Saturday, January 2nd- In which we make the long haul home

BEGINNING: Williamsburg, VA
END: Long Island via Outerbridge Crossing
STOPPING IN: Jamestown, VA; Rehoboth Beach, DE
ROUTE: VA 31 to VA 199 to I-64 to US 13 to US 113 to DE 24 to DE 1 to Cape May Ferry to US 9 to Garden State Pkwy to NJ 440

Unfortunately, all good trips must come to an end, especially when your traveling partner has work Sunday morning. So we hitched Rita up one last time and drove off from Williamsburg. However, I didn't want to go back the most direct way, which is to hop back on I-95. I've done that ride a whole lot of times already, and since it was our last day, ending the trip with memories of sitting in traffic on the DC beltway was not my cup of tea. Plus, being in Williamsburg opened up a way back almost completely consisting of new roads for me- down to Virginia Beach, up US 13, and to the Garden State Parkway over the Cape May ferry. I managed to convince Bethany to go this way by selling its newness and lack of traffic while softpedaling the approximate time it would take to get there (about 8.5 hours, says Google Maps).

On the way out, we also quickly stopped in Jamestown to see if there was anything to quickly view. We got there around 8:30, noticed that the only things to see were behind a Visitor's Center which wasn't open and charged money for admission, and turned around. We did go to the ruins of a Glasshouse, the foundation of a 1608 building set right on the water. We also, according to Bethany, saw where Captain John Smith fell in love with Pocahontas at about five different locations. It was pretty, even if we mostly struck out in the attractions department.

We then headed west into the Hampton Roads area on I-64 to get to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Bridge-tunnels are pretty unique- there are eight in the world, and the only three in the US are all in Eastern Virginia. So on the way to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, we got the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. This was fascinating to drive on- it feels as if you're driving on the water, and ahead of you it seems like the road disappears and you go under into a tunnel. However, with the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, you always see land ahead of you. Not so with the Chesapeake Bay bridge.

We exited I-64 for US 13 and headed onto the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The bridge is about 23 miles long, and after the first couple of miles, you stop seeing any land whatsoever. Here you feel not just like you're over a river, but driving on the ocean, where your scenery is the occasional naval boat. A picture of the "scenery" about 15 miles in is on the left. The road had a gentle right-ward bend, and twice disappeared into the water down into the tunnel. I very much enjoy driving on roads that are also engineering marvels (see Skyline Drive earlier in this trip, or previously going on US 1 or through the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70), and I thoroughly enjoyed being on this impressive road.

We finally made it to the other side, stopping at an overlook which was freezing and windy, and then traveled the long haul through the Delmarva Peninsula. This part of Virginia was a lot longer than I anticipated, with about 80 miles until the Maryland border, but it was a very easy ride- no traffic, only an occasional traffic light, just a lot of land with not a whole lot on it. It was very much stress-free, which is more than you can say for I-95. Once we got to Maryland, I took the fork for US 113, effectively deciding that we were going over the Cape May ferry rather than up to the NJ Turnpike. In preparation for possibly going this way back, I knew the ferry schedule (it's pretty annoying to get to a ferry and then find out the next one is in an hour). We meandered through middle of nowhere Maryland and Delaware before ending up at the Rehoboth Mall outlets area. Once we found out we were only 10 minutes away from the ferry terminal at that point and had over an hour, we took advantage of the tax-free shopping for a bit. We hightailed it to the ferry to make the 2:45.

The ferry...well, I'm sure it's a fine ferry normally, but we got a day with a wind advisory, notice that the trip would take longer than normal, and warning to always hold the railings if you had to move around. We got one and a half hours of pure rocking. I'm used to the Long Island Sound ferries, which don't really go over exposed seas. This ferry crosses over 17 miles at the mouth of the Delaware River, making for some rocky seas. I've never seen Bethany so focused on a card game (in order to trick herself into not being seasick). Hell, I even felt a bit seasick, and I'm from Cape Cod! After one last jerk at the ferry dock threatened our innards, we eagerly got the hell off of the ferry. It was nice to try it once, but we decided this was probably our last trip on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

The rest of our trip was a slow realization that we were getting back into the New York metro area. The bottom of the Garden State Parkway was alternately beautiful (views to the right of beach spits surrounded by marsh and ocean) and annoying (really? traffic lights?). We eventually got back into the city, made it through (Bethany was at the wheel, making her first trek across the city), and were welcomed by roads barely plowed from the night before. We made it back, thoroughly exhausted, and with a mix of happiness to be back and sadness that the trip was over.

