Photography By Ryan Hulvat
Fruit stands spilling over with just-picked produce. Sinuous crape myrtles blooming along the highway. Noxious scents wafting from chicken coops. Locals in hand-me-down pickups puttering along at 35 mph—in the fast lane. It’s all part of the charm of Virginia’s Route 13, a stretch of blacktop that’s long been pigeonholed as that monotonous rural road that leads to the Bay Bridge Tunnel and sandy points south. But this stick-straight, north-south thoroughfare is chock full of eclectic shops, galleries, and restaurants. We’ve uncovered some of the more interesting stops to visit along the way, from family-run wineries to seafood shacks to gourmet truck stops. And, oh, the people you’ll meet—chatty country folk with the gift of the gab and a welcoming wave. So pack up the car (and don’t forget this article); a journey along Route 13 is a destination unto itself.
1. Tom Burton sells an impressive variety of seafood, but his fish isn’t fresh. Actually, they’re made of wood. Beneath a make-shift roadside canopy in New Church he cuts red drum, mahi mahi, gray trout, rockfish, speckled trout—even snakeheads—out of three-quarter-inch-thick shelving boards. The retired Wallops Island Flight Facility photographer and self-trained artist has been creating his school of fish since 1987. “And no two fish are alike,” he says. His authentically painted marine species range in size from less than a foot long to several feet in length and start at about $15 each. 757-824-6369.—J.S.
2. The ingredients for a killer cruise down Rt. 13? This article, country and western tunes, and a large pecan log roll, Stuckey’s signature treat. (We devoured ours before we got out of the store.) Frank Stuckey, brother of the chain’s founder, Williamson S. Stuckey, opened the Mappsville store in 1963. Hershey’s ice cream floats remain the specialty at the lunch counter, while kitschy memorabilia, from NASCAR lighters to Baja jackets to interstate bingo cards (items like rest areas, motor homes, and barns replace numbers) are all part of the charm. 757-824-3616.—K.B.
3. Three rules apply at Metompkin Seafood: First, the food is carry-out only. Second, no eating inside. Third, owner Ellen Hudgins will take her highly sought-after crab cake recipe to the grave. “They’re 90 percent crabmeat is all I can tell you,” says Hudgins, who opened the shop in 1990 with her husband, J.C. Delicacies here (all locally caught) include oysters, soft crabs, cherrystone clams—even steamed crabs. Not-so-light lunch fare includes a fish and shrimp platter (comes with hush puppies, fries, and slaw), fried oyster sandwich, clam strip basket, and the best seller: the crab cake, soft crab, and fish fillet combo. A fixins’ bar of Old Bay and cocktail sauce—along with a Moon Pie for dessert—top off the experience. Mappsville. Open year round (except for January), Tues.-Sat., 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 757- 824-0503.—K.B.
4. Not that we’re recommending drinking and driving, but the Bloxom Winery, for now the only winery and vineyard on the ESVA (another is scheuled to open down the road near Nassawadox), makes for a nice pit stop. Francesca and Robert Giardina produce 650 cases of Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc from their six acres of vines, located about a mile west of Route 13. The setting is appropriately rural, with fields of wheat and corn beyond the vines. The couple also offers guests a short menu of meats and cheeses to enjoy with a bottle at one of the winery’s picnic tables. On Saturdays, the Giardinas fire up an outdoor wood-burning Italian oven and bake pizzas, bread, and foccacia. The tasting room is generally open from Wednesday through Sunday, but you might want to call the family-run operation first. “We close down for the season when we run out of wine,” says Robert. Open May-Oct., Wed.-Sun., 1-6 p.m. 757- 665-5670.—J.S.
5. The Victorian town of Parksley—one of the Eastern Shore’s few planned communities—sprang up around its railroad station. That original station is long gone, but the Eastern Shore Railway Museum preserves the peninsula’s railroading heritage on the very same spot. Visitors can poke around the 1906 passenger station, moved from nearby Hopeton, complete with agent’s office and separate waiting areas for black and white passengers. A half-dozen vintage railcars and a circa-1890s tool shed full of original tools and other railway artifacts adds to the historic flavor. Admission: $2; kids under twelve, free. Open Mon.-Sat., 12-4 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 757-665-7245. —J.S.
6. Onancock is a classic Shore town, with an old one-screen movie theater, a summer firemen’s carnival, and a pretty wharf along Onancock Creek. But Onancock also offers a dose of big-city sophistication in the form of several upscale shops and gourmet restaurants—Bizzotto’s Gallery and Café (offering artwork, pottery, leather goods, and jewelry) and particularly at the renovated Charlotte Hotel & Restaurant, where Chef Phillip Blane creates imaginative New American dishes from local ingredients. (The hotel also offers eight stylish rooms.) History buffs will enjoy Onancock’s nineteenth-century homes and Kerr Place Historic House and Museum, home to the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society. Bizzotto’s, 757-787-3103. Charlotte Hotel, 757-787-7400 or http://www.thecharlottehotel.com. Kerr Place, 757-787-8012 or http://www.kerrplace.org. —J.S.
