Ghost Town

We are in full vacation mode. We were out of the hotel bright and early at 10:45. Our destination today was the Assatague Seashore. This is a national park running along the seashore starting in Maryland and ending in Virginia. You have to decide though which side you want to visit, you can’t drive between them in the park.

We chose Virginia because it was a further drive. No we chose because Virginia due to a better reputation for wild life and they had a lighthouse. The drive down took us through rural Maryland which is mostly forest and farmland. It was not what I had imagined, I had pictured more coastal sandy land. 

The other surprise is how empty it is appears. I guess the people are concentrated in the urban areas but somehow they 6 million people into a pretty small state.  I think they are mostly packed into Baltimore and the part surrounding the District of Columbia.

The park was really nice and the weather was about perfect. 65 degrees, a nice breeze and sunny skies. It has a historic light house which is currently closed.  We did a bit of hiking both through the Marsh areas and around the Beach. The area is known for its feral horses and we saw many but only at a distance. They seemed content to graze far away and had little interest showing off for the tourists.

After the park we took a quick break and then headed back to the Boardwalk for sunset. We are in the free parking season which is nice. Parking is not an issue, the city is a ghost town. 

We chose to park at the inlet lot which is a massive city lot at the southern tip of the city. When I say empty, I mean empty. We could have had the space closest to the Boardwalk but chose one over.

Before the Boardwalk, we stopped at the inlet to watch the sun set. There was a fishing boat heading out and we watched a pod of 15 plus dolphins frolicking in the inlet and just off the beach. We chatted with a fisherman who was not having much luck. All the fish he caught were below the limit and he was tossing them back.

The Boardwalk was even emptier than Sunday and just a handful of shops were open. We strolled a bit and watched some of the lights before heading out for some food.

On the Boardwalk (#26 Maryland)

 

Number 26 in the countdown, we have landed in Maryland. We got an early-ish start. The weather had turned cold for us Floridians, 52 degrees. Our North Carolina departure was easy and we were soon cruising along at 9000 feet crossing Norfolk.

Visibility was good and we had a clear view of Newport News and Williamsburg where CC and I vacationed decades ago. While we stayed within gliding distance of land, having the second engine felt really good as the water looked rough and cold.  Crossing the shore we headed out over Chesapeake Bay. There were about 15 bulk cargo carriers moored but the only container ship we was steaming out to sea.

Our arrival into Salisbury was easy but windy. Official weather was 13-18 but it seemed pretty steady at 18 knots. Usually the Baron rolls and rolls on landing but with the wind it seemed like we slowed pretty quickly. It’s not a busy place, tower had us taxi down the other runway and right into the FBO.  There was even a line person to marshal us into a spot.

Her instructions were not really clear but we are pretty good at parking, we found out she was new to the role.  She had never fueled a Baron and I was glad I stayed around to give her some pointers as a careless fueler can tear a bladder leading to a leak and an expensive repair. After making sure the plane was in good shape we asked about our car which was nowhere to be seen. Avis had promised to deliver it and I had reconfirmed the day before but they had been short staffed and it had not been dropped off. 

The FBO had us covered and the novice line person ran us over to the terminal, we learned more of her story, she was in college studying to be a pilot and on track to enter the military.  The car issue was a bit ironic. We chose to land at Salisbury rather than the closer Ocean City Airport because one had Avis and one had a car dude that the reviews said was less than reliable. In the end Avis was a minor inconvenience while the car dude was known to have left many a pilot stranded.

Problem solved, we were off to Ocean City, MD. After arriving we went to see the famed Boardwalk. Our hotel is a block from the water and near the North end of the boardwalk. We walked about 2.5 miles South to the pier which meant we had to walk 2.5 miles North as well. We ended the day with 6.5 miles total.  Not bad for vacation.

The boardwalk was quiet. Many places are closed as the season is officially over. I can imagine in the summer it is quite packed. It has a very touristy feel with a mix of food, shops and hotels.  Just looking at the signs I gained weight, they seem to be able to deep fry anything, sort of like the county fair but fixed in place.  Lots of T-shirt opportunities as well as piercing.  I am not sure I ever considered going to the beach to get pierced but it seems to be popular.

It is a nice beach but coming from Florida, I think ours are better.  We walked back off the beach and got a feel of the neighborhoods and businesses.  I had read about a popular sandwich shop which we intended to patronize on the way back but upon arrival it was closed for the season (See ya in May 2022 was a popular sign).  I still don't see how they make it on five months nor why October is out as it has similar temperatures to May.

Kicking back

The first thing I did Saturday was sleep late. While we have ambitious plans on some vacations, this week was about relaxing. We finally rolled just before 11 and headed off to Fort Macon. Our goal was to see the outer banks and the Fort seemed like a good place to start.  It is not a really big fort, but it was pretty typical of ones from the 1800s that we had visited. Mostly bricks and dirt with cannons on the walls. The views were nice and we enjoyed looking around and getting some exercise.

After the fort we headed off to Beaufort, NC. We had considered taking the Ferry out to some of the Beaches but our late start made that plan less practical. We decided to walk about and enjoy the little town.  I must say parking was confusing. All the spaces are numbered but there were no signs showing how to pay for parking. I looked up the city parking site and found out that in the off season, parking is free. This happened September 24 in Beaufort. It would be nice if when they took down the pay parking signs, they put up some other guidance.

There is not too much in Beaufort but there were some nice expensive yachts and some typical tourist town stores.   After wandering, we headed back and stopped by Atlantic Beach, yes this is the third city name borrowed from somewhere else. I didn’t realize that there is one set of names and all the states have to share them.

Atlantic Beach also had confusing parking and it was also free after August 31. We were getting hungry so we tried to get a table beachside but they were all full. We put our name on the list and went for a stroll on the beach.

