Fun Things To Do On Chincoteague and Assateague Islands

In Virginia, people live on Chincoteague and only wild things live on Assateague.  In Maryland, a person can camp on Assateague, which isn't possible in Virginia.  There are a myriad of things to do and see in either state and on, or around, both islands.
    Assateague Island is a National Seashore in both states, and, in Virginia, Assateague is also the site of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (CNWR).  This confuses a lot of people.  Chincoteague ponies run wild on Assateague Island in both Virginia and Maryland - but each state has a unique way of dealing with the ponies.  All of the different kinds of wildlife on Assateague mingle and breed together - except the ponies (usually).  There is a fence separating the Maryland and Virginia sides of the island, but ponies do, on occasion, break through and mingle.  I can definitely say the ponies on the Virginia end of Assateague Island are branded and micro-chipped. The Maryland ponies are not branded.  I don't know if they are chipped or not.  A person, or family, can legally camp on the Maryland side of Assateague with a permit.  No over-nighters are allowed in Virginia.
   Chincoteague Island is located within the Virginia state borders only.  It's where people live, work and play.  If you visit Chincoteague or Assateague for the annual festivals, you know that you usually stay on Chincoteague in a hotel, motel, rental, or bed and breakfast. There are all sorts of festivals on Chincoteague.  The most widely known, thanks to Marguerite Henry's book and the 20th Century Fox movie, Misty) is Pony Penning.  There are also a Blueberry Festival, Seafood Festival, Oyster Festival, Decoy Festival, Arts and Crafts Festival, Chili Festival, the Volunteer Firemens' Carnival and multiple bird-watching festivals, throughout the year.
   If you visit the islands, be prepared for heat, humidity and mosquitoes in the summer.  Storms come from the Atlantic regularly - northeasters and hurricanes.  I can easily remember the five high tide lines on the wall paper in my Grandfather's kitchen.  A seemingly huge storm can sweep across the island in a few hours and wash everything new again.
   What is there to do on the islands?
  Well, first and foremost, Assateague is a National Seashore.  The beach is highly recommended.  Get some sun, play in the surf, or walk the beach.  There are many walks and trails available for hiking on Assateague in both states.  Check in at the respective Visitor's Centers and see what is recommended, or is off limits, for the day. (Some beach areas may be closed due to bird and/or turtle nesting.)  There is also a widely varied group of wildlife on Assateague - from over 400 different kinds of birds, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons, to otters, muskrats, the Delmarva fox squirrel, water and grass snakes, turtles and terrapins, white tail deer, miniature elk (aka Sika deer), seals, ponies, frogs and toads, butterflies, raccoons, fox, groundhogs and rabbits, to name a few.  Take a birding guide and/or a guide to wildlife tracks.  Wild turkeys are in abundance and might startle you.  With a fishing permit, you can surf fish from the beach.  And you can tour the Assateague Lighthouse from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. during the summer.
   Water activities?  There is swimming and surfing, or one can take out a canoe, kayak, paddle board, or small motorboat.  You can see all the sights on a guided tour; take a fishing boat into the bays or channels, or out into the ocean; you can fish, crab, clam and oyster - as long as it isn't on private or posted property.  You can cook and eat what you catch - flounder is running well, I hear.  On small cruises, one can take a hands-on ecological tour of the marshes and bays (with Captain Barry), tours around the island of Chincoteague with some local history thrown in, sunset cruises with champagne (with Captain Barry, and others), a guaranteed pony-sighting tour (with Captain Dan), sunrise and sunset cruises on the Miss Chincoteague, and just about anything you can imagine, or want, to do.
   On Chincoteague, the choices seem endless - walking, biking or trolley tours; shopping; eating; reading; the library; the cinema; coffee houses; the Carnival on weekends in July; Second Saturday art shows; the Saturday Farmers Market; the Chincoteague Island Museum; the Chincoteague Bay Field Station; the Chincoteague Pony Center; the Chincoteague Natural History Alliance; the Refuge Golf and Amusements Center; or just kicking back and relaxing....  There are three parks on the island where you can picnic.  And I mentioned eating a little earlier in this paragraph - the home made ice cream on Chincoteague is to die for!  The Island Creamery is known as having the best ice cream on the east coast of the United States; then there's Mueller's Ice Cream Parlor and Mister Whippy - all delicious!
   If you don't mind taking a short trip off the island, you can visit the NASA Visitors Center, go hang gliding with Virginia Hang Gliding, take an air tour with Carter Crabbe aviation, visit the Delmarva Discovery Center in Pocomoke City, or the Barrier Island Center of the Eastern Shore in Machipongo.  You can also go horseback riding at Queen Hive Farm in Assawoman.
   I never get around to doing everything I want to when I'm there - I have to pick and choose.  You will, too.

