what is a bridge/tunnel?

We woke up right next to the toll booth for the Chesapeake Bridge/Tunnel. As you know, we weren’t allowed to cross it last night because of the wind so this morning we crossed the massive bridge. Crossing the everlasting bridge is like driving over the sea. The bridge is actually two bridges. One of them has two lanes going one way, and the other going the opposite way. There are two points where the two bridges meet and go through a few rocks of reclaimed land & straight into a tunnel. The process is cool because there is a big wall either side when the road meets the rocks. The road is so long, 8 miles to be exact. It was like the land never existed the road just kept going and going and going on and on forever. For a start we couldn't work out why they bothered with the tunnels - why not just make a bridge all the way. Then we saw a shop going over as we entered one of the tunnels... so that's why, so ships can pass by. We smart cookies eh!

Because of the snow delays we ran out of time to do the naval base tour at Norfolk however were fortunate to see 3 aircraft carriers across the water... so not quite as good as a tour but at least we got to see the big ships.

That was just the beginning of our driving but not long until we reached Williamsburg, just before lunch. Williamsburg is a really old town, and that’s stressing the old! You can find places that are nearly three hundred years old!! Did you know way back when, if you go sent to jail they took you to a tailor to have handcuffs fitted to your size then they bolt the cuffs on until the jailer wants to cut it of. We learnt this at the old goal & also got to see the entire house – the jailer lived on site, in a comfier room of course. There were certain things in the town that you had to pay for [ed... they wanted $46 per adult and $23 per kid & you could get into any of the historic buildings. We decided to be cheapskates and just wander the streets... this editor's credit card has had a fair hammering the last few weeks!!!]. Two of them we got into for free because no one asked for tickets, the jailhouse being one. The other was a weapon warehouse that looks like the lookout in some sort of castle. It was full of weapons like guns rifles and spears. We walked up and down the road looking at the pretty houses and some of the glass is over 200 years old.

As usual we finished the day by looking for a campsite and this one had 3 playgrounds!!

For your information... The lowest price of gas we’ve seen is $2.269 per gallon and the most expensive was $3.199. The range we actually ended up purchasing was $2.319 at best and worst was $2.869 in upstate New York.

The next day was one long haul from Williamsburg back to Atlanta - we drove all day and peeled off 565 miles, a record for one day on this trip. All freeways & pretty much no traffic issues all day. Really beautiful scenery with all the snow for the first 200 miles or so.

Aunty Jo & Uncle Paul weren't expecting us until the next day so they were rather surprised to see us tuen up on their door step just after 8.30pm. We wanted to make it in time for Mum's birthday so she could have a lie in and not have to drive... so it was good that we made it. We've included a photo of one of Dad's favourite road signs...

No more driving for a week now - yay! Lots of love and a very Merry Christmas to all... Amy

[ed... Well the big loop is now completed, pretty much as planned. a total of 6812 miles, just slightly more than predicted before we left. we're staying put here now for a week or so - really looking forward to Christmas (& not having to drive this bus!). Not too much else planned so blogs might be a bit thin on the ground... that is until we get to Disney World just before New Year all going to plan. Thanks for keeping us company on our travels - it's been a pleasure to be your blog editor. Merry Christmas one and all!!!]