The VA Beach Boardwalk

Sunday, 30 June
Sea Mist RV Park — NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex — Virginia Beach, Virginia
Temps: Lo 74F / Hi 83F (23C / 28C)

Figured out another plus to the new awning curtain (post here) — to some extent it acts as a rain barrier — assuming the wet stuff is light and the wind isn’t blowing.  We’ve had on and off rain since I last posted four days ago.  Even then, when the temperature and humidity allowed it, I was able to sit on the patio without getting wet — or more importantly, without getting the laptop wet.  That’s a good thing ;-)

We’ve been busy, even if it wasn’t to go out and explore the area.  Only one of our planned walks happened; the others were rained out.  We could have gone to a museum or two, I suppose, but with beach activities curtailed, we figured they would be crowded with visitors looking for alternative fun.  Besides, we’re not all that into museums.  So, we focused our attention on other things instead — most of them not blog-worthy.  We expect to be particularly active during the September-December time frame, so we see nothing wrong with having a couple of slow summer months to make sure our batteries are fully charged before we go on our sea-air-road vacation.

Where did we go on that one walk that didn’t get rained out?  To the Virginia Beach Boardwalk — rightfully designated a “Great Public Place” in 2009.  It wouldn’t be my cup of tea when it is choc-a-block people, but early on a weekday morning, it was a great place for an easy walk.  (All of the photos in today’s blog are from the boardwalk.)

To beat the heat and humidity, Thursday morning we left home shortly after 6:00a and drove the 7.5 miles (12 km) from our campground at Dam Neck Annex to the south end of the boardwalk.  We arrived just in time to nab one of the two remaining parking spots near the boat channel that are free until 10:00a.  With our to-go-breakfast and a couple of bottles of water stowed in Mui’s daypack, we started our 6-mile round-trip walk shortly after 6:30a.

The sun was still low on the horizon; the temp was already at 75F (24C), but with a low humidex; and a light breeze was coming off the ocean to keep us comfy.  In other words, perfect walking weather.

While I wouldn’t describe the boardwalk as deserted, it sure wasn’t crowded.  Fishermen had their poles in the water at the south end of the boardwalk … surfers were trying to catch a wave or two — not very successfully since the ocean wasn’t cooperating … people were sitting on benches, sipping lattes and reading books or newspapers … bikers were spinning up and down the bike path that parallels the pedestrian-only boardwalk … strollers and speed-walkers, and runners and joggers were giving their feet a workout … guests at hotels and condos were chatting quietly on balconies warmed by the rising sun … here and there shop owners were raising shutters and setting out displays to attract buyers.

A short ways up the boardwalk, we sat on a bench to eat our breakfast and do some light-people-watching.  A little further along, we stopped to take a look at the Old Coast Guard Station that is now a museum.  Had it been open, we would have gone in to check out the exhibits, but we were three hours too early.  So, we took a gander at pieces of a shipwreck (top right in the collage below) exhibited outside and moved on.

Found in December 1993 near the shoreline following a winter storm, the wreckage is thought
to be part of the the barkentine Nettie, which sailed from the West Indies to Norfolk with a
cargo of salt and wrecked 1.5 miles south of the Little Island Life-Saving Station on January 7, 1894.

The next stop on our route was at the Naval Aviation Monument.  It was a short stop.  Not because it wasn’t interesting, but because the temp and humidity were rising, and we still had a ways to go to get to the end of the boardwalk and then make the return trip back to the car.

Top Left: The Homecoming … the family reunited.
bottom left: The Team … the modern force - Naval Aviation in the 21st Century.
center: Pilots man your planes … the Greatest Generation - Naval Aviation in WWII.
Right: Where It Began … the Birthplace of Carrier Aviation.

It was 8:00a by the time we finally got to the north end of the boardwalk.  By then the breeze had died down, and the humidity had increased to make us feel sticky and uncomfortable.  As luck would have it, a big cloud moved in to veil the sun for nearly the duration of our walk back to the car, affording us some relief.

