“My neighbor tried it swimming on the 4th. The tents, massive in size, were so thick that in order to reach the water, he had to walk under and through tents. The next day they decided to take a walk along the beach at about 10:00 am. Mass numbers of tents were taken off the support poles and were laying on the sand along with beach chairs and other beach equipment. I know full well that the Cape Charles we came here for is long gone and we exist solely for the pleasure and entertainment of the summer people who make the cash registers ring. An old saying, it’s not kind but degree. The whole situation is getting out of control, witness the firestorm about golf carts.” – sent to the Mirror by Thomy Giese(I am quite content doing very little slowly) from Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore of Saltwater Virginia, where there is nothing to do and we do it all day long.
Once again, Thomy hits the nail right on the head. Summertime in Cape Charles is not what it used to be–it’s not what local residents really signed up for.
Locals have written the Mirror about this, bemoaning the influx of rudeness that has taken over this town. While not all bad, it seems that a larger percentage of this year’s tourists have taken bad manners, narcissism, and self-importance to a new level. Folks tell us they stay inside or just leave town on the weekends.
The following comment was sent in by a reader. While it is in response to a previous article on golf carts, it kind of sums things up:
I was at St Charles Catholic Church for 5:00 Sat Mass…came out of church at 6:00. Had parked two spaces down from the front of the church. Surprise-a crowd was standing around the back of my 2018 Ford Explorer. Several people witnessed a tall grey haired “gentleman? “trying to pull out of his parking space behind my vehicle in his golf cart. They all heard a loud crash as he rammed into the back of my SUV, then backed into the vehicle behind him. A parishioner ran down the church steps managed to take his keys from him offering to drive him home, he snatched the keys back, pulled forward once again hitting the rear of my car, and took off. No one recognized him but said he was obviously intoxicated and just didnt know how to drive the golf cart. Hit and run-no respect, no conscience. I need to replace part of my bumper-I have several pieces from his white 4 seater golf cart. My family and I witnessed the same thing happening during the 4th of July as we were walking to the parade. Another inexperienced golf cart driver trying to parallel park. Luckily the owner of the house came rushing out as he heard the crash. They are for the golf course people! – Reader Comments
We know, that cow’s already out of the barn, and there’s no going back to 20 or 30 years ago when this village had real charm. A little bit of dilapidation goes a long way.
You get what you vote for. Every single member of Town Council except for one has business interests in this town, so this outcome is to be expected.
Back in the Assess and Villains days, this writer used to mock this effort as the Cape Maying of Cape Charles.
Who’s laughing now? He’s still wiping the egg off his face and driving an hour to work on his tan at Croatan beach.
Below are photos sent in by a reader on the morning of the 5th of July.