On this journey, we took I-64 East to American Heritage RV Park near Williamsburg, VA.
Once our “mobile motel” was set up in pull-through site #57, we were free to start exploring.
From the campground, it was an easy 4-mile drive to York River State Park.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We love Virginia’s state parks! While this one doesn’t have a campground, we first enjoyed the visitor’s center before walking on a trail that offered access to the York River.
When we walked back up from the river, we saw a couple of young Bluebirds. One was wearing a yellow band on his leg, and an adult we saw a little later had multiple bands.
Our next stop was the Croaker Landing Pier. Wayne has fond memories of fishing there several years ago with some of his friends.
The late afternoon sun made bright reflections in the water, and everything was bathed in a warm, gentle light.
It was such a beautiful, peaceful place and I was surprised that the only one fishing was a Great Blue Heron. (We also saw Bald Eagles, but they were too far away to photograph.)
After leaving the York River, it was time for dinner. We drove towards Williamsburg to the amazing Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant. I jokingly said it was kind of ironic to have your Fitbit congratulate you on achieving your daily # of steps goal when you’re waddling back to your table with a full plate of food at an all-you-can-eat buffet. 😉 And yes, it was absolutely delicious!
We made a couple of stops after leaving the restaurant, but returning to the campground that night should have been simple. I’d checked a map earlier in the day, plus I have a GPS in the car as well as various apps (Waze, Google Maps, etc.) on my phone.
In my defense, I thought I knew where I was going….
And it was really, really dark.
So while I was wearing my “Not All Who Wander Are Lost” shirt (from James River State Park), apparently sometimes those who wander DO get lost. Oh well, we eventually found our way back….
The next morning was clear and sunny, with wonderfully mild temperatures for early August. Perfect day for a beach trip!
One of the places we like to eat when we’re in Virginia Beach is Nick’s on Laskin Road near the oceanfront. We arrived just before noon, and they were still serving breakfast–yay! When we were there for breakfast last December, Wayne ordered Soft-Shell Crab Benedict. This time he got Lobster Benedict, which was superb.
After a wonderful meal, we drove up the beach to 64th Street. Although it looks like you’re entering a neighborhood, the road winds back through the woods to one of our favorite places, First Landing State Park.
The first bird we saw along the Cape Henry Trail was an Osprey.
There were actually a LOT of Ospreys!
We also saw an Egret…
….and the biggest surprise of all was seeing an Ibis in this section of the park!
I saw an Ibis when we visited Florida in 2016, but I had NO idea they could also be found in coastal Virginia!
We walked back to the parking area and drove to another section of First Landing State Park that’s bordered by the Chesapeake Bay.
Love the images of the pelicans with a Navy ship as a backdrop!
What you see behind the birds in the next few pictures is the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel.
We stayed in the water for close to an hour at First Landing, then drove to the south end of Virginia Beach near Rudee Inlet. We were ready to enjoy a little early evening ocean time. It was so, so pretty!
Uh, nope….
It was fun to watch the surfers, and Wayne got a couple of good rides body surfing. This was a super nice way to end our day trip to the beach!
On the way back to Williamsburg, we passed the Captain George’s restaurant in VA Beach. Nope, not happening two nights in a row! 😉
We took I-664 North out of VA Beach. The bridge/tunnel on this route is usually less congested than the one at Hampton Roads, plus after so many visits to the James River in various locations, it’s always fun to see where it ends. 🙂
Back at our campsite, Wayne put up our blue LED string lights and started a fire while I took a shower at the bathhouse. We had a simple (unconventional) dinner of quesadillas with avocado, yogurt, and beer.
And then S’Mores happened. 🙂
The campfire started out really smoky because we inadvertently used some damp wood left by a previous camper. It was SO smoky at first I was concerned that it might set off the smoke detector in the trailer! We kept the door shut even after it was burning well, and later–when the fire was almost down to embers–Wayne doused it with water to make sure that it was completely out.
Well. Guess what started shrieking a little after 5 AM? Yep, the smoke detector! I jumped out of bed and unscrewed it from the ceiling–and it immediately went silent. After a quick scan inside the trailer, I grabbed a flashlight and went outside. Nothing. No smoke from our campfire or anyone else’s. I checked the propane tank (which hadn’t been turned on), the vent for the fridge (fine), the water heater (which hadn’t been turned on, either), the electric cord from the pedestal, looked under the trailer, walked out in the road so I could see the top of the roof and A/C–and everything was fine. WTH?!
When I came inside (rechecking everything, and looking and sniffing everywhere), I put the still-quiet smoke detector back on the ceiling. I still have NO idea what triggered it, but that was a totally adrenaline-producing wake-up call! At least we had the option to go back to sleep for a while! (My Fitbit documented this event, too–ha.)
The drive home on Sunday should have taken just under two hours; always a little slower than normal when we’re towing the trailer. Due to an accident between Williamsburg and Richmond, however, it took over three hours….
Finally we saw our beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, and soon we were safely home. We’re so thankful we had the opportunity to go on another wonderful adventure before school starts!
Until next time,
Sharon & Wayne
P.S. – Kian, our 17-year old Siamese, was very happy to see us! We have a wonderful pet sitter, but given Kian’s age and various health issues we don’t like to leave this sweet old boy for too many days at a time. 🙂