Not feeding the parking meter.  Rather, trying to feed the “donation” meter.
Alas none would take our coins.  They were either jammed or not yet operational.
[click the photo on the left for a more legible size]

A stop at the bank; another one to check out Ocean Pines, the off-base military campground at NAS Oceana, and we were back home in time for lunch.

(As an aside for those readers who are eligible to stay at military campgrounds: While Ocean Pines seems like a decent campground, we didn’t care for its ambiance for a long-term stay … too many sites seemed to be occupied by homesteaders.  An oddity at this campground — the sewer hook-up is in the middle of the pad!!!  That said, if we needed a place for a night or two, and wanted to be closer to the commissary and BX than we are at Sea Mist, we would definitely consider Ocean Pines.)

So far the forecast for the first week of July has more rain and overcast than sunshine.  The likelihood of getting out and doing something blog-worthy is small, but you never know — stay tuned.

Let There Be Shade!

Wednesday, 26 June
Sea Mist RV Park — NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex — Virginia Beach, Virginia
Temps: Lo 74F / Hi 94F [feels like 109F] (23C / 34C [43C])

Another hot day here at Sea Mist.  A little cooler than yesterday, but with a much higher “feels like” temp thanks to the 59%, humidity.  We still have that nice breeze blowing to keep us comfortable in the morning, but once the temp rises, the breeze also warms up, and it does little to keep us cool.

Today we managed to sit outside until 1:30p before we had to throw in the towel.  At that time, the thermometer was reading 91F (33C).  How did we manage to stay out that long?  With the help of some man-made shade!  Specifically, our new ShadePro awning curtain.  Actually, the website refers to it as a Vista Shade for Electric Awnings.

We have a screen shelter, but it’s mostly to keep the bugs at bay.  Besides, we can only use it if we’re not on concrete.  Here we are on a double-wide concrete pad, and even if we were allowed to put it up on the grass between us and the neighboring site, we’d be far too close to them — and to their sewer hook-up.  That we have an east/west oriented site means that the screen shelter would not do us much good anyway.

Affectionately known as the half-lime, this is the screen shelter we purchased in
Waveland, Mississippi after an unexpectedly strong storm blew through the area and
decimated our previous shelter.  It works great on a soft surface; not so much on concrete.

I started looking at awning curtains soon after arriving at Sea Mist.  Found a couple of options that would work for us.  Then I noticed that our driver-side neighbors had exactly what I was looking for.  After talking to them about the curtain, I was sold — especially since it was specifically made for 12V RV awnings.  The bonus — a 10% off sale and free shipping; and — though stilll pricey — a heck of a lot less expensive than the ones I’d been looking at.  By the end of the day, measurements taken, we had a 19 feet wide x 9 feet tall (~ 5.8 x 2.7 m) curtain on order.

With the auto-retract feature off, the awning curtain is installed and ready for us to use.

The best way to describe the fabric is that it’s like our black MCD shades — think a breathable vinyl mesh.  The website claims that 85% of the light is cut off.  Can’t say anything about the % claim, but we’ve been able to sit outside far longer with the curtain deployed than we would have been able to without it.  I’ve also been able to read without having to wear a hat to cut down the light glare — be it on screen or a paper book.  Don’t even need sunglasses, although Mui caught me with them on in the photo below because I had just returned from a walk.  Mui likes the anti-glare feature since it makes using the outdoor TV more feasible during the daytime.

The curtain is see-through, but still affords privacy.  I actually like that it is not solid.  Not just because it would block out all the light and breeze, but also because from a security perspective, it’s always good to not be surprised by a visitor — regardless of intentions.  I can see out more than people can see in; that’s a good thing, too.

Compare this to the third photo from the top, which shows that it’s not as easy
to see in as it is to see out.  (That photo was taken from the neighboring site.)

The curtain comes in two parts.  The body is 6 feet (~ 1.8 m) tall; that’s standard.  If you need a bigger drop, the insert, which is stationary and rolls up with the awning, makes up the difference.  The two pieces are zipped together to give you the total length you need.   No stepladder needed to reach the zipper when installing the body — important for a shorty like me.

