You’d think that getting out of town would be the easy part.
Not so much.
The city we live in sits at the juncture of a big river and a large lake. Sometimes it’s windy, which makes for great sailing, kiteboarding and the like. Big wind can mean big waves. And big waves can make for one rollickin’ ferry ride.
In a feat of physics and geometry, the fellows who run Horne’s Ferry managed to shoehorn 10 vehicles onto the small platform, toss the lines and move us safely from Point A to Point B, bobbing across the roiling waters of the St. Lawrence River. With the ferry holdup, the miraculous shoehorning and the slower-than-usual crossing, it took us about four hours to travel 15-kilometres (9 miles).
This six-week road trip is about finding out what’s unique about life along the lower stretches of the Atlantic coastline – through the Carolinas and Georgia – then turning inland and digging deep into the music, culture and history of the hills and mountains on the return trip north.
So, we packed the camper van, revved the engine, gave our house sitters some last minute instructions (Reminder if you’re reading this: No parties. Recycling goes out on Mondays.) and we were off.
As soon as possible, we connected with salty water: driving down the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) that separates Chesapeake Bay from the mighty Atlantic Ocean. We tested the patience of a bemused local fisherman in Onancock, VA, peppering him with questions about how he cooks clams, oysters, shrimp, grouper and catfish. We went for the clams; scrubbed and then steamed in a mixture of Heineken, chopped tomatoes, garlic and onions.
Next morning we crossed the 30-km (17.6-mi) Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World. Craig took the wheel. Jo “doesn’t do tunnels.”
It’s like magic: we popped out near Virginia Beach, it was a short hop down the coastline to North Carolina and then suddenly we found ourselves in the village of Corolla at the very top of the Outer Banks (OBX, as the locals like to call it).
So, we’re here. One dog. One camper van. Two people. Bring on the beaches and the seafood.