We chose to take the long way home from New York to see some new sights. This journey took us to two beaches and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge – Tunnel. Our first stop was Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Assateague Island National Seashore.
You do not usually think about the amount of wildlife near the seashore. Today was an introduction to the habitats near the ocean.
We started at the visitor’s center. Not far from there we saw two forms of wild life. First we saw a very skinny racoon. Then we saw real wild life, people on the beach.
We also saw many birds in the marsh grass
It was hard to tell what the fin in the water was. It appeared to be a shark. It was by itself and did not jump out of the water at all.
We spent some time walking around the area. We got to see the lighthouse and more flora and fauna. It was a great visit to the beach.
We went back to the visitor center to talk about the raccoon we had seen. Because it was so skinny and seemed dazed we asked a ranger about it. She thanked us for reporting it. She explained that raccoons in the wild are not like the ones living near cities. They are often very thin and can get very hungry which can make them look dazed. She added that they had not had any reports of rabies or raccoon bites.
We then headed south for Virginia beach. That took us across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge – Tunnel. The price of admission is high, but the passage is worth the price.
The trip is about 18 miles. There are great views to the bay and of the bridge. As you cross, it is amazing to think about what it took to build the series of bridges and tunnels. From the north you drive for miles across very high bridges that allow ships to pass below them.
The drive continues over some relatively flat sections. Then the fun begins.
You begin to go downhill toward….
A very long tunnel.
Finally you begin to climb out from underground toward the sky.
Repeat this cycle a few times.
Until you finally reach the other shore.
Once we were back on dry land, we headed to Virginia beach
Virginia Beach is a good sized town. When you walk through the trees, you get a beautiful wide beach and some nice surf at the shoreline. We were surprised that there were not more people at the beach. It was not empty, but it was far from crowded.
After our visit to Virginia Beach we headed back home to Greensboro.