Chincoteague is at the south end of Assateague Island, which stretches long and thin from Maryland to Virginia. It was famous for a kid's book called 'Misty', and there's a statue in the middle of town of Misty the pony. The book deals with the Pony Swim, but that's in the height of summer. We were there the week before high season, so we had all the good weather with none of the crowds.
There are plenty of wild ponies around the place too. Here's one with its tongue sticking out.
The visitor's center (below) is worth noting because its toilets use no fresh water at all. See the reeds at the front of the building?
Waste water is filtered and runs in there, the reeds get nutrients from our waste, and the cleaner water is re-used to flush the loo. Oh, this is where we stayed, a place called The Refuge Inn.
Highly recommended place. Just follow the link above for their website.
You might have noticed the lighthouse in the background of the first picture. We climbed it, and here's the view from the top...
The area is a National Wildlife Reserve, and their current mission is to protect the Piping Plover (a seabird, we didn't catch a sight of any) and the Delmarva Fox Squirrel. Conservation there has been more of a success, because we saw the little buggers all over the place.
Bigger than a regular squirrel, and very silvery in appearance.
As well as long walks on the beaches, both occupied and deserted...
...(OK, almost deserted, that's Beth in the background) there are plenty of cruises to take. The only thing I wish I had a good picture of was the dolphin that played coy around the boat. But here are more shots from the cruise.
This is a fishing boat, on its way out to the Atlantic.
Captain Tom and First Mate Bailey keep Beth happy with tales of crab-catching on the high seas.
The lighthouse looks best from the water, as do the loblolly pine trees at the water's edge...
...and the sun slowly sinks into the west as the cruise comes to an end.
We spent time by the sea too. Here's me at Tom's Cove...
...some laughing gulls look casual as a ring-bill gull looks on at our snacks...
...a crab gets a little too close for comfort...
...and the sun sets slowly into the west again, this time the same shade of red as the places I have mosquito bites.
So that's it. A week of relaxation and fun all over too soon. It's time to pack up and head back home. Thanks for looking at this little impromptu slide show. Now all that remains is for me to pick three suitably summery songs...
Listen : Club Tropicana - Wham! ... Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard ... Vacation - The Go Go's.
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