Things To Do On Chincoteague With Children - Part 2

There are several great parks on Chincoteague - Memorial Park has a wonderful playground for youngsters along with picnic tables and a short trail along the Assateague Channel; Reed Park is downtown, where the old drawbridge used to be, and has covered picnic tables, the LOVE chairs, and wonderful views of Marsh Island, the causeway and new bridge, and a lot of docks; the Leonard Park, almost opposite the High School on north Main Street is great for picnicking and watching sunsets.
   * Next to Reed Park is the Chincoteague Public Library, with Tales for Tots as a weekly draw.
   * Shopping is spread out all over the island - the Historic Downtown area, where the Library and Reed Park are located, is a great way to get a feeling of Chincoteague.  The other main shopping area is along Maddox Boulevard, which is now usually called "Beach Road."
   * Visit the Chincoteague Pony Center, home of some Misty family ponies; have a pony ride; take a riding lesson.  See their website at   http://www.chincoteague.com/ponycentre/
   *  If you're really interested in ponies, and want some great island facts thrown in, take one of the boat tours with Captain Dan's Around the Island Tours (piloted by Captain Dan or his Dad, Captain Ray.  They specialize in getting you up close to the ponies grazing freely on Assateague Island in the CNWR.  I've taken and hugely enjoyed tours with both of the Cap'ns.   see their Facebook page at:     https://www.facebook.com/Captain-Dans-Around-the-Island-Tours-189293917790114/
   * There are multiple other water tours and/or you can charter a boat for fishing - see the websites
http://www.chincoteague.com/scenic-cruises.html
http://www.chincoteague.com/charterboats/
http://www.chincoteague.com/boat-rentals.html
   * Take a Teaguer's Tump Tour - owner/operator Denise Bowden is a native Chincoteaguer, is a working member of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, has worked with the Pony Penning committee and with the ponies themselves for years, and is the current Vice-Mayor of  the island.  See her website at  http://www.chincoteague.com/teaguers-tump-tours.html
   * Go kayaking, paddle-boarding or canoeing.
   * Go see the Leonard family ponies in their pasture on Maddox Blvd, between the McDonald's and the Refuge Inn.  Be very careful, even though these ponies are tame, they can bite and kick without warning.
   * Visit Funland on Maddox Blvd - mini-golf, an arcade, go-karts, and tons of other fun things - http://gotofunland.com/

 Off the islands and on the mainland, within a 30 minute drive are:
   * Queen Hive Farm - take a trail ride, or have a riding lesson in Assawoman, Virginia.  See their website at   http://www.chincoteague.com/QueenHive/
   * Visit the NASA Wallops Visitor Center on 175 -  https://www.nasa.gov/content/wallops-visitor-center/about-us
   * Visit the Chincoteague Bay Field Station at Wallops Island  -  http://www.cbfieldstation.org/
   * Visit the Delmarva Discovery Center in Pocomoke City, Maryland  -  http://www.delmarvadiscoverycenter.org/
   
For much more information visit the Chincoteague website at:  http://www.chincoteague.com/activities.html

I really miss my old home.......     Chincoteague sand doesn't just get into your shoes, it forms sandbars in your soul.