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It's been now just over two weeks since we returned to Long Island. Bethany is home in Michigan for a few more days, and I've been teaching and writing grant proposals, which explains the delay in getting the whole trip up. It's been fun to document the trip (though it is easier to do it right after, when the iron is hot- see my previous posts for smoother, more intimate memories). Part of me wishes the trip could have been longer, but it was a wonderful length. There was a good balance of driving and being in places, we had a week jam-packed with new experiences and new places with great memories. And, most importantly, I had good company. It's wonderful having a very easy-going driving and riding partner who is really gung-ho, positive, and goes along with my crazy schemes.

So, where next? For a while, nowhere. I've consigned myself to working my butt off for the next two months here on Long Island. March and April are lining up to be chock-full of travel and excitement, though. And, of course, I'll still be checking in here from time to time. However, it is a nice day above freezing, and so I'm off on a nice bike ride.

Tuesday, December 29th: In which we relax with lots of (fresh) water

BEGINNING: Gettysburg, PA
END: Front Royal, VA
STOPPING IN: Emmittsburg, MD; Cunningham Falls State Park, MD; Berkeley Springs, WV
ROUTE: US-30 to PA-97 to Gettysburg Auto Road to US-15 to MD-77 to MD-64 to MD-66 to I-70 to US-522 to US-340

(If you want to start from the beginning, go to the next post and read up.)

Planning is a funny thing. It's bad to plan everything along your route, but it's good to do a lot of planning in order to know where things are, what routes are possible, and where to go in order to maximize the possibilities for doing stuff. This day was the least planned, other than our appointment at the Berkeley Springs State Park. It's also the part of the trip that I knew the least about, having only passed through this area on I-81. Because of this, I looked online and on the map route to figure out the best way to go, what else is on that route, and where to end up.

However, to do stuff, well, you have to get up and do it. We were up and out before 8 despite the freezing, freezing cold. We drove through Gettysburg and south to the Gettysburg National Military Park. The closest section to downtown is the National Cemetery, so we went there first. We were, shockingly, the only people who decided on a sub-freezing Tuesday at 8:30 AM to visit the cemetery, so we had it all to ourselves. Like Arlington, it is a very simple yet moving construction. There is a large statue where Lincoln stood, and the semicircle surrounding it are wedges of killed Union soldiers organized by state, with prominent UNKNOWN sections on either edge, impossible to miss (and drastically larger than the others). Although there was snow on the ground, the graves were reverently shoveled off. It also points the dead exactly toward where Lincoln gave his address, giving a fairly complex relationship between leadership and the dead. The other side is a cemetery that is barred off (from our side, at least), and it is surrounded by various statues and graves of other deceased soldiers and veterans.

One criticism is that you become very aware that it was HERE that Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. The first monument you see when you walk up the path, which maps out the cemetery and gives the full text of the Gettysburg Address. At this point, the monument's simple white text on black background allows the somber, yet eloquent poetry of the statement to come through. Yet, every single placard that you see paraphrases it until the phrases become cliche. The Gettysburg Address, at least in my opinion, is beautiful because it is short, sweet, and moving. Taking and reposting chunks banalizes, rather than beatifies, it.