It was quite windy and the sand is softer than at home so it was a good workout. After a 30 minute stroll we returned and our table had opened up. After showing up to a busy patio, as soon as we arrived everyone left. The food was ok and we enjoyed fish and chips watching the waves break.

It had been a pretty warm day with highs in the mid 80s. The skies had been clear and blue all day so it was hard to believe that the forecast was for 54 degrees in the morning. When we returned to the hotel it was still quite warm but around 7:15 we picked up some food and by the time we came back, it felt like the temperatures were dropping fast.

Even though the skies had stayed clear, we had watched the radar and a line of rain was coming. The rain stretched from Wilmington to Maine. At the tail end it was just a few miles wide, up North it was 120 miles wide. We were getting a bit lucky in that the weather was coming through and clearing by morning. Right on time around 8 we had some quick rain and then the temperature really started to fall.

Last task was planning the flight to Maryland. I usually file direct but we were starting to enter the busy North East airspace so I figured I better get with the program. I filed PEARS V139 CCV and the computer promised this is what I would get, we shall see in the morning.  

Jacksonville to Jacksonville

There are 23 cities named Jacksonville in the USA, I have now slept in 2 of them. Our trip from Jacksonville to Jacksonville took 2 hours. The weather was good and I was going to complain about the headwind given that I was East bound but it wasn’t too bad. I actually used 2 gallons less than I had planned.

The flight was sort of boring. Without weather to worry about, and a route that I had flown most of many times before, it was a simple matter of flying up the coast and making a slight right. The initial climb was slower than I liked because of crossing traffic but we were soon at 9000 scooting along at 212 mph true airspeed. The controllers tried to be helpful by giving us direct but that involves too much water, even with a twin. We flew to CATHY before heading direct.

Most of the flight had enough clouds below to make it hard to see the ground. We did notice lots of freighters parked off Savannah. Reminder, do your holiday shopping early. It cleared around Myrtle beach and sliding past Wilmington, we spotted our runway 30 miles out. We had been flying a heading of 52 degrees and we landed runway 5 so in a sense we flew a 250 miles straight in final.

The airport has air carrier traffic but other than one other small plane departing, we had the place to ourselves. Skyport is the FBO and they had 2 people meet us. One parked and fueled, one gave us cold water, brought our car and made sure we filled out their arrival form. Most places just want your cell number, I think they would have taken a full medical history if they could.

All kidding aside, it’s a really nice facility and the staff were friendly and efficient. Once fueled we headed out and dropped by our hotel to drop our stuff and grab a bite. Our next destination was Surf City. We came for the Outer Banks and Surf City is technically South of them but we thought it would be fun.

With afternoon traffic, who knew Jacksonville, NC had traffic, it was a bit of a drive and we pulled into the Beach Parking at 5:01. We looked at the sign to determine how to pay for parking and realized we lucked out. You must pay for parking from April 1 to October 15 from 9 AM to 5 PM. Somehow we arrived 1 minute after they stopped charging for the season.

We headed down to the Beach to look around. There is a large fishing pier which we decided to explore. You have to pay $10 per pole but you can look for $1 per person. Half goes to upkeep the beach and your entrance is good for 2 days.

We walked the pier and saw lots of poles but no fish at first. At the end of the pier we found the serious fishermen and started to see some fish come in. The main catch seemed to be mackerel about 12-14 inches long. The consensus was that they are quite tasty with a mild flavor.

The fishermen were quite nice and we enjoyed chatting and taking pictures. The ones at the very end had a complex setup. They had cast out anchor lines far from the pier and used them to set bait by sliding a separate line down the main one. This allowed them to have several lines off one master line. While technically cool, we never saw them catch a fish.  The gentleman below was showing off his catch when it decided to make a break but was quickly recaptured.

After we were fished out, we wandered the beach a bit and then thought about food. We didn’t quite want dinner yet so we found ice cream instead. I went with soft serve which is unusual for me but was quite good. The sun was setting so we packed up and drove North through North topsail Beach and then back to the mainland.

After a quick dinner, we settled down for the night. This is a bit of an odd trip. We have no real purpose other than to get away and relax. Our first 2 destinations are places I once intended to drop by and had cancelled because of weather. Our other destinations have their own stories which I’ll write about later.

I like it!!!

I was never a big night flier.  I'm not per se afraid of the dark but in a single engine plane, the risk is much higher at night.  In the event of an engine failure, during the day you usually have good options and while the plane might not be in good shape after a gliding arrival, the passengers stood a very good chance.

At night, you just can't see the ground well enough.  I used to fly a bit at night just to keep practiced but I always had a bit of apprehension on night flights.

I was surprised how much the Baron changed my perspective.  Having two of everything provides a lot more comfort and redundancy.  I have done a lot more night this year than I would typically do in 2 or 3 years and we are just entering the short days.

Night has some advantages too.  Typically the air is smoother.  There is less traffic around and it's usually easy to see traffic.  Not only does the twin provide a second engine, I also have a second alternator so losing one means I have to land but I still have plenty of electricity.

Saturday we decided to go on an evening flight.  Technically this did not count as night because we landed about 20 minutes after sundown and it wasn't totally dark yet.  Leaving 45 minutes before sunset, the sun seems really high given that it needs to hide in just a few minutes.  

We went North and watched the sun sink while enjoying the pretty colors.  We didn't get a true sunset as the sun jumped behind some clouds before disappearing for the night.  After the sun was gone we flew over JAX International and enjoyed the views of downtown in the twilight.

The wind had died down and we were the only people around on a Saturday evening so the tower gave us the pick of runways.  this allowed us to make a pass by the beach before lining up for a straight in to 32 which minimized our taxi back.

The plane was soon away in the hangar and we were off to dinner.