Cherrystone Campground on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

by Brenda, speaking Around the Campfire

I've been across the  country a number of times, but my favorite campground is on the  Eastern Shore of Virginia, just before you have to cross the  Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the south.

 The name is Cherrystone.  I haven't been there since the 1980s, so I'm  sure it has changed a lot.

 They had three long piers on the Bay.  Two or three swimming pools; a  roller rink, a miniature golf (I think), boat ramp, rentals, etc.

 It's great if you have kids to take them out on the piers after dark  at this time of the year.  There are so many crabs in the water (and  jellyfish).  When you shine your flashlight, the crabs come up to the  surface and are easy to net.  The kids and the adults just love it.

 As you walk through the campground, the aroma of that spice you can  buy in the supermarkets just wafts through the air.  Everyone is  cooking crabs! 

 We had a Zodiak 12-foot rubber boat (the kind the Coast Guard uses)  with a 40 h.p. Mercury engine with a SHORT shaft.  Very important to  have that short shaft.

 We'd go into the back waters, quietly, and see more water birds than  you can imagine.  My favorite thing was the ability to go back into  these shallow waters and enjoy the wildlife.

 And the speed you can get with a 40 h.p. engine on a small boat:  fun,  fun, fun.  We returned many times to Cherrystone.  I first heard about  it from an RV salesman.  It's hard to find (or it  WAS hard to find) a  campground on the water in this big area.

 And every night, you were given a beautiful sunset over the water.   Wish I was leaving right now for a week at Cherrystone.