A$$ateague Island - best route?

[disney4dan 68]

We are headed out to the national seashore campground in mid April and just read that Route 1 in Delaware is concrete with expansion joints.  The last time we tried highway speed on that type of surface in PA, the expansion joints were the perfect distance apart to start a wave like bounce between the trailer and truck.  It got to be pretty annoying and probably not good for safe driving.  Would coastal route 13 be a better choice?  We plan on traveling that way Saturday afternoon.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Rt 13 would be ok till you got below Dover but plan on alot of traffic lights, you will have to get over to Rt1 sometime to get to Rt113 to get towards Ocean City. We use Rt1 all the time to go to the De. Beaches and it is not a problem, we have a 5th wheel not sure if it makes a difference, I would stick with the Rt1 choice I do not think it will be that bad.

I know what it use to be like to take Rt47 down to Wildwood NJ and nothing could be as bad as that was.

[Kazlac4 3]

I know what it use to be like to take Rt47 down to Wildwood NJ and nothing could be as bad as that was.

Unfortunately it STILLl is!!  When our relatives come down to the shore they say that Rt. 47 gets their stomachs ready for the rides!

[dblr....Rennie 224]

I know what it use to be like to take Rt47 down to Wildwood NJ and nothing could be as bad as that was.

Unfortunately it STILLl is!!  When our relatives come down to the shore they say that Rt. 47 gets their stomachs ready for the rides!

We will find out in May as we are going to Sea Shore Campsites for Mother's Day weekend.

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

I never noticed the expansion joints on Rt 1, but I would try it anyway and if there is a problem, than get off onto 13. 13 runs parrallel with 1 the whole way, so you can get off at any time. Plus Rt 1 runs right into 113 which is a better route than 13, a lot of less lights and traffic.

Best Regards,

Norm

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

Or you could just join the rest of us in Gettysburg for a fiendishly grand gathering over Easter weekend. No beach or wild horses, but the roads are good... :rofl2:

[disney4dan 68]

Thanks for all the replies - now we get to see if the place will even be open or if the Govt shut down will close the campground :-(

Think they'd mind if I cut the lock and went in anyway? 

I'll try Rte 1 and see how it goes.  I went back the map and I see that there is also a scenic route along the coast (Rte 9 maybe?) in addition to Rte 13 or Rte 113. 

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Rt 9 is an alternate route but it is not a good choice if towing small 2 lane road with a lot of turns, I live in the area and would not recomend it towing.

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

As said above, Rt 9 is nice, but not for towing. I ride 9 every once in a while on my motorcycle and it is a good ride.

Best Regards,

Norm

[disney4dan 68]

Much appreciated.  I'll let you all know how it goes at some point over the weekend, our plan is to get a late start on Saturday and will probably arrive in the rain late at night on Saturday.  I've towed on some two lane roads before and don't mind it, but understand the whole stop light and traffic issues on those.

I'd like to leave earlier, but Nancy and I won tickets to a function put on by a local radio station called an Awesome 80's Prom.  A bunch of us have been doing that for years and it tends to leave us a little slower and dehydrated the following day ;D

I'll see if I can post photos from the beach if I have any reception.

[disney4dan 68]

I can't believe how long it took me to get back to update - been busy since we got back from vacation.

Route 1 was fine, some bumps but not that noticeable problem on the Pennsylvania highways and I think the tolls were only $4 for the whole route.

Assateague Island was fantastic, and we got to enjoy a little time in Ocean City before the summer crowds came. Never got a meal of local crabs, most of the restaurants indicated that the crab season started May 1? Maybe just at the tourist spots. I'll start a trip report in the proper thread and try to keep it as interesting as Dave and Christie's trip reports.

[disney4dan 68]

OK - so it seems like the "Trip Reports" discussion area is all about the Fort (as it should be!) so I'll update here if any one wants to see it.

