Ponies and Solitude

I have always been fascinated by the wild ponies of Chincoteague, so I decided we should go to see them.  There are no campgrounds open in that area in February so we chose to drive up to Assateague National Seashore, which allows camping all year.

As we neared the park we drove by an entire skeleton on the side of the road.  After we passed it we both asked: “did you see that?” It looked like the remains of a large animal, possibly a deer.

Upon entering the park, we came across our first pony sighting.  It was delightful to find them wandering around in the wild.

We set up camp in a spot next to the water.  The beauty of camping in February is we had the entire place to ourselves. There were plenty of horse droppings in the area and it was exciting to think that the horses could show up at our campsite at any time.  We headed for the sunset and were not disappointed.  The sky was full of amazing color as the sun dipped below the horizon.

It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed our steaks under the blanket of stars.  The downside of the trip is the traffic rolling by our tent very early in the morning.  Apparently, people on the quest to see the horses do not respect the rules about driving through the campground.

We didn’t make it out in time for breakfast, bud did enjoy our burgers at Rayne’s Reef Soda Fountain and Grill before heading back to the park to explore.  On our way out we stopped to take pictures of the group of horses on the side of the road.  It was curious to me how close people were allowing their children to get to the horses despite the many warning about keeping your distance.  As we drove back into the park we found the same group of horses, just a bit further down the road.

The trails in the park have a self-guided tour feature.  If you call the phone number listed you will hear interesting information corresponding to different numbered spots along the trail.  There is both information about the plants and wildlife in the area and interesting history about the spot.

As we headed home, I was in awe as we spotted a blue heron flying beside the road.  It is not often that I have seen one in flight, let alone staying beside our car for some distance. That was definitely a zen moment.

We discovered a fantastic seafood restaurant, The Great Machipongo Clam Shack in Nassawadox, Virginia.  The building was an old McDonald’s converted into the current restaurant.  There was a retail section in the back that offered a wonderful variety of seafood.  The restaurant had very nicely done seafood.  We had a great conversation with the owner about the history of the restaurant.  He stopped by our table later to give us a bottle of his special blend seasoning.  Of course, Chris could not pass up the opportunity to buy seafood, so we left with octopus and oysters.