We paid our crazy toll to once again cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to visit Virginia Beach. It was too cold to go swimming, but we wanted to see it.
We walked along the beach, which had a very large section of sand before we got to the water. I’m not sure if it is always that wide, or if we hit low tide. The sand was like play sand, very smooth and fine. There was a cool Neptune statue by the beach, a playground, and on street parking (pay parking).
We saw plenty of sea birds flying around and little holes where crabs or clams might have dug into the sand. We did not see a lot of shells though. We did see a lot of horseshoe crab shells along the beach. I’m hoping that they were molts (found out that horseshoe crabs grow by molting their old shells) and not deceased crabs.
We saw a weird spinal cord looking thing, that we looked up and discovered it was a whelk egg case. Whelks look like conch shells, but like colder waters and are carnivores (conchs are herbivores). Who knew?
We didn’t stay too long, as the wind was strong and it was pretty chilly, but it was nice to see.
For our final stop in South Carolina, we went to Myrtle Beach and stayed at the Myrtle Beach State Park.
The state park does have some nice amenities to it: walking trails, touristy type of shops (1 in the campground, 1 at beach), walking distance to beach. If you are staying in the park, you do not have to buy the daily park pass (as long as you have your window tag displayed).
It was very dark at night, as there were not any street lights throughout the campground. Bring a flashlight if you are taking a walk or going to the bathroom! There are signs about copperheads throughout the park. There was air noise from the airport and helicopter tours. There were a couple of airplanes that flew so low that the RV rattled.
The sites are nicely shaded, although they are long and narrow. The sites had a picnic table and fire pit (with flip down grill). The gates closed and locked at 10:00 pm, although they do give you the code. It was a very weird experience, as you have to get out of your car in the dark near the woods to unlock and open the gate, drive through, get out again to shut it. Having a keypad code for the gate would be a huge improvement. The park also states that there is no alcohol permitted in the campground or park.
The camp store had some souvenir type of items, firewood ($7.49/bundle), ice, and some drinks and ice cream.
There were several bathrooms/showers around the campground. The laundry facility wasn’t too far from our site (in loop 5). Washers and dryers were $2/load.
Bottom image: entrance to the campground (campground to the left, beach to the right)
The beach did not close at night, so we did get a couple of nice nighttime walks in.
There was a patch program for the kids through the state park (a little like the Junior Ranger Program at the National Parks). The Nature Center was at the edge of the campground and was a nice spot to sit and watch the birds at the feeders. It was also a great spot for the kids to find lots of information for the scavenger hunts.
We did not see many animals, other than birds and squirrels in the campground. We did see some crabs, starfish, and a jellyfish at the beach. Nick and I also found shark teeth, which was lots of fun and a new experience for both of us. There were also shells to find, which is always a plus for us at a beach.
CONCLUSION:
CONS: Air noise, the gate, tightness of the campground
PROS: Walkable to beach, campfire ability, shade trees, amenities of park and campground, patch program for kids
If we were in Myrtle Beach, we would stay here again.
Amenities: picnic table, fire pit, playground, community grills in state park, second playground in the state park, close to beach, walking trails in state park, patch program for kids in park
Cabins: Yes (6)
Tent Camping: Yes
Full Hook-ups: Yes
Amps: 20/30/50
Pool: No, but ocean is close
Food On-Site: No
Camp Store: Yes
WiFi: Yes
Fishing: Yes (no license, but daily fee: $8/day ages 16+, $3 ages 3-15)
Today we visited the Cabrillo National Monument. We had missed seeing it before because there is a Naval base in front of it. I thought you weren’t allowed to go through the base, but apparently you do indeed drive through part of a Navy base to get there.
It was very foggy out when we left in the afternoon. Visibility was pretty low in some areas.
We went to the tide pools first. We did get there a little after low tide, so the water had started to come back in. It was still a really neat experience. We saw small crabs, barnacles, hermit crabs, sea grass, and a few anemones! The park did a great job with signs at the top of the entrance labeling different creatures you might see.
After finding several creatures, we headed back up to the Visitor’s Center. The inside of the center was closed the day we were there. The fog had momentarily cleared and we could see the bay area and the downtown area. The Goodyear blimp was out, as well as several boats on the water. It was relaxing just to sit on the wall and watch the bay.
After awhile, we saw a Navy ship coming back into the bay. It had quite the loud horn!
The fog started rolling back in. While it was cool to see it drift down the hill towards the water, it did make visibility in the bay a lot lower. We headed up the hill to the Point Loma Lighthouse and Assistant Keepers house. The Assistant Keepers house had the glass part of the beacon showcased. It was really neat to see. The Lighthouse itself was closed.
The Lighthouse was the original lighthouse for San Diego. However, it actually sat too high and wasn’t as effective because the fog would block visibility of the light. They closed the lighthouse and made a new one at a lower elevation.
The park closed at 5:00pm, which seemed really early. I’m not sure if that is a COVID restriction or it that is the time they normally close. It was a nice park. There are several things to see and the views are amazing.
