| Bass Lake Resort. Here's the bass. (And a Bluegill too). |
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We have a very low key week: bass fishing, day trips to Charlotte, and, Winston-Salem, bass fishing, and Kayaking.
Here's Deb making waves on Big Rock Lake...
Most of our exploring and day trips have been in the Jeep. The bus we just move from Campground to campground ("moving day"). On our most recent move from Salisbury to Roanoke Rapids, we stopped for some sight-seeing in Durham and Raleigh. It worked out good. Two thumbs way up for the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. An outstanding collection, and surprisingly, no admission charge.
The big attraction for us here was the canal trail. The trail twist and bent and rose and fell and otherwise followed the course of the river --- not your typical flat railroad grade. Its surface alternated from sand to clay to gravel to grass. Fortunately, we have mountain bikes since it would have been a bit much for road bikes. In fact, if it was any tougher, we would have hiked it instead. As it is, we had a beautiful ride and a nice workout. Next stop --- Virginia Beach.
We're on the beach again... And we got the boats wet too (Back Bay).
After years of exhaustive study in the field, I've concluded that the highest COMFORTABLE wind speed for outdoor activities is about 15 miles per hour. Much beyond that and bike riding can be a real chore, your fly line doesn't cast for beans, your golf balls take on a mind of their own, and your kayaks want to go where the wind blows them which may not necessarily be where you got them pointed.
21 miles per hour was the reported wind speed when we finished. We got a little more exercise than we planned.
Virginia Beach looks like a great place for biking. This trail passes right in front of our RV park and it looks like it will go north to the seaside boardwalk. Hopefully, we'll have an time to find out.
| There is a procedure to follow if you want to eat the
local catch of the day: Blue Crabs.
First, grab a hold of the rear and pry off the top shell. Next, remove the gills and guts. Rip the face off. Flip it over, and snap off the genitals. Then, crack it in half and dig in. If you want to get into the legs or claws, use the little mallet to whack em open. That's it. |
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Hey. We're tourists. We couldn't get through Virginia without seeing where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry did their thing:
Colonial Williamsburg...
Our last day in town was forecast to be very W-E-T. We gulped our coffee and set off for an early morning ride. We rode the length of the board walk and took in the sand, sea, and surfers, and then headed back home. Seven hours ago, the first rain showers started. It's still pouring. Accurate forecast.
Cars here have bumpers stickers that read "I ♥ Jet Noise" and "The Sound of Freedom", etc. Jets from nearby military bases often bombard the city with ear shattering noise for hours at a time. After five days here, I couldn't help but wonder:
If "they hate us for our freedom", and that noise is "the sound of freedom", then, they must hate us for that noise. Perfectly understandable. WHAT? I can't hear you.
| Just getting here is a real hoot. To go from the
mainland to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, one must drive the
Chesapeake
Bay Bridge Tunnel. It's actually three bridges and two tunnels
a total of 20 miles in length. The Bridge Tunnel is one of the "7
Engineering Wonders of the Modern World"--- and a real pretty drive. Deb wants to kayak Chesapeake Bay. So, here we are...
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It's not Kansas, but it's darn flat.
We have the Bay on one side and the Atlantic on the other. Elevation is 3 feet. There appear to be several boat launches within just a few miles. So far, we've used three of them. This area suits us for bicycling too. We can't handle hills like we used to. No hills here. As you can tell from the picture above, we've been out a few times. In fact, twice this week, we kayaked in the morning and bicycled in the afternoon. Not bad, huh?
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It's been a fun week. We got some exercise and explored a some
of the local seaside communities.
We got to see a satellite launch too. A nearby military base shot something into orbit at sunset the other night. The local radio station covered it "live" on the air. That was pretty cool. I'd never witnessed a space launch before. The park here was supposed to fill up for Memorial Day Weekend. It didn't happen. It stayed half empty --- peaceful and quiet. |
Goodbye wilderness, Hellooo civilization...
On our way north, everyone we talked with suggested Cherry Hill RV Park. This proved to be a good recommendation. A bus comes right to the park and drops off at a subway station that takes one a block and a half from the mall. This worked out well.
DC around the mall is surprisingly reminiscent of Paris with broad boulevards and massive buildings.
Which is tougher? Kayaking in the morning and biking in the afternoon? Or, The National Gallery of Art in the morning and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in the afternoon?
Answer: The Gallery and the museum. Site-seeing is difficult work. At least, when you're kayaking and biking, you have a fluid rhythmic motion happening. Standing still is much worse.
We were here three days and barely scratched the surface of everything there is to see. Washington DC is site-seeing on steroids.
We both got a kick out of the Library of Congress --- very impressive architecture. I made a quick pit stop. When I turned the corner from the men's room, I bumped into a Guttenberg Bible. How cool is that?
| We camped at the north end of the National Park where we
mostly we rested and recovered from the DC excursion. We hiked one
day and saw black bears twice and just missed a third time --- wildlife,
up close and personal.
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The last weekend in May, between lightning storms, I played around in the CQ WPX International DX Contest. Radio propagation is completely different than the Pacific NW. Europe was open on 15, 20 or 40 meters all day. Ditto South America. I had a blast making contacts with places I'd never reached before: Nepal, Senegal, Austria, Sicily, and Latvia!
| May
2009 finished the same as it started....
on a Bass Pond. |
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