F16: Assateague Part 2

Waterfront View

Ah, horses in the saltmarsh near our campsite at the Assateague Island National Seashore:

October 2 to October 7

Days 7 to 10

The weather reports say we will be avoiding Hurricane Matthew for a few more days, so we decided to head back to Assateague, but to the National Park. We snagged A24 for four nights ($30, No Services), and here`s the view from my chair:

We decided to take advantage of the sunny day and headed to the Ferry Landing to launch our boats. It took 15-20 minutes to set up and get into the water; not too bad. We paddled among the Egrets and Herons for a couple of others and just relaxed! Aaaah…finally:

The sun shone again this morning, so we bird and deer walked:

…visited fellow campers, I walked the beach (Dolphins):

and rode David`s bike. In the afternoon, we went for another paddle amongst many Little Blue Herons and enjoyed the late afternoon in our bug tent (a necessity in this buggy place):

It was another sunny morning and there were horses in the saltmarsh. I took a long beach walk, and David started HIS cold! We drove into Historic Berlin, MD, for coffees and a Peach Dumpling:

After lunch, I rode the bike past horses and a turtle and viewed the continuing flooding of the State Park:

It was a lovely, relaxing, warm day.

Well, the clouds were heading in this morning, and we had to make a decision about how long we were going to stay in Maryland. Our next destination, on Chesapeake Bay, was predicting more rain and wind as Matthew swung nearby. And despite the fact that we were going to spend the weekend with our good friends Linda and Denny and Ellie and Denny, we decided to cut our losses and start home tomorrow.

So I took one last beach walk (the Kite Boarders loved it), and we packed up ready to leave in the morning:

Days 11 and 12

Of course, it was a sunny, warm morning, but we needed to trust our bedraggled instincts and head north. We wanted to test a toll-free drive for next year and headed towards Lancaster, PA. We passed through Newark, DE, a cute university town (except in a Motorhome!) and continued for a while on some backroads but decided to get onto Highway 10 north to I76 to I81 (and decided to TAKE the toll road next time-though not the short hop around Scranton)! We stayed at our favourite Flying J near New Milford, PA and enjoyed pizza and medicinal wine (we were both sick by now)!

Today was another gorgeous morning, and though we regret ending our trip early and missing our friends, we were happy to get home and start getting better. And we had one last Fall trip view of the colours (near Preble, NY):

Fall 2016: Assateague National Seashore Part 1

Waterfront View

I love Sanderlings and I love this beach!

September 26 to October 1

Days 1 and 2

With a bunch of medical appointments for late October, we headed out early for our Fall Trip. It was a beautiful day for an uneventful drive.We had another easy border crossing, despite the sniffer dog! We saw very few election signs (Pennsylvania may ban them on interstates) though the Ron Paul 2012 sign is still there near Kingston, Ontario. We took the Turnpike and regretted the tolls on the first, short part (never again) but stayed in the relatively quiet Hickory Travel Center (and watched the debate!).

Our trip continued through Delaware (more election signs here), and we got to Assateague State Park (Site I9, No Services, $14 weekday and $28 weekend with Maryland Golden Age Pass) and settled in for four reserved nights. I took a beach walk, toured the campground on my bike, and saw our first baby horse (Hank Jr.):

Here`s the view from my chair:

Days 3, 4 and 5

Thunderstorms were expected, but it was a pretty nice day, I took three beach walks, cruised the campground, sat on the beach for a while, then we took a 10 mile bike ride in the National Park:

We saw another horse family (a baby female this time):

…but cut the ride short with black skies and a bent tire rim (my bike, of course). Back home, we watched three sites fill with young couples and families from some religious sect (long skirts and head covering for the women; trucks and flashlights but no indoor lights). Thinking Amish.

Well, it turned out to be a crazy, mostly sleepless night as those black skies turned into thunder, lightening, strong winds and relentless rain. So we spent the day inside, reading and waiting for a break. Since we were being broadsided by the wind, we drove to the Day Use area so we could face into the worst of it. We even spent the night in the overflow area so we could avoid being buffeted by the wind for another night. Oh, and after some sneezing yesterday, I developed a full-blown head cold. What a day. Here`s our view for the whole day:

We woke to this view of our campsite and those around us:

The washrooms were surrounded by water. Campsites were flooded. And we headed into Ocean City for a break from the wet. And some BBQ, so all was not lost. I even walked the beach some; people had crawled out from a day and a half spent indoors:

Day 6

It was another rainy night, and we decided to head inland to avoid what`s been promised to be more bad weather. And we hoped to paddle at Pokomoke State Park, known for canoe and kayak trails. During a stop for bread, I saw a woman dressed like our Amish neighbours and asked her about her faith. She, like the neighbours, are Mennonites, and there`s a church in Snow Hill. So, now I know.

When we paid for our site, we learned that there would be no paddling: the river has crested the banks and sewage was dumped. With my cold, bent tire rim, terrible storms and rain and some credit card problems we resolved (not our fault!), we wondered what could happen next. But the sun did come out, and I even took a walk. Here`s the view from my chair (Site 34, E, $34 on weekend):