Falls Church, VA

We left LaPlata, MD at 6 this morning to try to beat the heat, which

was again predicted to be in the high 90s. Our route took us over

country roads, which unfortunately, were filled with early morning

traffic. Some of the county roads were in bad condition and others

were undergoing repair. Needless to say, our first 25 miles were not

fun. However, once we reached National Harbor, at the foot of the

Wilson Bridge that crosses the Potomac River, we got on bike trails

that carried us to Jeff’s house. After a shower and an early lunch, Joe

was back on the road (in his van) heading home to NY.

Like all our bike trips, this one was great. When we figure out our next

trip, we will once again share our blog.

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The trip was a total of 721 miles.  Here is overview map of the trip - Map.

LaPlata, MD

We had a leisurely ride to the boat this morning.  Joe took many photographs of Onancock houses as we cycled through town. 

As we waited for our boat to depart we got a glimpse of “island life”.  Mark, our captain, had brought his dog with him from Tangier.  The dog was injured and needed to have veterinarian care.  While we waited for him to return, Norwood, one of his buddies showed up.  Norwood was born on Smith Island and now lives on Tangier Island.  He is responsible for maintaining the underwater electric cable that powers Tangier.  He said that both he and Mark have cars in Christfield, MD so they can get around when on the mainland.  However, neither had a car in Onancock and Mark had to have someone pick him up and take him and his dog to the vets.  Norwood likened living on an island to living on a farm.  He said that, instead of driving to town, islanders take a boat.  We understand the analogy but think it a little weak when you try comparing walking from a farm to swimming from a bay island.  We also met Bonnie who brought packages to be taken to Tangier.  Bonnie shops for island residents and brings the items to Mark’s boat when he is in Onancock. 

According to Norwood, the population of both islands is dropping as the old folks die off and the youngsters leave.  Today Smith Island has only about 250 residences and Tangier Island has about 450.  Mark’s boat, Joyce Marie II, is 36 feet long and has a 4 foot draft in the traditional style Chesapeake Bay deadrise fiberglass boat.  According to Wikipedia.com, “The Chesapeake Bay deadrise or deadrise workboat is a type of traditional used in the Chesapeake Bay. Watermen use these boats year round for everything from crabbing and oystering to catching fish or eels.  …the deadrise is characterized by a sharp bow that quickly becomes a flat V shape moving aft along the bottom of the hull. A small cabin structure lies forward and a large open cockpit and work area aft.

We arrived in Point Lookout at noon and started cycling in the heat of the day.  We made several stops for drinks and to take a few pictures in St. Mary’s, MD.  St. Mary’s was Maryland’s first capital and home of St. Mary’s college.  After that we pushed for a total of 62 miles in temperatures that hit a high of 99 degrees.  The last 9 miles were on route 301 with a wide shoulder.  We caught a tail wind that allowed us to fly.  Even with a 5 mile stretch where the road was milled into a bumpy mess we were traveling at 18 to 20 mph.  Once we got into our motel we collapsed and ordered deliver for dinner.

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Onley, VA for the third time

Onley has the only motel within a reasonable cycling distance from the dock were we catch tomorrow’s boat for Point Lookout, MD.  Our next closest motel is 13 miles to the south. 

We wanted an early start from Chincoteague this morning but motel desk clerk said that breakfast was not put out until 7 a.m.  However, after taking one look at us, she decided to break the rules and get us some food (it was only 6 a.m.). While we were initially flattered that she would do this for 2 old (but good looking guys) until we realized that she just wanted some one to talk to.  Among many other things, we heard about her first and only bike ride—7 miles, her first and only camping trip—everyone got sick, the birth of her daughter, and her gall bladder operation.  Despite all the detail, she was a real sweetie.

From our motel we headed west to get on the bay side roads that would lead us south.  Mostly, we cycled through rural farm lands, wet lands, and swampy forests.  The only town on our nearly 60 mile journey was Parksley, VA, where we had lunch and visited the Eastern Shore Railroad Museum.  Tonight we need to plan our trip up the Maryland side of the Potomac River for our return to Falls Church, VA.

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Chincoteague, VA day 2

Today was our best weather day so far.  While mid-day temperatures did get into the low 80s, the humidity remained low. 

We cycled a 50 mile loop that took us north to Maryland, then west to bay, before heading back east to our motel.  Our first stop into history was Horntown.  According to our guide book, Horntown “is not only faded, it is actually disappearing…Once one of the largest communities on the Shore...”  Our guide was last updated in 2002 so you can only imagine what we saw—several once stately homes disintegrating beyond repair. 

We next headed to the “marrying tree” where Virginia couples stepped over the line into Maryland, which had a younger marrying age.   While the tree was not that interesting, we got there on a serpentine road that took us back and forth between the 2 states at least a dozen times in a few hundred feet.  Mostly we cycled through farm lands and forests where we made several additional stops at historic homes and peaceful water ways. 

Once back in Chincoteague we rested before taking a walking tour of its historic district that boasts of about a dozen 100 plus year old homes.

