So there's that expression, "better late than never". I've decided to adopt that mantra in order to write this last entry, a whopping two weeks after Andy and I arrived back here in New York. Yes, many of you have seen us since then and have heard the stories right from our mouths, but this historical account of our adventure deserves a proper ending, dammit, and here it shall be!
So. For a time on the way back north, we did travel along the same route as we did back in December, and in South Carolina, we even visited the same historical plantation site, adjacent to plenty of worry-free parking in Francis Marion National Forest. Visiting places in early spring that we'd previously seen in bleak wintertime was something we were both curious about, and little sights like the early purple blossoms on the side of the road were a nice welcome back.
Ranking in at one of the most memorable times of the trip north was
the most harrowing, windy driving experience, ever. I thought it was peculiar enough when we were merely parked in the Dolphin and the wind was enough to rock us constantly, as if on a boat. But we had yet conquer the North Carolina Causeway of Doom, too long and open for our liking, the fierce wind causing Andy to grip the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. Once the crossing was over, we were as thankful as we've ever been to have the choppy, churning water of Albemarle Sound no longer beneath us. We also had a ferry ride where we both got splashed with water on the deck, but this time we were able to just laugh rather than fear for our lives....
More water views were in store when we tackled our next "first", the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, in Virginia. It was nice cutting out miles by sticking as close to the coast as possible from this point on, and paying our first visit to the Delmarva peninsula, thus adding Delaware as the fifteenth state on our list. The highlight of Eastern Virginia had to be the long-abandoned motel complex we stumbled upon and couldn't resist exploring as much as we dared, cautiously treading on territory that was undeniably being used by some new "tenants". There were phones hanging through ceilings, birds' nests in bathroom vanities, and crumbling floors a-plenty. Shame we couldn't find out the history or any further information!
Next was the first of a few bordering-on-sad empty seaside towns, Ocean City, Maryland, parking at a former village shop claimed by fire, and driving out of our way to visit the quaint village of Milford, Delaware. Needless to say, this was an opportunity for much "pride" in my boyfriend, and we even treated ourselves to a big breakfast at the Milford Diner (have to be honest, disappointingly sub-par) before heading to Lewes, to board the ferry to (gasp!) New Jersey.
This particular ferry ride was our longest (90 minutes), and most expensive (not hard however, as all the others were free), but particularly nice because the ride ended in a favorite childhood destination of mine, Cape May, NJ. I was more content than I'd been the whole trip back as I crouched on the beach searching for Cape May Diamonds (tiny, near-transparent rounded quartz specific to the area), roaming downtown recognizing landmarks I thought I'd forgotten, and buying delectable fudge right on the boardwalk at
The Fudge Kitchen. The last leg of our trip also included crazy-colorful amusement rides on the not-yet-open piers of Wildwood, the ridiculously huge but much sought-after Lucy the Elephant just south of Atlantic City, and a craving for good old New Jersey pizza that was
finally sated, our last night on the road. Ah, satisfaction with the simple things in life :)
Click