Virginia's Eastern Shore via Motorcycle
Instead, there are segments of pavement that hug the coastline for just small stretches before ending or turning back inland. When Sash and I finally reached the coast at Virginia Beach, we wanted to take a scenic ride up the coast to get a little bit more of the Atlantic and the cooler ocean air.
Virginia's Eastern Shore seemed to be it.
The route starts in Virginia Beach, at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, a 23 mile long bridge/tunnel that spans across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, offering spectacular views of the ocean, along with fishing boats, warships, and tankers entering and exiting the Bay.
It costs $12.00 per motorcycle to ride the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which seems like a hefty expense for a toll, but when considering the alternative of riding inland and missing out on some great scenery, it didn't seem like that big of a deal.
Just before the first tunnel, there's a fishing pier and restaurant connected to the bridge. Sash and I stopped there, primarily to get our $12.00 per motorcycle experience, but also to get a break from 95+ degree temperature and zero breeze over the Chesapeake. We stopped at the Visitor Center inside the restaurant, and chatted with Willie, who gave us some recommendations on where to visit along the Eastern Shore.
There are two tunnels along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and both are a mile long. They dive down under the water, providing a channel for ships to cross over.
The northern end of the bridge is perhaps the more spectacular, as it crosses over Fisherman Island, and finally on to the Eastern Shore.
The Eastern Shore of Virginia is routed primarily by US-13, a four-lane highway that moves and rides much like an Interstate, but still stops at intersections in the bigger towns. Otherwise, Sash and I opted for smaller, more obscure roads, and settled with Highway 600, which starts at the tiny town of Kiptopeke in the south, and Locustville in the north where it merges with Highway 605.
Highway 600 shows what the real Eastern Shore looks like, with colonial style homes colorfully decorated with crepe myrtle trees in all of their pink, purple, and red glory. Mixed in between are peanut farms and corn fields all linked together as the 600 winds and twists its way along the coast.
Sash was taken by the beauty, she's seriously considering making this area her new winter home.
It was around 2:00pm when we pulled into the little hamlet of Cheriton, and found a lonely eatery named, "Shorely Good Cafe", where we ordered up glasses of iced tea and sandwich wraps. Sash engaged the proprietor there about the Winter season to find that it's actually quite mild.
Just a stone's throw from Cheriton is the bay-town of Cape Charles, home to the Eastern Shore's most historically preserved downtown, with dozens of bed-n-breakfasts, inns, as well as a lively nightlife of pubs and restaurants.
Just past 3:00pm by this time, we realized that we were going to be late getting into Ocean City, MD. We opted to take US-13 from here on in to make up time.
Probably the best vacation spot on Virginia's Eastern Shore is Chincoteague Island, where every year at this time, they have the Chincoteague Pony Swim. Chicoteague Island is home to the Assateague Horses, a band of feral horses that roam wild on the island. Every year, townfolks round up the ponies and lead them on a swim from the island to the mainland where they are auctioned off. A small group of select ponies are left with adults on the island to keep the numbers at a manageable level.
During the week of the pony swim, the town of Chincoteague swells from its population of 3,000 to over 100,000. Hotel rooms are nearly impossible to find, and forget about parking.
Sash and I were finally able to reach Ocean City, MD around 6:00pm, enough time to walk up and down the Boardwalk.
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| South entrance to Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel |
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| Riding the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel via motorcycles |
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| Stopped at the pier along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel |
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| Highway and Sash on the pier |
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| Sash chats with Willie, at the Virginia Beach Visitor Center, kiosk |
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| This semi-truck had only about 3 inches of clearance from the tunnel ceiling |
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| You can see Fisherman Island in the distance |
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| Sash celebrates riding across the Chesapeake Bay |
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| Welcome to the Eastern Shore of Virginia |
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| Kelly's Pub is a fixture of Cape Charles, VA |
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| Highway 600 through the Eastern Shore of Virginia |
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| There's still a lot of farm land along the Eastern Shore |
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| Highway getting ready to leap off of a moving motorcycle |
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| Downtown Cheriton, Virginia, is a pretty quiet place |
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| Shorely Good Cafe, Cheriton, VA, is only open for lunch, but makes killer sandwich wraps |
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| Mockhorn Bay, Virginia's Eastern Shore |
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| This week, every year, the town of Chincoteague, VA rounds up the feral ponies and swims them across the bay |
I'm really claustrophobic... I would have to ride through that tunnel with my eyes closed! :-) Great pictures, by the way!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos!
ReplyDeleteMy experience (which is limited) has always been that taking the toll roads is worth it.
I mean, if there's a scenic non-toll route, obviously that would be preferable. But if the choice is a toll highway, or a non-toll highway... The toll roads have been better.