Wild ponies at Chincoteague, Va

When we left Erika & Mike's house a week ago Friday, we were heading home through Annapolis on a route (301 & 50) that runs up through the middle of Maryland. However, once you cross over the Chesapeake - just before you commit to that northern route- route 50 makes a right turn and runs right to Ocean City, MD.


It was Friday, the sun was shining, it was warm, it was off-season, and so as we approached this junction, we looked at each other and said "Why not?"


Therefore, we took the eastern route to the ocean. We don't like Ocean City (much too crowded and commercial) so we went south a bit to Chincoteague.


Chincoteague and Assateague are barrier islands off the coast of Virginia that are quite famous as a wildlife refuge. It was a very beautiful place...



Chincoteague is also famous for the herds of wild ponies that roam the island. Every year, cowboys round them up and make them swim across to the mainland where some are sold in order to keep the numbers manageable. The award-winning book, Misty of Chincoteague, written in 1947, is still well-read today, usually by little girls who develop an instant love for wild ponies and all things equine.

We met one of those little girls........



This is a still shot of the ponies in the wild.....


I wanted to walk some of the trails that are available for hikers or bikers only, so we ended up walking about 5 miles. Unfortunately, we also met another form of wild life on this trip. There were clouds (and I do mean clouds!) of voracious mosquitos everywhere on the inland part of the refuge, and despite using an entire bottle of bug spray, we picked up more than a few bites!

Lastly, as we were leaving the refuge, we pulled to the side of the road to take one last look at the ponies. I thought Tom was driving our car, but I looked up and saw this.....

I could not believe my eyes - a Tom twin!! We didn't say anything to him, but now we will always wonder who is he and where he is from.