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Chincoteague, VA

The weather turned out ok today despite the predication of thunderstorms.  We left our motel early and headed northeast on flat rural roads.  Our first point of interest was to be Locustville, VA but it was no where to be found.  The author of our guide said that it was on route 605 and our GPS’s indicated that we were in Locustville but we saw nothing but farm land.  Somewhere a small town has been misplaced.

Our next town proved to be a real gem.  We stopped in Accomac and saw hundreds of old homes, some of which dated back to the earl 1700s.  According to our guide book, Accomac is so historic that almost the whole town was included as a historic district. The town dates back to the 1600’s when it was chosen for the county seat. Joe must have taken at least 50 photos before we moved on.

We stopped at NASA’s Wallops Island and spent an hour touring its visitor’s center. We were not sure if we stayed so long because the exhibits were that interesting or if the air conditioning was just so nice.

We reached Chincoteague at noon and dumped our gear at our motel before cycling out to Assateague Island and visiting the National Seashore National Park and the island’s 1833 lighthouse.  From there we continued east to the Atlantic Ocean so Jeff could wade into the ocean to satisfy some symbolic notion of dipping his toes into the water. 

One photo that you will not see today is that of Jeff changing his third flat tire.  Joe said that he has gotten bored photographing Jeff and his flats. 

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Onley, VA again

Our morning started with “pea soup thick” fog that definitely impacted our photographs.  We did find several interesting things to photograph.  One of which was supposed to have been miles away on yesterday’s route.  In downtown Exmore, we found the Cobb Station.  According to the sign it had been moved and is undergoing renovations.  Yesterday, we looked for the station at the place our GPS said it should be.  We also took a side trip up Cobb Station Road and it wasn't there either.  Now we know why.  We also photographed an Eastern Shore Railroad caboose, the only remains of that railroad we could find. More interestingly was our photograph of Myrtle Grove.

Note the two pictures of Myrtle Grove we have attached.  They are the same photo, the first straight from the camera, the second after a little Photoshop work.  When we took the picture, we were sure we would not get anything usable because we could barely see the house.  To our surprise, Photoshop revealed what we could not see.

We planned a 60 plus mile route for today but at noon the skies opened up and dropped buckets of rain upon us.  At that point we decided to forgo the remaining 22 miles of our scenic “sea side” route and take route 13 directly to our motel.  While that ride was only 9 miles we got soaked.

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Exmore, VA - again

After some effort, yesterday’s blog was published.  We had considerable difficulty making the link to the photos work.  It seems that the computer gremlins were at work.

Before you wonder if we took a layover day, we did cycle 60 miles and ended up back at the same motel.  We originally planned to stay in Cape Charles but when we got there before noon, we decided that we preferred a nicer motel so we cycled 20 miles directly up route 13 to return to the Holiday Inn Express.  In hind sight, we should have kept our motel room and not carried our bags.

Our day began as we continued cycling the bay side route over flat roads thru farm lands. Our routes were taken from a book entitled Off 13: The Eastern Shore of Virginia Guide Book by Kirk Mariner.  Route 13 runs down the center of Virginia’s eastern shore and the book focuses on the historical structures that can been seen while traveling the less traveled routes referred to as the bay side and sea side routes.  While we passed lots of corn and wheat fields, today we also passed many nurseries.  About half way into our journey, the bay side routes ended so we crossed over route 13 and continued south on the sea side routes.  As with the prior days, we saw many old homes and churches, some of them built in colonial days. 

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Exmore, VA

Not much to report today.  Cycling was flat and easy.  We are heading south on the bay side of  the eastern shore.  We cut our planned route a little short because it was hot with temperatures in the mid-90s. Joe took many photos of the historic houses and churches we passed and Jeff took pictures of water and of Joe taking pictures.  We are following a guide to the historic eastern shore.  While many of the houses and churches listed are interesting, we are not sure why some were included and others excluded.  Somewhat disappointing is when we come across one the houses or churches and see it covered in aluminum siding.  We understand the necessity for preservation but the structures loose much of their appeal with the addition of modern siding.

Our end point was a Holiday Inn Express, a relatively new motel but with no close dinning options—who ever delivers will determine what we eat tonight.  While Jeff did the communal laundry, Joe drank most of the bottle of port wine he purchased at the Athena Winery. With Joe’s condition, we are not sure if any blog will be published today.

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Onley, VA

Before leaving our B&B we found out that our hostess, Sandy Ward grew up in Falls Church several houses away from Jeff’s home.  While she left the area before Jeff arrived, Jeff remembered her mother.  Also, Sandy and her husband Chris had lived with Mrs. Ward for a short time in the 1970s.  Small world...

We had a short bike ride from our B&B to where our chartered boat picked us up for the ride to the Eastern Shore.  Along the way, we had a several hour layover on Tangier Island.  On our bicycles we got to tour the island (several times) before having a light lunch.  While we both would have enjoyed seafood, we thought of how rough the first part of our ride was and didn’t want to embarrass ourselves by getting sick.  Yes, the Bay was choppy and we bounced around quite a bit.

