Days 1-2 - Cape Charles, VA

Cherrystone Campground  1/19/2015 - 1/21/2015
1511 Townsfield Drive
Cape Charles, VA 23310

(Sorry about the premature publishing of today blog post.  I wanted to add sunset photos; I see also that both videos don't work.  Marybeth, send me the site you used please)

The 6 hour + drive from Winnie's storage in Cross River, NY, was 385.3 miles.  The last hour or two took forever.  I did make four stops, however, and the route given to me by Mr. GPS took me off the Interstates and locally through towns with traffic lights and speed limits no greater that 55 mph.  No matter.  It was a good day driving and I saw a lot of interesting sites....depressing though many of them were.  The section along route 13 was mainly farmland.  The number of run down, dilapidated, abandoned structure was great.  Even those occupied screamed for a new coat of paint.  But, I guess when you cannot afford such luxuries, you go without.  Weather was great; sunny with puffy clouds, temperature was steady at 47 most of the trip and traffic was very light due, I would think, to the holiday.

Huge, family owned campground with hundreds of sites,

cabins, and fifth wheels for rent.

When I arrived, the Office was closed so I filled (I thought) my fresh water tank and picked out a great site facing west.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow's sunrise and sunset.

Just missing sunset, I headed for that stand of pines
looking out toward Chesapeake Bay

I wound up on site #610 which was one of the few that had electricity.  It wasn't however, the one assigned to me. 

Circle at top left is #610, right side, #14

I awoke today at site 610 in time to greet the sunrise (7:14 a.m) and listen to the sounds of sea gulls.  Buffel heads (3 males, 1 female) were busy diving for their food.   It's 41 degrees and today I have two objectives to pursue.

As in my past, spending a month at Emerald
Shores Hotel in Daytona Beach Shores, FL,
I never used an alarm to catch a sunrise, yet
I saw one every morning.  Notice the number of RVs
in this area~~none.

Male & female Buffel Heads, known
locally as "Divers."

My view west showing the misty Bay

First, I'll unhook power and drive to the main office area to check in, fill fresh water tank and have my propane tank topped off.  Then I have to deal with an icon that appeared on the Mercedes dashboard.  Checking the manual, I find that "dEF Chk" refers to the Diesel Exhaust Fluid and needs to be filled or changed.  It seems that only after 3,300 miles my diesel emission fluid was near empty.  After speaking with Good Sam's RV technical service, I decided to take care of it myself.  Checking with Marianne at the General Store (which did not carry DEF), I was directed to the local NAPA auto parts store less than 3 miles north on Rte 13.  Great people.  Much to my amazement, the Mercedes was very thirsty and took the entire 2.5 gallons.  Dashboard icon gone, problem solved.

Next, with the help of Steve, head of maintenance and operations here at the campground, I received a quick tour in his pickup and I settled on #14 in the beach area and closer to the water for my final night's stay.   He turned on the electricity and I'm settled in.  Problem solved.   Sunset will be awesome!  He lives nearby in the only other trailer I've seen here.   Hopefully, he'll accept my invitation for a cold beer later tonight.

Steve's home.  He's a retired naval officer from Schenectady
who took advantage of a good offer to be in charge of the grounds.

This is a 360 degree view of last night's stay on site #610. Note how empty.

 This is a 360 degree view of site #14.  Note how empty.  LOL

One of the most striking views across the Bay.....

.....is the mansion
owned by "The Father of the LED",
 Nick Holonyak.

He owns the entire tip of land......and

....his ex-wife lives in that small square mansion
at the very right side of this view.

His story is incredible.  1962 is the year he introduced the world to the Light Emitting Diode.

And finally sunset.

Sunset at Chesapeake Bay from Cape Charles, VA

Because I believe I've turned into a sunrise/sunset pack rack, I just added my favorite with colors that continue to fascinate me.  I've decided not to bore my readers with the 20 or so shots taken just this afternoon.  With each passing minute, I witnessed another nuance of pastels; constantly changing and evolving colors I don't think even Crayola has a name for.  So, I'm trying something new and different.  I'm taking all photos and putting them into a Picasa album of mine.  Whether the link I place here will take interested folks there remains to be seen.  CLICK HERE