Blue Goose ~ Day 111

September 18, 2014 ~ Virginia City, VA to Virginia City, VA

Most Starbuck's open at 0500 or 0530, which fits my schedule. There was one within walking distance. I said good morning to an African American gentleman in the parking lot, checking the waste receptacles with his flashlight, seemingly a gentle soul, getting by...just getting by.

I did computer stuff and had coffee and a breakfast sandwich (bacon-gouda, ignoring the high salt content) and easily found my way to Back Bay NWR on another brilliant sunny deep blue-sky day. The deal seems to be to develop the barrier beaches ignoring the inadvisability and destructiveness of building on sand in hurricane-prone areas; thus, the refuges protecting beach and coastal habitat are SO important.

Many times lately, there is a fee for entry but my Senior Pass (National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass) allows free entry to all Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management properties, USFish and Wildlife land (including NWRs), USDA Forest Service and National Parks...all for a one-time $10 payment.

But here begins a problem: venomous snakes. Back Bay, a benign lovely coastal beach venue warns repeatedly about the cottonmouth - in their brochure, in a loop video playing in the VC and on signs at trailheads. I admit to a snake phobia, although got used to rattlesnake warnings all over the west and would see them occasionally, usually on roads. In much of the southern states, there are large areas of swampy still waters and wet dank places with tangled impenetrable brush and vines and mush underneath....harboring venomous snakes, but this wasn't that type of habitat.Yet, away from the beach itself, there is dense scrub with grasses and ditches and a surprisingly amount of standing water. As the sign said, "Look ahead of you as you walk the trail...." Well, I could at least do that (look where I was walking) and not venture off the trails which is prohibited anyway.

Back Bay NWR - VA

And the beach itself was fine with adorable Sanderlings frantically running back and forth on the wet sand where the waves end in foamy scallops, and Black-backed Gulls, a single Black-bellied Plover... Not paying close attention, I saw a smaller gull half asleep on the beach but then noticed a long stout bill and realized it was, in fact, not a gull but a Willet.

Willet at Back Bay NWR - VA

Back Bay was like Cape May in that the protected beach was prisine but flanked at the northern boundary by a thousand beach condos.

It was a stunning afternoon. I walked on hard-packed sand...waves crashing, blue sky, white clouds, sea breezes, sunshine, no insects, the perfect temperature...Again, lucky me...

Researching maps and my refuge book, I realized that Mackay Island NWR was, in fact, accessible by auto, so off I went.

These states are defined by water in their eastern regions; the rivers are several miles wide; there are the grand sounds like Currituck, Pamlico, Albemarle, great expanses of water separating the barrier islands and the mainland. There are swamps and tidal creeks and bays and boats and bridges. Mackay Island is not exactly an island but a mushy tip of a peninsula in NC with a wee bit in VA. Much of this low land has been drained historically so there are also canals and ditches and dikes which partially control the water. Of course, when there is a major storm, especially the hurricanes, nothing really is efficient or sufficient enough to protect people and property and the sea comes raging through. 

Mackay was one more refuge with managed impoundments contained by earthen dikes. A man in a wheelchair was fishing in a canal as were the few egrets or herons I saw. Even though these refuges are heavily managed, there are not heavily developed, and one goes from farms and small towns and beach condos to areas with no houses or stores or billboards. They often have a lonely feel, but this is my subjective response. 

I arrived by road and decided to leave by a free ferry across the Currituck Sound; however, it didn’t leave for over an hour. I almost waited anyway, just for the experience, and actually parked in the designated ferry space, but then got impatient and drove off Mackay the same way I came in which is when the Check Engine light in the van came on with its warning ding. (The whole time I had my last Subaru, the Check Engine light was on.) I wasn’t TOO worried but didn’t exactly want to ignore it, so googled and was told to bring it to an auto parts store which would probably do a quick diagnostic check for free and at least come up with a code. At that point, I decided to go back to Virginia Beach in case I needed to get the car checked and on the way pulled into a Napa Auto Parts store. Within 10 minutes, they did check it for free and assured me that it probably wasn’t serious and could wait until I get back to Michigan. And as I drove away, the light went off. I actually didn't mind going back to Virginia Beach; the “accommodations” were more acceptable than most, in Red Mill Commons, with a hundred stores and several restaurants but designed so it felt like a social venue. After school kids with or without parents, on their cells, all age groups milling and mixing and walking about, doing errands, eating, shopping...sitting in the sun. With another willpower lapse, I chose Italian and had calamari and a salad for dinner. The home-made marinara sauce for the calamari was the best part of the meal. 

I called bro Bill for their address from the UPS store next to the restaurant. He had to look at his mailbox, which was easy as he was hanging out at the wetlands figuring out another engineering project so he can use his barn wood that smells of cow shit.

There is a strong visual and aural military presence in Virginia Beach with men (and a few women) in camies constantly in and out of Starbuck's and jets thundering overhead.

Back Bay NWR flanked by condos at its north end - VA