The Mid-Atlantic Coast: Delaware, Maryland and the Outer Banks

today we continue our east coast road trip through ocean city assateague the outer banks and more [Music] because i'm free in my rv [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh it's still dark well you can kind of look at the moon but in any case why have we awakened that this uh ungodly hour by the way good morning well the only ferry we could get was the 7 a.m ferry and we didn't want to be late so it is 5 53 a.m we're about 10 minutes away should be fine right we're going into delaware [Music] now we wait [Music] it is always exciting to get on a ferry you know change things up a little bit [Music] and off we go [Music] [Music] there's the ss atlantis and the cape may lighthouse amazing how the birds will follow the wake of a ship [Music] the sun's picking out [Music] that would be cape may in the distance i believe [Music] [Music] [Music] there's the delaware breakwater and east end lighthouse yes we're almost there [Music] [Music] it is technically not our first time in delaware but it kind of is in the past we've only driven the 23 miles or so on the i-95 corridor that goes through wilmington and this time around i'm sorry to say the timing isn't really going to work out we're going to drive around the luas here and find somewhere to park it is not a bad looking town let me tell you the peculiar building here on the left is the swanindell museum it is a replica of a dutch city hall commemorating delaware's first settlers the dutch [Music] let's go by the public beach so we can park and take a bathroom break i forget to go on the ferry [Music] very nice sandy beach here nice beach here it says heading parking only but of course i only had to go to the bathroom i doubt they're gonna mind that the parking lot is empty i doubt their mind i'll park here for for just a few minutes and now i mean it's early it's gonna be closed but we're gonna stop by dogfish head one of my first ipas [Music] [Applause] [Music] too bad timing is not gonna work out it seems like such a nice area there are several points of interest around here cape henlopen state park also joe biden's beach house no joke but i doubt they'll let us visit still let's pass by rehoboth beach to see dogfish head brewery and i'm telling you the idea was to take a later ferry so we could arrive here when the brewery was open but timing it doesn't always work out now does it and we already have a hard to get reservation for tonight so it's not like we can change plans [Music] here's delaware seashore state park one of these days one of these days one of these days will pay a proper visit to the first state [Music] [Applause] [Music] we are now in fenwick island and pretty soon here we're going to cross into maryland but first let's stop by the fenwick island lighthouse it is very historic dating back to 1858. unfortunately i don't think we're going to be able to park and it is not open for climbing anyway so a drive by will suffice for today [Music] now to ocean city we go [Music] very touristy lots of hotels and mini golf [Music] here we are ocean city maryland we're gonna stop at one of the back streets to take a break and i was gonna walk around a little bit but realistically speaking i think it is a better idea to go to our campground first drop the trailer and then come back we are meeting up with longtime viewer and friend dale also known as the traveling elk [Music] this happens to be the eastern terminus of us-50 there's the sign sacramento california 3073 miles us-50 of course one of the most important cross-country highways it used to go all the way to san francisco but that section was replaced by interstate 80 in the 1950s it is one of those mythical legendary epic bucket list drives i'm thinking we might do the whole thing in summer 2022 we'll see today we're staying at assateague island national seashore i was able to secure a site at the oceanside campground and there's the verrazano bridge over cinepoxent bay not to be confused with the larger more famous verrazano narrows bridge that we drove on a couple of days ago this one actually has two parallel spans one for motor vehicles and one for pedestrians and bicycles and here we are assateague island on the left behind those bushes that would be the state park campground we're staying a little farther south and here we are at the national seashore i keep saying it there should be like a fast lane for annual pass holders just saying [Music] here we are i got site number two by the entrance [Music] that's our campsite now let's go all the way to the beach there it is the atlantic ocean and these beaches are famous for the wild ponies that roam them hopefully we'll get to see some i kind of wish we would have come in the summertime or at least warmer weather to take a dip in the water and that's ocean city in the distance and that's the view looking south apparently you can drive on the beach and it is very windy out here but a beautiful day nonetheless [Music] let's go back into town no wild ponies yet but i've been reliably informed they come right around sundown [Music] we're going to park here at the inlet parking lot which is free monday through thursday and today happens to be thursday now let's wait for dale he should be here any minute [Music] we are now on the boardwalk and dale here is going to give us a tour it is pretty lively actually especially compared with other boardwalks we've seen lately that would be jolly roger at the pier amusement park the whole boardwalk is almost two and a half miles as far as the eye can see it is a fireman's and a 911 memorial this monument is dedicated to the firefighters of the world and there's a piece of steel from the world trade center [Music] let's check out the ocean gallery it's been here for over 50 years it looks very interesting from the outside but i have no idea what to expect inside and judging by the exterior i was expecting to find something like east jesus inside but not at all actually i am pleasantly surprised [Music] robert there are some horses now you said you saw some yeah just in case they don't show up today here tomorrow [Music] so [Music] here's the owner he's a he's an interesting fellow [Music] [Music] now we're