Day 1188: Chincoteague

Rough day on the road.  It took us two hours longer to reach Chincoteague than we expected.  The park was spectacular and we really shortchanged it by spending only two hours.  We should have left OBX yesterday and spent more time in this huge national park.  It was exciting to see a few wild ponies grazing far in the distance and we enjoyed the marshes and forests very much.  Those hours walking the trails were the best part of the day.

Then, we missed the 4:15 ferry from Lewes to Cape May by an hour.  Both Delaware and NJ have poorly labeled highways.  They also have these crazy U-turn lanes.  The website said there was another ferry at 6:00, but when I called for a reservation, the operator said it was not until 7:45.  Yikes.  We finally made it to Lewes, found the ferry, then had a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called A Taste of Italy.  Our waiter provided three glasses of water and my fierce headache eased a bit.  The ferry never left till after 8:00.  By the time we drove on board, my head was ready to explode again.

Next, was the nightmare of the Garden State Parkway.  They have these ridiculous flower signs to mark it that are so pale they can't be read.  There were red lights on the highway, but no street lights.  We finally arrived at an inn after 10:00 and are ready to collapse.  It has made me seriously rethink our plan to drive out west next fall.  Maybe we'll fly out, rent a car, then fly back.

None of it would matter at all, except we will be in NYC tomorrow to see our family.  We have to be in New Brunswick by 10:30 to catch a train into the city.   We had hoped to travel farther today than we did.  It's worth every bit of hassle.  In just a few hours we'll all be together!  Plus, we get to see Colin perform a comedy routine tomorrow night!  He says it will be quite "blue", but we don't care.  He'll be amazing!