Kiptopeke State Park

Another travel day. This one started out with the Honda needing a jump. The key had been left on as we went through our morning preparations and breaking down camp. When we were saddled up and ready to go the car gave a feeble attempt to turn over by couldn’t quite get there. I dug the jumper cables out of the basement and we were soon rolling down the road.

We were only minutes from the Virginia border and it wasn’t long until we reached the famous Chesapeake bridge-tunnel, the 17.6 mile crossing of Chesapeake Bay. There are two mile long tunnels that take you under the bay to allow ship traffic in and out. It was built in the 60s so it is over 50 years old. Hope it doesn’t spring a leak while we’re passing through. I enjoy these kind of things and am always fascinated by the engineering involved. It was an easy commute and just across the water on Cape Charles facing into the bay was our destination, Kiptopeke State Park.

Going Down

Going Under

Coming out from under

The campground is packed for the Memorial Day weekend. We were given a first come first serve reservation when I’d called as that was all they had left by the time I booked the site. We drove around the almost completely full lanes resigned to getting the worst leftover spots in the crowded park but we came upon a tree covered spot on the end where the campers had left today. Their tag was still on the pole maybe discouraging other lookers or everyone else had already been here since Friday but we were happy to find a nice spot with shade and a bit of privacy on one side.

We spread out our mats and got comfortable. PJ’s good friend Diana was coming up from VA beach so we organized camp and she was soon sitting with us under the oaks bringing us up to speed on the latest life happenings here in the great state of Virginia. She and PJ had woman to woman stuff to discuss so I took the paddle board down to the marina and paddled out into the bay. They have sunken a line of old concrete World War II ships to act as jetties and create a harbor like area within their arc. I passed along their hulls then worked my way over by the wooden landings that bring the campers to the western beach area. The current was strong going back so it provided a good workout for the return trip. I passed by the beach where I launched and went over to the quay on the far side where some kayak fishermen were looking for a catch. A few jet skis blew past but other than that there were only a few boats fishing calmly near the line of ships.

Meanwhile, the girls went for a walk

I came back to camp and we cooked up a nice fish dinner and sat around the dinette talking. It was great spending time with Diana, she is always a ray of sunshine. The sun went down and she still had to cross back over and under the Chesapeake so we said our goodbyes. Sorry for the blurry photo, we love you 💕