Beach vacation time is pretty much over at this time of year. Children are back in school and summer getaways seem like a distant memory. Today though, in the middle of a historic heat wave, a little splash in the ocean would feel good.
Chincoteague Island in Virginia was the destination for my fall beach vacation. With family, including my two-year old grandson, we spent a memorable week on the island once famous for stories about wild ponies. My only previous knowledge of Chincoteague was from childhood, reading Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, first published in 1947.
Chincoteague is a charming town, with coffee shops, a great taqueria with sandy outdoor seating and luscious frozen strawberry margaritas, fresh seafood restaurants, and a bakery with killer French Vietnamese croissants.
Our home base was a large house overlooking Chincoteague Sound, featuring five bedrooms, a front porch and multiple decks, all with splendid views. Architecturally, it reminded me of the country home featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror film, Psycho. Despite the interesting angles and odd nooks and crannies, no horror was involved in this light and airy home.
Our real beach vacation destination was Assateague Island. Assateague is the home of the wild ponies, which often can be seen in the distance from the roadway. A fenced in area gave us a closer view of some mares and foals, where handfuls of food could be purchased for 25 cents. Apparently, younger ponies that have been rounded up may be sold for training and pets. Ponies over five years old are left to live out their days roaming free, within fenced borders, on the island.
Assateague is a barrier island located off the coast of both Virginia and Maryland. Our daily visits were to the recreational beach managed by the National Park Service. The sand is white and clean, littered only with an amazing array of intact seashells that wash ashore on a daily basis. Clams, mussels, scallops and oysters left behind their shell homes, creating an irresistible temptation to gather shells on a daily basis.
Somewhat less picturesque were the scores of horseshoe crab shells that washed ashore. A foot in breadth and length, with black armored shells, peering eyes, and crablike legs, these actually are not crabs, being more closely related to arachnids. Horseshoe crabs date back to the Triassic period. But never fear, should you encounter one of these living fossils in the water (they stick close to the bottom of the ocean), they do not sting or bite.
Assateague is also a birding paradise. Blue herons, white egrets, willets, and brown pelicans can be seen in abundance, as well as little shore birds, including sanderlings, plovers, and semipalmated sandpipers.
The surf was a little rough during our visit, stymying my plans to swim in the Atlantic, but the shoreline was a great attraction for the toddlers in tow, my two great nieces as well as my grandson. The water was warm, without the dangerous undertow that characterizes the beaches here at home. My daughter, with the help of three pairs of little hands, created some imaginative and creative sand castles, utilizing the shells and shell fragments proliferating the beach for castle walls and fortresses.
Though I was unable to swim, the Assateague shoreline makes for great walking. Staying near the water where the sand stays flat provided the opportunity to see wood sculptures from former trees that had been pounded by the surf. Little sand crabs scurried across the sand, disappearing into tiny little holes.
On our last beach day, my son-in-law found a beautiful, unbroken conch shell, which he presented to me. I hand carried it back on the plane, inside my computer case, and it came home with me
Beach vacations may be over for the year, now that we are well into fall, but create many happy memories. Highly recommended! With many thanks to my family for inviting me to tag along.
