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P6 TRAVEL 11-16-08 EZ EE P6 CMYK

P6 Sunday, November 16, 2008 R The Post The Long Weekend Eats · Sleeps · Adventures · Short Flights · Etc.

D.C. Annapolis 66 50 DEL. Where to Go, What to Know 301 MARYLAND C h e Salisbury Writer Melanie D.G. Kaplan traveled the s Fredericksburg a p Ocean e Chesapeake Bay -Tunnel. Here’s her a City 95 k 17 e reporter’s notebook.

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a y Richmond 13 64 Detail DRIVE TIME COST Atlantic About $12 toll $ VIRGINIA Ocean three hours $102 bunk house in park 95 Norfolk

58 0 25 NORTH CAROLINA MILES GETTING THERE The southern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is VA. 0 5 Cape Charles about three hours from the Capital Beltway. Take MILES 184 Interstate 95 south 100 miles to I-64 east. Follow signs Chesapeake for the bridge. The CBBT Commission accepts E-ZPass, Bay 13 and it provides drivers for travelers who have fears associated with making the journey. Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel WHAT TO DO The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (757-331-2960, www.cbbt.com) charges a $12 toll. It has a free fishing Hampton pier, where travelers can cast for bluefish, trout, rockfish 13 1 Atlantic and flounder. It’s 3 ⁄2 miles into the ocean and open 24 64 Sea Gull Ocean Island hours a day, with restrooms, fish-cleaning stations and a 60 certified weighing station. On Nov. 29, fish there for 60 striped bass (and cash prizes) at the Rock Around the VA. Virginia Clock Pier Fishing Tournament. SouthEast Expeditions Norfolk Beach (32218 Lankford Hwy., Cape Charles, 757-331-2680, 2004 PHOTO BY STEVE EARLEY — ASSOCIATED PRESS 264 www.sekayak.com) offers kayaking trips year-round Portsmouth The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has four man-made islands where drivers transition between roadways that sit above the 64 such as a Kayak Winery Tour to Chatham Vineyards that water and lanes that run beneath shipping channels. About 5 million cars take this route every year. BY GENE THORP — THE WASHINGTON POST includes a bottle of wine per couple. Two hours $45; half-day $85; full day $125. Bay Creek Railway (weekend trips depart from Mason Avenue in Cape Charles, 757-331-8770, www.baycreekrailway.com) is a Virginia’s Bay Crossing: Hardly a Bridge to Nowhere restored 1913 Interurban Dining and Excursion car that began its round-trip runs in May. Through December, lowed locals’ advice and ordered the flounder sand- Refuge (which has free public tours Saturdays through there’s a four-course dinner Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. ($65 By Melanie D.G. Kaplan wich. Someone had described the size of it as a “two- mid-March), I realized that the communities on each per person) and all-you-can-eat pizza Saturdays at noon (adults $18, children $14, plus tax and 18 percent tip). Special to The Washington Post by-four on bread,” and that was more or less accurate. I end couldn’t be more different. bought saltwater taffy at the gift shop and walked Dar- While the southern end caters largely to the military, Saturday “Fun Runs” will start again next May. The After a morning of driving down Interstate 95 and win to the end of the 625-foot pier, where she sniffed the northern end is so peaceful and remote that it felt Barrier Islands Center (Route 13, Machipongo, 20 miles then I-64, my beagle Darwin and I finally arrived at our bait and fishermen. like a trip back in time. Residents of the Eastern Shore north of the bridge, 757-678-5550, www. destination. The traffic was behind us, and we rejoiced Before the trip, I had tried to imagine a tunnel in the are justifiably protective of their delicate ecosystem, barrierislandscenter.com) is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 by opening the windows and sniffing/inhaling (respec- middle of water and kept getting hung up on a couple of and several folks said they were thankful for the $12 a.m.-4 p.m. and has relics and artifacts from the area. tively) the ocean air. Then we pulled up to a tollbooth structural riddles: Could you look out your window and bridge toll to keep the masses from invading their ha- STAYING THERE and bought our $12 ticket, getting a couple of dog bis- see the waterline as you went underwater? How was ven. Nobody wants it to become Virginia Beach North. Kiptopeke State Park (3540 Kiptopeke Dr., Cape cuits in return. Seat belts fastened, arms and floppy water kept out of the tunnel entrance? Fortunately, a lot of the coastal land is under protec- Charles, 757-331-2267, www.dcr.virginia.gov) has ears secured in the vehicle, we began the mother of all Fortunately, crafty engineers figured it all out, and tion, including the wildlife refuge, where I paddled camping facilities and rents RVs, new lodges and beautiful East Coast rides — across the mouth of the Chesa- islands are the perfect solution: They allow drivers to through saltwater marshes with kayak guide Dave Bur- yurts (yurts available peak season only). Check online for peake Bay. enter the tunnel before they’re underwater. But it start- den. “We’ve got the best paddling in the mid-Atlantic,” reduced offseason rates. Pets allowed. The pet-friendly The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is one of the ed to make real sense only when I walked around the he said. Rittenhouse Motor Lodge (23054 Lankford Hwy., Cape world’s