July - Beach Hopping!

After a beautiful couple months in NC, we were heading for the Northeast. We decided that the best route north was via the coast. Our first stop was Virginia Beach! T had a meeting for work in the area, but we arrived a day early to explore the area. Our first stop was breakfast with our Aunt Donna, Aunt Elizabeth and Cousin Allen! Aunt Donna & Aunt Elizabeth were in town visiting Cousin Allen. When back in NC, we had plans to see Aunt Donna & Aunt Elizabeth, but we ended up getting sick and couldn’t go. Seeing Aunt Donna & Aunt Elizabeth in VA Beach had a bonus with Cousin Allen being there as well! We had a delicious breakfast at Baker’s Crust and the best fellowship with some of our favorite people!!

After breakfast, we hit the beach! We were exhausted from the concerts, followed by the big party, followed by the very late night drive to VA, so a nap on the beach sounded like the perfect activity for the day.

On Monday, TC went to his meeting while I worked from the van. After work, we headed to Trashmore Park. The park was so cool!! It was a landfill. Back in the 70s, they mixed the layers of solid waste and clean soil to make a park! We walked around the park a while before it started to drizzle, so we headed back to the van to make dinner. A rainy evening sounded like the perfect excuse to go BOWLING! Bowling on the road has been one of our favorite activities! We found a great bowling alley that smelled exactly like a bowling alley should smell. We stayed up too late, but we had the best time!!

While TC was at his business meeting, he told them about our visit to VA Beach. The beach was busy and crowded. They suggested we head to a quiet spot, Little Island. We headed to Little Island after work on Tuesday. It was the beginning of the most perfect nights of sunsets. We were some of the only folks on the beach. We climbed into the lifeguard stand and watched the sunset. It was a beautiful blessing. We made rice bowls in the parking lot before leaving for our sleeping spot.

During our lunch break on Wednesday, we journeyed to Cape Charles, Virginia by way of the Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel. The Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel is 17.6 miles of bridges and tunnels over and under the ocean. YIKES! I do not like tunnels or bridges, so it was not a fun journey-but we made it!

Cape Charles, Virginia is one of the best hidden treasures on the East Coast! We only decided to stop in Cape Charles because it was halfway to our next destination. We had no idea what a gem it was going to be! We first stopped at the ONE coffee shop in town - Cape Charles Coffee Shop. It used to be a bank. It had two floors, high ceilings, and lots of detailed architecture. It was the coolest place to finish out our work day!

Earlier in the day, I read about an ice cream shop in town named Brown Dog Ice Cream. We shared a cone of Rocky Road. It passed the ice cream test! It was delicious and the shop is named after a dog - so it won us over for sure! After dinner, we headed to the beach and ended up seeing the most beautiful sunset we have ever seen! The beach was so cool! The water was shallow, so we could walk out very far. We set out our chairs and watch the sun produce magic. This was one of the absolute best nights of our travels so far!

We decided to attempt to sleep in Cape Charles. We knew we were at risk of being kicked out, but we figured it was worth a try. After we climbed in bed, we received a knock from a very friendly cop. He told us we were not allowed to sleep in a vehicle in Cape Charles. Thankfully, he knocked before we fell asleep, so it was less alarming. He told us there was a rest area about ten miles away that allowed overnight parking. Problem was- it was ten miles back towards Virginia Beach. We loved Cape Charles so much that we decided it was worth back tracking because we wanted to spend the next day in Cape Charles. We headed to the rest stop and had a great night of sleep.

The next day, we spent our lunch break back on the beach. The sun was bright and the weather was warm. The best way to spend a lunch break. We followed up our time on the beach with a popsicle to cool down. I spent the afternoon working from the front passenger seat. I had the perfect spot to watch people walk by and point at the map on the van. It was fun! We love van life, and we love sharing it with others, so we are always excited when we see people interested. We spent the evening watching the sunset again. Cape Charles is a little slice of heaven & the best little accidental find. A lot of our van life journey is planned, but we have found that some of the best memories are made in places that were unexpected. A blessing during the mundane.

Next stop was Ocean City, Maryland! We arrived in Ocean City just in time for the 4th of July weekend. We could not find any great parking spots, so we went into a motel and offered the owner some cash to rent a parking spot. He put us in a great location and we were thankful to have somewhere semi-safe and semi-quiet to sleep. The next morning we headed to a Grateful Dead themed breakfast spot named, Sahara Cafe. If there is a GD themed spot, you can bet we are going to find it! The breakfast was delicious and we loved the music and vibes. A great start to the day! The Sahara Cafe was the best part of our visit. Ocean City wasn’t exactly our vibe, but we did enjoy the beach for the day! And definitely enjoyed the people watching. 🙂

That evening, we received the dreaded 3am knock. Being July 4th weekend and in a beach town, we knew the odds that we would be kicked out were likely, but we also didn’t have to work the next day, so we figured we would attempt to stay and just move on if kicked out. This time, the cops banged on the back window which was TERRIFYING, because that is exactly where our heads are. Thankfully, the cops were very kind. We packed up and moved to the next spot - Bethany Beach, Delaware!

If you’re keeping count, Bethany Beach, Delaware was our 6th beach day, at 5 beaches, in three states in one week. (Technically, we’d been in four states, but we left from the mountains of NC instead of the coast!) What a wild ride the beginning of July was! Bethany Beach was a lovely little spot! We spent the day on the beach with a quick stop in the middle of the day for a drink at Big Chill Beach Club. We listened to a live band while looking out at the water, one of our favorite activities! We took a long nap on the beach and watched another gorgeous sunset before making hot dogs in the parking lot and heading to bed.

Well, you know what happens next. The dreaded knock. We had stayed in this parking lot the night before, but we came so late in the night that the security had already circled through, so we didn’t get caught. This time, we locked everything up and headed to a Cracker Barrel in Rehoboth Beach. All Cracker Barrels allow overnight parking. We don’t stay in CB parking lots often, but we are thankful for them in times of desperation. That day, we spent the day at Cape Henlopen Beach. Another beautiful beach day!

The next day we headed to Atlantic City, New Jersey. We have heard about Atlantic City, but never been, so we thought it would be a fun start! We drove into the area and stayed for approximately 30 minutes before we booked it out of town. It was a very scary area and was nothing like we expected. We did not feel safe and did not want to stick around, so we headed further north to Brigantine Beach. Brigantine was a cute little spot. A small beach, but a beautiful one and a great spot to end our beach hopping week.

We had a whirlwind of a start to July filled with sunshine, and our toes in the sand, and a time with just the two of us, and rest -despite being woken nearly every night! It was a wonderful way to begin our van life journey again after being back in NC.