More favorite bird photos

September 29, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / 25 Comments

Baltimore Oriole with Sparrow in the back

On the nectar feeder

Back and tail plumage

Sandhill Crane

Baby Sparrow(?) after rain storm

Evil eye Grackle

Turkey Vulture warming its wings

Pileated Woodpecker taking off

Our nation’s symbol: Bald Eagle

A family outing

Here are a few more of our favorite bird images. The Turkey Vulture and Pileated Woodpecker are on the top of the same utility pole. The waterlogged little fledgling was blown out of the nest during a storm. Parents did tend to it, don’t know the outcome. We caught the eagle on a whale watching cruise around the San Juan Islands in Washington State. And the family of ducks was enjoying a walk in the town of Chincoteague on the island of the same name, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Tom’s Cove Park on Chincoteague Island, Virginia

June 17, 2015July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / 2 Comments

Fishing piers at the park

Tom’s Cove Park is one of two large RV parks on Chincoteague Island on Virginia’s Atlantic shore. The RV park was our stopping point for a couple of days during our jaunt up and down the Delmarva Penninsula.

The park is easy to get to, just turn left on the main street when you cross the bridge at the end of the causeway leading to the island. There will be a nice drive along the inner waterway and you will see the signs to the park.

The park has over 900 sites with about half being seasonal rigs. There are sites for tents as well as the big rigs and everything inbetween. They offer free WiFi which actually provided a strong connection. The cable TV was available at our site, but it was poor quality.

Sher getting a little computer work done

Restrooms and dump stations are scattered around the park, although there are plenty of full hook up sites as well. The store/registration office is very large and stocks a bit of everything from food to power cords to bait.

The water is close and several private fishing and crabbing docks will make this a delightful place to wet a line or set the crabbing pots if you are so inclined. There is also a boat ramp and marina on the property.

Working lighthouse you can see after dark from the park

Camp store/registration

Take a drive through the park and check out which site you want. This is a suggestion I would make. Had we done that before we registered we probably would have picked a different site. There is quite the selection of sites in the park. Staff are friendly, fellow campers are friendly and there is also a nice pool with a lifeguard on duty.

This camper is ready to fish!

The large swimming pool

Rates are moderate to high, so pick and choose what you want in your site: full or partial hook-ups, 30 or 50 amp, cable TV or not, etc. All in all it is a nice, clean, safe park albeit on the high price side. Click here for the park Website.

Chincoteague Island

June 14, 2015July 2, 2022 / Roadtirementvintage / Leave a comment

Chincoteague Island on Virginia’s eastern shore is a unique dab of land that features a large National Wildlife Refuge, some pretty beaches, and is known for the herd of wild ponies that roams the open spaces.

There are lots of “touristy” type things to do, including a lot of tour boats that will take you out and around the island. Most of these are pontoon boats with a capacity of six passengers. We decided to not take one of these tours but to just drive to the beaches and drive around the Wildlife Refuge.

We parked on the beach lot accessible through the Wildlife Refuge. The beach is really worth the drive: the parking is close to the beach, the sands are clean and it is a great place to grab a bite of lunch.

Our National Parks Service Senior Pass saved us the $8 entrance fee to the National Wildlife Refuge. (Seniors 62 and older can get this pass here: NPS lifetime Senior Pass website)

Our drive around the “Wildlife Loop” did allow us to see two of the wild ponies. They were about 400 yards away from the road, so the picture is not the best quality. We did see them, though, which is alleged to be usually pretty iffy. Other than the two ponies and some white egrets we did not see any other wildlife during our drive.

Our home base on Chincoteague Island was an RV park named Tom’s Cove Park. The park was large, with over 900 spaces. It was a decent park albeit a bit pricy. (We were at a $51 a night spot that included cable and free WiFi)