I will say that threading the insert through the narrow groove on the roller was a bit of a bear.  It’s a two man — or one man, one woman — job; and you need a stepladder to do the job right.  Having a picnic table handy as a scaffolding of sorts is good for the person pulling the insert along as the other feeds it into the groove.  Once the insert is in place, the rest of the installation is a piece of cake — just zip the two pieces together, and stake the curtain to the ground.

Top left: the insert is fed into a groove on the back side of the roller tube;
a strip of velcro on either end secures it in place.

Bottom left: a closer look at the zipper used to attach the body to the insert.

Right: the curtain comes with guy ropes and four stakes; we opted to use bungy cords
for faster removal of the body in the event of sudden high winds or an emergency.

KEY tip here is that you must disable the auto-retract when you want to use the curtain.  You don’t want the awning to start retracting should the wind exceed the speed to which you’ve set the controls.  In our case, deactivating auto-retract is just a matter of flipping the power switch from the middle to the down position rather than the up position.

We never leave the patio awning deployed overnight or if we are away from home.  That means the curtain has to be taken down every night, or whenever we go off somewhere.  Not a problem — remove the bungy cords; unzip the body; fold it and and store it in the bag that was included with the purchase; and retract the awning.  I think it took us all of 3-4 minutes to do that this afternoon.  One person could do it; but it is easier to fold if two people work together — especially with a wide curtain.

Zipping off the body from the insert is easy.

With the body removed (top left) the insert rolls into the awning fabric (bottom left),
and is stored inside the casing along with the awning.

The ordering process for a standard-size curtain was simple, and the shipping of the product was quick.  We received our order Monday afternoon, and threaded the insert into the roller tube that evening.

Granted we’ve only been using the awning curtain for two days, so perhaps I should have waited to write about it after using it longer.  But I just love having it, and I couldn’t contain my excitement.  Besides, it’s not like I’ve got anything else to write about at the moment.  Be assured I will come back and let everyone know if any downsides to it crop up.

Without this shade curtain, our time on the patio on these increasingly hot days would have been severely curtailed.  I’m glad we have invested in one.

And for those wondering … no, I am not getting paid a dime by ShadePro for this enthusiastic review — although I should probably call them and ask for a discount for the free advertising ;-)

Nearing the Two-Week Mark at Sea Mist

Tuesday, 25 June
Sea Mist RV Park — NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex — Virginia Beach, Virginia
Temps: Lo 74F / Hi 95F [feels like 101F] (23C / 35C [38C])

A routine of reading on the patio, walking and sitting on the beach, triking around the base, and going to the movie theater twice doesn’t really provide anything exciting to write about.

Nonetheless, here is a bit of this and a bit of that from the days past.

One of our goals for retirement was to change our diet to include more plant-based foods and less animal-based foods.  We implemented that change a week ago and Mui’s been fixing up a storm of delicious dishes for us to try out — including yummy frozen treats for after dinner … our favorite so far has been a chocolate cherry concoction.  It hasn’t been difficult to make the change since we’ve always enjoyed salads, legumes, vegetables, fruits, and the like.  Not becoming vegetarians, mind you … just leaning a little more in that direction.

Not much in the way of wildlife to keep the camera clicking around here.  Except for the smallish black snake I saw slithering under our coach a few days ago [double shudder] — which I had no desire to photograph.  Mui managed to shoo it back to the dunes from which it came by using a stream of water from the hose to nudge it off the patio.

The ospreys, on the other hand I am always happy to see.  There are plenty of them nesting here at the Dam Neck Annex; some with chicks.  Alas … no photos as I had no desire to get into trouble by pulling out my camera in a restricted zone.

Dragonflies are plentiful here — especially these black saddlebags.

