Virginia Beach’s Other Outdoors
Just a 20-minute drive away, Virginia Beach’s laid-back attitude, thanks in no small part to its 300-foot-wide beach and three-mile-long boardwalk, provides the perfect counterpoint to Norfolk’s stream of new urban hot spots. Virginia Beach draws scores of visitors and transplants from other parts of the country with its soft, golden beach stretching along the intersection of the Atlantic and the Chesapeake, but active groups can also dive into the area’s unique history and wildlife.
Virginia Beach was the first stop of the Colonial settlers who went on to found Jamestown farther inland, and the historic occasion is celebrated at First Landing State Park, where groups can wander the 19 miles of trails with an interpretive guide to see the bay and shore as it was when the first settlers arrived in 1607.
Nearby at Cape Henry, groups can climb the country’s first federal lighthouse, built in 1792, and see the Coast Guard-operated 1881 building, which is still the tallest iron-encased lighthouse in the country. On off days of bad weather, groups can still explore Virginia Beach’s wildlife at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, which has 700,000 gallons of marine exhibits, and the combination art and natural history Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum.
Between Virginia Beach and Norfolk, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, a feat of engineering that was accomplished in just four years, opening in 1964, is an attraction in itself. Driving across the 23-mile-long bridge and tunnel system that connects Virginia’s southern coast and mainland with the enigmatic Eastern Shore, it’s impossible not to feel the shift from urbanity to wilderness. Groups can break up the drive at Sea Gull Island, the southernmost man-made island along its length, to take in the sheer expanse of it all.
Slowing Down in Cape Charles
Many visitors forget that Virginia includes the narrow, 70-mile-long strip of the peninsula across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel that keeps the calm Chesapeake from the raging Atlantic, leaving plenty of exclusive experiences for those who do visit.
“We think of the bridge toll as a serenity tax that keeps Cape Charles from being a bedroom community,” said Tammy Holloway, co-owner of the Bay Haven Inn of Cape Charles. “When you get here, it is really a different world. You can come across the bridge and have that serene experience, and it continues here.”
Once a bustling railroad town with the best shopping on the Eastern Shore, Cape Charles has gradually lost its industry with the end of the train line and the opening of the bridge, which put an end to its position as a freight and ferry hub. Now it is an enthusiastic community drawn by low-priced Victorian homes and a laid-back lifestyle. Using the 22-room boutique Cape Charles Hotel or, as I did, one of the bed-and-breakfasts that has blossomed in the old Victorians as a base, groups can treat Cape Charles as a gateway to many parts of the peninsula.
Groups that love adventure just as much as the finer things in life should try the Paddle Your Glass Off tours offered through a partnership between SouthEast Expeditions kayak outfitters and Chatham Vineyards. Though technically, you paddle first and drink later, these unusual tours combine taking in the shoreline with a tour of the historic vineyards, part of a farm dating back to the 1600s, with a tasting at the end. SouthEast also offers an expedition to dig your own clams, but groups looking for the seafood without breaking a sweat should make a beeline to the Oyster Farm, with sweeping views of the bay and ample opportunities for private dining and tastings.
Leaving It All Behind at Chincoteague
As I made my way up the Virginia coast, the cutting-edge cuisine and modern architecture of Norfolk felt more like something from another life with every passing town, but Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge was the end of the line.
While the town of Chincoteague feels more like a cross between the populated areas of the Outer Banks and Virginia Beach, the beach itself, located on the barrier island Assateague, stretches along softly and quietly. The cries of black-headed gulls, brown pelicans and great cormorants occasionally pierce the sound of the ocean until both are cut off by the periodic pounding of hooves as the island’s famous wild horses take an afternoon run.
Groups can reach the refuge’s beaches by road, but if time allows, it’s better to explore with a mode of transit more suited to island time. Several bike stores in Chincoteague offer hourly and daily rentals. The flat, three-mile-long Wildlife Loop takes you close enough to reach the Assateague Lighthouse with a short walk, while the mile-and-a-half Woodland Trail is known for frequent wild pony sightings. The best pony viewing comes every July during the Pony Swim, a local tradition that started in 1925 in which local firefighters guide a herd of ponies across the water and into town for a parade.
For more information visit the Virginia Tourism Corporation website at www.virginia.org.
