2022 Trip 1: Searching for our 300th National Park Site: April 18-19

Norfolk, VA April 19

Salisbury has been a good choice for us. Today (April 18) was an easy 45 minute drive to Assateague Island National Seashore. Assateague Island is home to a state park, the national seashore, and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. One can not drive directly on the island between the national park and the wildlife refuge. The bridges to the national seashore and the bridge to the national wildlife refuge are over an hour apart. With rain scheduled, and arrived, for Monday afternoon, we decided just to visit the national seashore today.

It was warm in DC last week and Chris had hoped we could spread a blanket on the beach and listen to the waves. One of the signs leading to the beach even read South Beach. Unfortunately the weather was not South Beach Florida material. The temperature was 48 degrees F and the wind was 15-18 mph. Having those winter jackets and hats from the first part of our trip came in handy today.

Wild horses are one of the notable draws bringing visitors to Assateague and Chincoteague. Assateague has fewer horses and they range freely wherever they desire. Chincoteague has more horses and their range is more limited. Thus, one would expect to see the horses more at Chincoteague. Maybe the horses at Assateague knew Chris was disappointed by not being able to lay on the beach so they cooperated. We viewed 11 horses in three locations, including one new foal.

We did walk on the Assateague Island National Seashore beach-briefly, but hiked three other trails. The dune trail was the most taxing as the soft sand requires more energy. The forest walk was the most enjoyable as the trees sheltered us from the wind and moderated the chill of the air. Our thought was the hikes might bring us into closer proximity to the horses. Not so. The horses were all viewed from the car along roadsides and in a camping area. I don’t blame the horses, the grass looked greener and softer along the roadsides.

Assateague almost did not make it to being part of the National Park Service. Back in the early 1900s, it was connected to Fenwick Island, where Ocean City MD is located. A major storm in 1933 cut through Fenwick Island, creating a new channel and making one island into two islands. After WWII, in the 1950s, this new island was divided into building lots and a new coastal town called Ocean Beach was planned. Street name signs were up. On Ash Wednesday 1962, a major storm hit the island, destroying homes and structures. On one trail, we came across a fresh water pond. In 1962 there had been a home here. The 1962 storm destroyed the home, ground it into the dirt, and created the pond which still exists in that location. Pieces of the home’s foundation still lie at the bottom of the pond which is fed by rainwater. Well, that 1962 storm made it clear that building on unstable land was not a good idea. The Park Service was able to purchase all of the property.

Assateague Island National Seashore has a large and pleasant visitor center. We were greeted by a young female ranger from Stillwater MN. This was her first assignment with the National Park Service, a summer seasonal position. Assateague seems a good place to begin one’s career.

We returned in the early afternoon to the Hampton Inn. Chris spent the afternoon doing laundry and we reviewed our plans for the next few days. I had hoped we could visit Fort Monroe in Norfolk VA but their hours are still limited and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Assateague Island is long and the northern section is in Maryland and the southern section is in Virginia. Tuesday morning we set out for the southern section of Assateague Island. Most of the southern section is a national wildlife refuge, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. There are wild horses here also. There are differences. Virginia’s wildlife refuge has about 25% more horses, they are fenced in, have vets check them out, and have the pony round up and auction managed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. In Maryland, the horses are free to go where they want, which is good and bad for viewing. Bad in that they are dispersed over a wide area and it is difficult to predict if you will see them. Good in that the horses can come right up to you-or to the camping area as we observed Monday. There is a fence dividing the two herds.

Today in Chincoteague, the horses were in the penned area, which is many acres. We were not long into the drive in the refuge when we saw our first horses of the day. They were easily visible from the road, but that was a long distance from the horses to the road. Luckily our camera has a wonderful zoom feature. Hoping to see more, we hiked out on a trail that overlooks the penned acres but the horses were not visible from that location.

The Assateague Lighthouse is 142 feet high and is still active. Under today’s conditions, tours are not allowed but we were able to walk to see it. The lighthouse is situated on a hilly point of the island. It too has a story. When the lighthouse was built in 1867, it stood on the south end of the island. Over the years, wind and waves have created a fish hook shaped extension of sand to the southern end of the island. Now the lighthouse looks lonely, out of place, and far removed from its functional location.

The wind and waves were strong today again. We tried walking along the beach at Chincoteague but gave up quickly. We had spent the morning here and after lunch began our two hour drive to Norfolk. The journey is over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. This is a 20 mile combined bridge with two tunnels crossing the end of the Chesapeake Bay. The winds were evident as one drives over the bridge portions, which is most of the drive. It wasn’t completely white knuckle but I kept my eyes on the road and did not look out or down at the bay.

We had two options to occupy our afternoon in Norfolk. The Norfolk Botanical Garden is lovely, azaleas would probably be blooming, but we had been here once before. The Chrysler Museum of Art would be indoors and warm, and its glass exhibit made us choose it over the gardens. The Museum was setting up for a big bucks donor event tonight but the doors were still open, and free, to visitors.

The glass exhibit took the bulk of our 90 minute visit. The museum states it has one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of glass in the world. The exhibit provides a history of glass making. The exhibits showcase notable techniques and artists through the ages. We could have spent all day going just through the glass but I focused on works that struck me as more unusual or inspiring. A few of my favorites are shown below: early clear glass from Murano, Italy; a huge, red covered goblet from Germany; a blue French vase showcasing new etching techniques; a blown glass vase in varying colors from the Mount Washington Glass Company in New Bedford; and an Italian glass chess set.

Our one night in Norfolk is at a Homewood Suites south of the city. Wednesday morning our journey continues south to Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks.

Chris and Ed, Norfolk VA April 19