We then went to the visitor's center and picked up a map for the Auto Road. The Gettysburg Auto Road maps out a route for autos so you can drive on the various sites of the battlefield. It's also numbered in chronological order so the driver can follow the progression of the battle. The road is in red on the link. You can see that it's quite long, and since we only had maybe an hour, we just went to the section we were near, the southeast quadrant. We went to stops 13 & 14 (Spangler's Spring and Cemetery Hill), and Culp's Hill. The fascinating part of this trip is not only the various plaques that tell you what happened there. Instead, the whole area is littered with old stone statues to mark the many divisions and battalions which fought there. These seem to be placed in the decades right after the war far before the idea of making the area a National Military Park. Thus, not only do you see tons of statues along the route, but also on the many hiking paths. Since it was very cold, we didn't walk far, but we took a small path just off Culp's Hill, and we saw at least 4 or 5 nowhere near where a driver would see it. It makes for a very serious emotional moment knowing that the way you are directed, even through the National Park system, may not accurately reflect the complex cartographies of history.

We then headed south on US 15, crossing into Maryland at Emmittsburg. On the highway, we saw signs for the Elizabeth Ann Seton shrine. Bethany, being Catholic, wanted to see the shrine for the first U.S.-born saint. We got there just before it opened, waited in the car about 10 minutes, and then went into the basilica. It was a lovely church and a simple shrine on the side, with a good visitor's center, a cheesy gift shop, and some nuns trotting about.

We left and went south on US 15. About 4 miles from where we turn west onto some Maryland state routes to get towards Berkeley Springs was Cunningham Falls State Park. I had noticed it on Google Maps (which is one of many reasons that Google Maps is fantastic) and when I looked it up, I saw that the path to the falls was less than half a mile and handicapped accessible. So even though the ground was snowy and icy, we hiked up to the falls. That's me, and you can see the falls in the background. Considering the last trip Bethany and I took was all outdoors, it was important that we did some hiking even if the weather was not cooperating. This was also the first place we turned on the new camera which was Bethany's Christmas present (so there's pictures here on in!)

We meandered west on I-70 until we went south on US 522. Maryland is at its thinnest there- the US 522 exit was one mile before I-70 went north into Pennsylvania. We got off the exit, went about a mile south, and were already in West Virginia. Six miles up is Berkeley Springs, and right downtown is the Berkeley Springs State Park. Berkeley Springs has natural hot springs which have been used for time immemorial, and the center square has been a public spa since the town was incorporated in the mid-18th century. Mineral water is pumped into different tubs- George Washington's tub was memorialized, as you can see if you click on the picture to the left. The state park is a spa with mineral baths and massages on what essentially is a village green. Bethany and I scheduled a 15 minute bath, and we were very nicely given almost 40! The water was supposed to be at 102 degrees, and although it was a little colder owing to the fact that we had the first bath after lunch break, the water was clean, pure, and wonderful to soak in. We then had 30-minute Swedish-style massages at 2. Mine was quite nice, especially on my arms and lower legs. Bethany was less pleased with hers (since state park employees are paid by the state, good masseuses are likely going to work in one of the many private spas around), but she does like her massages painful. We then warmed up and lazed out in a coffeehouse next door before getting back on the road.

We decided to go to Front Royal, about 60 miles straight down US 522. Front Royal was more of a strategic location than a particular destination. It is the top of Skyline Drive, it allows for travel in the Shenandoah Valley to Luray Caverns via US 340, or if the weather was crappy, we could head east on I-66 and get to Williamsburg (where we were due in Wednesday night) in about 3.5 hours. And, as we discovered via billboards on the way down, there were the Skyline Caverns in Front Royal as well. US 522 enters Virginia at about its northernmost point, and rolls along the hills down into Winchester. It's really quite a beautiful ride through forests and hills brushed with snow, and we took some pictures, one of which you can see to the left. We followed 522 through Winchester and made it down to Front Royal. We stayed in a hotel so sketchy, we actually drove to a Papa John's rather than having the pizza delivered. However, it was only about a mile away from the Skyline Caverns, so we sucked it up and fell asleep. However, we may in the future just spend the extra $20 so that we, say, don't have to use the comforter to block the doorway so the 20-degree air doesn't come in. It wasn't an ideal destination, but it set up a lot of possibilities for the next day and allowed us to enjoy our massages, baths, and look at the new pictures.