We took off late Saturday after partying with friends the night before at this annual event put on by a local radio show, attended by 1600 people. Lucky for us, our oldest son Justin is now 19 and very responsible (those of you who know me from before are aware of how quickly he went through the difficult phase - but he's beyond that in a way that makes us proud), so he watched his brother and sister until we got home. Also, lucky for me, the crowd meant I spent most of the night drinking water because the lines at the bars were over 45 minutes long.

So, we departed after noon knowing we were headed toward rain when we got to NY/NJ area. If only we knew how much rain! We took I-84 to I-87 south, then Rte 287 south to Route 206. This was something I had read as a great alternative around the metro NY area and was supposed to be an easy ride. When we hit 287 south, the rain started, and quickly turned into heavy rain that slowed the ride to about 45 mph in areas. Once on Rte 206 we realized that it would probably be a great ride during the day, but in the night at rain it was slow going with large puddles to navigate. We wound our way through the small towns until joining up with I-95 south just outside of Philadelphia. By this time it was 10:30 or so on a Saturday night and the road was still fairly busy and slow due to the rain and standing water. As we entered another band of heavy rain, with very limited visibility and slow driving we were greeted with a bunch of brake lights slamming on in front of us. I managed to stop with plenty of time to see a multi-car accident that had just happened. One sedan was crushed against the jersey barriers by the front of a semi, a few more cars were dented and at odd-angles on the road and another car was over to the right hand side and looked like it had rolled completely over. There was room for one lane of traffic to get through and nobody was letting me near it with the trailer. After a couple of minutes watching people run to assist the crash victims, I heard horns from semi's behind me who were blocking the road, keeping the other cars away so I could get through. Here's a shout out to professional drivers who deal with this on a regular basis. We continued on to Route 1 south and pulled over at the nearest shopping center to spend the rest of the night camping in a Lowes parking lot - we were done driving in that weather.

We woke up Sunday morning at 6:00, grabbed a quick breakfast and were on our way in the bright sunshine. It was nice to see green grass and trees flowering along this route. We got to the camp mid-morning and couldn't wait to hit the beach.

Our site, Oceanside Loop 1, site #14. Notice the picnic table and fire ring are on the driver's side for some reason. No awnings out, wind was too strong for the whole trip.

Our first visit over the dune to the water; you can see my blue truck in the background sort of near the bent elbow:

A little later that afternoon we were visited by the wild ponies that have free run of the entire island. They are protected and can get territorial at times so you have to be careful.

Then we went to the boardwalk to ride the ferris wheel:

And played some arcade games:

Five Guys Burgers and Fries!!!:

The next day we just took it easy at the trailer and cooked chicken on the grille at the fire pit. Unfortunately, the fire pit is close to the ground and the wind coated it with a fine dust from the sand everywhere:

And who remembers Jiffy Pop for camping?!! No sand in that.

[disney4dan 68]

On Tuesday we explored some of the trails on the island and got to know a little bit more about the place. Apparently some developers had started to put in a road and get ready for several hundred houses on the island in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A nor'easter in 1962 destroyed the road and that was one of the factors in making the decision to limit development on the island which lead to it's incorporation into the National Seashore. One of the trails follows along the route that the old road took and you can see remnants of the paved road with the sand all eroded around it. These photos were from the trail toward the bay side of the island. First is a photo of a shipwreck:

The swamp trail:

Can you tell it was cool and windy?:

Some wild ponies along the road as I returned from getting supplies in Berlin MD:

When we went home, we decided to take PA 476 north for a way and then into Stroudsburg to go through the Delaware Water Gap. I needed a more scenic ride home and knew I could stop in the National Rec Area for a walk to the water falls as a break on the trip:

Well, that's it for this short trip. We got home late that night and have been busy again with school, scouts, work and life in general.

Next trip is a week back at WDW but staying in Pop Century this time. No Fort for us, the kids all voted against a two day road trip this time ;-(

[GOBA Mom Lynn 18]

Thanks for the trip report. We'll be heading there at the end of July for a scout/family trip, so we'll be tenting in the group area.

I'll have to find out about the hiking trails, they look really interesting.