longest such complexes. But the 17.6-mile jour- first island and saw the tunnel entrance from the side, a As we paddled through a maze of tall cordgrass dot- Charles, 757-331-2768, www.rittenhousemotorlodge. ney from shore to shore is just as much a nature ex- boulder-covered area that looks somewhat like a jetty ted with tiny periwinkle snails, Dave explained that mi- com), 10 miles north of the bridge, is a homey throwback cursion as an engineering spectacle. After maneu- and disappears into the water as the tunnel descends gratory birds pass through the area, but the refuge is to a ’50s motel. Rooms are $75-$85. The Charlotte vering through Hampton congestion on the below it. The fact that everything, down to the islands also a prime wintering area, thanks to the mild climate. Hotel (7 North St., Onancock, 757-787-7400, www. southern end, the CBBT — not to mention the sanctu- themselves, is man-made reinforces the feeling of being That night, I drove into Cape Charles, a former rail- thecharlottehotel.com) is a boutique hotel with one of the ary on the other side — felt like freedom. on a ride: a slow-moving roller coaster. boom town where only a couple of houses on each area’s best restaurants. Rooms $110-$180. Until the bridge-tunnel opened in 1964, the only way For someone like me, who loves being on, near, over block showed any signs of life. At Kelly’s Gingernut to get from the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area to Vir- or in the water, the and tunnels were fun. But a Pub, I met just as many folks visiting for the weekend EATING THERE ginia’s Eastern Shore was by ferry, which took 90 min- fleeting second of panic in the tunnel (even knowing as town residents: A foursome came to play on the Jack Sea Gull Pier Restaurant (on the Chesapeake Bay utes on a good-weather day. Now, about 5 million cars the tunnels are constantly monitored from a control Nicklaus- and Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses at Bridge-Tunnel, 757-464-4641, www.cbbt.com) offers use the bridge-tunnel every year. It consists of more room) helped me understand that this crossing would Bay Creek Resort & Club, and a Virginia Beach couple nearly every fried fish platter you can imagine — and a than a dozen miles of trestled roadway over shallow not be fun for everyone. stopped en route to the Chincoteague Oyster Festival. killer view of the bay. It’s worth stopping for dinner at water; two mile-long tunnels; two bridges; four man- The other three islands looked unremarkable, but Darwin and I spent the night at Kiptopeke State Sting-Ray’s Restaurant (26507 Lankford Hwy., at the made islands that anchor the tunnels; and nearly two for migrating birds all that concrete, steel, asphalt and Park. After sunrise, we walked to the beach, where I Exxon station, Cape Charles, 757-331-1541, www. miles of causeway. The tunnels run beneath two impor- rock in open water seems to be the Mardi Gras of rest saw an oddly beautiful sight: a row of concrete World cape-center.com) just so you can order a glass of wine at a tant shipping channels used by the U.S. Navy and com- stops. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, only birds War II ships that I later learned forms a breakwater and gas station. Aqua (Bay Creek Marina Village, Cape mercial vessels. It’s not uncommon for drivers to see an have full access to these spots of land; humans, mostly artificial fishing reef about 1,500 feet offshore. Charles, 757-331-8660, www.baycreek.net) is one of the aircraft carrier entering the bay. birders, must obtain a permit (through CBBT’s Web After breakfast in Cape Charles, Darwin and I mo- few fine-dining options in the area, with an international Our first stop was at the southernmost island, the site, www.cbbt.com/birding.htm; $50 per hour). seyed up the coast on Route 13. We stopped in towns wine list and one of the best sunset-watching perches in only one open to the public without a permit. It was The bridge-tunnel attracts tourists, and it transports where businesses give directions by indicating the town. Kelly’s Gingernut Pub (133 Mason Ave., Cape 1 windy and overcast, and I felt a lot farther than 3 ⁄2 locals. But as I headed across the bridge and drove past number of miles they are from the bridge. The pastoral Charles, 757-331-3222, www.freewebs.com/ miles out to sea. At the Sea Gull Pier Restaurant, I fol- part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife landscape made me want to stay another day . . . or kellysgingernutpub) is the Cheers of Cape Charles, housed three. But soon we hit the Maryland border, and too in a century-old bank building. (You can even dine in the soon thereafter we crossed back to the mainland on the vault.) Wednesday Next Sunday other bridge, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. FOR MORE INFORMATION MORE And just like that, our bargain Eastern Shore ride REGIONAL Escapes searches for distant galaxies The Long Weekend explores the only Eastern Shore of Virginia , 757-787-8268, www. TRAVEL was over. Taffy and tollbooth biscuits were dwindling, esvatourism.org, or Northhampton County Chamber of in Green Bank, W.Va., in Style. property in Virginia commemorating but I felt at peace, knowing that little snails, fresh fish, a slave, in Travel. Commerce, 757-678-0010, www. soaring birds, maritime bliss and freedom were only a northamptoncountychamber.com. few bridges and tunnels away.

