Experiencing our nation through its environments, animals, people and history.

Galatians 5:1

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Chesapeake Bay

Hi all! This is a quickie to share that we have moved our backyard to Virginia and are settling in for awhile, studying up on the Revolutionary War and Cheryl getting caught up with school. To get here from Delaware, we had to take Winnie on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge- not quite the longest bridge in America but a very long one indeed (17 miles) and the wierdest thing, it goes from bridge to tunnel back to bridge.
My pictures don't quite do it justice, if you're into engineering and want better pics, go to http://www.cbbt.com/

The Chesapeake watershed is huge, there are so many peninsula's and bridges and tunnels to get around here... It's a good thing Gladys doesn't lose her signal in the tunnels, it helps me not feel so freaked out. We are staying on the east side of the York river.... oh, but most importantly, back to Virginia means:
Welcome Home!!
(ps Tina, it is warmer here and we traveled back to the beginning of Fall again. Very nice, I get to see it start all over again!! I'll have more fall pics for you soon) hugs-C

5 comments:

Adam said...

I love Virginia! If you have time, do some scenic driving in the Shenandoah Valley. There are some really awesome caves to explore there too. Don't forget Monticello (my favorite place on Earth) and there is a wildlife area near there where the deer are too many to count. I can't remember where it is, it might be either here http://ivycreekfoundation.org/ or here http://www.pursuecharlottesville.com/php-bin/resource.php?id=1379

I was 13 the last time I was there, so how "close" anything is to anything is anyone's guess ;)

Anonymous said...

thankyou for more fall pics! (: Does that bridge seriously go under water...uhh...i think...idont think i would handle that to well. i think i would want to be asleep...(:

Sabbatical, Phase 6- next? said...

Thanks Adam! We have a tour in the Shenandoah Valley scheduled later this month, thanks to you! We'll get more pics for Tina!! (Tina yes, the bridge goes under water. How the heck do they do that?) I was getting used to the tunnels around here until this morning there was a traffic jam, I didn't like getting stuck in one! No radio!!

Uncle Ronnie said...

I heard they made part of the long bridge underwater to offset the weight of it. I think the tunnel section that goes underwater has a bouyant effect and reduces the stress on the supports along the middle section. I don't know how deep the supports go or how solid the ground is underneath them, but that bridge would not work with tidal waters, right? Do you know if the Bay stays at a certain water height pretty consistently, like controlled by dams? That would be interesting to me. Yes, I could look it up myself, but I am thinking my time is better spent catching up on your blog. Interesting to me that there is a little bit of Dad's engineering interest in me. It feels like him, anyway. -UR
P.T. How do you comment back on the blog? Is it accessible to all who read it?

Sabbatical, Phase 6- next? said...

Hey Bro!! Thanks for getting all caught up. The chesapeake is tidal area, the tides affect the entire watershed and even half way up the river where we were camping. not sure of the details but I'm reading up: "From shore to shore, the Bridge-Tunnel measures 17.6 miles (28.4 km) and is considered the world's largest bridge-tunnel complex. Construction of the span required undertaking a project of more than 12 miles of low-level trestle, two 1-mile tunnels, two bridges, almost 2 miles of causeway, four manmade islands and 5-1/2 miles of approach roads, totaling 23 miles."

more at http://www.cbbt.com/history.html if you have the time, ha. PS yes comments are public. Love ya!!