Accomac

Our family, well, the wife and I, decided to bypass Ocean View beach this year for Accomac Island, an hour south. Ocean View just got too crowded. Most streets have been changed to one way, and blocked by a median, it was like going thru a maze to get anywhere. Getting a meal could be an hour-long journey, just to go ten blocks.

The first trip to Accomac was when my eleven year old daughter spoke up as we missed the turn for Ocean View. “Daddy”, she said “that turn is the way to the beach”. We had tried to prepare our two girls that we were going to a different beach, explained it again, but, well, you know kids.

The place we stayed that first year was a co-workers townhouse. No frills, no pool, no ocean view, good access to everything on the island. We told ourselves if we came back, to get a place with a pool. It was during this first trip that we learned Accomac was still living in the 1960's. Some places closed on Sunday, including the county owned liquor store. Couldn't even get beer and wine as carryout, unless a restaurant sold it. Other places closed midweek, around three, or did not open at all. It took some adjusting to

We had rented Monday to Monday, simply to avoid the weekend traffic, which, at the wrong time of day, could mean a 3 hr trip became 7 hours or more. The second day there, we made the mistake of staying on the beach until 4 pm.

We learned that smart Accomacians make sure they exit the beach in time to get a restaurant seat by 5 pm. So, we hit the first restaurant at 6, expecting a seat. “Sorry, next table will be ready at 7. Same thing at two other places. Several other places were closed. I told my wife we were going to head off island, see what we could find. We had gone 5 or so miles, and saw a sign for “Gregs Seafood”. We said “ Why not?”, parked and went inside. To be honest, the outside of the place looked like a dump. Trashy, sagging roof lines, lawn needed mowing, it was not the kind of place we normally would have gone. We were seated immediately, and the waitress asked for drink orders. I told her our kids were starving, was there anything that could be brought quickly. She said they had just the thing. Within a few minutes, 8 golf ball sized hush puppies were on the table. They were crispy, yet fluffy, and delicious. We go back every year. Even after the place burned down in the off season. They replaced the dumpy looking house with a modern pole barn. Different atmosphere, still the same great food.

Restaurants the first year came in several categories. Expensive places where you were expected to dress up, no shorts, you had to wear shoes! Who wears shoes at the beach, unless you are working out, or are over 60? Next were the mid priced places, where as long as you were presentable, (no bikinis, shirts for all) you were welcome. Our favorite was Captain Crab. It was another dumpy looking place, but the wife approved, because it had an acceptable kids menu. She had gone in first to check it out, waved to me to bring the kids. I was a little shocked when I walked in, because it was open air. The place had a roof, but there were 4x8 plywood covers over the “windows” (no screens!) that got raised by a rope and pulley system, so you could not only see the channel next to the restaurant, but experience it. As we were seated, two seagulls were fighting over uneaten french fries, on a table, inside the restaurant, making a huge noise, until someone threw the fries out. There were wo vegetarian spots, and a number of food trucks that serve good food. We got into a routine of restaurants one day, food trucks/carryout the next.

One feature of the island we avoided was the Volunteer Fireman Carnival every year. It was a fundraiser, held for a week, at night, and was loud and bothersome. We went the first year, never went again. I still don't know how people in the motel next door slept at night, the carnival was that loud.

With kids, you always need something to do other than the beach, and shopping. Driving around the island, sightseeing, we came across a junk shop, Captain Payne”s. Captain had to be 80, and puttered around his store all day. He and the kids took an instant liking to each other. He showed them around his place, explaining all the things out for sale. All sorts of shells, shark teeth, beach oddities, and old toys to name a few things. We ended up there several times a week the first year, the kids never got tired of it. Sadly Captain passed after a few years, now we can't even drive by his old, abandoned spot without tearing up.

Accomac has a mosquito problem. It's a marshy, barrier island. I never learned all the details, but once every two weeks, a plane flies overhead, spraying some insecticide, not that you could see or smell it. Once the plane is gone, you don't see mosquitos for about ten days. I asked the Rover Motel owner if he knew what the insecticide was, if it was dangerous, and he replied “We don't care, it wipes the mosquitos out”.

Accomac really was an Island, reached by a road called a causeway. The beach was on another island, reached by bridge. Parts of the beach had lifeguards, but most of it did not. There was a small parking lot , held maybe 100 vehicles, on the left of the deadend entrance, and a huge one on the right that probably held 300 cars. We always chose left, for it seemed to have less people. What it did have was a good parade of humanity. Many people hiked north along the beach to get to the less crowded seashore. It was actually interesting to watch them. Lots of people walked just in bathing suits, usually came back red as lobsters. The beach also had a small nature center, It had fixed binoculars for viewing, outside, and a touch fish tank for the kids. There was also a flat sandy box with different bones and shells, with a volunteer to explain everything.

We liked Accomac enough to return for many years. Our kids have children of their own, and they go to Accomac now, too.