The opportunities for women to play in fun, competitive and well organized events are somewhat limited.  According to the National Golf Foundation, core women golfers behave much like men.  They are hooked on the sport, spend money on equipment and enjoy competition. 

Bay Creek is women friendly and supports the desires of all who want to learn the game and enjoy its many benefits.  This year’s Ladies Invitational is Thursday, June 25.  Because it is as much a social event as a competition, the theme is Tee Garden and the format is two person teams, one better ball net.  A light breakfast and lunch are included. 

Whether it’s a formal event or just getting together with friends or family, golf is a perfect activity to facilitate new friendships, rekindle old friendships and spend time with those near and dear to us.  So make some calls and get a group together.  Make it a day for ladies to enjoy in a beautiful setting and take a “daycation” from the rigors of your daily activities.

According to a recent survey by Zillow.com, three out of four U.S. homeowners think that the housing market has seen its worst days and a turn-around is near.  Researchers for the Zillow.com sampled almost 1,400 homeowners around the country in early April and asked where they thought the housing market was headed. About half of homeowners living in Southern states and about 60% nationwide said that their houses were worth less than they were a year ago.  Zillow.com estimates that actually about 70% of homes in the Southern region of the U.S. have lost value in the last year. 

While people recognize that housing prices have been falling and the housing market is in a slump, they are far more optimistic about the future with three out of four homeowners believing that their homes’ prices will increase or remain flat over the next 6 months.  Homeowners are also eager to get back into the market with 30% saying they would be likely to put their house up for sale at the first sign of a market rebound. 

This is great news for anyone looking for Eastern Shore real estate.  Bay Creek Resort & Club has great incentives for buyers of Cape Charles real estate, but these incentives won’t last long.  Right now is the best time to buy a new home.

While enjoying the sun and surf on the beach at Bay Creek, take a moment to watch the ferry boat transporting the railway cars.  The history behind those cars begins over 100 years ago.
 
In 1884 the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk railroad company laid tracks and the Eastern Shore’s focus shifted from the coastline to the interior.  Commerce quickly grew more robust as farmers and fishermen adapted to ship their harvests to distant markets.  To cross the Bay, a solution was to design a barge with railroad tracks large enough to ferry 18 freight rail cars. The new barges were in operation by April 1885, and the designs were later copied and used with great success around the world.

On October 25, 1884 the tracks into Cape Charles were completed. The town was laid out with 644 fairly symmetrical lots with seven avenues running east and west named for prominent Virginians, and five streets running north and south named for fruits and trees.  By 1886 it was one of the largest communities in the Northampton and Accomack counties.

Populated largely by northerners, Cape Charles included a tavern, two hotels, a post office, a livery stable, several stores, and many homes and businesses. The town was home to the first Roman Catholic Church and the only Jewish congregations ever to assemble on the Shore.

In the late 1890s, Thomas Dixon Jr, who later gained nationwide fame as author of the novel “Birth of a Nation,” was the most famous resident of Cape Charles. He commuted to New York City each week by train so he could preach as a Baptist minister, which also helped inform northerners about the Eastern Shore of Virginia as a destination and growing community.

From its start, the NYP&N was a profitable railway line. A large amount of traffic in lumber, pig iron, cotton, vegetables, and other commodities traveled north from Norfolk while the Shore shipped out potatoes, strawberries, cabbages, onions and seafood.

The first quarter of the 20th century was a “golden age” for the Shore.  The railroad modernized communications, transportation increased the population, and villages grew bigger.  Its dining car bright with fresh white linen and flowers, the “Del-mar-va Express” carried passengers to and from the Virginia Shore everyday. The Cavalier covered the same route at night while passengers were sleeping. The Sailor and the Mariner also ran daily while the Furlough only ran south on Sundays to carry naval personnel back to Norfolk after a weekend leave.

The railroad’s glory days came to a rapid halt during the depression, and in 1930 the Shore quickly transitioned from railroad cars to automobiles and trucks for transportation and commerce. In 1931, the same year route 13 was completed, Charles W. Harrison established a ferry to carry automobiles from Cape Charles to Norfolk.

In 1950, even with the railroad still in operation, Cape Charles took a serious loss when the ferry was moved to Kiptopeke Beach.  In 1976, Northampton and Accomack counties, formed the Accomack and Northampton Transportation District Commission (ANTDC), and by using a bond issue, the Commission purchased the railroad to preserve rail service on the Shore.

In 2005, after a number of years of declining traffic, the ANTDC decided to consider a new operator of their railroad. After reviewing all the proposals, Cassatt Management, LLC, d/b/a Bay Coast Railroad began operating the same rail line and barge operation that had been envisioned and built in 1884.

We often gaze at the beach without seeing it for what it really is – a home for many types of plants and animals.

The crab’s effect on the beach is probably the most visible; from the tiny footprints they leave behind in wet sand to the small holes throughout the sand. Interestingly, crabs shells actually dont grow with the crab. In order for a crab to grow bigger, it has to shed it’s shell by crawling out backwards. This “naked” crab will puff itself up with water and hide until its new shell hardens.  This “soft-shelled crab” is a delicacy and quite delicious on rye bread. Once the shell hardens, the crab releases the excess water and ventures out of his hiding place.

The seashells along the beach began as homes for animals like snails, oysters and clams. When the animal dies, only the empty shell remains; found along the beach, attached to driftwod or even other shells.

Seaweed, sponges and sea glass can also be found along the beach.  The seaweed actually grows out in the water as a floating mat and provides a home to many small fish and crabs. 

Sponges can be found in every bay and ocean of the world and were once believed to be plants. However, zoologists finally recognized them as simple multi-cellular, bottom-dwelling animals called Porifera.  The word means “pore-bearing” and refers to the many tiny visible on all sponges.

Sea glass is one of the few examples of a prized beach item created from actions of the environment on man-made litter. Sea glass, or mermaid’s tears, are small pieces of glass that are tumbled by the waves and made to look frosted with smooth edges.

The signs of summer are upon us here in Cape Charles and Bay Creek.  Sunny weather, pleasant southwest breezes and the calls of laughing gulls are experienced daily.

Fishermen guage summer by the reports of anglers catching red drum, as they continue to migrate north.  Along the Eastern Shore corridor, migrating fish move along the waters feeding on an assortment of baitfish, crabs and shellfish. May 1st marks the typical opening season for flounder.  Tautog are available around the high rise and pilings. Most fishermen are using hard crab for bait.  Smaller black drum up to 25 lbs. are showing up on the surf and in the channels on the seaside. Red drum have been sighted off the surf also.