A few weekends ago, James, Anne, and I headed up to the Eastern Shore of Virginia for a little antiquing and snapped these photos on the way. I don't know what it is about January that makes us want to visit the Eastern Shore (last January we visited Kiptopeke State Park and Cape Charles) but I think it must have something to do with how pretty it is there this time of year. This time it was extra-pretty with everything dusted with a thin layer of snow. It was also extra-cold, which explains why there are no people in these photos, both of my subjects refused to leave the safety of the heated car.
The first shop we hit was the Exmore Antique Emporium in Exmore, VA. They had a good selection of jadeite and milk glass, a large collection of paintings, and racks and racks of vintage costume jewelry, from enameled brooches to cocktail rings and hat pins. I fell in love with some Spode china and a vintage barometer (both pictured above). However, everything was priced 15-20% more than I would have liked it to be, so we left empty-handed but it was still fun to browse.

The next place we visited was the Blue Crow Antique Mall in Painter. This is purported to be the second-largest antique mall in Virginia and it definitely felt like it. We tried our best to see as much of the place as we could and spent about two hours browsing but I still think there were a few alcoves we missed. Blue Crow has a little bit of everything but the true standout was the huge selection of nautical items, from fishing floats to nets to a dozen or more antique boat lanterns. They also had a lot of vintage linens and best of all, a heap of what I like to call "church cookbooks" -- you know, those spiral bound books of recipes put together in 1972 or so to raise money for the PTA or local firemen, etc.

The prices at Blue Crow were more reasonable but we still only came home with two things, in the end -- an old oar (I have DIY plans for it) and an '80s-era pink matchbox car (bribe present for A.)

Do you like to go antiquing? Where are your favorite places to go to hunt for treasures?

After visiting Kiptopeke State Park on Saturday, James and Anne and I set off on a little road trip. The toll to get over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore is pretty steep ($17 round-trip), and it seemed like a waste to drive right back without exploring a little more. We ended up spending a few hours poking around Cape Charles, and by the end of the day, decided we'd definitely gotten our money's worth.

(As an aside, I think I've decided that winter is one of my favorite times to visit beach towns. It's not crowded with tourists, which means the locals aren't sick of us yet, and that means we can spend more time talking to them and getting to know the ins and outs of the place. Also, you can have a good scope and find out the best spots -- that way if you do come back in summer, you'll already know just where to go to have a good time. And finally, the beach has a special kind of beauty in the winter -- the landscape is so austere, and without the distraction of sand toys and swimming and boogie boards and sunburn, you can appreciate its beauty a little more. Bonus: THERE ARE NO MOSQUITOES. The Eastern Shore has a little bit of a mosquito problem in summer... my mom likes to tell a story about visiting Wallop's Island for work and looking down to see her nude pantyhose BLACK with the little suckers. Shudder.)

We started off our Cape Charles adventure with lunch at Sting-Ray's restaurant in Capeville. Sting-Ray's is a quintessential stop if you're in the area, one of those places that should be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (if it hasn't been already). From the outside, the restaurant doesn't look like much -- it's actually located inside of an Exxon station. But the food is amazing. Tons of fresh, local seafood, including oysters, crab, and fried drum, navy bean soup and clam chowder, and homemade pies for dessert.


After we ate, we took a turn down a long country road and found ourselves at the old site of Arlington plantation, home to the Custis family (Daniel Custis was the first husband of George Washington's wife, Martha). In it's day, Arlington was the most architecturally sophisticated house in the country and was an important location in Bacon's Rebellion, an important clash between the American colonists and their English governors. Unfortunately, Arlington is no longer standing, but the old foundation has been preserved, along with the family tomb (the O.G. Arlington cemetery) situated picturesquely by the bay.




From there, we headed down to the Cape Charles Historic District, and spent a while walking and viewing some of the town's old Victorian mansions. Did you know that Cape Charles has the highest concentration of Victorian buildings anywhere on the East Coast? The town was planned and built between the 1880s and 1920s, which means every single house we saw was loaded withgingerbread scrollwork, turret towers, and roof gables. We stopped for a while at Central Park and at the Cape Charles beach, which happens to be the only public bayside beach on the Eastern Shore. It was gorgeous, with a seawall and a sweet beach pavilion -- and even a few intrepid swimmers braving the cold, cold waves. We didn't -- we're not that adventurous. But we did promise we'd come back and test the waters when the weather is warmer.




We finished with a trip to Rayfield's Pharmacy, which features an old-fashioned soda fountain and jukebox, where we got chocolate malteds and watched Baby A. boogie down.
 


All in all, it was a rambly day, full of local flavor, new and interesting sights and sounds. The stuff the very best road trips are made of.


Have you ever been to Cape Charles? What are your favorite Eastern Shore destinations?

This past weekend, to celebrate the return to sunshine after a very waterlogged week, James, Anne, and I made a road trip across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to visit Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Kiptopeke is famous for its beaches -- which front on the Chesapeake Bay -- and its birds -- the area serves as one of the nation's most important migratory bird study sites. In fact, the park has a little bit of a bird theme: each of the trails that wind through the woods is named for one of the birds that can be found making their home at the park: Warbler, mockingbird, osprey, peregrine falcon, raptor, and bald eagle.

The trails are a nice mix of terrains, from sand to gravel to boardwalk, and most are an easy walk for kids of all ages (ranging from .2-1.5 miles). Additionally, many of the boardwalk trails (including the one leading to the beach) are handicap accessible.

This was Baby A.'s first hiking experience in which she would be expected to ACTUALLY WALK as opposed to being carried on our backs, so we wanted to make sure that we kept things pretty easy for her little legs to handle. We decided to make a loop: take the Wood Warbler trail to the beach, and the Peregrine falcon boardwalk back to our car: all in all, about five blocks' worth of walking. I am forever grateful to the kind and gentle soul who thought to reinforce the raised boardwalk trail so that no toddlers could slip through the cracks. But I do kind of want to give the guy who decided on all the stairs a piece of my mind. Because you know A. had to climb each and every one of them herself and wouldn't accept any help, no sirree.

No, dada! I do it!

By far, the best part of Kiptopeke was the beach. It was so pristine and remote, acres of pale sand stretching up to the pine forest. The water that lapped up into the little coves was so clear and clean that we could see the sandy bottom, and the sand was littered with beautiful razorback clam shells and shark's purses. Anne collected so many of them that by the time we got back to the boardwalk, our pockets were full.




Besides the beach and the overlooks, Kiptopeke offers a fishing pier, boat ramp, and bike trails, as well as camping and lodge facilities for overnighters (including several yurts -- awesome!) And because we were there late in the day, we got to see one of the best sights the park has to offer: the sun sinking right down into the Chesapeake. Definitely a beautiful thing to behold after all those days of rain.

Click here for more information on visiting the park, including a trail map.




Have you ever been to Kiptopeke? What was your favorite part?