The following article is in response to several emails submitted by locals complaining about the tent city that has sprung up this summer at the Cape Charles beach. One reader noted, “These pics are from this morning. Visitors are leaving dangerous and broken tents, etc. behind for the Public Works folks. I was talking to the town worker who was dragging the trash to the street and she said if people left this out in front of their homes they would be ticketed and fined….but hard to identify abandoned trash on the beach. She said it seems to be getting worse. And more people are setting up stakes earlier in the morning and not showing up for hours later. Often taking up excessive space. Seems unfair”.
First, what is up with this tent thing? Sometimes I see two or three large tents strung together, taking up a large swath of the beach, and there will only be two people sitting under them. What happened to just bringing an umbrella? Besides, if you don’t like the sun and getting a deep, dark, sexy tan (such as this writer has), why are you even at the beach? Maybe you should just stay inside?
Tent madness seems to come in waves. During the week, with fewer bodies and more available beach, tents are still obnoxious, but not really much of an issue. But on beautiful days when the sun is out in force, the Cape Charles beach begins to resemble the tent cities in San Francisco and Los Angelos.
Yes, we know, this is a hard and difficult concept to grasp, but there is a real thing called beach etiquette.
Consideration for fellow beachgoers is crucial to keeping the Cape Charles beach awesome for everyone. Setting up large tents on crowded beaches demonstrates a lack of consideration for others who are also there to enjoy the beach. Be mindful of the shared space and ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to relax, move around, and enjoy their time at the beach.
Respecting the comfort and needs of others used to be what Cape Charles Beach was all about.
Cape Charles is a very small beach. On the weekends, it is a crowded beach setting–try to strike a balance between personal comfort and consideration for others.
Setting up large tents on crowded beaches is a dick move that negatively impacts your fellow beachgoers, restricts accessibility, and blocks scenic views of the Bay. Being mindful of the limited space, respecting the natural surroundings, and considering the needs of others will keep the beach an awesome place for all of us.
About the Author
A lack of consideration for others is very big in America today.
Tents on the beach by permit only . Then enforce it . Umbrellas upto a certain size no permit required.
There is a very simple way to solve this problem and the town to make money. All tent owners or users must have permits! Anyone who doesn’t have a permit gets a ticket! You must either remove the tent or get a permit. If the tent is left overnight the permit owner gets another ticket. Problem solved.
Now can someone buy me a beer at Kelly’s for solving another town problem.
PS. I don’t drink Bud lite!
This was sponsored by someone with common sense. Follow me for more common sense solutions.
come on Man!!!
Editor’s Note: 🤣
People will find this hard to believe but when we first moved to Cape Charles my wife and I would go to the beach hoping to meet some other people. We met some very nice Town folk but many days we were on that beach and never saw a soul. That was 2010.
Trash pack it I pack it out
EASY ….Just say NO to beach tents, game over.
I agree with almost everything you said, except for the preference for umbrellas. Many beach umbrellas are poorly designed and irresponsibly secured. They become extremely hazardous and even deadly when airborn in even normal coastal winds. When I see groups with umbrellas I get as far away as possible. There are many safer options that don’t obnoxiously take up the whole beach. A reasonable rule about structure size per person is sufficient.
Just say NO to all
LMFAO! Why did I leave ESVA and find somewhere else to retire? Stolen life jackets, the smell of weed, trashed tents abandoned.
These are your only problems….. oh yea…..non-functioning city government too!
This town got ruined the day it became a sell out. What made this place special will be the source of its demise.
Gentrification drove out people who lived and worked here for decades, the very people who cultivated the land and waters with small family run businesses.
It used to be a small and quiet town where people and nature coexisted in harmony. Soon it will be a trashy repository of tourism waste just like Virginia Beach or Ocean City.
I have heard many verified rumors and experienced first hand the entitlement that comes from a certain Main Street business owner who personifies the persona of oblivious newcomer who destabilizes the ecosystem. This particular person is a reflection of the abusive mindset that comes with wealth.
He is a known sexual predator.
These are the kind of people who now call Cape Charles home…including government workers from NoVA who bring their stuffiness and self righteousness to a town that used to have real character.
It all started with the jellybean farm.
I personally do not go back to my hometown because it has been ruined and no longer offers the same charm it used to possess.
Good luck Cape Charles! Main Street and the obnoxious people on all the boards and community forums have successfully ruined a once awesomely independent no bullshit type of place.
Ma’am,
The town was a run down, empty rat hole when we bought our house there. You must have been looking at another town that had small businesses and people frequenting them. Cape Chuck was dead.
But not to fear, the anti-come here attitude made the decision to sell easy.
And we made sure you got only Virginians in; of course they come from NOVA but hey, at least they aren’t come here’s.
But why are you leaving paradise? Are you looking for another rat hole, where you feel comfortable? Or is it that your renovation tax relief has expired?
Well anyway. Don’t let the door hit you where the good lord split ya!
Good Riddance….I hope you find another ’empty rat hole’, sounds like a perfect environment for someone just like you.
Actually, it was the crappy people like you Stuart that had us sell several years ago now. BUT I made sure to sell to a nice NOVA couple so you had your fellow Virginians there with you.,…enjoy them!!
Doug, we left ‘paradise’ because of the bigotry(the hotel owners were SO WELCOMED), racism and general lack of class and manners exhibited by the Stuarts of CC.
And sorry, took no tax credits. Took great joy in rehabbing a home that was EMPTY and filling it with family.
And adding to the tax a base of the town, and spending money in the town etc….
But hey, we gone so be happy now.
Stuart and Doug, showing us they are innumerate without saying they are innumerate.
👍😉