This year we decided to go to the beach at Chincoteague, VA, which is the place I used to go to as a child. Chincoteague is a small island just below more major beaches such as Rehoboth, Dewey and Ocean City, MD. Chincoteague itself is a sleepy little town that seems to be caught in time. What really makes the trip special is Assateague. Assateague is a barrier island that spans parts of MD and VA. Years ago a Spanish ship, carrying a cargo of ponies destined to work in the gold mines of Peru, crashed off the shore of Assateague. The ponies swam to shore and have lived on the island ever since. Assateague is a National Park and a wildlife sanctuary, so it hasn’t changed since I was a kid.

At first we weren’t sure we would be able to go on our vacation because of hurricane Irene, however everything seemed okay once it passed, so we left just one day later than originally planned. The weather was spectacular and the mosquitoes, which are somewhat infamous, seemed to have washed away with the storm. Assateague, being a barrier island, took the brunt of the storm. The parking lots nearest the beaches were covered with sand, so they were closed the first few days of our trip. We had brought our bikes, so were able to bike the nature loop to get to one of their more remote beaches. I’m so glad the other lots were closed, as we might not have realized this little hidden beach was there. When you were on this beach, you didn’t see anything man-made. You saw pine forests past the sand dunes. I remembered Assateague as being nature’s amusement park and it still was. We saw a herd of wild ponies (which have been fenced back since I was a child. Thanks stupid tourists for ruining that!), a bald eagle, dolphins, a snake, coquinas and loads more. Coquinas are tiny little clam-like creatures that wash up with the waves. They come in all kinds of pastel colors and patterns. My sister and I loved to dig them up and watch them burrow themselves back into the sand. This video is for her. I will post more photos from our trip soon.

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