And we're off! Caribbean Trek 2022, and the first time this normally bienial trek has taken flight in MSFS 2020. We missed making a trek during the past two years due to the pandemic.  The last one was at this time of year in 2018.

Six of us are packed into my Robert Young Turbo Bonanza (RYTB) for this first leg from my homebase at Easton, Maryland (KESN), to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Us three couples will golf there for two days, move over to a SMW Kodiak 100, and continue to Ft Myers, Florida.  

A fourth couple awaits us at their winter condo.  From there we will fly to Key West, Fl, for a couple of days, and then from there head to Cancun for several days.  From Cancun we will fly to our anchor destination on Grand Cayman Island south of Cuba. We will check out a number of MSFS airport addons on day trips from Grand Cayman.

Up off of KESN at Easton, Maryland, with a view of the Tangier Sound, Fishing Bay, and the Nanticoke and Wicomico Rivers of the Maryland Eastern Shore, off the Chesapeake Bay.

More of Eastern Maryland heading out over the expansive Chesapeake Bay.

Continuing sound over the Chesapeake Bay, with a view of Smith Island. Interestingly, Smith Island is mostly in Maryland. But the southern tip is actually in Virginia.  Smith Island is famous for a facinating 10-layer chocolate cake, revered through the region.

A photo of a slice of Smith Island Cake.

A view from the cockpit of the southern tip of the State of Virginia, which is the lower portion of the Delmarva Peninsula.  The Peninsula holds the state of Delaware, the Eastern Shore portion of Maryland, and this southern tip of Virginia. It is across the bay from mainland Virginia, which you can start to make out in the distance.

Leaving that tip of Virginia behind, you can see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel tollway below. It connects the Delmarva Peninsula with the Norfolk/Tidewater region of mainland Virginia. It badly needs a mod for MSFS to properly represent it.  Here is a link to more information about the 17.2 mile bridge/tunnel. https://www.virginia.org/listing/chesapeake-bay-bridge-tunnel/6484/

Just off the left tail section you may see Little Bird River Inlet right on the North Carolina/South Carolina border just north of the popular tourist destination of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  

This screenshot also offers a good view of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway.  The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) fully navigable inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States. Some sections of the waterway consist of natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, while others are artificial canals.

A top down view of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Stopped while contacting ground at KHXD, Hilton Head, South Carolina. This provides a view of just a portion of an excellent MSFS airport addon by BullfrogSim that I found on TO. https://flightsim.to/file/15634/khxd-hilton-head-airport

Edited February 24, 20224 yr by Ray Proudfoot
Title amended on request of OP

Off to a good start. Nice views of the Eastern Shore area.

John

Nice shots! 🙂 

Nice images and narrative. Looking forward to the rest of the trip. 

Tasty set of shots Frank .

3 hours ago, John F said:

Off to a good start. Nice views of the Eastern Shore area.

John

Thank you!  As can be seen, those  interesting water patterns on the USA east coast are not limited to the Chesapeake Bay region.  More to come in the next 2022 Caribbean Trek post from the flight from Hilton Head to Ft Myers.