The boat is owned and operated by Mark Crockett. During our tour we saw the name Crockett on historic homes, street names, and on grave stones.  When we got back on the boat for our last leg we asked Mark if he is related to the island’s Crocketts.   Mark was born on the island and has lived there all his 55 years.  He is a fifth generation Crockett and plans to stay on the island until it sinks into the bay.

After arriving in Onancock, VA we dropped our bags off at the hotel in Onley before doing some touring of Onancock and country side.  During which we got a glimpse of the area’s history as can be seen by the photo of a house dating to 1663.

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Reedville, VA

Often on our trips we a blessed with small gems that just make a day wonderful.  Last night when checking into our motel, the clerk told us that the only options for breakfast were 2 miles west when the coffee shop opened at 8 a.m. or 13 miles east at a McDonald's that would require we not take our planned country road route.  Neither option was appealing for we like early starts and country roads.  The next morning we noticed that the gas station/Subway restaurant across the highway was open.  Unfortunately, the Subway part of the place did not open until 9 a.m.  However, a nice woman told us to walk 1 block west and go to Johnny Wilkinson’s place because he makes breakfast sandwiches.  Johnny not only made us a great breakfast but also sandwiches to go.  Never did a processed ham and cheese sandwich ever taste so good when we stopped for lunch.  We did not have any lunch during our first 2 days so this was especially sweet.

Our ride on the country roads was very pleasant with virtually no traffic and pastoral scenery.  Our only complaint was that while we had 4 fast downhill rides in quick succession, each of those down hills was followed by a short but steep climb. We were happy to sacrifice the down hills as the terrain flattened out.  About 95 percent of today’s ride was on country roads.

Since our planned ride was relatively short, we decided to go off route and visit the Athena Winery about 5 miles south of our route.  There Ruth, one of the owners told us that they started growing grapes 13 years ago and it took a while for them to produce good wine.  As we were leaving the winery, Jeff noticed that he had his second flat tire. So far he is getting one every other day…not a good thing.  While at the winery we found 2 entertaining birds.  They had build a nest right next to the parking lot and when we got close the one on the nest would spread her trail feathers and the other would hop away and lie on its back and flap its wings as if it were injured.  Ruth told us that these birds have been building their nest in the same spot for years.  You would think that they would move away from all the commotion of the parking lot but I guess they just like to people watch.

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Montross,VA

We left our hotel later than normal so we could see the sights of Fredericksburg.  Within 3 miles of our hotel we saw Kenmore Hall (home of George Washington’s sister), Mary Washington College, the farmers market and art festival, an antique car show in the historic district, and Ferry Farms (the childhood home of GW).  As we progressed thru the car show Joe commented that some of the cars should not be called antiques.  His reasoning was that they were made after he was born.  He was worried that being older than an antique car made him an antique.

Our next stop, well into the day, was at GW’s birthplace.  Unfortunately, none of the original structures are still standing and the house is not even a replica of his but rather a replica of a grandiose colonial home.  Near the end of our ride we stopped at Robert E. Lee’s birthplace, Stradford Hall, but it was closed for the day.

Cycling on country roads often lets an ill prepared cyclist go hungry.  That was us about 1:30 in the afternoon.  We were famished and quickly approaching route 301, the major north-south highway through the Northern Neck region where we hoped for at least a fast food restaurant.  When we got to the intersection, however, we saw no eating places but just a Ford and Dodge dealerships.  Since we desperately needed water, we stopped went into the Dodge dealership, the closest. The showroom was huge but no customer and only 2 salesmen.  They directed us to the water fountain which was next to a vending machine--our lunch.

While the weather was a little warmer today, the cycling was still good.  We cycled 54 miles, about half of the time on the highways and the other on country roads.

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Fredericksburg, VA

We had fantastic weather today and cycled 83 miles.  While that sums up our day, we should step back and fill in some details. Last evening  as we were walking home from dinner, Joe mentioned that our trip would start in "that direction" but Jeff countered, "no, we would be leaving in the opposite direction." When we got back to Jeff's house, the wine was opened and starting direction was quickly forgotten.  We considered several alternative routes to get us to Occoquan, VA and had agreed on the "shortest route." So this morning, we left and once again Joe wanted to go right and Jeff left. Somewhere in our planning we must have agreed on 2 different shortest routes.  I guess that is what sustains our friendship.

Along the way we met 3 cyclists from Kansas also heading to Reedville, VA and staying in the same B&B as us.  We also met a couple from San Francisco on their way to New York City.  Otherwise, today's ride was just to get us to Fredericksburg.  Tomorrow should provide many points of interest and photos.

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Today's Map

Long time cycling friends Joe an Jeff are setting out on another adventure.  This time they are heading southeast from Northern Virginia along the Potomac River to Virginia's Northern Neck.  From there they plan to cross the Chesapeake Bay and tour Virginia's Eastern Shore.  Their return trip will take them to the Maryland side of the Potomac River as they head northwest back to their starting point.