We’ve been taking advantage of our proximity to the beach at this campground.  A short walk to one of the two access points puts us on a wide stretch of sand fronting the Atlantic Ocean.  We — I, actually — have been walking out on the beach in the mornings when there is seldom anyone else about.  Mui has gone triking instead, although he has joined me on occasion.  We’ve gone over with our chairs and beach shelter, but the north/south orientation of the beach makes it difficult to escape the sun until later in the day.  By then, it’s too hot to be on the beach.  Unfortunately, the ocean has been too rough for swimming.  Mui did manage to go in for a dip yesterday, but it was more playing in the surf than swimming.

Looking south (left) and north … scenes taken within seconds of each other.

The waves might not look like much, but the undertow is very strong.

The only birds I’ve been able to photograph in the past ten days have been on the beach.  And they have not been around in great numbers.  In fact, we saw the terns one morning as we walked by the enlisted beach; and then they disappeared.

The only royal terns we’ve seen showed up on the beach on a day of strong-wind,
which swirled about the mist from the Atlantic Ocean.

Digging around the edge of the surf nets this boat-tailed grackle a tasty ghost crab.

When I said there wasn’t much in the way of wildlife here, I forgot about the ghost crabs.  They are quite abundant on the beach — and they seem to come in all sizes.  The really big ones came as quite a surprise to me.  For some reason, I always thought they were teeny-tiny.  Watching them dig their burrows has been an ample source of amusement for me.  I posted my favorite ghost crab photo at the beginning of this blog entry, but here’s another one that I really like because it shows how disproportionate the claws are.

The claws are actually the fifth pair of legs, which — in conjunction with the
other four pairs of legs — allows a ghost crab to move in any direction.

I guess I should come out of the “shoe closet” and admit that I hopped on the Oofos bandwagon this week.

After hearing about them first from Sherry and then from Sue, I decided to buy a pair.  After all, who could resist Sue’s description: “…kind of like falling into one of those Memory Foam beds, only for your feet.  Luscious.”

I’d describe them as cushy without being soft … if that makes sense.  I love the arch support, and the toe-thingy is not at all uncomfortable.  If I didn’t need to wear thick socks during our partly-cold-weather vacation this fall, I’d take the flip-flops with me.  As it is, I will probably end up getting a pair of the clogs to wear as slippers on our off-the-road trip.

When we booked our stay at Sea Mist, we anticipated hot and humid days, and not much time spent outdoors.  We were wrong — even with the change in weather a few days ago.

Our first ten days here were pretty wonderful, even if some of them were mostly cloudy; and we did have a deluge with thunder and lightning one day.  On the other hand, we had low-to-no humidity to speak of, and the mornings were cool enough for long pants and a fleece jacket while reading on the patio.  The afternoon hours did warm up, but it really wasn’t bad until this weekend when the temps started to rise dramatically.

Thanks to the almost-constant breeze — and our man-made shade (more about that in the next post) — I was able to sit outside this afternoon until the thermometer hit the 88F (31C) mark.  One thing I have noticed is that there’s always a breeze in this section of the campground.  That’s not necessarily the case in the older section, where the breeze is blocked by the trees and vegetation.  The forecast is for increasingly hot temperatures, so the breeze may not help much in the days ahead … we shall see.

Surf Lace

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that we’ve been to a couple of movies here on base.  At every military installation we’ve been on, we’ve checked to see if there is a movie theater.  NAS Pensacola had one, and we went to a show while we were there.  NCBC Gulfport had free DVD screenings, and we caught one of those as well.  All of the other installations have had to close their movie theaters — for a variety of reasons, but mostly due to lack of funding.

We were thrilled to find that NAS Oceana still has a theater — and a big one that seats 900.  I imagine it is used for all-hands-on-deck meetings as well as entertainment.

Of the movies being screened, we opted first for The Big Wedding, a romantic comedy.  It was entertaining, but would have been better without so much potty-mouth language.

Next we went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness, which was a James Kirk meets James Bond space adventure.  We enjoyed this one as well; Trekkies will easily see the plot similarities to some of the original Star Trek movies.  (Click the posters for info about the movies.)

