There is Nothing Like A Road Trip

I have always enjoyed a good road trip.  When I first moved to Pennsylvania from Wisconsin in 1998, I was young and energetic.  It was a brand new place.  I had things to do, people to meet, and places to see.  It was the perfect recipe for many a road trip.  Specifically, my road trips were to oddly named towns in Pennsylvania.  Places like Hop Bottom, Two Taverns, and Yellow House.  Thankfully I had a willing accomplice in my quest and many weekends were spent with Diana (the Internet Wonder Queen) tooling around the PA countryside looking for town signs to take a picture of.

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I still have a fondness for road trips.  There is nothing more exciting than the thought of getting up early and hitting the open road with windows down and tunes a-blaring.  Our road trip this last weekend was a bit different.  A friend of ours recently moved down to Virginia and we were helping out a bit by driving a U-Haul down to her new home.  Then we planned to scope out some dog friendly beaches in Delaware on the way back.  So, our road trip weekend was a little bit of work and a little bit of pleasure.

It started out pretty well.  Up at 4 am on Saturday, threw some clothes in a bag, packed up the dogs travel kit (Cheyenne got to come too), and hit the road.  We had a few errands to do prior to leaving, so we made our start around 6:45 am – raring to go.  It was bright and sunny – a beautiful day for driving.   Newport News – here we come!

It wasn’t long before a breakfast stop was mentioned.  Originally I thought we would get something on the run, but Jimmy really loves breakfast so we found a nice place in North East, Maryland, called Chef’s Kitchen.  Cute little place that was only  a hop skip and a jump off 95.  Added bonus . . . Cheyenne could be with us on the outside patio.  She loved it, because of course it meant she got a couple bits of sausage.

Onward and upward to Newport News!!!

Interesting Facts about Newport News:

• It was settled in 1621.
• Might be the namesake of Captain Christopher Newport, commander of the Susan Constant, flagship of the three ship English fleet that landed on Jamestown Island in 1607. He made several voyages to Newport News in the early days of the Jamestown Colony, bringing “good news” of supplies and settlers.
• Weather – Average annual snowfall is less than two inches.  Average rainfall less than four inches per month. Summer temperatures average mid 80’s.
• Historic sites aplenty.

We hoped to be in Newport News sometime around 1:30pm; however, traffic on 95 had a different plan for us.  It was bumper to bumper to bumper, with traffic moving at a turtle’s pace as soon as we hit DC.  UGH!!!  We tried to find alternate routes, but that was a pointless effort.  Finally we were able to get off I95 and head down US 17, a two lane route through rural Virginia.    Sum Up:  Never drive the I95 stretch from DC to Virginia on a weekend day from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  It just isn’t worth it.  I can’t believe other people make this trek.  What should have been a 6-hour drive turned into 8 hours (9 with breakfast) and we didn’t make Newport News until 4:30 pm. I would recommend US 17 as an alternate.

After a quick drop off and a short visit with our friend we still had a 2 ½ drive to Pocomoke City, MD, where we had booked a room for the night.  (If anyone knows any fun facts about Pocomoke City, please send them cuz I couldn’t really find any).  Needless to say to say we were a bit punch drunk by 10 pm when we pulled into the hotel and were both singing “take me down to the Pocomoke City where the grass is green and the girls are pretty”.  We quickly checked in, assured our desk clerk Cheyenne wouldn’t bark (which she promptly did once we got in the room) and headed to the room.

The EconoLodge is certainly not a 5 star hotel with its stale smelling rooms, peeling plaster, and outside pool.  Yet, it was fully booked so I’m glad I decided to get a place ahead of time and not just wing it.  Sum up:  Since every place down there is so close to a shore point, it is best to make sure you have a room if you are doing your travelling during the summer season (especially if it is the weekend).  

Sunday dawned bright and sunny.  We were on pacefor making a beach spot by 9 am when Jimmy spotted “IT”.  Flea Market 13 and Antiques.  He had a pleading look in his eyes, so I couldn’t say no.  Jimmy had to stop to pick.  I left him there with just his wallet and a smile and set off to get us some breakfast.  No picks, but a definite place to stop again.

We finally made it to Ocean City, MD, around 11 am only to realize we didn’t really pack anything for serious time on the beach.  No chairs, no umbrella, no beach towel.  We did quick CVS stop to get some essentials and hit the road again.  Before we made it to our first beach stop, we find another shop to stop at (it was quickly turning into a shopping day and not a beach day).  We do however have a successful shop at Pottery Place on Fenwick Island.  This sun will make a nice addition to our back yard and Jimmy’s Beach sign now adorns the garage.

When we do finally drive by a beach entrance for Fenwick Island State Park there is a long line just to get in so we press on.  We go to the north entrance and find a nice drive-on beach.  This was cool, we could park the truck and if Cheyenne got hot it would be an easy fix to cool her down.  But we soon realize that we are not welcome on that beach.  This seems to be a thing in Delaware.  There are several surf fishing beaches where you must have a permit to fish and you must be actively fishing to be on the beach.  This is nice for the fisherman but kind of a bummer for us beachers. So, on to the next one.

Around noon we make it to Cape Henlopen State Park.  Again, nice, but also very crowded.  Also a large portion of the beach is permit surf fishing only.  We met a nice couple who shared their canopy shade with Cheyenne before we head back home.

Sum up:  Delaware beaches are really nice and dog friendly.  However, at the height of the season they are very crowded with both beach goers and fisherman which means doggies must be on a leash.  Also, when there are so many fisherman out there, it is really hard to have just a nice walk along the shoreline as fishing lines are everywhere and may garrote you at any step.  All in all it was a good road trip.  We found some great shops and also some great beaches.  I think while we may not make the trip down to Newport News for beaches, we will definitely go back for a longer stay at the Delaware state park beaches during the off season.  I’m sure Cheyenne would prefer the trip in cooler weather as well.  One last take-away . . . never cut your toenails while driving, it could definitely end up in a blog post (just sayin).