It’s November Y’all and we’re at the beach! 🌞😎
What can I say…I LOVE this life! When I saw the forecast, I told John to point the rig to the shore! We enjoyed seven glorious days on two different seashores. The locals we talked to were also surprised by the unseasonably warm weather. What a blessing it was!
Mary’s Land Farm
Pennsylvania to Delaware is quite a drive, so we broke it up with an overnight at this awesome Harvest Host in Ellicott City, Maryland. I was totally entertained by the farm yard animals, especially the free range cows! And we thoroughly enjoyed the tri-tip and other goodies we purchased in their market. 🐂🐄🐃
Delaware Seashore
Delaware Seashore State Park was our home for 4 days. It’s a huge park, divided into the north and south inlet campgrounds by Rehoboth Bay. Full hook ups for $35, sweet! They even have a laundry facility. Spent a day getting caught up on chores and just sitting in the sun. There were lots of folks out enjoying the great weekend weather.
Beach Day
But, the BEST part about this state park was the easy access to the beach!! Spent a great day watching the surfers, collecting white sea glass, and soaking up the sun. Started out in a sweatshirt and soon was just in my tank top! Heaven on Earth!
Daytrip to Lewes, Delaware
Being November many of the go, see, dos were already closed for the season. But, we managed to see a few. And find some delicious seafood! 🦀🐟 The city of Lewes is the first town in the first state! So that’s something! What I found really cool was the Lightship Overfalls. I had never heard of a lightship. It’s a lighthouse on a ship! These floating lighthouses were used when it wasn’t feasible to build a lighthouse. The last lightship was decommissioned in 1985. Didn’t get to tour the lightship, but took some cool pics. Drove out to the point on Cape Henlopen, to see the Breakwater Lighthouse. Built in 1885 on the breakwater rocks, its bright beacon protected the ships coming in and out of Delaware Bay.
Seafood was a must for dinner while we were out and about. Using Trip Advisor’s Cheap Eats, I found Go Britt. An authentic British fish and chips dive. The portions were huge, the prices were reasonable, and the taste…divine! The crab balls were full of delicious blue crab and the New Castle ale was the perfect compliment! Yumfest!
Assateague Island and the Ponies
Another bucket list item ✔️ How lucky to score a spot last minute on Maryland’s Assateague Island National Seashore! It is $30 a night with no hook-ups. Sometimes its all about the location!! 😎🐴🐎❤️
The story of how the Assateague horses first came to the island remains a mystery. Some believe in the shipwreck story made popular by Marguerite Henry’s famous book Misty of Chincoteague. (Which I had to purchase and reread!) However, DNA evidence suggests they are descendants of horses that were allowed to graze here as early as 1669. Either way they are feral horses that have been here for over 300 years and have adapted to the harsh conditions on the barrier island.
Home Sweet Home
Assateague Island National Seashore is truly on the edge of the continent. The harsh conditions are ever changing the landscape both on the beach side and the bay side. So development here is not encouraged. No water or electric hook ups. There are bath houses in each campground and on the public beach areas. The ranger stations use solar panels to generate the electricity they need. Paying $30 a night seems high, but knowing the $ helps take care of the ponies and keep this place open is worth it! Plus, it really is gorgeous, with miles of bike trails and hiking trails to explore. Plus, you never know when you’ll spot the ponies!
More on the Ponies
There’s 2 herds, the one here managed by the National Park, and the one in Chincoteague which is owned and managed by the Volunteer Fire Department. The Assateague Island National Seashore website has great info on the horses and how they are managed. There’s also an app you can download to help identify the horses you see and also gives the park info on where they are roaming.
There’s a dozen or so bands on Assateague. Here’s the handsome stallion, Assateague Phoenix, protecting his mare, Autumn Joy, and their foal, Jack Seabright. This little band was near our camp several times. It was such an amazing experience to live with these beautiful creatures! I highly recommend a visit to Assateague. And, Please remember to share the road and keep your distance! (FYI… I zoomed in for my pics)
Chasing Sunsets and Moonrises
Side Trip to Berlin
This quaint little town is where Runaway Bride was filmed. I spent the day exploring the downtown area; enjoying all the unique boutiques and antique shops, while John ran errands in town. Afterwards, we had another delicious dinner of, you guessed it, Maryland crab cakes!
Beach Day, YAY 🌞
Another beautiful day in paradise! Rode my bike down to the beach with a picnic lunch and my book. Lots of folks where out enjoying the day as well. Several surfers were waiting on that perfect wave! And, luckily, I didn’t see any unexploded ordinances! 😎
All Good Things…
…must come to an end. Some hurricane decided to skirt up the coast bringing rain and wind. So instead of venturing to North Carolina’s Outer Banks we headed inland to Roanoke Rapids, NC to wait out the storm. Then we’ll make our way to our winter home in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Flexibility is key in this lifestyle! 🙂
So, the easiest way back to the mainland is The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. This engineering marvel started off easy enough, a south bound bridge with two lanes. OK, we got this. But then, our bridge merged with the north bound bridge and there’s only ONE tunnel with very narrow lanes for both north AND south bound traffic. HOLY MOLY! While, I didn’t totally freak, John said it was the most freaked out he’s been pulling the Beast! There’s no room for error when pulling a big rig.
Roanoke Rapids
Hunkered down in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina for the next few days. Luckily, there were no storms in our area and it only rained for a day. The RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads is a big rig friendly park with close to 100 sites. Lots of amenities and easily accessed from I-95. $49.50 with Good Sams. A little more pricey than I like, but I’m still at an average $21/nite! 🙂
After researching the area, I discovered that Halifax County played quite the role in the history of our country; from the American Revolution to the Underground Railroad. So I spent a day exploring. I started in the town of Halifax, birthplace of our Independence. On April 12, 1776 North Carolina delegates met in Halifax and penned the Halifax Resolves. The 1st of the colonies to adopt such a resolution calling for total independence from Great Britain. The Resolves helped lay the groundwork for the Declaration of Independence. After spending time in the visitor’s center learning everything I needed to know, I toured the historic structures that were once part of this thriving colonial town. I walked through the same tavern that George Washington once visited! I do love history!
Next stop was the nearby Roanoke River. At one time this water way was a thriving river port. It became an important river crossing for slaves on the Underground Railroad. I really wanted to walk the trail down to the river and reflect on how terrified these Freedom Seekers must have been. However, my “spidey sense” said I ought not be walking out here all alone. So I went shopping instead! LOL
Eberlee Vegetable Farm
Our last stop before landing at our winter home in Green Pond, SC was Eberlee Vegetable Farm. Best Harvest Host EVER!! Besides purchasing fresh veggies – potatoes, green onions, broccoli, squash, and farm fresh eggs, we had the MOST AMAZING dinner! I am not kidding, y’all. Harold is an amazingly talented chef. He walks out to his fields and cuts the greens and other yummies for our salad served with a homemade ‘to die for’ dressing. Then he works the magic on his grill for the main course. Tonight’s choices were filets or salmon served with seasonal veggies freshly picked from his fields. His delightful daughters delivered the meal right to our RV. In return for this mouth watering meal, you leave a donation. After dinner we sat around the fire with his wife and other travelers. If you are ever anywhere near Florence, South Carolina you MUST make a stop in Timmonsville and visit Mr. Ellerbe! His family also has a booth every weekend at the farm market. Seriously, check them out!
Until next time! 😎
A side note…I was working on my winter blog post, when I discovered I didn’t publish this one from November. OOPS! Better late than never! Cheers to 2023!