More of Assateague

I was talking with my sister last weekend about traveling. Spence and I had just gotten back from Montreal and my sister will be leaving for Costa Rica this fall, and we were both having a major case of wanderlust (basically planned out our family vacations for the next 50 years...). One of the things we talked about is how much fun it is to explore an area that's not a hyped-up tourist destination.  Don't get me wrong, most places are popular because they offer something special - white and sandy beaches, stunning landscapes, rich culture, etc. As incredible as it is to visit these "bucket-list" destinations, one of my favorite things is finding a spot that kind of flies under the radar. Assateague was one of those places. Not to say that it's not popular already, but there are definitely lots of people who had to ask me. "where's that place with all the wild ponies?"

My last post had pictures from our time camping on the beach at Assateague State Park (Maryland side). We spent that morning and the rest of the day on the Maryland side. We explored the rest of the beach and then headed out to get dinner in Berlin. Berlin was such a cute little town and the restaurant we went to, the Globe, had been converted from an old movie theater. They had some seriously good food and we just so happened to wander in on their $5 specials night so a brownie sundae had to happen. 

 Next, we drove to Virginia to visit Chincoteague Island and the Virginia side of Assateague Island. This visit required some walking to get to a point where you could see the ponies. After about 4.5 miles, we found ourselves near the ocean and even better, near a heard of ponies with two foals. The ground between the trail and beach was kind of muddy, but I didn't care. I dragged my white Birks through just so I could get as close as possible. I'm so glad we decided to visit this area because we were basically the only people on the trail and we got to see the ponies in a more natural environment, away from all the campsites and park rangers. We ended our day with dinner at a local restaurant and then headed to our hotel in the Outer Banks!