Kiptopeke State Park and Cape Charles, VA

 

Tuesday, May 27

Woke this morning around 6:15 and went to the Collier Shower House only a short walk from our camp site. This shower house is a much better facility than some of the more expensive campgrounds we have been to. 

We ate a good breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, cauliflower hash browns, toast and fruit. After breakfast we both read our devotions and bible. We finished cleaning up and headed out for the day.

To get to our destination, we had to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. I have always wanted to cross this and just never had the opportunity. It is amazing to ride on this bridge over this body of water and then go through 2 tunnels that are under the bay. We stopped at the overlook on the other side and took our picture.

Here is a video of our drive through one of the tunnels. The speed is 4X the original and the audio has been changed.

Kiptopeke State Park

When we entered the park, we asked about some of the things to do. So our first stop was the fishing pier and we walked around it and look at the wildlife, the fishermen and the concrete ships.

These ships were really eerie to see and I bet they are even more so up close. The history of these ship is unique especially since we did not even know that they had built ships out of concrete. 

While we were walking around the pier, we noticed a bird diving under the water. It would come up with a small flounder and then swallow it whole. I believe it was a Cormorant, and we just watched that bird out fish all the fisherman on the pier. 

We left the pier and headed to the trailhead and picnic area. we ate our lunch of peanut butter sandwiches and vegan chips with a glass of water. We decided to take the Baywoods Trail, it is .8 miles long and easy.

This was a nice relaxing walk with by beloved wife and we just talked and enjoyed the sounds of the birds chirping all around us. I did spot a pine warbler and identified it with the Merlin app on my phone. I was not able to get a picture of it because it was so small and fast. 

About halfway down the trail, we took a side trail called the Peregrine Boardwalk. This is a wooden walk from the Baywoods Trail to the beach and it takes you over a small gorge and on to the beach. 

We stayed on the beach for a little bit and Amy was able to pick up some very large shells on the shore. 

We also saw a lot of holes in the sand and realized they were homes to crabs. We found one crab dragging grass into his hole.  

We headed back and finished the Baywoods Trail and made the decision to take the Park Rangers advice and visit the downtown area of Cape Charles, VA. Before we left, we took our picture with the State Park sign. Don't forget when you visit a Virginia state park to log in in Trail Quest.

Cape Charles, Virginia

The historic downtown area for Cape Charles is a beautiful place to enjoy some shopping, ice cream and even stay the night if you want. We parked at the top of the street and walked down to the beach and then walked back up the other side. 

There are a lot of unique shops and businesses to shop and you can see what I was looking for!! 

We stopped at Brown Dog Ice Cream and grabbed a mid-afternoon snack. Amy had the Dreamsicle and I had Salted Caramel. If you have your dog with you, they have frozen treats for them as well. 

At the end of the street is the fishing pier and the Cape Charles LOVE sign. Even though it was raining, we went out and took our picture in front of the sign. 

We had to say goodbye to Cape Charles and headed back across the bay and to our camp. There were two shops we enjoyed and even purchased items in. They are the Boardwalk and Table & Tonic

For supper we had a healthy Chicken Alfredo and Garlic Cheese Biscuits.

Healthy Chicken Alfredo 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large chicken breast
• 1 box of Green Giant Frozen Broccoli
• 1 bag of Birds Eye Veggie Pasta Rotini Alfredo

Directions

• Cook Broccoli in microwave and set aside
• Heat cast iron skillet on camp stove.
• Cut Chicken into bite size pieces and coat with Mrs. Dash and Salt
• Cook Pasta in microwave.
• Put chicken in frying pan and cook slowly.
• Chop broccoli up into smaller pieces and add to chicken when it is nearly cooked.
• Once chicken is done, put in a mixing bowl and add cooked pasta and stir
• Serve in bowls, makes 2 servings.

 

We were both tired from the days activities and after cleaning up from supper, we went inside. I journaled and then painted my memory ornament for the day. It has been a good day, despite the rain.