gonna have some world famous popcorn world famous all right so this is it i'm gonna eat some tomorrow i mean tonight the night when we watch youtube an arcade [Music] it's the claw [Music] we're going to have lunch somewhere nearby and dell is leading the way [Music] yes we're going to this place called sunset grill located at sunset marina just a few minutes away from the boardwalk [Music] sunset drill let's check it that's out florida keys vibe to it a little bit nice bar [Music] all right here we are with the traveling elk elise here too there she is and uh we're gonna eat have a good time always good time with robert with dale always a good time too four states dale is the kind of guy who knows how to have a good time and after lunch he said let's go to a brewery and here we are burly oak brewing company at nearby berlin maryland cheers everybody [Music] cheers it was a great time to see dale once again which we've actually bumped into each other along the road in four different states now we're going to end our day by doing a hike at assateague island and maybe we'll finally get to see the famous horses huh [Music] yeah let's go on a little trail here it's only three quarters of a mile average walking time 45 minutes it's longer than i expected but shouldn't be too bad we still have about an hour of daylight left so we should be good let's do it part of the idea of doing this trail is the possibility of maybe just maybe seeing some wild ponies but we'll see [Music] the baltimore boulevard interesting now where are the horses yes according to the sign this used to be a road built in the 1950s destroyed by a storm in 1962 and this is all that remains nowadays [Music] there's some kind of photoshoot going on [Music] don't think we're gonna see any horses i have a bad feeling about this what do you think [Music] yeah it's been a pretty nice trail pleasant but i'm sorry to report no horses no horses to be found oh well we're almost back hello there you're so cute my little pony well yeah lo and behold as we're going back to the campground the ponies are hello there little pony now our day is complete but let's finish it at the beach definitely no wild ponies on the beach at this time [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] i guess the horses never went to the beach maybe they don't like the wind they are staying on the main campground road i see it i'm so excited hello mr cardinale this may not be the most iconic wild setting somehow i was expecting to see them galloping into the surf at dusk but hey at least we got to see some wild ponies and that's the main thing here so it was totally worth our one night stay yeah that's all we could get well we woke up at the crack of dawn in order to see the sunrise how cool is that yeah from here we get to see the ocean city ferris wheel illuminated at this early hour [Music] i still can't get over the fact that they have the lights on on the ferris wheel and how cool it looks from all the way out here like a beacon of fun if you will [Music] fly pelicans and on the other side the nearly full moon [Music] mmm all right it is time to go [Music] oh what do we have here coming up ahead is this like the farewell committee well what do you know we have some wild horses beating us farewell very cool you can never have too many wild horses now can you [Music] so why did the horse cross the road [Music] we've got ourselves a pony jam [Music] and with that we say goodbye to the wild ponies of assateague island now the road will take us farther south to chincoteague in virginia another island inhabited by wild horses now let's see if the weather cooperates because there is rain in the forecast [Music] boom that was a state line right there welcome to virginia thank you well the plan was to go into cincinnati i think that's how i pronounce it there's more wild horses and stuff there but with this weather i'm like let's continue let's get to to our harvest host early you know take a break and then we have the live stream so we might stop you know we have three hour drive so we might stop here and there and we have the the cheese a big bay bridge which is kind of bucket list [Music] well we're about to take the chisa peak bay bridge tunnel 17.6 miles long this is one of those tunnels in which you're supposed to turn off your propane and i did before we left as fatigue but they don't really check they just ask there's a scenic overlook [Music] i am so looking forward to this crossing i have always been fascinated by engineering feats like this one the bridge tunnel was opened on april 15th 1964 and in the 1990s they constructed the parallel trestle as of 2022 construction of a parallel tunnel is underway it has 12 miles of trestle two one mile long tunnels four artificial islands four high-level bridges and approximately 2 miles of causeway [Music] i think we're gonna drive under that war vessel there coming up on the right [Music] yeah i think we just did mind-boggling huh [Music] my [Music] that's virginia beach we're almost on the other side [Music] well we made it through the giza peak bay bridge and tunnel tunnels plural there's two tunnels now we're a little over an hour away from our harvest host for today and yeah gotta take a break [Music] after some torrential rain eventually we've made it to our harvest host the whipping radish north carolina's oldest micro brewery and yeah at some point we crossed into north carolina one of the more difficult harvest hosts when it comes to parking especially if you have a towable luckily at this point i'm like hold my beer i shouldn't brag i still get into pickles from time to time believe it or not oh good morning today we're going to the outer banks hoping for a sunny day here because we brought up the battery down to 30 percent and i don't really feel like like firing up that internal combustion generator but it was sunny this morning this feels more like like fog so hopefully it'll it'll burn off burn up in the next couple hours we're going to kitty hawk [Music] what are you doing up there yeah goats are kind of crazy aren't they and the sun came out as we cross over onto the barrier island chain known as the outer banks [Music] yes i said kitty hawk because our first stop is going to