both). So why is the area
called Hampton ‘Roads’?
The term roads comes
from roadstead, an old
nautical term for an
area where a ship can be
at anchor that is not as
sheltered as a harbor –
other examples include
Castle Roads in Bermuda
and Brest Roads in
France.
What about Newport
News? That’s up for a lot
more debate. What seems
most probable is ‘News’
derives from ‘Ness,’ an
old mariner’s term for
‘point.’
The area’s connection
to the water and the
military is exemplified
by the Mariners’
Museum (%757-596-2222;
http://www.marinersmuseum.
org; 100 Museum Dr; adult/
child $12/7; h9am-5pm
Wed-Sat, from 11am Sun),
one of the largest
maritime museums in
the country. Exhibits
include an intimidatingly
comprehensive collection
of miniature boats
depicting the evolution
of shipbuilding from
the ancient world to
modern navies; displays
on Chesapeake Bay;
and the USS Monitor
exhibit, which contains
the remains of one of
the world’s first ironclad
warships, dredged fromthe waters of Hampton
Roads.
The Virginia Living
Museum (%757-595-1900;
http://www.thevlm.org; 524 J Clyde
Morris Blvd; adult/child $17/13;
h9am-5pm, from noon Sun;
pc) is an educational
extravaganza that
comprises a petting zoo,
planetarium and other
interactive science-y
stuff. The best exhibits
feature native wildlife in
their natural habitats,
including three beautiful,
extremely rare red
wolves.The Drive » Take I-64E for
about 19 miles across the
Elizabeth River. Get off in Norfolk
on Exit 277 onto Tidewater Blvd.A PENINSULA APART
Delmarva – the Eastern Shore of Maryland (made up of the nine counties in the
state that lie on the east side of Chesapeake Bay), the Eastern Shore of Virginia
(which consists of Accomack and Northampton counties) and the entire state of
Delaware – is decidedly off the radar. Not just the tourist radar either; Delmarva
residents have a sense of separation from the rest of the country that is both a
source of pride and sporadic resentment.
The former derives from a cultural legacy passed through generations of small
town traditions and connection to a unique geography; the latter manifests in
occasional insularity, although the growth of the tourism industry discourages this
sort of behavior.
So why is this region so distinct, when it seems so close to some of the nation’s
biggest metropolitan areas? The answer lays in the question, because said cities
and their culture were historically cut off from America by Chesapeake Bay. The
Bay Bridge wasn’t built until 1952; the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel wasn’t
completed until 1957 (and traffic wasn’t flowing in both directions until 1976). Until
then, the only way out here was by boat or twisting back roads.
While the highway, the internet and the shrinking small-scale commercial fishing
industry have contributed to the homogenization of the region, this area still feels
set apart from the rest of the Eastern seaboard. It’s a flatland that’s not quite
Mid-Atlantic, not quite Southern yet also all of the above, where Philly pizza shares
space on a menu with Maryland fried chicken and Virginia ham. Southern Delaware,
Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Virginia’s Eastern Shore – the ‘Del’, ‘Mar’ and ‘Va’ of
DelMarVa – may be divided between three states east of Chesapeake Bay, but in
practice they form one cohesive cultural unit.VIRGINIA.TRIPS.27
.BRACKETING THE BAY