Evening star., 1952-07-27
BAY BRIDGE OPENS UP EASTERN SHORE VACATION LAND
Ocean
Within Three
Hours of D.. G.
By George Kennedy

BY George Kennedy
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
which will be dedicated Wednes-
day, is span to another world.
-Four days hence it will be
easier to escape the heat of the
Capital. Just hop in your car
and head East. In three hours
you will enter another atmosphere.
where the cool salt sea breezes Of
the great Atlantic sweep across
the dunes.
No longer will the weather.
mans prediction, mo relief in
sight" be so discouraging. 1t may
not be in sight, but it will be in
easy driving distance.
The wind from the ocean meets
The warm air over the land and
often builds up a long line Of
clouds, rolled like a lady's pompa-
dour.
Roinbow Of Umbrellas
And Tang of the Sea
It is the same Atlantic that
makes the Jersey shore and the
Florida beaches so popular-just
as good and just as restless. With
rhythmic regularity the surf
comes in, booming after a storm,
barely managing to topple during
a calm. Sometimes there is spray
in the air. It always has that in
vigorating tang that smells Of
salt and the life Of the sea.
There are miles of boardwalk
at the resorts east of Washington
and as many miles of colored
beach umbrellas strung out in
the sun. There is everything ira
ditionally associated with beach
resorts-the salt water taffy which
can be mailed to the folks at
home, the auction room where
antiques go begging for satisfac-
tory bids, the racks of postcards,
the ads for sunburn preventatives
and remedies, the speciality shops
featuring garish beach garments
with outrageous patterns and the
French fried potato stands.
There is the bathing suit dis
play of the amazing variations Of
the human figure, male and fe-
male, along the beach in which
the bronze lifeguards and. the
teen-age sylphS star.
CIeon, White Sond
With GroduoI Slope
The beaches are as wide and fiat
as are those in Florida. They are
every bit as good as those which
have made the Jersey coast IA
nous, popular and prosperous for
generations. They are of clean.
white sand with no pebbles or
|Shale.
The descent into the oceans Is a
gentle slope at most places. In
some you can 60 out more than
100 yards before getting beyond
your depth. The areas watched
by lifeguards have records of years
without a drowning.
The ocean will be less than 14O
miles from Washington via the
bridge. (See AAA map for routes
and mileage.
The bridge is getting its finish
ing touches for Wednesdays
dedication. The sky-blue coat Of
paint on the superstructure Is
being covered with a final coat
of shining aluminium. The cat
walks, used in stringing and wrap
lping the cables on which the
l ,600-foot suspension span hangs,
have been taken down.
Road machines are laying the
black top surface of the roadway.
squeezing 1t onto the concrete
base like a tube of toothpaste.
The toll booths on either side
are being readied to collect the
revenue which will pay for the
I$44 million structure-$1.40 for
a car and driver. Is cents for each
additional passenger over 6 years
old.
Crossing at 40 MPH
With No Woits
The speed limit on the 28-foot-
wide two-lane crossing will be
40 miles an hour with no regula-
ton against passing slower NOV
ing cars. Thus the Chesapeake
can be crossed in 10 minutes.
The ferry crossing used to
average an hour on week days,
half the time spent waiting to
|get on or to get of the boats.
And on summer Saturdays, Sun
days and holidays the wait was
likely to be from two to three
hours. a circumstance that dis
|couraged most people from driv-
ing to the ocean.
Many Washingtonians are un-
aware of the extent of ocean
shore that will soon be available
to them within the compass Of q
days drive, going and coming.
And it will surprise many that
the ocean beach nearest to WASH
|ington is on the Delaware, not
the Maryland coast. A direct line
east from Washington, set by the
Washington Monument and the
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