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| Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
Onward!
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We chose Chincoteague as a destination since it was close to us, sea-side, and away from DC. As most of our trips do, this one began with depositing the dog at the Dog Boarding Place where he spent the long weekend chasing other dogs and doing the things that we don't let him do.
Once divested of canine, we set out. It was a relatively short drive, crossing many bridges and taking us out over the Chesapeake Bay and on to the Delaware Peninsula. Along the way, we zipped past several remarkable sights: the beautiful and disconcertingly long Bay Bridge; a Tattoo parlor called "Gypsy Vintage," which was housed in what used to be a bank and clearly had people living in it; and NASA's Wallops Flight Center.
We stayed at the surprisingly spacious Channel Bass Inn, of which we can say nothing but good things. The breakfast was delicious, the owners were helpful (if a bit talkative), the room was far more plush than I am used to, and we were stuffed silly on Sunday tea. If any of you happen to find yourself in need of lodging on a far-flung Virginia island, I have the place for you.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
Our days were spent meandering around the little down town, exploring the local eateries (of which there are many), but mostly we tooled around the neighboring assateague Island nature reserve, home of the famous ponies.
While packed with nature trails, the area is also packed with mosquitos. After a short visit to the top of the picturesque but also small, cramped, and hot assateague light house, we opted to stick to driving tours and visiting the beach.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
While not my first time at the Atlantic, it was my first time on an Atlantic beach. When I stood at the shore, it seemed to me like there was little difference between this big hole full of water, and the big holes full of water where I grew up. Lake Michigan and Superior both boast empty horizons and seemingly endless tracts of water. But when I stood in the surf, looking out at nothing but rolling waves, I could see the difference. I could feel the difference when the cold, roiling waves sloshed up around my feet; that water was powerful, and violent, though it seemed tame by the shore. Even standing in the surf, still on land, the ocean feels deeper and far more vast.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
That being said, we had a triumphantly lovely stroll on the beach, followed by a snooze in the sun in the back of Bucephalus.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
assateague has many trails, none of which we pursued. We decided that we were here to relax, and that even the stress of getting buggy and sweaty was more than we were willing to take. However, the largest nature trail circles assateague's interior lake and is accessible by car in the evening. On our last day, we decided to take Bucephalus out along the trail, and commune with nature from the comfort of a pick up truck.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
Though the ponies are the main attraction of the island, I had tempered my expectations. We'd already missed the annual drive, were most of the ponies are driven across the salt marshes and herded up on Chincoteague. We reserved our excitement for the numerous fishing birds and endless picturesque views that the island had to offer.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
After spending a full fifteen minutes trying to capture the beauty of a heron of some sort, I turned back toward the road and noticed that three ponies had been in front of us for some time.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
We were ecstatic. This was more than we could have asked for. The ponies paid very little attention to our squeals of delight (mostly Claire, I grumbled with joyous masculinity), and passed by the truck intent on whatever it is that wild ponies concern themselves with. After a flurry of photo taking and our vocal approval, we drove off for a final look at the beach before calling it a night.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
Despite all the natural beauty, aloof ponies, quaint towni-ness that our trip had to offer, I think my favorite memories of the whole excursion were the time we spent sitting in our room, munching on sandwiches and sipping the chincy miniature wine bottles we smuggled in. I don't know if it was against the rules or not, but it was a fun and relaxing little side-note to our trip.
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| From Chincoteague: A Pony Adventure |
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That was all so terribly long. For all of you that made it to the bottom: congratulations. While I hit all the points that stuck out in my mind, I am sure that I missed something important. In which case, Claire will remind me and I will tell you all about it in future updates.
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