7. Lions and tigers and fifteen- foot eagles, oh, my! Turner Sculpture in Onley, owned by the father/son team of resident sculptors William and David Turner, is the largest wildlife gallery and foundry in the nation. Turner’s bronze creations (not all are critters indigenous to the Shore) are created on-site in an eight-step process that includes making the molds, liquefying the metal in a 2,000-degree furnace, and applying the patina. (Unfortunately, foundry tours are no longer available.) Other creations include wildlife-themed sketches, oil paintings, and watercolors. As for that fifteen-foot eagle, it’s already spoken for by the town of Ocean City, where it will prominently welcome visitors to town. 757-787-2818 or http://www.turner-sculpture.com.—K.B.
8. It’s been twenty years since Pamela Barefoot started mixing spices on her kitchen table. Now her multi-million-dollar Blue Crab Bay Co. is one of the small-business success stories of the Eastern Shore. You can browse (and sample!) the company’s familiar light blue containers of dips, seafood marinade, spiced peanuts, and of course, bottles of Sting Ray Bloody Mary mixer that cram the factory’s gift shop. Stop by for a cooking demo or a factory tour or to pick up a can of Crab House Crunch—peanut brittle spiked with Chesapeake Bay seasonings. Melfa Municipal Airport Access Rd. 757-787-3602 or http://www.bluecrabbay.com.—J.S.
9. How good is the fried chicken at Tammy & Johnny’s? There were once three fried chicken depots within several miles of Melfa on Route 13. Now there’s only one. “It took us about six years to put the KFC out of business, but we did,” says T&J’s owner Ronnie Edwards, who named the restaurant after his two small children in 1967. (Both are now in their forties and work behind the counter.) “We put out the Popeye’s in Exmore, too.” This is a no-nonsense institution, where locals start lining up for fried chicken—served in distinctive orange and brown buckets—hamburgers, and free[!] coffee as soon as the doors open at 11 a.m. “We want every customer who walks in that door to come back,” says Edwards, who built the restaurant himself. And more often than not, they do. 757-787-1122.—J.S.
10. When Len and Ellie Cackowski moved to Virginia’s Eastern Shore from New Jersey, he promised that he’d open her “a little antiques shop.” That little antiques shop turned out to be a 15,000-square-foot antiques mall crammed with the wares of more than 150 dealers. The Blue Crow Antique Mall is the largest of its kind on ESVA and features a huge mix of old furniture and collectibles, from nineteenth-century Chinese cabinets to early-twentieth-century hand tools. Open Mon.- Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., noon- 5 p.m. 757-442-4150 or http://www.bluecrowantiques.com.—J.S.
11. The newly paved streets and sidewalks in “downtown” Exmore are signs that this tiny town is prepping for things to come. But for now, Exmore remains a sleepy outpost, limited to several antiques stores, including the new Fountains Rest Antiques, which specializes in Asian antiquities. The Yellow Duck Bakery and Café makes for a good stop for a cup of coffee and muffin, as does the classic Exmore Diner, a fixture in town for fifty years. It’s worth a detour to nearby Willis Wharf, aka “Clam Town,” for lunch at E.L. Willis & Co., an eclectic general store-cum-restaurant on Parting Creek. Fountains Rest Antiques, 3254 Main St., 757-442-7577. The Yellow Duck, 3312 Main St., 757-442-5909. Exmore Diner, 4264 Main St., 757-442-2313. E.L. Willis & Co., Willis Wharf Rd. 757-442-4225.—J.S.
12. You’re not crazy. That was a jumbo shrimp that tall (and typically shirtless) man was waving at you from the roadside as you rolled into Exmore. And yes, he was hollering, “Pretty shrimp! Fresh shrimp!” His name is Tim Tarr, owner of Tim’s Seafood, and he’s been a shrimp vendor in Exmore for the past twenty years. From Easter through Thanksgiving, you can find the perpetually suntanned, shrimp-waving showman and his Chevy pickup (basically a tricked-out refrigerator on wheels) at his stand nestled between the car wash and movie store. From his nine massive coolers, he sells fresh-daily fruits of the Bay: sea scallops, clams, crab meat, oysters, and, of course, shrimp. “I can turn traffic right around,” he says. “It’s a good way to make a living.” 757-894-0154.—K.B.
13. For those weary of roadside fast- food joints, El Maguey serves up a spicy alternative. Here you’ll find nearly every Mexican staple known to man (one hundred and sixteen different dishes, to be exact), from tacos to two grilled chickens. The cooks are happy to add as much—or as little—heat to orders, which are best washed down with an orange or lime Jarritos, a Mexican soda. Colorful sombreros and strings of colored lights surround the small dining area. Off-beat dessert selections include snow cones as well as oatmeal raisin cookies and raspberry bars. Open for lunch and dinner, Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat. until 10 p.m. 757-442-2900.—K.B.
