Abbey and I made sure to sleep in after the long day in New York City. We woke up to a crisp autumn morning and an easy drive to Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Martin Guitars are well-made, beautiful, and euphonious. I have a D-16GT that I love, and my dad has a ’72 D-35 that I really love. Touring the Martin Museum and Factory was a fantastic experience, and getting to play a ton of different Martins at the end was a special treat. I was tempted to buy a small backpacker guitar to keep in the van, but they were unsurprisingly sold out.

I cautiously played a $5,000 Martin D-41.

For the evening, we decided to sleep in the Cabela’s parking lot. They allow overnight parking for RV’s, and it actually wasn’t as bad as you might think. Having a little Scotch onboard helps, too. In the morning we were greeted with a powerful sunrise. Sailors take warning.

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware was next. Established in 1937, it protects over 16,000 acres of important land along the Atlantic flyway for bird migrations. There are a huge variety of birds here because of the mix of tidal flats, salt marshes, freshwater ponds, prairie, forest, etc. If you’re ever in Delaware, this place is worth a visit.

While we were at the refuge, a Chinook flew overhead. Introduced in the early 60’s, they can carry about 10,000 pounds and fly at 196 mph. But probably not at the same time. They cost around $38 million a piece.

The following day we arrived in Norfolk, Virginia. We chose to stay at First Landing State Park, where early settlers first landed before heading on to Jamestown. The park is located right on the beach, and the campground is nestled in among the Live Oaks. We had surprisingly warm weather, and we ended up staying here two nights because it was so lovely.

While doing some hiking, we saw and heard an Osprey and Bald Eagle squabbling at each other, and as we stopped to watch, the woods erupted as thousands of Starlings took flight in a tremendous murmuration right over our heads. We were awestruck.

If you’re wondering who does the pictures with Kirk the Lego man, it’s Abbey.

Cheers!