Farming Clams on the Virginia Eastern Shore, Cheriton VA (Oct 29-31, 2015)

We  finished our trip at the Cherrystone Campground on the Virginia Eastern Shore.  The campground is located right on the Chesapeake Bay, and our campsite had a beautiful view.  Our first day there was warm and calm, so we brought out our kayaks for a nice paddle.  We had seen Google Earth photographs of what looked like oyster cages in the water nearby, so we set off to find them.   As we came around the point of land, we found several boats moored together and men standing chest deep in the water.

“What are you doing?” we asked.

“Farming clams,” came the reply.

What we had thought were oyster cages seen in the water by satellite were in fact nets put down over seed clams to allow them to grow.  Weeds and grasses grow on the nets giving them a contrast to the sandy Bay floor.  Two years later, the clam crew comes, removes the nets and literally sucks the clams up with a vacuum cleaner type mechanism into a huge basket.  The clams are then parceled out into smaller baskets where they are swished through the water to clean them off.  Then these baskets are emptied into bins on the boat.

“How late into the season do you work out here?” we asked.

“All year round,” came the reply.

Brrr.

“Do you know where we could buy some clams?” we asked.

“You can get ‘em at the plant,” came the reply.

The Cherrystone Campground is on the same peninsula and owned by the same family as Cherrystone Aquaculture.  The “plant” was a short bicycle ride from our campsite.  So off we rode, with backpack to bring home some of Russ’ favorite food.  They are only sold in bags of 50.  50 oysters, 50 clams and 7 quohogs (thrown in for chowdah) filled up the vegetable bin of our motor home fridge.

 
Yes, they do grow oysters.  The weather turned windy the next day so we didn’t get to kayak to the oyster farm – though we were directed to it by our clam farmers.  We saw them from land, and did see the empty oyster cages stacked outside the plant.  In warmer weather, they give tours of the whole aquaculture enterprise.  A good reason to return.  That and the yummy clams and oysters and the fun campground.

Bags of clams, some coming to the Wegman's near you.

Clam sorting machine

Oyster Cages

Oyster cages in the water - seen with telephoto from shore

Pretty Bay sunset

Marvelous Cape May NJ [Mid-Atlantic] (October 27-28, 2015)

Cape May has managed to keep the feeling of a genteel, Victorian seaside resort.  The old part of town is full of gorgeous, frivolous, over-decorated grand dames of houses and hotels.  Many of the former homes have been turned into bed and breakfasts.

We arrived on a grey and windy day, and drove through town looking for a free parking area that could hold a 30 foot motor home.  After a driving tour through town, we stopped a local cop who directed us to a neighborhood where the parking meters had been turned off.  [Actually they had had their innards taken out – they were eviscerated.]

We retraced our path and stopped to admire the lovely old buildings.  Most of them have been lovingly restored and cared for.  One street in town has been turned into a pedestrian mall with shops, and restaurants.  It was there we met a middle school photography class team taught by a science teacher and an art teacher.  Russ was very envious of the cameras and tripods the student’s got to use, provided by their school.

 

 We drove out of town to Diamond Beach where chunks of quartz washed down from rivers into the Delaware Bay wash up and sparkle on the beach.  We saw a serious collector looking through the sand for specimens.  After World War II several concrete boats were sunk off of this beach.  One carcass is quite close to shore.  Around the corner from Diamond Beach is the lovely Cape May lighthouse.  Sadly, it wasn’t open to the public.

The next day we took the ferry across the mouth of Delaware Bay from Cape May to Lewes, Delaware.  The ferry trip takes 1.5 hours.  It would take 3.5 hours to drive from Cape May to Lewes.  Besides we love ferries!  The crossing was choppy but enjoyable.