What happened to exploring the area?  We’ve in fact talked about doing something almost every evening, but that’s all it’s been — talk.  When morning rolls around, we get too comfortable on the patio and postpone our plans to another day.  Part of the reason we’ve been not-so-enthusiastic about visiting the nearby sights is because we’ve been to Norfolk and Virginia Beach before, and it’s all “old news” to us.  We’re still hoping to get out and do some sightseeing, however.  Hopefully we haven’t entirely missed the “sightseeing weather” window.

Tracking Our Movements ;-)

Saturday, 22 June
Sea Mist RV Park — NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex — Virginia Beach, Virginia

Have we been enjoying ourselves this week or what?  The weather has been great — cool enough for a light fleece in the mornings; warming up comfortably in the afternoon with little to no humidity.  But I’ll write about what little we’ve been doing since our arrival in Virginia Beach in another post.

I just wanted to share a photo one of Mui’s school friends, Korkut (Korki to friends), designed and e-mailed us.

Had no idea we’ve become so notorious that freeway signs are tracking our movements

Nah … we weren’t really there — where ever there is.  In fact, you can play with your own signage at this website and have some fun!

Re-Purposing a Sink Plunger as a Sewer Hose O-Ring

Tuesday, 18 June
Sea Mist RV Park — NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex — Virginia Beach, Virginia

We have mostly been busy with ‘stuff’ at home since arriving in Virginia Beach five days ago.  A few quiet beach walks is all that we’ve done to break the daily routine of reading, and doing errands, and working on chores.

Nothing exciting to write about, so I thought I would use one of Mui’s handyman projects to remind everyone that we’re still out here in blogland.  It’s a simple project, but one that I especially appreciate since it closes off one more access point for mice (and snakes … shudder) to get into the coach.

The sewer hose comes into the bay through an opening in the center of the wet-tub.  When the hose is not connected, there is a twist-lid that seals the hole.  When the hose is connected, however, there is a large gap around it that is an open invitation to critters.

There are lots of critters out there that can easily come through the gap around the sewer hose.

There are some commercial solutions out there, but Mui felt that a simple rubber o-ring around the hose would work just as well.  After scouring Home Depot and Lowe’s — two of his favorite playgrounds — he decided that a sink plunger would do the trick.

[Since some of you eagle-eyes out there will spot the faked-out photos, I’ll admit now that Mui did this little project a while ago.  He did it behind my back to surprise me, so I asked him to run through the steps after the fact so I could take photographs for the blog.]

Left: First step, purchase a sink plunger that is the size of the hole in the wetbay tub.
Right: Remove the handle from the rubber cup.

Using a utility knife, cut off and remove the top of the rubber cup.

With the utility knife, slit the remaining portion of the rubber cup so that it can be
slid around the sewer hose.

Voilà!  The o-ring goes around the sewer hose and the gap is sealed.

Mui could have done a snug fit around the hose, but opted to leave a gap and fill it in with copper wool.  By doing so, any water trickles from the fresh water connection will drain out of the tub rather than pool inside.  It is a wetbay after all ;-)

Survived a Storm Non-Event

Thursday, 14 June
Sea Mist RV Park — NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex — Virginia Beach, Virginia
TEMPS: LO 61F / HI 73F (16C / 23C)

When we left Ashland, Virginia for Virginia Beach yesterday morning, all weather indications pointed to us heading into the highest risk area for a storm that was coming in from the west.  By the time we arrived at the Sea Mist RV Park on base at the Dam Neck Annex of NAS Oceana, the risk had been downgraded to moderate for thunderstorms and hail, and to slight for tornados.

The storm arrived in our area at 6:00p.  Just as the weather talking-heads had predicted.  We pulled in the slides to protect the toppers from the forecasted gusts — up to 70 mph (112 km), they said — and hunkered down to sit out the storm.

