Eastern Shore

Virginia's Eastern Shore is the frequently forgotten part of the state - some maps even fail to show this disconnected region. Comprising Accomack and Northampton counties, the Eastern Shore is the Virginia portion of the southern end of the Delmarva peninsula. Access from the rest of Virginia is either via Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or the much more interesting Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel extending over 14 miles across the mouth of the bay from the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area.

Despite bordering on the Atlantic Ocean for their entire 70 mile length, the counties of the Eastern Shore have no privately owned oceanfront property (that's none, zero, nada). A series of barrier islands lies just off the coast and they're all owned by the state or federal governments or by The Nature Conservancy. You can, however, visit many of these islands - but you can only do it by boat.

The best known town on the Eastern Shore is undoubtedly Chincoteague, home of the Virginia portion of the Assateague Island National Seashore and the wild horses that were the basis for the famous book "Misty of Chincoteague". Despite the nearness of the Atlantic Ocean, Chincoteague is the only real resort town on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Just outside the town is the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility, one of only a handful of spots used by NASA for launching rockets.

The northern half 'the Shore' is occupied by Accomack County, with a county seat in Accomac (yes, the city and county names are spelled differently - some kind of weird political decision made in the 1940's). One of the county's nicer little towns is Onancock, on the bay side with a deep water port on Onancock Creek. The ferry from Onancock to Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay is a popular excursion to a very different kind of place.

Northampton County is the southernmost of the shore's two Virginia counties. The county seat is in the very small town of Eastville. Toward the southern end of the county you'll find Cape Charles, a growing town due to the the Bay Creek development of homes and golf courses. For an interesting tale about life (or, more acccurately, the end of life) in Northampton County 35 million years ago, check out the story of the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater.

The primary industry on the Eastern Shore is agriculture - and the biggest part of that is the chicken business. Chicken farms and processing plants dot the landscape (make sure your new home is upwind of any of these facilities).