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Originally, this summer was to be a family adventure, a grand journey to the other side of the world. Unfortunately, the world economy has shifted rather dramatically, and between the runaway cost of airfares and the incredible shrinking (US) dollar, we were forced to abandon our plan. Instead of travelling abroad for several weeks, we're looking at our options for short (two or three night) trips to see some of the regional sights closer to home.
The end of the school year arrived early this year, thanks to an unusually mild winter that left the school system with extra days in the schedule that were padded in to allow for weather closings. In order to save some money in a tight budget year, they decided to shorten the end of the school year by those extra days. As a result, our daughters' last day of school was Friday the 13th.
Almost at the last minute, we decided to use those extra days to make the first of what we hope will be several summer trips. Our daughters enjoy the beach, and love horses, and it occurred to me that we could combine the two with a trip the the "Eastern Shore", that portion of Maryland and Virginia that sits between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. In particular, I had heard a little about the wild ponies on Assateague Island, and the annual pony swim, where the ponies are rounded up and herded across the channel to Chincoteague Island, where they are auctioned. After some research, we decided that the girls would definitely enjoy a visit. We would combine about a day in Chincoteague with a night in Ocean City, Maryland, to allow the girls to enjoy some time on the beach. Finding an affordable hotel in Ocean City took a bit more work, but eventually I found one that wasn't terribly expensive (going during the week and staying away from the boardwalk helped a lot).
I was dimly aware of the Marguerite Henry book, Misty of Chincoteague, but I had never read it (quite possibly because I never had any real interest in horses as a boy). I don't think my daughters had read the book either, though my daughter has read some other books by Ms. Henry. The story of Misty is based on real events, and the Chincoteague Pony Centre continues to breed ponies with a direct bloodline back to Misty. This seemed like the ideal place to introduce the girls to the Chincoteague Ponies.
After checking in to our hotel and consulting the map, we decided to just walk over to the Pony Centre, which was maybe a half mile away. The Pony Centre has several paddocks arranged near the street, in front of the building. We walked along the fence, petting various ponies, including Misty III, the great-great-granddaughter of the original Misty. Next, we entered the building, the bulk of which is given over to a large gift shop, selling horse/pony related souvenirs of all types, including a handful of collectible early editions of Ms. Henry's book. For a nominal fee, we entered the exhibit portion of the building, which had a short film about the town and the ponies, a small riding ring, and lots of Misty memorabilia, including lots of original posters from the movie based on the book.
No one is entirely sure how the wild ponies came to live on Assateague Island. Many people believe that they are descended from survivors of a Spanish shipwreck during the 16th century, a theory that is supported by the relatively recent discovery of the wreck of a Spanish galleon off shore. In any case, the ponies have adapted to their island home, thriving on the salt grass and brackish waters of Assateague. The island, which straddles the Maryland/Virginia state line is home to about 300 ponies. Those in Maryland are owned and cared for by the U.S. Park Service, while those in Virginia are owned and cared for by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department (a fence across the island at the state line keeps the herds separated). Each July, the fire department rounds up the ponies and swims them to Chincoteague Island for auction, the highlight of the departments annual fundraising carnival.
After exploring the Pony Centre and learning more about the ponies, we walked back to our hotel. There we changed into swimwear and drove across to Assateague Island and its beach. The beach was wonderfully undeveloped, with only packed sand for a parking lot and no commercial enterprises in sight. The girls built a small sand castle and put up a futile effort to prevent the incoming tide from washing it away with moats and channels. We also collected a small bag of seashells, before deciding it was time to head back to town for dinner. There was still one more stop to make along the way, though. The Assateague Light continues to function as a navigational aid, and is located just off of the road to the beach. We parked in the parking lot at the head of the hiking trail and set off. Unfortunately, we were too late to tour the interior, and they would be closed the following day, but we walked around the base, but soon we were rushing back to the car to escape the swarms of mosquitoes that had converged on us. It had been a long day, so after a wonderful seafood dinner at a restaurant recommended by the front desk at the hotel, it was time to call it a night.
The end of the school year arrived early this year, thanks to an unusually mild winter that left the school system with extra days in the schedule that were padded in to allow for weather closings. In order to save some money in a tight budget year, they decided to shorten the end of the school year by those extra days. As a result, our daughters' last day of school was Friday the 13th.
Almost at the last minute, we decided to use those extra days to make the first of what we hope will be several summer trips. Our daughters enjoy the beach, and love horses, and it occurred to me that we could combine the two with a trip the the "Eastern Shore", that portion of Maryland and Virginia that sits between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. In particular, I had heard a little about the wild ponies on Assateague Island, and the annual pony swim, where the ponies are rounded up and herded across the channel to Chincoteague Island, where they are auctioned. After some research, we decided that the girls would definitely enjoy a visit. We would combine about a day in Chincoteague with a night in Ocean City, Maryland, to allow the girls to enjoy some time on the beach. Finding an affordable hotel in Ocean City took a bit more work, but eventually I found one that wasn't terribly expensive (going during the week and staying away from the boardwalk helped a lot).I was dimly aware of the Marguerite Henry book, Misty of Chincoteague, but I had never read it (quite possibly because I never had any real interest in horses as a boy). I don't think my daughters had read the book either, though my daughter has read some other books by Ms. Henry. The story of Misty is based on real events, and the Chincoteague Pony Centre continues to breed ponies with a direct bloodline back to Misty. This seemed like the ideal place to introduce the girls to the Chincoteague Ponies.
After checking in to our hotel and consulting the map, we decided to just walk over to the Pony Centre, which was maybe a half mile away. The Pony Centre has several paddocks arranged near the street, in front of the building. We walked along the fence, petting various ponies, including Misty III, the great-great-granddaughter of the original Misty. Next, we entered the building, the bulk of which is given over to a large gift shop, selling horse/pony related souvenirs of all types, including a handful of collectible early editions of Ms. Henry's book. For a nominal fee, we entered the exhibit portion of the building, which had a short film about the town and the ponies, a small riding ring, and lots of Misty memorabilia, including lots of original posters from the movie based on the book.No one is entirely sure how the wild ponies came to live on Assateague Island. Many people believe that they are descended from survivors of a Spanish shipwreck during the 16th century, a theory that is supported by the relatively recent discovery of the wreck of a Spanish galleon off shore. In any case, the ponies have adapted to their island home, thriving on the salt grass and brackish waters of Assateague. The island, which straddles the Maryland/Virginia state line is home to about 300 ponies. Those in Maryland are owned and cared for by the U.S. Park Service, while those in Virginia are owned and cared for by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department (a fence across the island at the state line keeps the herds separated). Each July, the fire department rounds up the ponies and swims them to Chincoteague Island for auction, the highlight of the departments annual fundraising carnival.
After exploring the Pony Centre and learning more about the ponies, we walked back to our hotel. There we changed into swimwear and drove across to Assateague Island and its beach. The beach was wonderfully undeveloped, with only packed sand for a parking lot and no commercial enterprises in sight. The girls built a small sand castle and put up a futile effort to prevent the incoming tide from washing it away with moats and channels. We also collected a small bag of seashells, before deciding it was time to head back to town for dinner. There was still one more stop to make along the way, though. The Assateague Light continues to function as a navigational aid, and is located just off of the road to the beach. We parked in the parking lot at the head of the hiking trail and set off. Unfortunately, we were too late to tour the interior, and they would be closed the following day, but we walked around the base, but soon we were rushing back to the car to escape the swarms of mosquitoes that had converged on us. It had been a long day, so after a wonderful seafood dinner at a restaurant recommended by the front desk at the hotel, it was time to call it a night.
