Chincoteague Voted "Happiest Seaside Town"

Coastal Living Magazine had a popular vote contest for the "Happiest Seaside Town," and I'm not terribly surprised that Chincoteague Island won the vote.  I'm always happy when I'm on Chincoteague and Assateague Islands - just below the Maryland and Virginia state lines, out in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Eastern Shore of the Delmarva peninsula....  Of course, the maternal side of my family has called Chincoteague home since 1642, so, in a way, I can't imagine not being happy while I'm on the island.  I feel connected to it - even though I currently live at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
  Chincoteague (and Assateague, the out-lying island to the east, where the National Seashore and National Wildlife Refuge are located) has always seemed like home.  I think it's because no matter where we lived (Dad was transferred frequently during his 21 years in the US Navy),Mom always referred to Chincoteague as "home."  My grandparents home, where my mother grew up, is still standing; so is my great-grandparents home, and my great-great-grandparents home - all on the same oyster-shell paved road.  I haven't been to the island since my Aunt's memorial service in October of 2004...  It's been ten years since I've been home, and I know it's changed dramatically.  I know there are now condominiums and townhouses built along the channels on the east and west sides of the island - and quite a few motels have been built - most right on the water, impeding what I always believed were glorious views...  But I'm sure if my greta-great-grandparents had seen the island as I knew it, growing up in the 1960s and '70s, they'd have been amazed at the change, too.
  Chincoteague was also voted the second-best island to visit by TripAdvisor.com a few months ago....  In the "Happiest Seaside Town" voting, the runners-up were: Captiva Island, Florida; Saugatuck, Michigan; St. Augustine, Florida; Provincetime, Massachusetts; St. Simons Island, Georgia; Watch Hill, Rhode Island; Haleiwa, Hawaii; Scarborough, Maine; and Bolinas, California.
 
  Don't forget the Tall Ships are in Cape Charles this weekend:  http://www.tallshipscapecharles.com/

  And, the Ada Fears is for sale for $10,000, firm.  She was built by the Applegarth Boat Works in Oxford, Maryland in 1968.  She's a wooden 55-foot skipjack and is currently in the Chesapeake Bay.  Captain Brian Conrad is selling his ship due to health reasons.  The Ada Fears is the smallest remaining skipjack in the Bay, and is one of the last five built in Maryland. The boat is at Scott's Cove Marina in Chance, Maryland, and Jack Willing, the owner of the marina, said, "The boat's in decent shape."  The bowsprit was replaced in 2009, after a collision during the Skipjack Race. However, Willing said it will take some work to get her back in the water, as well as some money to set her up for sailing again. The Ada Fears currently  has no winders, push boat, dredging gear or main sail; the inboard has been removed, but is available for a rebuild.  The boat could be used as a six-passenger tour boat, a private sailing vessel, or she could be set back up to be an oyster dredge.   **There are less than 20 true skipjacks still sailing in the Chesapeake Bay.**  For more information, please see:  http://easternshore.craigslist.org/boa/4448182716.html