10/31 to 11/08 Sun Outdoors Cape Charles

Sun Outdoors

Cape Charles, VA

October 31st to November 08

185 miles - 3+ hrs.

The Winter 2024 Adventure begins. As mentioned in an earlier blog, not winterizing my motorhome and continuing my travel plans non-stop right into the winter of 2024 is a brand new experience for me. Yes, it's going to cost me more but my kids will just have to share less of the estate...assuming there is one. I've done the research and found hearse's don't have luggage racks, so I can't take anything with me.

Deciding not to make the 6+ hour trip from Croton to Cape Charles, VA, in one shot, I opted for Lums Pond State Park in Delaware just for an overnight. So, you get two blog posts for the price of one. How lucky are you? No need to thank me.

Finally, the sun in all its splendor provided a great day for driving. This first leg of the trip was surprising light with traffic. I-287 down through Jersey eventually connected me with I-95 and the light traffic continued right to my destination, Lums Pond State Park.

Over the Tappan Zee Bridge and farewell to New York State...and its unbelievably poor roadways complete with potholes.

What a noticeable difference in driving without dodging a patchy, bumpy road surface. It was a treat and made for a very pleasurable ride.

Color along I-287

Very light traffic southbound Jersey Turnpike.

There was no one at the entrance point to Lums Pond campground. Fortunately, at 2:30 p.m., I was to able to navigate to my already paid for site 22, a back-in on a bit of an incline with all services including a fire-ring.

A very picturesque autumn setting on this chilly afternoon. 

A view down the road. Colors are beautiful.

Photo from Internet. There are chilling stories that go with the history of Lums Pond, Delaware's largest fresh water pond included in its 1,790 acres.

The next day's journey was equally pleasant and I made a wise decision cutting the journey into two segments. My 3½ hour, 191 mile route took me down Route 13, traffic lights and a fuel stop in Bear, DE. Scenic country views, farm country, plantations, plenty of churches, boarded up roadway business and always a great buy waiting for you with the hundreds of cars, pickups and motorhomes for sale and rusting away along the way. The economy is not booming here in the south.

My first ever view of a cotton field along route 13...

...and in bloom and ready for picking no less.

Sun Outdoors Cape Charles, VA, is huge. Prior to my arrival, I called Anne and she was able to move me to site 607 facing the Chesapeake Bay. Two days later, JoJo called me to say the campground is closed for the season. After regaining my composure and keeping my mouth shut, I learned that amenities like the gift shop, cafe, general store, shuttles, playgrounds, and pools will be closed. The list of amenities was impressive but alas, I'd never have need of any of them. Electricity, water and sewers will still be operational? Yes? Well, thank you very much for the phone call. See you on the 1st.

A very nice first impression upon entering the grounds. Chesapeake Bay is just beyond the stand of pine trees.

After checking in at the office, the road to my campsite was a bit of a drive

Here's a 360° view of the site facing the Bay

My first day was a blustery, wind-chilled driven day with bright sunshine. Today's high was 54° and the low will be 47°.  Wind gusts to 24 mph will prevent me from putting anything outdoors or extending my awning. I noticed there were no fire-rings so evening campfires will not materialize.

Facing due west, I couldn't wait for sunset. My first sunset on November 1st was to be at 6:04pm. And, right on time, it came. Some of my favorite shots:

This shot, about 3:00 pm depicts one of the many huge tankers or bulk carriers anchored in the Bay. I counted ten along the horizon. I went to the site for Global Marine Traffic, a site that gives an incredible amount of data on ships docked and sailing and found...

...quite a cluster of vessels, each one identified that were anchored and waiting, I assume, for docking space to unload; Most were to the south of me, beyond my scope of viewing.  I did a little digging into facts about the Chesapeake Bay.

Only about half of the water in the Bay comes from the ocean. The rest comes from the 64,000 square mile watershed, which extends approximately 524 miles from Cooperstown, New York to Norfolk, Virginia.

Roughly 51 billion gallons of water enter the Bay each day from the 100,000 streams, creeks, and rivers that feed it.

The Chesapeake Bay is surprisingly shallow. The average depth is 21' A person 6 feet tall could wade through more than 700,000 acres of the Bay without becoming completely submerged. The deepest part of the Bay is southeast of Annapolis, Maryland, where the Bay is 174 feet deep and is called "The Hole." 

The word Chesepiooc is an Algonquian word referring to a village "at a big river." In 2005, Algonquin historian, Blair Rudes, helped dispel the widely-held belief that the name meant “great shellfish bay.”

Historically, there were many different Native American tribes in the region before Europeans arrived, but the dominant group were Algonquin speakers known collectively as the Powhatan tribes. In 1524, Italian Captain Giovanni da Verrazano became the first recorded European to enter the Chesapeake Bay. In 1608, Captain John Smith set off on the first of two voyages where he charted the land and waterways, and later drew an elaborate and remarkably accurate map of the Chesapeake Bay.

The next day, the wind abated so I ventured out onto the pier and sat next to a fella called Otis. He was there in the morning sun and probably be sittin' when the evening comes; watching the ships roll in, then he'd watch them roll away again, yeah.  Just sittin' on the dock of the bay watchin' the tide roll away; he was just sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time.  He sang this tune for me.

The weather-worn tree stump on the shoreline had a very smooth, reflective luster on its surface I would call a patina; not the type you'd see on copper or bronze but a thin layer acquired through age and exposure; reminded me of the inner surface of clam shell. Photo doesn't show its true beauty.

Mother Nature at work. There is a tide in the Chesapeake Bay so the relentless action of water and erosion will soon claim this tree stump.

A look back at the campground and Winnie.

This would be the place to be during the height of the season. Fishing and crabbing off the pier is allowed.

I took this sweeping video through a dirty lens showing those huge ships which, it seems, are headed south and out of the Bay. The marine traffic site shows 23 ships clustered at this end of the Bay today. 

Well, that's it for now. The sights will be the same for the rest of my stay. You may have noticed the cloudless sky which made for a brilliant sunset. I'll be taking more but with clouds enhancing the spectacle. Any good shots will show up in my next blog which should be coming from my next stop, a 3-day layover in Grantsboro, North Carolina. See you there. Hope you enjoyed the stay.

It is, said Captain John Smith, “a faire Bay compassed but for the mouth with fruitful and delightsome land. Within is a country that may have the prerogative over the most pleasant places of Europe, Asia, Africa, or America, for large and pleasant navigable rivers. Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation.”

Oh Chesapeake, how can we forget your marshes with their tidal swirling in our ears, and their inclusion of the multitudinous facets of light. These are sacred channels, keeping the tidal rise and fall of birth and death in an eternal balance. -- Ode to Chesapeake Bay By John Hay