SLIDESHOWS: Find out more about the Eastern Shore

Everybody knows about Misty of Chincoteague.

Other than the famous wild pony, though, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, a 70-mile-long finger of land between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, is often overlooked and forgotten. It doesn't even show up on some maps.

But those who don't bother with the Eastern Shore are missing a whole different view of Virginia. It's not an obvious vacation destination in that it doesn't assault your senses with glam and glitz. In fact, a favorite description of the Shore by those who live there is "a step back in time."

Which is not to say there isn't anything to do. There is. You just have to know where to look.

Truth be told, it can be something of an adventure, beginning with the trip across the 17.6-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel -- designated when it was constructed as "one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world" -- from Virginia Beach to the southern end of the Shore. Did you know you can fish, 24 hours a day, from a pier jutting from a man-made island at the southernmost of the 2-mile-long tunnels? Did you know the agency that operates the bridge-tunnel will provide a driver, at no charge, if you have a phobia about driving over large bodies of open water?

Motor along U.S. 13, the main highway up the spine of the shore, and you'll see fields of tomatoes, corn and cotton, small towns stitched together with the tracks that allowed the railroad to develop the Shore and hand-scrawled signs advertising fresh clams and scallops at roadside stands.

But you won't truly see the Shore unless you get off Route 13 and venture onto the back roads that carry you into Cape Charles or Onancock, toward the largely unspoiled barrier islands or to the relatively new vineyards that have taken root in the rich soil.

You can search for Misty's descendants at the Chincoteague Island National Wildlife Refuge, watch a rocket launch at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility or play Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus signature golf courses at the new Bay Creek Resort & Club outside Cape Charles. You can also take a ride on the Baycreek Railway, an excursion train that recently returned passenger rail service, on a limited but novel basis, to the Shore.

Camp or swim at Kiptopeke State Park, site of the northern terminus of the old Virginia Beach-to-Eastern Shore ferry; Kiptopeke, as the story goes, is a Native American word for "big water." Drop by the Eastern Shore Railway Museum in Parksley. Or if you really want a hidden gem, try the Eastern Shore of Virginia Wildlife Refuge. It's a haven for migratory birds, just after you get off the bridge-tunnel, but if you don't know it's there you'll miss it. Take your first right (Seaside Road) once you get on solid ground and the refuge's visitors center is tucked behind a grove of trees. Definitely worth a stop.

You'll love our nature! is the Shore's official tourism slogan. These days, you might also love that the Shore is less than a tank of gas away from Richmond.

And if you're determined to see the annual wild pony swim at Chincoteague -- and brave the crowds it always attracts -- you're in luck. The 2008 event is July 30.

Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or wlohmann@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Bob Brown at (804) 649-6382 or bbrown@timesdispatch.com.