{"id":16548,"date":"2012-12-27T17:22:09","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T22:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelswithmiranda.uskeba.ca\/?p=16548"},"modified":"2016-09-18T22:49:37","modified_gmt":"2016-09-18T19:49:37","slug":"the-chesapeake-bay-bridge-tunnel-and-virginias-eastern-shore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/the-chesapeake-bay-bridge-tunnel-and-virginias-eastern-shore\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (and Virginia’s Eastern Shore)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I awoke to perfect driving conditions and decided to do just that, drive for the sake of driving, with my only goal being to experience the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel<\/a>, a one-time engineering wonder of the modern world<\/a>. This 23-mile long fixed link connects Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area to the eastern shore of Virginia and Maryland.<\/p>\n

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is just that, a combination of above water causeways and underwater tunnels linking the two shores as well as a series of man made islands.<\/p>\n

I was hoping to bring a photographer, but my friend absolutely hates this bridge-tunnel adamantly refused to come! I have to say that the high winds and narrow tunnels would be nerve-wracking in an RV (especially since you have maintain a speed of 45 to 55MPH), but in a small vehicle on a beautiful sunny day, this bridge offered up an incredible drive, the memories of which I shall cherish forever.<\/p>\n

I stopped at the Eastern Shore visitor’s centre to find out if there was any place nearby to grab lunch and see something. The lady suggested I check out Cape Charles<\/a> and showed me a couple of restaurant menus.<\/p>\n

So I drove up there and had a nice lunch at Kelly’s Pub, then I checked out the public beach and main street. The town was dead, but I bet it bustles in the summertime! I didn’t wander too much because I would have needed one more layer, a windbreaker, to be really comfortable.<\/p>\n

I drove north a little more after to check out a museum that was recommended to me, but it was closed for the holidays. \ud83d\ude41 It was already mid-afternoon, so I pointed the car towards home. Traffic being at a standstill in Norfolk nothwithstanding, it was a quick drive.<\/p>\n

\"approaching<\/a>

approaching the bridge-tunnel from Norfolk (which is Norfek not Norfoke!)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"out<\/a>

out at sea<\/p><\/div>\n

\"ships<\/a>

ships in the distance<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Wonder<\/a>

Wonder what kind of cargo it has on board.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Big<\/a>

Big ship!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The sun was out in full force, a welcome sight in the middle of December.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"There<\/a>

There is a rest area with a restaurant and gift shop about 3 miles in.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The water was a beautiful blue green.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"jetty\"<\/a>

jetty<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Not<\/a>

Not sure what this island is all about.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Lucius<\/a>

Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge-Tunnel<\/p><\/div>\n

\"fishing<\/a>

fishing pier<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Sink<\/a>

Sink for cleaning fish?<\/p><\/div>\n

\"It<\/a>

It was so windy that this garbage can was swinging to and fro.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"looking<\/a>

looking towards the jetty<\/p><\/div>\n

\"it<\/a>

it was very windy, making for choppy water<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Eastbound<\/a>

Eastbound entrance of the Thimble Shoal Tunnel<\/p><\/div>\n

\"there<\/a>

there are a lot of emergency pull-offs with phones<\/p><\/div>\n

\"entrance<\/a>

entrance to the Chesapeake Channel tunnel<\/p><\/div>\n

\"the<\/a>

the light at the end of the tunnel!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"climbing<\/a>

climbing up into the sky<\/p><\/div>\n

\"the<\/a>

the sky was so beautiful and the bridge so elegant<\/p><\/div>\n

\"just<\/a>

just about done<\/p><\/div>\n

\"IMGP4902\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>

I was sorry to see the bridge-tunnel end.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"I<\/a>

I prefer Atlantic beaches to those on the Pacific; I guess I’m an east coast gal at heart<\/p><\/div>\n

\"the<\/a>

the weather was warm, but the wind was bitter!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"the<\/a>

the ocean smelled so lovely<\/p><\/div>\n

\"more<\/a>

more sand and surf<\/p><\/div>\n

\"the<\/a>

the roar of the waves and wind was like a melody<\/p><\/div>\n

\"my<\/a>

my truck looks pretty good parked in front of these windswept trees \ud83d\ude42<\/p><\/div>\n

\"I<\/a>

I had lunch here<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Kelly's<\/a>

Kelly’s Gingerroot Pub<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Nice<\/a>

Nice (but expensive!) pulled pork sandwich with onion rings (worth the $1.50 extra!)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"the<\/a>

the pub reminded me of the ones in Scotland<\/p><\/div>\n

\"mini<\/a>

mini golf<\/p><\/div>\n

\"rather<\/a>

rather than fix sidewalks, Cape Charles paints the obstacles vivid yellow<\/p><\/div>\n

\"IMGP4917\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"most<\/a>

most of the gorgeous Victorian homes like these looked derelict<\/p><\/div>\n

\"entrance<\/a>

entrance to the public beach<\/p><\/div>\n

\"the<\/a>

the wind was strong enough to knock over these benches<\/p><\/div>\n

\"those<\/a>

those ominous clouds were just posturing and disappeared quickly<\/p><\/div>\n

\"barnacle-covered<\/a>

barnacle-covered branch<\/p><\/div>\n

\"I<\/a>

I love a choppy Atlantic!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"this<\/a>

this was nice firm sand for walking on<\/p><\/div>\n

\"a<\/a>

a pier (access was closed)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"dunes\"<\/a>

dunes<\/p><\/div>\n

\"more<\/a>

more dunes<\/p><\/div>\n

\"cool<\/a>

cool tree<\/p><\/div>\n

\"rent<\/a>

rent on a four-bedroom home is just $650<\/p><\/div>\n

\"this<\/a>

this building will soon hold the Cape Charles library<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Mason<\/a>

Mason (main) Street has lots of shops, with most being closed in the off season<\/p><\/div>\n

\"I'm<\/a>

I’m pretty sure we don’t have ATMs stuck to the side of buildings out in the open like this in Canada<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Kelly's<\/a>

Kelly’s Pub redux<\/p><\/div>\n

\"eastbound<\/a>

eastbound toll booth ($12 each way for a regular passenger vehicle, unless you return within 24 hours and then the return toll is just $5)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The space between the road surface and the pillars is painted a blue that so matched the sky that it seems the roadway is floating!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"toldya<\/a>

toldya those black clouds were just posturing<\/p><\/div>\n

\"it<\/a>

it was so windy that big fat gulls were able to just hover!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Norfolk\"<\/a>

Norfolk<\/p><\/div>\n

\"looking<\/a>

looking at Norfolk through a saltwater stained windshield<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I awoke to perfect driving conditions and decided to do just that, drive for the sake of driving, with my only goal being to experience the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a one-time engineering wonder of the modern world. This 23-mile long fixed link connects Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area to the eastern shore of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1086,1268,635,5,613,3,16,612],"tags":[731,796,717,798,799,794],"class_list":["post-16548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cape-charles","category-norfolk","category-north-america","category-rving","category-suffolk","category-travel","category-usa","category-virginia-usa","tag-beaches","tag-city-tours","tag-experiences","tag-housepalace","tag-pierswharfs","tag-restaurants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16548\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}