Cape Henlopen and Assateague Island National Seashore
29 - 30 March 2023
Rather than head straight over to Assateague Island National Seashore we opted to drive out to Cape Henlopen State Park, which is located to the east of the Lewes to Cape May ferry terminal. It was worth the extra hour of driving and we enjoyed visiting both the ocean and Delaware Bay sides of the park. We even got on our bikes and did a short ride down to Gordon’s pond, where there were hundreds of seabirds. It has been perfectly clear blue sky the past two days, but with a really cold northerly wind. I think the combination of thermal heating from the sun and the cold wind created a lot of shimmering and it was hard to get a clear view of the birds even with our scope.
We arrived at the campground on Assateague Island in the later afternoon and it’s perfectly lovely. We had steak, tortolinis and salad for dinner, which was delicious, but you had to eat quickly before the food went cold. Once the sun went down it was too cold to sit outside so we retreated to the tent to read, and probably were asleep before “boaters midnight” (9pm). The wind howled all night and we got up shortly after dawn to white-caps on Chincoteague Bay and temperatures that felt like 32oF (according to our forecast). After coffee and breakfast we headed out to walk along the seashore. It’s tempting to say it’s just a beach, but it is incredibly beautiful and wild. The park was created after the storm of 1964 which destroyed the road and the planned development that was underway. Now there are tens of miles of pristine coastline that will be preserved for the future. Now we are resting back at our campsite. The breeze has dropped and the sun is warm - what’s not to love about this place? Tonight we plan to have a campfire and then tomorrow continue south.
Mike
P.s. I’m editing these photos in the open-air under bright sun, so if the exposures look off then please excuse me - I can adjust them later. This is one aspect that is harder when living in a tent versus living on the boat. Also short of electric power - as we rely on charging using an inverter whilst running the car.
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