TS Today - Creating a Vision for the Future of Vacation Ownership Issue #142, Jul/Aug 2015 | Page 24

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Page 24

Jul/Aug, 2015

Our Winter Trip
to Delmarva
View of Isle of Wight Bay from
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By Ann and Charlie Gillett,
Providence Forge, VA

A side trip to Cape Charles led us to a
wonderful beach and small town, plus the
famous Bay Creek Resort and Club.

A trip from our home near Williamsburg,
VA, to the Eastern Shore of Virginia is always
a nice experience.
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Newport News and Norfolk, we enjoy a delightful and peaceful drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a total length of
23 miles over and under Chesapeake Bay
with views of the ships coming and going
into the various local ports.
The Bay Bridge-Tunnel is considered
to be one of the Seven Engineering Wonders
of the Modern World. We stopped at the gift
shop and restaurant located on one of the
man-made islands, which sells a wide assortment of made-in-Virginia products and other
gift items. Dining options include a sit-down
restaurant with views overlooking Chesapeake Bay.
On the other side of the bay, we passed
through farmlands famous for growing fruits,
vegetables, and even cotton, and some quaint
small towns.

Reaching Ocean City
A short drive up Route 113 to Route
50 in Maryland brought us to the beautiful
seaside town of Ocean City, MD, in an area
referred to as Delmarva (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.)
We have vacationed here in peak season and to be here in off-season (March
6-13, 2015) was quite the experience.
Roads that normally would be clogged
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easy to navigate. The downside is that
most of the area does not fully open for
business until mid-April.
One establishment that was open and
very busy every night was Coins Restaurant
at 28th Street. We ate there several times.
The food is delicious and the prices are very
reasonable. It also offers many early-bird
and daily specials. Thank goodness Dolle’s
was open so we could stock up on freshly
made saltwater taffy.

The Resort Experience
We arrived at Pointe on The Bay Resort a little early, but our condo was ready
for occupancy. Checking in to a beach
condo in 25-degree F. weather with snow
on the ground was truly a different experiHQFH7KHODG\LQWKHRI¿FHVSHQWDORWRI
time with us going over the condo rules and
welcoming us to the facility.
She presented to us a loose-leaf Guest
Handbook, which included everything we
would need to know about the condo and
local area during our visit. Someone spent
a lot of time putting this book together and
we were most appreciative of the information. It even included sample menus, a list
of off-season specials at local establishments, details on day tours, and information
on medical facilities and shopping. Since
this resort is pet-friendly, the book even included information on animal hospitals and
pet parks in the area.
It was refreshing to stay in a smaller resort where we did not have to contend with
sales pitches, walking through the lobby
every time we went to our condo, or having
to drive over many streets and speed bumps
to get to our condo. Smaller resorts give us
more of a family feeling and most seem
very happy to have us there.
Our condo was on the waterside end
of the building, with views of the docks
and bay from every room, but we had to
walk quite a distance from the elevator to
the room with the freezing winds whipping
around every corner. To be able to stay in
such a delightful place was worth the walk.

Condo Description
We were assigned a three-bedroom,
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