We started the day by going a little bit south to get to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge – Tunnel. This is a 23 mile bridge that has two one mile sections of tunnel so the ships can go over on their way into and out of the harbor. When the bridge tunnel was opened in 1964 it was added to the 7 wonders of the modern world list. This is a double whammy for us since Robin doesn’t really like the bridges and while I’m not “afraid” of the tunnels, I’m much less comfortable down there. Maybe I’m a little claustrophobic. They were doing some work in one of the tunnels and we had to wait for about 5 minutes out on the bridge. Robin wasn’t too happy about that but not for the reason you think. There was probably a 6 foot swell out on the water and it being on a fixed bridge and watching that swell out on the water was making her sea sick. I have to admit, looking at it did make me feel a little queasy too. But we managed to make it across without any real issues; I’ve always wanted to take this route out of the Norfolk area and now I have – check that one off the list.
Overhead view of the north end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge – Tunnel.
One of the two tunnels – it’s a little “tight” down here for me
You can see a little bit of the swell on the water – it got bigger farther out.
Next stop on our northbound travels was Lewes, Delaware. Lewes (pronounced Loo-iss) has the distinction of being the first town in the first state. Discovered in 1609 and settled by 32 Dutchmen in 1631. All the Dutch were massacred by a local tribe of Lenni Lenape Indians following a disagreement over a coat of arms that had been stolen by an Indian from the Dutch settlement. The tribe slayed the Indian who stole the coat of arms and presented his head to the Dutch. At the same time, friends of the slain Indian were so upset that he had been killed they massacred the settlement in 1632 in revenge. It was permanently settled 1658 and traded hands a couple times between the Dutch and the English. Okay – enough history…. Our reason for being there was to avoid all the traffic around the Washington D.C. area. I’ve been there – done that, and from now on the ferry will be my preferred way to go.
Our view of the The Cape May – Lewes ferry pulling in from the On the Rocks Bar & Grill
We had a little over an hour to wait for the ferry and the On the Rocks Bar & Grill there at the terminal proved to be the perfect place to sit back and enjoy a beverage & some of the best crab dip we’ve ever had (served with grilled pretzel roll toast – like crostini). The bartenders were charming young women and made the wait seem like it took no time at all. Speaking of bartenders – the bartender on the ferry helped us pick a place to stay here in Atlantic City. He told us that there was a Margaritavile at the Resorts hotel and casino and that they had an outside bar called Landshark’s that was just across the boardwalk and right on the beach. That was all we needed to hear. The hotel is nice and we spent enough time at Landshark’s that sleep was immediate and sound for both of us. Wonderful day with AWESOME weather.
Checking on the bike from the bar on the ferry – it was a pretty smooth ride.
We’ve met a lot of very interesting people today and would like to welcome a couple of them to the blog. Thanks for the Fireball Shiloh, and safe travels to Larry and Tucker.
Great photos! Barbie &I took that ferry ride and the trip over the Ches.
Bridge. Felt like we were out in the middle of the ocean!
DS
Oh hell no! I can’t believe my sister rode over that bridge and lived to tell about it. :p