Long Walks On Leafy Streets

9/5/2013 Jane's Island State Park, Crisfield, MD
We just returned from a weekend on the eastern shore of Maryland. We camped for three nights at the Jane’s Island state park near Crisfield on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay. This park has a lot of marshland, swamps, canals and inlets that are a pleasure to go kayaking in. We didn’t go kayaking this time, though. But we had a great time, relaxing and enjoying the piney woods of the park. We also took a boat trip to Tangier Island and a day trip to Assateague Islands and Ocean City. I have posted pictures from the trip on Flickr. To see them click on the small picture on the top of this page and then click on “Pictures.”
We camped in a loop near the park store, so there was a lot of traffic. The campgrounds were full. Every space seemed to be occupied with cars and campers. Obviously these last days of summer people try to go out as much as they could. Although I enjoy quiet, secluded areas for camping I wouldn’t complain.
Our camping area as all others in this park was surrounded by loblolly pines. These pines prefer low-lying wet areas grow fast and spread fast. I could see several small trees already growing around the taller older ones around our campsite that was littered with pinecones and needles. In the picture above you can see dry needles scattered on the ground.
On Saturday we went to Tangier Island, VA. We boarded a cruise boat at Crisfield, MD, about two miles from the park. Tangier Island is about 14 miles southwest of Crisfield and was one of the earliest settlements in America. John Smith passed through there on his voyage up the Chesapeake Bay. Being there is a trip back in time. Nicole really enjoyed it and we had a nice family style country meal at the Chesapeake House restaurant. We walked around the island a bit, enjoying the views of the marshes. We saw a beautiful great egret wading near the crabbing piers. Crabbing is the main industry in Tangier and Crisfield.
I had been there just by myself more than 12 years ago. This time there seemed to be more tourist and commercial orientation to the island. I was happy to see solar panels on a couple of buildings. Apparently they have plans to install 72 kW of solar panels. The island is fast losing land to erosion and climate change related rise in sea level. Although there was a small mention of this at the museum, perhaps due to the politics of rural, conservative America I didn’t see any major effort underway. It is unfortunate because the island stands to lose the most and they should be at the forefront. Moreover, it is very well suited for solar, wind and tidal power generation. They could generate all their power from renewables.
I hope people change. There are signs of that already. Conservatives are waking up to the fact that this is not about politics, and even if it were, it is something they should care more about, since it is about conserving the planet and our resources.
On Sunday we spent the afternoon at Assateague Island. I enjoyed playing in the waves. Although at first it felt cold, once I started dipping into the water and swimming and splashing in the waves it felt exhilarating. It felt like I was a kid again. In the evening we went to Ocean City and enjoyed walking on the boardwalk with thousands of other people. Saturday evening we went for a long walk around the Jane’s Island Park. Being in that park was very calming and almost meditative. Going to sleep and waking up with the sun and living in harmony with nature were very refreshing and invigorating for the body and mind. I did get bitten up by mosquitoes, and there were lot of cars and restrooms and other facilities, but walking through the pine forest I almost forgot about those things.

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