be at the wright brothers national monument but here's a fun fact when the news came out about the wright brothers flight they said it happened at kitty hawk well actually kitty hawk is about 5 miles north of the site but at the time it was the closest town nowadays the actual location is kill devil hills and here we are i was gonna say it again but i am not [Music] well here we are at the very spot where the airplane was invented and uh this is apparently the field so we're gonna go into the visitor center we're gonna see what's going on in there and then see all the all the markers out here that mark at the spot where the first flight took place and the second flight and and whatnot let's go into the visitor center and in true national park tradition they have a race relief map of the scientists and here's a picture of the first flight sometimes i find it peculiar all these events from the past being so well documented and here's a reproduction of the flyer itself the original is at the smithsonian at the air and space museum in washington dc and we saw it a couple of years ago they have all these exhibits explaining all the problems they had to solve in order to achieve controlled heavier than air flight and to these days airplanes operate on the same basic principles of lift roll pitch yaw [Music] here's a piece of the original fabric and the unique engine crankcase that's very interesting now here's the airfield [Music] here we can see reconstructed the hangar and the living quarters from the wright brothers 1903 camp [Music] not exactly roughing it now actually the first year they lived in a tent and then they built the second hangar and moved into the first hangar here we are this would be the very spot where they would would have taken off on this field here the prevailing winds from the ocean of course and those are the markers let's walk over there the markers that mark where they they all the flights landed and this would have been the end of the first flight we just walked it in about probably we could run quicker than that the flight flew here just 12 seconds 120 feet from from the takeoff point back there of course they improved and then the flights became longer there's a more modern aircraft and yes they do have biplane sightseeing tours so they use the launch rail to provide a smooth surface for takeoff let's go see the monument [Music] there's no specific oversized parking but there's no one here by the back and we'll be quick now we're gonna hike all the way up there shouldn't be too bad and wouldn't that be cool to go on a bi-plane ride that almost looks like red baron's plane maybe not another time perhaps here's another view of the site from this higher perspective and we're almost there [Music] oh that's a cool sculpture let's go down there next mini-g3 our trusty home on wheels and the site where history was made the birthplace of controlled powered heavier than air flight and the reason they chose this site the prevailing winds coming from the atlantic ocean well this right here would be a life-size representation of that picture we saw inside the visitor center and it's cool to see it you know 3d you know from that perspective let's go the way around and see it from the photographer's perspective here's the exhibit explaining what we're looking at [Music] let's get a little closer to the action here [Music] do [Music] and this is the perspective we never saw in that picture from the front at least we can imagine whatever that looked like [Music] now we continue [Music] i decided to take the next street over closer to the coast but i realized that seeing the ocean from the road is rather uncommon pretty much everywhere roads like a1a by flagler beach florida or california highway 1 are extremely rare so we're going to get back on the main road which is u.s 158 here on the right jockeys ridge state park home to the tallest sand dune on the east coast we'll be back to explore someday coming up there in the distance the bodhi island lighthouse dating back to 1848 [Music] around here also is the oregon inlet campground which comes highly recommended but that's not where we're staying tonight we're going to drive across oregon inlet onto pea island can't help but compare this drive with one i have done many many times and that would be the overseas highway i certainly get a florida keys vibe from this road is it me or does this feel like a less developed florida keys i mean geographically both island chains are very similar [Music] now comes the moment when robert does something really stupid i wanted to stop maybe climb over the sand dunes see the ocean you know i love doing that but i didn't take into account the fact that the sand was so soft and so loose and so deep and by the time i noticed there was just too much traffic to get right back on the road so eventually friction won the battle over momentum and we got stuck really stuck luckily eventually someone stopped to give us a hand help us out but the camera crashed so i have no video of the rescue to show you whoever you are if you're watching thank you you really did save us a lot of trouble now let's not do that again let's stop to take a break oh it looks like you can drive on the beach but we won't be doing that not until we have a more capable vehicle [Music] [Music] um check it out fly pelican you know i grew up by the straits of florida i basically saw it every day until i migrated at the age of 16 and i love the ocean i love the beach it may seem like a contradiction but along with the mountains and the desert a beach is my happy place if it was just a little warmer i would be jumping in that water right now we continue there is the iconic cape hatteras lighthouse our next stop and here we are there it is famous cape hatteras lighthouse unfortunately as of october 2021 here you're still not allowed to go to to the top kovid so all we can do is just take a picture from this uh disadvantageous position because the sun is right behind us but it is what it is we'll continue we'll be back one of these days the lighthouse was constructed in 1802 and then rebuilt in 1868 after the civil war in 1871 it was the tallest brick lighthouse tower in the world it was moved to its current location in 1999.

