying two batteries, packed snacks, rain jackets, sunblock, sunglasses, extra hats, and camelbacks full of electrolyte water. It was a foggy ride to the ferry landing, where we discovered our bikes were too heavy to lift onto the deck of the fast ferry.

We quickly switched to the 8 am regular ferry, which put us onto Block Island at 9 am.

After landing, we headed to the Southeast Lighthouse, then Mohegan Bluffs.

It was still a little foggy across the water, but we could see the bluffs and hike down to the overlook.

We biked to Vaill Beach and Dories Cove Beach, where Larry chatted with an artist painting the scene.

Along our 30-mile bike ride for the day, we looked for the elusive glass orbs hidden near trails and greenways every year. Although we weren’t successful, the scavenger hunt appeal was fun, and we observed many other visitors getting out of their vehicles and searching. After biking to the Coast Guard Station at the Great Salt Pond Channel, we went to lunch at The Oar, where they accidentally served us the wrong sushi before giving us the correct sushi roll and a delicious blackened salmon salad.

After lunch, we biked to the North Light, parked at Settler’s Rock, and walked a mile to the lighthouse.

It was a seagull nesting area, so there were plenty of parents with half-grown chicks too big for the nest but not yet able to fly or fend for themselves, which was an obvious source of concern for the parents trying to keep them safe and nurturing them to adulthood (did I describe teenagers?). Not wanting to contribute to their anxiety, we trekked back down the beach, where we saw a group of 20 or so seals out in the water. We biked south to the Clayhead Trail and took it to the beach—I’ve coined a new term, “hotitated,” for hot and irritated, as the heat and humidity on the island this time of year are oppressive. The flowers thrive on it!

We caught the midafternoon ferry back to the mainland, and Larry disassembled and stowed the bikes before rain poured down.

On Sunday, we drove to Providence and scored the cheapest diesel fuel for $2.94! We arrived at the Woods Hole ferry to Martha’s Vineyard well before our departure, and although I had been worried about our length and height, the lad at the ticket booth just gave us our tickets without a second glance. Getting ferry tickets to and from Martha’s Vineyard was another one of my challenges this spring, and it is delightful to have those plans work out so well!

We arrived at Martha’s Vineyard two hours before we could check into our campground, so we toured the island museum to learn some local history.

The author for the Clifford books lived on the island

Our stay was for six nights, and we stayed busy every day! For the first day, we booked a van tour of the island for a good overview of geology, history, and ideas for our itinerary.

On the advice of our tour guide, we had lunch at Offshore Ale, where we sat next to one of the original chefs from the Black Dog Tavern, and he told us what to eat there.

We found nearby Back Door Donuts, where I’d come with our oldest daughter in 2017 when I helped her with a marathon, and it was fun to go back and get a colossal apple fritter in her honor.

Ok, not the healthiest dessert, so we walked 3+ miles back to a bus depot where we could pick up a shuttle to our campground. Our exercise allowed us to get pictures of some homes and even visit the Flying Horses Carousel, which was moved here from Coney Island and is the oldest in the USA.

Honestly, all of Martha’s Vineyard smells like flowers!

We left by 8 am for East Chop Lighthouse the following day and then biked southeast to Chappaquiddick on the Bike Trails. It was early, so we had little company on the trails to Edgartown and not much on the short ferry to Chappaquiddick.

We biked this island with the intent to go to the Cape Page Lighthouse, but after the Dike Bridge, the soft sand was far too deep for even our fat tire bikes. We took a photo on the bridge and later realized that this was where Mary Jo Kopechne died in a car crash with Senator Ted Kennedy in 1969.

We backtracked to the peaceful Mytoi Japanese Garden before biking to Wasque (pronounced waskway).

There was a trail between the beach accesses where we saw an osprey nest with two juveniles and met a friendly local for a chat.

Our experience is that people on Martha’s Vineyard are amiable and polite (even drivers!). On the main island in Edgartown, Larry visited with a painter from Cape Cod, who was busy capturing the view of the harbor.

Our route home took us to Morning Glory Farm, where we had a healthy lunch of Kale Salad and Mushroom Cheese turnover.

We logged 40 miles on the bikes when we returned to our campsite.

The next day, we left before 7 am to bike to Aquinnah Cliffs by way of Middle Road to Lobsterville Beach, then to the Cliffs. The route was off the main roads for the most part, and as it was early, the most traffic we saw was a baby bird on the edge of the road. Larry stopped to set it back in the grass, and one of the parents rewarded his kindness by dive-bombing him while the little fledgling made a fuss! Even these guys seemed surprised to see us.

Of course, we had the Cliffs almost to ourselves.

The lighthouse alternates red and white flash

On the route back, we took the Moshup Trail, where we startled a deer who undecidedly darted in several directions before dashing just in front of Larry.

On Middle Road, we stopped at the Mermaid Farm and Dairy for a coffee-flavored drinkable yogurt called a “Lassie.”

It was refreshingly cold and tangy to fuel us back to the campsite for the rest of the 42-mile day. At Chilmark, Larry helped an older woman with a flat bike tire before a stop at the Field Gallery.

The next morning, we had a 7:30 am appointment to do laundry at the campground, so we accomplished that chore. Then, we walked 2+ miles into town for breakfast at the Black Dog Tavern.

We saw our friendly chef from earlier in the week, and we each had one of the delicious entrees named after him. Didn’t we earn these?

We walked around Vineyard Heaven, buying a cute outfit for our grandchildren at the Black Dog Shop, where the lady put her hand on our heads and gave us a quiet blessing as grandparents.

After shopping, we walked back to the campground and prepared for our departure the next day.

We were at the Vineyard Haven Ferry landing at 7:15 on Friday morning, and this time, we did the passage staying below deck in the truck as we had a beautiful view out the front. Martha’s Vineyard, especially outside the main towns, is a lovely place to visit!

Next, we spend a week on Cape Cod, which isn’t long enough to acquire a Massachusetts accent.

 

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds…to see the running of the old eels and young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are nearly as eternal as any earthly life can be.”    -Rachel Carson