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Rehearsal dinners, weddings, meetings, catering. enjoy your stay! luxury area. RIVERSIDE TOWER, Riverside & 800-223-1728 www.redfox.com BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Long & Foster Resort Rentals 80th . For more information & FREE Gift Certificates Brochure call 212-877-5200 or 800-724-3136 10 charming beachfront cottages & restaurant on or visit www.riversidetowerhotel.com almost uninhabited COOPER ISLAND. Small and friendly. Rent 3 nights & get the 4th free! Enjoy WEST VIRGINIA Wonderful snorkeling, SCUBA & boat trips. $125- $220/night or $1990/week for 2 persons including meals. Inns, Lodges the holidays in a mountain or lake home, BROCHURE: 800-542-4624 www.cooper-island.com townhome or condo. Pet friendly! NORTH CAROLINA & Villas The Highland Inn ~ Monterey, VA An Autumn Escape to ST. JOHN Virgin Islands Villas 800.336.7303 Historic country inn in quaint & picturesque town. Rooms with Luxury 3&4 BR villas or1&2BRcondos @ Gallows Pt., Battery Hill Wednesdays in STYLE www.DeepCreekResort.com Continental breakfast from $79. Dining Wed.-Sun. Fine shops The Woods! or Lavender Hill. 15% off any property if booked by yr's end! Excl. & much more! www.highland-inn.com 1-888-466-4682 Xmas + some holidays. www.suitestjohn.com 1-800-348-8444 Sundays in TRAVEL Chesapeake Bay Waterfront Plan your fall getaway now & get ST. MAARTEN www.beachsidevillas.com for Advertising St. Michael’s, MD. Harbourtowne Resort $25 in Escape Bucks with a Oceanside 1, 2, 3 BR Luxury A/C villas Enjoy a romantic getaway with a waterfront room over- 2-night Walden or Evergreen 50 Ft. from Ocean. Swim/stroll on 2 miles info/rates call: looking the Chesapeake Bay. Pete Dye Golf Course, Pool, secluded beach, freshwater pool, fully Tennis, Free Wireless Internet. Golf & Meeting Packages! THE MIMSLYN INN Lodge stay. Enjoy lodge rooms equip. kit. BBQ grills. 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