well that's the lighthouse back there but now we're going to go to the original location where the lighthouse used to be located which is right by the beach here he's marking the storm surge from different hurricanes wow yeah apparently the shoreline has been receding over the years and while the lighthouse was far away from the from the shoreline in 1852 right now it would have been too close so that's why they moved it we are here so um going towards the water imagine the lives the lighthouse would have been somewhere in that vicinity which let's walk into the beach right now because it's actually a very very nice beach [Music] [Music] such a beautiful day here at the beach i don't really i don't even feel like leaving but we have a ferry to patch so we gotta go but look at that this is this uh this boat right here marks the original location of the the cape hatteras lighthouse right here so close so close to the ocean i can see why it would be a dangerous you know with hurricanes and stuff like to keep it here so in 1999 they moved it over there which is quite a distance must have been quite the feat of engineering all right let's go back let's go back now [Music] we're going to take yet another ferry to ocracoke island which is the next island only accessible by ferry by the way and there's another ferry going back to the mainland but we haven't been able to reserve that one so there is a distinct possibility we may have to backtrack tomorrow not ideal but hey what can you do someone recognized our rig while we waited for the ferry which took about an hour and there's our ride [Music] the distance itself it is not that far but the ferry has to make a big loop to avoid the hatteras inlet crab spawning sanctuary okay let's do it for the delicious crabs nice houses here and minitini3 on a ferry once again [Music] yay pelicans [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] wow what a nice sandbar we definitely have to come back to this area and so much wildlife [Music] we decided to have lunch inside the camper why not [Music] hold on we got ourselves a stowaway [Music] so [Music] [Music] we're staying at the ocracoke campground managed by the national park service because all this is part of the cape hatteras national seashore and it is right here on the left [Music] and there's no one here to greet us i mean we already paid so i guess we just go to our site and that's it right [Music] [Music] this is it [Music] it is a short if steep hike over the sand dune to access the beach of the atlantic ocean and what a beautiful day it is here we are we've made it to our beach in ocracoke island perhaps a little too late in the day and in the season to truly enjoy it but this is a wonderful beach look at that it's a great swimming beach and now it's definitely in the list it's one of those places someday i'd like to return to as you know as i keep saying you know this kind of trip through the coast was more of like an overview a discovery trip in a sense and i knew we're not we were not gonna enjoy fully any of these areas but we'll be back tomorrow it's this is kind of the end of the of the trip in a sense for the next two days we're just gonna drive west towards atlanta actually i wanted to take the other ferry but i forgot the name of the town we couldn't we couldn't uh find tickets it was uh completely booked so we had now we have to go all the way back through the outer banks and then west towards atlanta sunset there is some kind of photo shoot happening and take a look at those colors as another day comes to an end that's a pretty elaborate sand castle let's go into town to grab a quick bite [Music] ocracoke is supposed to be a quirky little town so i'm kind of bummed out we arrived so late 1718 brewing here on the right seems happening but let's see what else there is there are a couple of other places restaurants and whatnot but that first brewery was really happening and we've had good luck with breweries lately so that's what we're going to do [Music] we got fish we got pretzels we got cheese curds and flies that was pretty good good beer good food and lots of fun now let's get back to the campgrounds oh check out the moon rice good morning oh how elegant the flight of the pelican poetic license right fly pelicans [Music] and there it is now tell me did you see the green flash rewind you know you want to do it fly pelican it is magnificent [Music] [Applause] [Music] here we are we're living go for today for a little run here on the beach [Music] this was nice and i've never actually done chicken breast on this grill so we'll see how it comes out this is almost ready oh yeah cheddar grilled chicken sandwich cheers [Music] that's really good well it is with a heavy heart that we depart from paradise we really like this place ocracoke i believe that's how it's pronounced we will definitely return sooner sooner than later maybe spend three or four nights i mean it is boom talking so that kind of limits how long you can stay