Hodgepodge

Boulder awoke to snow falling yesterday.  I walked over to the bakery and grabbed a fresh, warm bagel, and decided, on the walk back, to pay attention to my "bad" knee.  My left knee is always swollen, and causes me pain about 95% of the time.  Having lived in Boulder for a little over 10 years, now, I thought about how my knee felt as I walked back home from the store.  I decided that my knee was "telling me" that we'd get about 5 inches of snow.  When I turned on the television upon my return to the apartment, the forecaster was saying Boulder would get "possibly 1 to 3 inches" of snow.  We got a little over 5 inches in total.  Now I'll have to continue checking out my knee's feelings about snow and see how accurate they are....
   I was excited to receive the Public Library's newsletter this morning, because it stated that our library will be re-opening on February 12, and that, as of 2 March, it will be open at 9 a.m. Monday through Thursday.  I've missed being able to wander through the stacks and choose books to read at random - and I have longed for the library to be open at an earlier hour - I'd prefer 7 a.m., since I'm an early riser, but even an hour earlier is better than nothing.  I haven't had access to the Main Library's entire collection (no one else has, either) since September, when  a "make over" began.  I can't wait to see some old, familiar tomes again!
  I know I've mentioned that I began reading Preston & Child's Special Agent Pendergast novels again, and I'm about half-way through The Wheel of Darkness.  I'll have to request the next three books in the series today.  I have two new books on hand - the first two in a series by Herbie Belcher, The Faerie Wars and The Purple Emperor.  They were highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to starting a new series.
   I'm currently waiting to see if Rosie's parents want me to walk her today.  It's supposed to get up near 60 degrees this afternoon, but there is a thick and slick coating of ice on the roads and sidewalks this morning.  As Rosie has hip and back problems, I don't want to take her out and have her fall on the ice and hurt herself.  I'll walk Lucy at 11:30, as usual, as she has no restrictions.
   I found out that I was wrong about the networks programming  masters.  The Blacklist, on NBC, will be airing at 8; How To Get Away With Murder, on ABC, will air at 9.  The last episode of HTGAWM will air on February  19, which is the night that History Channel begins showing Vikings.  Hopefully, I won't find too many conflicts - other than Grand Jury duty, which means being on call every Thursday night.
   Forbes Magazine released a frightening report on the 30th of January - ordinary children, aged 7 to 16, read 4.7 books per year.  I have never been able to read enough!  We were only allowed to check out 10 children's books on each visit to the Public Library when I was a child.  Mom and Dad took us every Saturday morning to get new books - and I was usually through reading "my" books by Monday night.  Very quickly, my folks made certain that I always checked out books that would hold my interest, and that I would read several times, before our return to the library.  I know that a lot of people think that I'm odd and/or old-fashioned.  I prefer to read more than anything else - watch television, watch cinema, go to the theater, or listen to music.  I simply can't conceive of reading only five books in one year.  Reading is the spice of life; it can take you to the past, the future, and any place an author can conjure with words.

First Snow in Boulder

The weather folks said we'd get a mixture of rain and snow beginning at midnight....  It started about 7 a.m., instead.  Currently, just rain and drizzle are falling, even though it's 34 degrees outside at half-past 10....  But there is no accumulation of snow here in the yard, or anywhere that I can see.  But I did get a nice photo of the snow falling around 9 this morning - the white streaks are falling snow:

  I did have an unpleasant surprise when I visited the main public library yesterday - I returned the single book that I had, walked in, and perused the new books sections, both fiction and non-fiction, and was slightly dismayed that nothing on the shelves piqued my interest.  I then walked up to the main floor area that displays the fiction, mystery, science fiction and fantasy, westerns, and young adult fiction area.  There were no bookshelves, and there were no books.  I wandered up to the next level, and found the reference area and non-fiction books.  I went down to the main level and found the audio books, DVDs, juvenile books, children's books, and the large-print areas.  But no adult fiction.

  My friend Renee was working at the checkout desk, and I took a round-about route to her, peeking at the dry-erase board in the lobby.  I had walked past it on the way in without looking at it.  The info board stated that the areas I found missing were boxed up during renovations, and, if you wanted a book other than what was on the new shelves, you had to go on-line and request it.  If the book was available from another branch, you would be able to pick it up at the main branch.  Otherwise, the books are packed up until "near the end of 2014," according to the notice.  So I went to Renee and requested 10 books - five Yarbro Saint Germain books from Prospector, and books by Laura McHugh, Julia Keller, and Jacqueline Winspear.  Now I'm waiting for them to be available for pick-up.  So, I'm re-reading the newest C J Cherryh book in the Foreigner series, the newest James Rollins book in the Sigma Force series, and several old copies of Zane Grey westerns....

   Thank goodness for three college football games on Saturday and the Broncos on Sunday!  I am feeling a lot of animosity, and I hope that yelling at the players on TV will relieve the stress...    Oh, and even though it's 34 degrees outside now, tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and in the 70s, with sun and 80s on Sunday....  Colorado....  What can you say?