Days 25-26

Saturday/Sunday-May 15/16

We left Paul and Joy's on Saturday morning after a delicious breakfast of coffee, juice, and  home made almond sweetbread. Our destination for the day was Grimesland, NC, the home of Paul & Pam Gares, long time friends from my days at Middlebury.  

Finally found a Steak-N-Shake for lunch around Winston-Salem.  It did not disappoint.

Paul & Pam

Arriving at Paul & Pam’s home around 4 pm, we spent the remainder of the afternoon catching up and reminiscing as we sipped fine wine and nibbled on cheese and a melon wrapped in proscuito.  For dinner our hosts prepared a delicious dinner of "chicken shish kebabs in a cumin, turmeric, garlic, coriander marinade with couscous mixed with a mustard/apricot sauce."  We continued to chat well into the evening before turning in.

In the morning Pam prepared homemade scones with raisins and apricots to go along with the fresh OJ and cappuccino.  We said goodbye around 10 AM, knowing that we’ll see them both in less than a month. 

 

Our next destination was the Assateague Island National Seashore located on Maryland’s eastern shore.

I don’t know much about Cape Charles.  There were lots of beautiful old homes and many newer vacation homes and condos. Thanks to her research, Joni discovered a waterfront restaurant, the Oyster Farm Seafood Eatery, which was part of a vacation home complex for the well heeled as evidenced by the Aston Martin that was parked next to our Ford in the parking lot.  For lunch Joni had fried haddock and chips and I had a cup of “she crab chowder”, fried oysters, and chips.  Both our meal and the setting were delightful.

Water tank or light house?

We continued on to Assateague, arriving around 5 pm, set up camp, made a fire and enjoyed the view of Sinepuxent Bay, as we dined on toasted oats, blueberries, raspberries, and milk.  

Campsites throughout the country are being reserved faster than ever this season, and the National Parks locations are no exception, and in fact are the hardest sites to reserve.  We reserved ours months in a advance and were only able to secure a site for one night.  We visited Assateauge last October, but did not stay there. The island is well known for the wild horses that roam throughout the park, and we saw many of them during our brief stay.  Including some 3 day old foals!