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I took the Fairfax County Parkway to Route 66, then Route 29-211 to Warrenton, to Route 17 and then all the way without the headaches. Just two or three miles on I-95 in Fredericksburg!

It was a great scenic route with practically no trucks -- and not too many cars.

Joe Harrington, Reston

Hatteras, Cont'd

WHY HYPE that distant, expensive, crowded, unswimmable, traffic-jammed tourist trap called Cape Code ["A Hatteras Fan Goes North to Try Out the Other Cape," July 30]? You might say all the same nasty things about the Outer Banks and Cape May. You need to take a look at the only remaining gem of a cape, Cape Charles, Va.

Use the only public beach on the Chesapeake Bay, east or west side, and it has parking, is not crowded and has no dangerous surf. Real estate is up, but not out of sight. Taxes are not yet prohibitive.

For nature, we have a national wildlife refuge, a major migratory bird flyway, the huge Kiptopeke State Park, miles of barrier islands with nothing on them that is manmade, saltwater on three sides and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Throw in two PGA golf courses, a huge marina, a new Irish pub, restaurants and a local ambiance of a hundred years ago.

Don't write about it. Everyone will want to come.

Dan Taylor, Cape Charles, Va.

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