Stress and Other Things

I've never reacted well to stress.  I've been under stress since my sister's diagnosis of breast cancer in November.  I've worried about having enough money for the family reunion trip to Chincoteague in July and August.  Then, I get informed that my apartment lease won't be renewed and I need to find a new home for myself and my two cats within four weeks.  Stress?  What's that?
  I had to blow my nose last night.  I realized, as the tissue touched my upper lip, that it was painful enough to bring tears to my eyes.  My recurrent shingles have decided to make another visit, thanks to the stress.  That means 5 to 10 weeks of of open, gooey sores on my upper lip, directly below my nose.  That means it will look like I have a boogerey blob under my right nostril for the next month or two.  I did not want this for my vacation.  I don't want the terrible nausea and diarrhea that the shingles medicine causes on top of the way I already feel.  I already have nausea and diarrhea, thanks to the stress I'm under.
   Thanks for listening/reading.  I needed to whine.
The idiot 21-year-old man who shot and killed nine church-goers in Charleston has been caught, and has allegedly confessed to the shootings.  What a stupid jerk.  He says he's afraid that African-Americans are taking over the world.  Maybe he should live here in Boulder, where less than 2% of the population is African-American. - Then again, we don't want him here.
  Yesterday, the prosecution finished their case against the man accused of the Aurora Theater shootings.  The court will re-convene on Thursday to hear the case for the defense.  It's taken 8 weeks for the prosecution to present their case.  Now the defense has to convince the jury that their client was insane at the time of the shooting.  Their presentations should be extremely interesting and possibly entertaining.
   The Larkspur Renaissance Festival opens today.  I'd love to go, but I'm counting pennies.  The Royal Gorge White Water Festival begins today.  The Leadville Marathon and Half-Marathon will be run this weekend.  The Greeley Stampede begins this weekend.
   Fireman's Carnivals all over the Eastern Shore begin this weekend.  Both the Hebron, Maryland and the Wachapreague, Virginia Carnivals began last night.
   And today is the Assateague Coastkeeper's birthday!  Happy birthday, sweetie!  We love you for all the things that you do!

Estes Park and Nederland

Biting wires is not good. That has been my litany for the past five minutes, while trying to separate Neddy from my keyboard and mouse connections (I'm not cool enough to have wireless connections, yet). I had a fantastic time yesterday at the Scandinavian Festival in Estes Park, at the Carousel of Happiness in Nederland, and at a really neat, very eclectic art gallery and shop, also in Ned. It was a very nice small festival that filled Bond Park and three of the streets surrounding the park up in Estes. I did not eat any lutefisk, but I did eat several pieces of lesne - a very thin griddle bread made of riced potatoes and flour, and it was absolutely delicious! Besides the food booths, a Viking camp reenactment group, music and dancing, there were quite a few craft booths. That's where I met my downfall - especially so at a rag rug booth. Two Swedish ladies from Texas take throw-away bath and bedding items and make the most incredible rugs - I purchased three, even though I wanted seven of them; and it was all I could to do carry the three back to Kathy and Jim's SUV. We purchased food for lunch at one of the booths and ate in the SUV while we had a fifteen minute rain storm that blew in and blew out. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees after the rain, but that just made it more enjoyable.
We left just before the Festival closed for the day and drove down the Peak to Peak Highway to Nederland, as Kathy was suddenly caught up in wanting to ride the Carousel of Happiness. It was marvelous! Kathy rode the alpaca, Jim rode the calico cat, and I rode the paint pony. I want to ride every critter on the carousel, but a few are so small that I don't know if I'd fit - the peacock, for instance, and the great blue heron gulping a fish... But the place is just magical - and all the money made goes to a non-profit for handicapped children. It's a great place. Then we went into the shop - I met the owner, and fell in love with about 15 items I wanted to buy, ranging in price from $2.99 to $695.00, and three pieces of metal sculpture that I wanted that didn't have price tags on them. The sculptor also had paintings and photo-shopped prints, as well as an illustrated book about his wacky cat (who lived to be 26) - I bought the book.
Brandi was her usual darling self the past two nights, and I met with Darcie and her hubby this morning about taking care of Lizzie and Maggie over the Fourth weekend. I'm back at home with Lovey and Neddy, and they both are full of love and want attention in a very needful way...