Today is a completely different story. We left OBX just after 10 this morning, since we only had 96 miles to our next destination. US 158 heads north out of KDH, crosses over Currituck Sound, and settles in to a nice four-lane highway. It being Saturday, a great number of visitors were arriving to enjoy the 90+ degree heat and the pristine beaches! This photo was taken 17 miles from the Outer Banks, where a steady stream of cars inched along toward the coast. Going in our direction, north, the traffic was light but steady.
Driving through Harbinger, Grandy, Coinjock and Currituck got us to the Virginia state line. At that point we got on the Chesapeake Expressway (toll) and headed north.
Passing the city of Chesapeake, we joined I-64 south of Norfolk. A few miles north, and we turned east on I-264 toward Virginia Beach. Here's where it gets interesting: This all looked so simple on Google Maps yesterday, but today we found out....not so. The Interstates are a confusing mess of spaghetti in this area as far as I'm concerned! Just about the time we knew where we were going, some construction blocked a few lanes and we were lost again. The dash GPS was yelling, Donna was looking at the map on the iPad, and I was relying on yesterdays memory to get through the mess! Add to that an unexpected Downtown Tunnel under the Elizabeth River where we had to stop and be inspected. Propane tank off....check. Back on the Interstate. Whew! Eventually, though, at exit 22, Birdneck Rd, we bailed off and headed for our destination, the Holiday Trav-l-Park on General Booth Blvd. This rv park is specifically designed to stuff as many rv's into as little space as possible. With over 800 sites in a location just a few miles from the beach, boardwalks, and theme parks, it is a prime spot for families to spend a few days. At $69 a night, however, maybe not a long time! We are in site 34, one of the cheap seats without cable TV. We do have full hookups, though, but there are so many trees that OTA tv channels are unavailable as is satellite reception. Oh, well, might have to actually talk to each other! Wifi is a pay-per-use system that we won't subscribe to.
About 4 this afternoon, the skies darkened and the thunder started. A few sprinkles later, a great jagged bolt of lightning shot across the sky, and the ka-boom shook the motorhome! Then the rain really started. As I write this, it has been raining steadily for about 3 hours. The good news is that I was able to wash the front of the motorhome using only rainwater! We hit a number of huge butterflies today that left splats some 3 to 4 inches across, and of course, one of those was directly in front of the driver!
The temperature has moderated to 80 degrees, and strangely the weather app says that the humidity is only 84%. Hmmm.
Our only reason to be in Virginia Beach is to cross Chesapeake Bay using the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Good friends mentioned it, and we wanted to take Nessie through the tunnel/bridge system last year, but couldn't make it happen. The CBBT is the world's largest bridge-tunnel complex and incorporates a system of tunnels connected to islands. But more on that tomorrow!
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