We weren’t overly worried.  Not only did we have a nearby hurricane-proof bathhouse to shelter in, but the host had come by to let us know that in the event of a tornado warning, she was going to open up the ITT/MWR office — a designated storm shelter.

Turns out we didn’t need to seek shelter anywhere.  Taking a more northerly track, the storm fizzled out entirely in this area.  The few wind gusts that barely rocked the Phaeton never reached anywhere near the forecasted speeds.  And the downpours that came through were of short duration.  In fact, we’ve had stronger winds and rain today than we did yesterday.  And the temperature has dropped dramatically from yesterday’s feels-like 102F (39C) boiling hot afternoon high.

Enough about the storm that didn’t happen — at least not for us.

We left Ashland shortly before 8:00a yesterday.  The 2½ hour drive down to Virginia beach was an easy — but bumpy — 121 miles (194 km) mostly on I-64E.  With directions to the Sea Mist RV Park as a handy reference, we bypassed NAS (Naval Air Station) Oceana and headed directly to the Dam Neck Annex.

121 miles (194 km) from the Americamps KOA in Ashland to the Sea Mist RV Park
on base at the Dam Neck Annex of NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach.

After checking in with the campground manager, and signing off on the governing rules and regs, we did a quick drive through both the older and newer sections of Sea Mist to take a look at the 12 available sites.  The only open site in the heavily-treed older section didn’t tickle our fancy, so we settled on Site 26 in the new section.  ($154/week; $25/night.)

Sea Mist is situated between vegetation-covered sand dunes and Regulus Avenue.
(Site 26 [circled in red] is on the left side of the RV park map.)

Site 26 is a 50A FHU with a double wide concrete pad; it backs up to vegetation-covered dunes that separate the campground from the beach.  The site on the driver’s side is a pull through facing away from us, and there is a wide grass ditch that separates us; plenty of privacy in that direction.  The neighboring site on the passenger side is separated by a patch of grass that is half as wide as the concrete pad; good spacing between the sites.  This section of the RV park is lacking in shade, but we’re not overly bothered by that.  I can’t say that this is a quiet place.  Chanting military students march in formation to and from class on the road that parallels the campground.  And Navy jets fly practice runs overhead.  No train noise, though ;-)  Since the day-to-day sounds of an operational base are not 24-7, we aren’t bothered by them.

Left: our site (#26) and the neighboring pull through, which is the last site at this end.
Right: Looking from our site back towards the office and the far end of the RV park.

Even though it is breezy with mostly cloudy skies as I write this post, that wasn’t the case when we woke up this morning.  In fact, sunshine and a comfy temperature of 68F (20C) encouraged us to explore the beach on the other side of the dunes.  We even managed to enjoy an al fresco breakfast at our campsite before the first raindrops of the morning drove us inside.

There are two beach access points at Sea Mist — one at the far end of the old section, and one just on the other side of the new section.  The latter is at the back of a parking lot where we can leave the car when we go to the beach with our chairs, beach shelter, and other paraphernalia.  This brown-sand Atlantic Ocean beach is nothing like the sugar-white beaches of the Gulf of Mexico; and the water itself is a moody dark blue instead of crystalline aquamarine.  Nonetheless, we’re looking forward to some relaxing days on the beach while we’re here at Sea Mist.

Welcome to the Atlantic — from the “walkover” in the old section of the campground.

Because there are no lifeguards in our section of the beach, swimming is not encouraged here.  But just down the road is a section with pavilions and lifeguards that we can drive to should we wish to take a dip in the Atlantic.  When we came on base yesterday, we turned in the opposite direction from the swimming beaches, so we haven’t seen those facilities yet.  If the weather cooperates, we’ll trike over there soon to take a look-see.

Nothing but a long stretch of beach greets our eyes when we go for our morning walk.

When our plans for the Army Rec Area in Appling, Georgia fell through, we added some days here to fill the gap until it’s time to return to South Carolina for our Camp Freightliner appointment.  With a departure date set for after the 4th of July, that means we will be here for a while.  Plenty of time to explore the area and revisit some old haunts.