Weekend on Tangier Island

[orionflt]

This past weekend my wife and I went to Tangier Island, Virginia to celebrate our 20th anniversary; the trip down only took us an hour from the Philadelphia area. We arrived around noon on Friday, which left us plenty of time to map out the island to plan our weekend. Most visitors come to the island via the 3 ferries from Virginia and Maryland. We were a little surprised to note that, due to the cost of the ferry, it was actually cheaper to fly down. Ferries range from $20 to $30 per person, each way - and the shortest ferry ride takes about as long as our flight did, plus the 2-3 hours it would've taken us to drive to the ferry.

 

We didn't have any bad food at all & they make excellent crabcakes! There are 4 restaurants, a museum, a dock with benches, a library, lots of birds and pretty scenery, and some of the friendliest people we've ever seen anywhere. Being a slightly off-season time (Fridays are pretty low-key, I think there were 4 other visitors that night), they recognized us as non-local very quickly, and were quick to ask how things were going, and to see how plans went later.

 

We heard about a bingo game at the fire house, and spent a lively evening with the locals, who are raising money for the annual homecoming and 50th anniversary of the fire company- which are combined for a major event the weekend of August 15th this year. At a rummage sale Saturday, one of the locals asked if we won anything at bingo, and behind us someone popped up "Yes they did!" - we won 3 of the 20 games, the other non-local couple who went with us won 2... the joke is next year - no visitors allowed! lol

 

Saturday, the fire house had an excellent chicken barbecue, which included some fantastic homemade desserts. In addition to fire house activities, we had hours of walking around the town, on the beach, across the 6 or so bridges. The full circuit of the main portion of the island is approximately 1.3 miles, so walking everywhere was a breeze. Golf carts are the main mode of transportation, along with bicycles, and are available to rent. 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and definitely plan to return!

[aviatoreb]

Thanks for the review!

 

Hmmm....our 20th anniversary is in two weeks!  And I grew up in MD....

[Marauder]

Brian - sounds like a nice place to visit. I was made aware of it a couple of years ago but never made it down there. I remember a couple of restricted airspaces near it, was it easy to navigate or did you go IFR?

[Bob_Belville]

No fuel @ KTGI, is there? I've been using nearby KMFV for a fuel stop between NC and ME. 

[Cris]

Years ago I made several visits to Tangiers Island. On the first vist I parked the plane and went into town with my wife and small son. After we checked into the hotel someone asked how we arrived? I said we flew at which point I was asked where I parked. Turns out the island is sinking an inch or so per year so that when the tide rises the part of the runway and parking area flooded. Opps a hurried retreat to the airport to move the plane. Just made it before the salt water did. Don't know if the runway was ever raised but watch the tides!!

[orionflt]

Brian - sounds like a nice place to visit. I was made aware of it a couple of years ago but never made it down there. I remember a couple of restricted airspaces near it, was it easy to navigate or did you go IFR?

The island is surrounded by warning areas but they are easy to navigate, I utilized flight following just to make it easier to identify if any of the areas were hot. The only restriction I had to deal with was the area north of the island and I just had to stay below 3500ft.

No fuel @ KTGI, is there? I've been using nearby KMFV for a fuel stop between NC and ME.

there is no services at all on the island, but there are several fields with in a few minutes flying time. my friend who was headed back to Lynchburg stopped at hummel (south west), but there were also fields 14 miles north east and south east of the island.

Years ago I made several visits to Tangiers Island. On the first vist I parked the plane and went into town with my wife and small son. After we checked into the hotel someone asked how we arrived? I said we flew at which point I was asked where I parked. Turns out the island is sinking an inch or so per year so that when the tide rises the part of the runway and parking area flooded. Opps a hurried retreat to the airport to move the plane. Just made it before the salt water did. Don't know if the runway was ever raised but watch the tides!!

They redid the runway several yrs ago, the runway is almost 2700 ft long with part of the old runway still available as overrun to the south, the ramp is on high ground and for the 3 days we were there we did not see any water near the runway or ramp. because of the improvements to the ramp and runway they charge $10 per day for parking, they also have a women who is at the airport most days to collect the fee and provide assistance. the airport is unlit so operations are from dawn till dusk, during the day the ramp filled up but as evening arrived every one took off leaving the ramp empty...well except fot us.

Brian

[pinerunner]

This sounds like a great place to visit. I read that they have an unusual dialect that goes back colonial settlement days; did you notice that? We should have a list of airports that are truly fun to visit.

[orionflt]

This sounds like a great place to visit. I read that they have an unusual dialect that goes back colonial settlement days; did you notice that? We should have a list of airports that are truly fun to visit.

yes they do, we sat and listened to several conversations and they were relatively easy to understand but it was a noticeable difference. when they talk to visitors they use the normal english.  

[helitim]

First time I've ever seen a cemetery with vaults above ground due to the elevation. Really neat coming in and landing so close to the ocean. Beautiful little island. I highly recommend a trip there.

[John Pleisse]

Has the runway been repaved yet? Last time I went in there, it was kind of rough. Awesome destination.