Events of Monday, December 20, 2010

          Today dawned clear, crisp and cold. Our night had not been very quiet, so everyone was already awake and stirring by the time Jim came back from his walk. He had decided to treat us to scrambled eggs and bacon and while he cooked away the kids and I conspired about his Christmas gift under the pretense of getting ready for the day. Soon after breakfast, Caitlin announced that she needed to use Walmart’s facilities. This was quickly echoed by everyone else in the family, except Jim. Leaving him to do some research on the computer about our upcoming visit to the Historic Triangle, we snuck off to Walmart to do some secretive Christmas shopping. Successful, we returned triumphantly to the RV and squirreled away his gift. Soon everyone was busy with the morning business of getting the RV cleaned up and ready to move.

          Our destination today? The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Jim and I have traversed this expanse before when I was a physical therapy student in Boston, MA and my twin sister Pat was a med student in Norfolk, VA. Abby had learned of this engineering marvel when she did her state report on Virginia. Learning of its features, and concerned whether they would let Harvey cross, Ben had done his own bit of research about the bridge. So we were all excited to finally be headed toward one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World.

          Presently, Jim is reading Blue Highways, a book about a man who traveled the blue lines on his map, to see the country off the beaten track. On our AAA maps these lines are red or thin black lines, but we too have enjoyed spending most of our time off the interstate. Today was a day to meander down the tip of the peninsula toward the CBBT. Surrounded on either side by farmland and slowed from time to time by little towns, Jim was amazed to see evidence of a strong presence of Latino culture. Wanting Jim to do the actual driving on the CBBT, I took over after about an hour. The kids had spent the time having their quiet times, blogging, updating their pictures and reading. The last photo for November had just been edited when I took over driving. This allowed Jim to upload our November pictures (only the highlights as we can’t fit them ALL) to our website.

          All of a sudden we were 1500 feet from the toll plaza and a sign overhead alerted us to call “511” for “Important CBBT Traffic information”. While I searched for a place to pull over, Jim tried the number. No luck. It was a voice activated recording and it couldn’t recognize what Jim was saying. Later he realized that it might have been because he inverted Bridge and Tunnel in the CBBT title. Pulling out a $20 bill, we approached the toll plaza, only to be directed to make a U-turn into a rest area parking lot. Seems the wind gusts were over 40 mph, resulting in a Level 1 closure – basically all big rigs, campers, pick-ups with cargo and anyone towing anything were not allowed over the bridge. Disappointed we turned into the visitor center. Jim took in two kids, while I waited with the others so we wouldn’t miss the signal to move out. While at the visitor center Jim found out that our timing was just about perfect. The winds had been high all morning and were beginning to peeter out. The gentleman at the desk guessed that we would be able to cross in the next hour or two.  

          Sharing this news back at the RV we debated what to do. It was noon, but no one really felt like lunch given our late, big breakfast. So we pulled out the computer and Caitlin got busy while the rest of us settled in to read or work on friendship bracelets. Soon Ben would turn a page and say:  “There goes a big rig.” Then he would turn another page and say: “Hey, they just let a camper go through!” Soon we started to notice the rigs and campers around us beginning to move out. We had been told a police car with flashing lights would alert us, but we didn’t see any. So Jim dialed the number we had been told to check and called out:  “All clear!” and we were off.

          At the toll plaza it cost us $18. Ouch. But as this was our chief attraction of the day, it was pretty cheap. Jim had downloaded a MP3 narrative about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and we hit play as we drove onto the bridge. The narrative was a perfect way to understand what we were seeing and hear about the history, building, and structural details of the bridge. It was very informative. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is comprised of more than 12 miles of low-level trestle, two 1-mile tunnels, two bridges, almost 2 miles of causeway, four manmade islands and 5-1/2 miles of approach roads, totaling 23 miles. It is considered the world's largest bridge-tunnel complex. After the second tunnel we took a very sharp U-turn onto the final manmade island and pulled over to stop for lunch. The wind was really rocking the RV and we noticed that the garbage cans are plastic, and attached to two posts so they can swing in the wind but not blow over. Smart. After lunch we made our way to the gift shop, restrooms and Jim and Ben braved the wind on the fishing pier. All too soon it was over and we were in Norfolk.

          A bit of internet research had let us know that, in Norfolk, we would find places to complete our secretive Christmas shopping and Ben and I were badly in need of new shoes. At Sports Authority, I found the sneakers I needed, on sale and Ben had a chance to get an accurate measure of his feet. His present shoes are size 12 and he has been looking for size 12 ½  without much luck. He found some at Sports Authority, but when I had him actually measure his feet we found he is a size 13, just like his Dad. Well he had found size 13 sneakers at Walmart for half the price of the shoes he was finding here, so he decided to wait on his purchase. The way he figures it, he’ll outgrow the shoes before they wear out, so buying high priced shoes is a waste of money. Smart boy.

          By now it was 4:15 and dusk was upon us. Jim called ahead to our campsite for the evening and was told that if we could get there by 5pm, the office would be open. Arriving after dark when the temperature has dropped below freezing, has presented certain problems with some of our recent camping experiences. So I was more than happy at the prospect of setting up camp in the daylight with available help waiting in the ready. Soon we arrived at the huge campground. We were very surprised to find such a nice campground at such a reasonable price. We wondered about this as we set up camp…..until we heard and FELT the first of several fighter jets coming in for a landing. It appears the campsite is directly in the flight path of the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. So it WAS too good to be true. Oh well, it is all part of the adventure. Now we have camped by freeways, train tracks and airport flight paths. If we can sleep through this, we can sleep through anything.

          After getting set up, making dinner was first on the agenda. The kids and I chopped, diced, browned and ground until we had a dinner of chili, cornbread, salad and apple crisp (for another night) all ready to go. While we worked away at dinner, Jim searched the internet trying to find that perfect flight to and from Europe. During dinner, the noise from the airplanes continued. Disturbed enough to halt the dinner conversation, we hoped that the flights would end as it got dark. No such luck.

          After dinner, Ben headed to the showers, while Caitlin did dishes, Abby put away leftovers and Lindsey swept the floor. Soon it was time for math. Since Caitlin needed the computer for her calculus worksheets, I was left to my own devices. I was reading when I heard Caitlin tell her Dad:  “I wish you were my math teacher all the time. You have such a clear way of explaining everything.” I know that warmed his heart as much as it warmed mine. His first year of teaching high school math was challenging, but I think this year of teaching his children has reminded him of what it is that he loves about teaching and math. The kids never complain about their math times with their Daddy and sometimes, as it was tonight, it is hard to get them to stop. However, Ben has noted that if he does math right up to bedtime his sleep is disturbed as he continues to try to solve trigonometry problems in his dreams. Knowing that, Jim ended the math session in time for everyone to get ready for bed and for the first time in weeks the kids actually made their 9pm bedtime. Thankfully, now that the rest of the family is asleep, it does appear that the volume of air traffic has decreased significantly and everyone is sleeping peacefully…. Except Abby who just called out in her sleep to say:  “Thank you Lord Jesus for our Honda…..” and we don’t even have a Honda!