Diamondback Terrapins on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

On our 'day off', we launched from Gargatha Landing on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, to paddle to a seaside barrier island for a Sunday of beachcombing and swimming in the Atlantic.

Along the way, we began to see little black and white noses poke out of the water, then pull down on our approach. Bill said they were diamondback terrapins, once endangered due to their tastiness, now a “species of concern” in Virginia.

Looking ahead along the marshy shore we saw more and more of them, little black dots that disappeared. There were dozens, perhaps hundreds.

Then I looked ahead at the shoreline and saw it shimmering in the sun, then moving! Enmasse the turtles were slipping into the water as we approached. The ground was literally covered with them, all sizes ranging from about the size of a teacup to a dinner plate. There must have been thousands all told.

We landed on the backside of Metompkin Island at what used to be channel marker 71. Tropical storm Ernesto 3 years ago washed over the island and actually filled in the channel, creating a deadend. The markers are sticking up out of sand, kind of a crazy sight.

When you land here this time of year there are signs stating the island is closed due to nesting of least terns, oyster catchers and piping plovers. The signs do allow for a pathway across the island where the wash-out occurred, so us hunmans can get to the beach and take a dip in the Atlantic and beachcomb. Just please don’t venture into the island’s interior: stay on the beach.

Eastern Shore Kayaking

This past weekend we had all kinds and ages of paddlers on SouthEast Expedition tours. On Friday I took a group of Delaware teachers with a day off from teaching summer school on the kayak winery tour. They were delightful!

Then Saturday morning Bill and I may have had SouthEast's most senior customers ever on the Onancock Creek Tour! Connie & Bud Bernton (shown above), ages 82 & 83, came down from Bethesda, MD to celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary in Onancock. They'd never been kayaking before, and they loved it!

On the same tour we had a young family, the youngest 9-year-old Rebecca. The Pullens had come over in their powerboat from the “Western Shore” (what we call the Northern Neck), across the Chesapeake Bay, to stay the night in Onancock.

That afternoon Bill took a Bachelorette party of six on the Chatham Winery Tour. “How did it go?” I asked. “They wore bikinis,” he answered. Tough job, Bill!

That night Chatham was having it’s annual Bluegrass Concert and Low Country Boil on the lawn. There we ran into Connie & Bud, my parents, and other paddling friends for an absolutely splendid Eastern Shore evening.

Sunday we had no paying tours, so Bill & I treated ourselves to a paddle out to one of the barrier islands, from Gargatha Creek to Metompkin Island.

More on that in the next post!

Kayaking Tangier Island, Virginia

(click on the image to see my video!)

Last week, I took the ferry from my town of Onancock on the Eastern Shore of Virginia to Tangier Island, 12 miles out in the Chesapeake Bay. As a kayaker, my goal was to check out the paddling options. I borrowed a boat, life jacket and paddle, which are available free to visitors from the dock of the Tangier History Museum.

Turning right, I quickly left behind the small town and the sounds of the crab sheds and boats of Tangier’s main industry. A family of Canada geese walked along the shore. Osprey nested on a platform and great blue heron waded and fished in the shallows.

I soon entered a marsh creek where I could hear Virginia rails “clapping” in the grass. Occasionally one would flush and fly across my bow, colorful if somewhat awkward in flight. I was completely alone except for the birds.

Within 15 minutes a sparkling white sand beach came into view, a perfect spot for a picnic.

There was far more to explore than I had time for. I’d love to see this become a paddling destination. You could start in Onancock with a two-hour historic creek tour, stay the night in a B&B, take the ferry to Tangier in the morning, take a self-guided trip, then stay at one of their B&Bs.

Here’s a link to the Tangier Water Trails.

Learn more in my article on the "A day in the life" of the watermen who live here.

Kayak season begins on the Eastern Shore of Virginia!

In addition to being travel writers, the other hat we wear is that of kayak guides!

This will be our third season leading trips for SouthEast Expeditions from our home base of Onancock on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and we're looking forward to the best year ever.

Our trips are customized, personal, and 'on demand.' But tomorrow we're adding something new: a set 10 am tour of Historic Onancock Creek every Saturday through the end of summer. This way guests and visitors will always know when they can get a two-hour introduction to our quaint Colonial port by water-- clearly we think it's the best way to see it!

But our lovely creek is but one option on our growing itinerary of cool paddling places close by. We also do:
-a Kayak Winery Tour, includes a tour & tasting at an award-winning winery
-Saxis with a visit to a soft-shell crabbing shed
-the Great Machipongo River out of Quinby
-the marshes of Schooner Bay
-beach-combing and picnicing on a barrier island

Cost is $45 per person for 2-hour tours, $85 for half day, and $125 for full day. The boat, all gear, and instruction are included. Rentals are also available and we deliver!

To book your next adventure, you can call us direct at 757-787-2933 (home); 305-240-3298 (cell), or SouthEast's main number at 757-331-2680. Go to www.sekayak.com for more trips and details.

See you on the water!
Mary & Bill

Kayakers help bottle new Eastern Shore wine!

Freelance writers, guidebook authors, kayak guides…We can now add another skill to our resumes: wine bottlers!

Along with some other paddlers, we got to help Holly Grove Vineyards, a new Eastern Shore winery, bottle the final batch of 2008 Sunset Rose.

I envisioned pouring wine through funnels and applying labels by hand. Oh no! Owner Jonathan Bess has a shiny new bottling assembly line that fills the bottles, corks them, affixes the foil cap and the labels. All we had to do was load the bottles and box them at the end.

Oh, and quality control tastings. Lots of that!

Like many Virginia wineries, Holly Grove is a small, family-run operation, and each bottle truly gets individual attention. The family built their own house here. When the kids get out of school, they help with chores. A pair of pet goats, geese and couple of dogs roam the vineyards.

But the results are anything but home-grown. Bess’ Chardonnay and Merlot have been winning awards in international blind tastings. The new Rose we bottled is a drier style that is very refreshing for summer porch sitting. The label features sunset at the mouth of Nassawaddox Creek.

Each wine's label features a different waterfront or sunset scene from the cove in back. Another new wine, the 2008 High Tide Traminette, may just become a summer favorite for our wine porch: the label has kayaks on it!

Jonathan welcomes tours and tastings at Holly Grove daily. Pay him a visit, and then proceed on to nearby Chatham Vineyards, another family-run, award-winning winery here on the Eastern Shore Wine Trail!

Bill just did his first wine kayak tour of the season at Chatham for Southeast Expeditions! Check out our story and photos about the trip here.