14. We’ve always been big fans of The Great Machipongo Clam Shack, a red-and-white, roadside seafood shanty, run by Roger and Jean Mariner. (Besides, its name is fun to say.) Now there’s another location six miles north on the west side of Route 13. The new location, in a former McDonald’s, lacks the authentic hose-it-down atmosphere of the original location, but the menu is bigger and the seafood selection better. Both locations offer an unimaginable variety of mostly frozen fish and other delicacies—from lobster tails to alligator meat. From the menu board, go fishing for salmon sandwiches, steamed shrimp, and stuffed flounder. You won’t find any over-fried Micky D’s Filet-O-Fish here. Open seven days a week, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 757-442-3800 or http://www.greatclams.com.—J.S.
15. Even the mosquitoes on Virginia’s Eastern Shore had ancestors who fought in the Civil War. According to the circa-1864 diary of George W. Bonsall, the only action a company of Ohio infantrymen saw while stationed on Hog Island was with mosquitoes. “Some are disfigured with red, black and blue marks,” wrote Bonsall, “swollen eyes and other marks of the terrible charge, as to be scarcely recognizable.” Some things never change. But life on Hog—as well as the other once-inhabited barrier islands—did. After the infamous storm of 1933, residents were forced back to the mainland for good. But thanks to the Barrier Islands Center, the history of these islands, their pioneering denizens, and long-decommissioned lighthouses lives on. Housed in the refurbished circa-1880 Almhouse Farm, the center is replete with artifacts, archival photography, and written accounts of island life, which read like a Fitzgerald novel, complete with escapades of duck-hunting dandies and swish dances held at the Red Onion social club that once graced Cobb’s Island. Have tourguide Jerry Doughty, a walking barrier island encyclopedia (his ancestors lived on Hog Island), show you around (and be sure to check out the fab gift shop, where you can find regional books, art, and jewelry”. Open Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun. 1-5 p.m. 757-678-5550 or http://www.barrierislandscenter.com.—K.B.
16. Keep a lookout around mile marker 86 for the Eastville exit. This town was founded by 1632, and its sights including the Eastville Courthouse Buildings, a complex made up of courthouse (1731), prison (1814), and clerk’s office (1731), which still holds the nation’s oldest continuous court records dating from 1632. The courthouse is now a museum containing American Indian relics and colonial artifacts. Next door is the Eastville Inn, which has operated as such since 1724 and specializes in down- home local fare. At The Gallery at Eastville, husband/wife team Mary Miller and David Bruce Handschur make and sell an incredible collection of kiln-formed glass ornaments, block prints, watercolors, beaded jewelry, and hand-loomed sweaters. Eastville Courthouse Buildings, open Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 757-678-0465. Eastville Inn: lunch (closed Wed. and Sat.); dinner (closed Wed.) 757-678-5745 or http://www.eastvilleinn.com; The Gallery at Eastville, open Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 757-678-7532 or http://www.thegalleryateastville.com. —K.B.
17. Talk about growth. Since 2003, real estate prices have quadrupled in some cases in the bayfront burg of Cape Charles. Waking up at a fast and furious pace, the town is one of the most happening real estate hotspots on the Shore, attracting a fresh infusion of merchants and developers anticipating the impending gold rush. The early results of the town’s makeover can be seen at the Bay Creek Marina & Resort, home to more than fifty pastel-colored waterfront homes as well as a swish clothing boutique, gourmet deli, art gallery, and the Shore’s swankest eatery, Aqua, offering imaginative Pacific rim fare. For charming accommodations, check in with Carol and Bruce Evans, innkeepers of the Cape Charles House, a rambling Victorian with five spacious guest rooms. Aqua, 757-331-8660. Cape Charles House, 757-331-4920 or http://www.capecharleshouse.com. —K.B.
18. At the intersection of Route 13 and Capeville Road, look for Windsor House, where master carpenter Kurt Lewin handcrafts Windsor furniture, from rocking chairs to sideboards (order now, the wait is up to a month long). The store, located in the lower-level of his family residence, also sells folk art, antiques, and decoys. Open Mon., Thurs., and Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tues. & Wed., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 757-331-4848. —K.B.
19. Sting Ray’s just might be the only gas station in the world where you can fill up on diesel and crab imperial. Located about seven miles north of the Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Sting Ray’s has been an Eastern Shore institution since 1951. Frequented by truckers and tourists alike, it’s not uncommon for the lines of hungry patrons to extend beyond the front door, awaiting specialties such as fried seafood, soft crabs, ribs, pan-fried pork chops—there’s even broiled salmon for the health-conscious traveler. “We serve anything that swims,” says dessert chef Sheila Wolfram. Open Sun.-Thurs., 5:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 5:30 a.m.-10 p.m. 757-331-2505. —K.B.
20. Now that you’re at the end of Route 13, reward yourself with a stroll along the white sand beaches of Kiptopeke State Park. Named after the younger brother of a king of the Accawmack Indians, the bayfront park is home to countless migrating shorebirds. There are also four miles of hiking and biking trails through upland hardwood forests and beaches, all interconnected by boardwalks. Stay overnight in one of the park’s yurts, a modern adaptation of an ancient nomadic shelter, each with a Bay view. 757-331-2267 or http://www.dcr.state.va.us/parks/kiptopek.htm. —K.B.
