Wind Hold

Now that gasoline prices are on their way to $3 and beyond again, we’ve set out on another RV trip just a week short of a year after the start of our 2006 western trip! We left home on a cool and sunny Friday morning to visit a part of the country that didn’t fit into last year’s schedule.

Our first day was the longest planned, mileage-wise, bringing us 430 miles down through New York State and New Jersey to visit old friends H.G. and Kathy in Ocean View NJ. Saturday brought more sunny and cool (and windy) weather, perfect for walking the boardwalks of both Ocean City and Atlantic City.







Of course, we were duty-bound to visit one of Atlantic City’s casinos – in this case Caesar’s Palace – with Julius himself (assuming that it’s not named after Augustus?) greeting us in the foyer:


Less than half an hour of slot machines yielded a net loss of $15 so we decided to move on. We headed south and spent the evening in lovely Cape May.

After saying good-byes to our friends early Sunday morning, we drove down to Cape May once again to board the ferry to Lewes, Delaware. Saturday’s winds had turned stronger, so the traverse was a bit choppy, but not unpleasant. Gracie met her first Great Dane – “Bruce”, a not-yet-full-grown 160 pound two year-old:



Arriving in Delaware, we chose to meander down Route 1, which runs along a narrow strip of coastal land into Maryland.

Expecting scenic ocean views and marshlands, we were disappointed to instead find the route lined with aging high-rise hotels, strip malls, fast-food franchises, and paved tourist attractions. Although we were unimpressed with the initial entry into Maryland through its Ocean City, the state redeemed itself as we drove inland into the beauty of its lowland farm country.

Continuing down the Delmarva Peninsula into Virginia heading for the Chesapeake-Bay-Bridge-Tunnel, we wondered aloud how a 30-foot RV would handle the crossing in the now 47 mph winds. We weren’t going to find out: the toll booth attendant at the CBBT entrance told us that vehicles of our size would have to wait out a “wind hold” in the parking lot. We pulled over and joined the already formed mixed fleet of RV’s, empty semis (only those with a gross weight of 30,00 lbs allowed) trailer-towing SUV’s/pick-up trucks, and rented U-hauls, and committed ourselves to a few hours of reading, Sudoku puzzles, and making alternative plans.

By 6 PM, it was apparent that we were not going to make the crossing until atleast Monday, so we pulled into a campground not a mile away – the beautiful surroundings of which turned out to be the silver lining behind our cloud.