turn left without going to the dump station and whatnot but in a quarter mile turn right toward north carolina 12. now we're gonna do a resort tonight because i believe we deserve it full hookups we have to do laundry there's a year-long swimming pool so i'm assuming it is heated so looking forward to that and then tomorrow we're going land towards atlanta naturally it is sunday and everybody wants to get back to the mainland [Music] well to make a very long story short an hour and a half later we are at the front of the line where we remain waiting for another hour i think we have time to explore a little bit i think there comes our ride right there that is the line oh my gosh some people do have priority i'm assuming residents employees and this large contraption here that is going to take up half of the ferry hey wait a minute it is my turn i guess they have to get the weight right with that heavy thing on the left hand side here we go yeah they've made a very small dent on that line those people are gonna be there for hours [Music] there goes the next one [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] whoa that thing was heavy it is going to be a busy rest of the day for the ferry that's for sure [Music] this is where we're going to stay at the koa resort i did get a 50 discount with my koa points [Music] yeah this is probably overkill for only one night but it is exactly what we need well after several days dry camping i decided to splurge here with a deluxe site with a koa patio at the koa here at cape hatteras koa resort and it actually does this is the one of the first koa resorts that actually feels like a resort and i imagine this in the dead of summer is going to be a mad house but right now it's half empty it's very quiet it's beautiful the pool looks to be super clean they have a super clean laundry facility that we're gonna use today and yeah we're not gonna take advantage of all the identities but all we need really is one good night with full hookups and laundry we need to do laundry and now we're just gonna have some wine grill some burgers and just uh relax here with the few hours of sunshine we have left saying goodbye to the outer banks [Music] that's gonna be good [Music] looks like halloween is coming soon the swimming pool [Music] let's go see the sunset there's a park right across the road from the koa [Music] how many sunrises and sunsets have we seen now over the past few days all different [Music] so [Music] [Music] i don't think i've ever seen so many pelicans in my life [Music] let's go back to the koa it is probably the largest swimming pool i've ever seen in a campground [Music] well good morning we do have beach access here at the koa yay here we are well you know you know i have to do it at least once right put my feet in the water and it is frigid but it's very nice we'll be back we'll be back to the outer banks for sure and enjoy this marvelous beach look at that in season because right now it's i mean i'm sure if you're from from scandinavia you'll find the water foamy but this florida man finds it you know uncomfortably cold in any case i keep saying goodbye to the other banks but not for real now for real we're uh we're going away from this idyllic place we're gonna have breakfast and we're heading west towards the charlotte area can you tell i don't really want to go but as i mentioned a few days ago we do have to be in miami the 1st of november and we want to stop by atlanta to see family on the way there so the road beckons it is going to be one of those all-day uneventful drives we'll pass by raleigh north carolina's capital city we're going to spend the night at charlotte at the fort mill koa we've been there before riding in my rv wherever i want to be because i'm free in my rv [Music] cause i'm free in my rv driving the pavement rushing under the tires a different time zone you know i'm gonna get higher cause i'm on fire riding i have no idea where we'll end up tonight it doesn't matter cause you know it's gonna feel right because we're writing yeah riding [Music] riding in my rv wherever i want to be [Music] because i'm free in my rv yeah i'm writing writing writing riding in my army [Music] somewhere remote we're gonna boom dark we'll see the milky way or a shooting star if we're in luck oh this is clamping yeah you know it is the way that we like to roll and making memories out here is what nurtures my soul yes i am riding in my rv wherever i want to be because i'm free in my [Music] cause i'm free in my rv [Music] and this is it we've arrived at our north florida retreat also known as pelican i really hope you have enjoyed our fall 2021 season until the next one thank you so much for watching and see you on the road [Music] i'm riding riding in my rv wherever i want to be because i'm free in my rv yeah i'm riding riding writing i'm riding [Music] [Applause] cause i'm free in my rv [Music] wherever i want to be

2022-03-23 07:40

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