Drove down via what started as a nice coffee break at a kids play area near the bridge in Cambridge. This went downhill after Olivia got a major splinter in her big toe and I had to operate to extract it. Found some limitations in our first aid kit's operating tools which we will have to fix asap. Visitor Centre there was quite good and picked up all the Maryland brochures we should need for the next year.
This was on our way down to Ocean City, Maryland. Think sideshow alley permanently based around the boardwalk on the side of the beach. If your imagination fails, check out the webcam. We didn't have time to do the full sideshow ride thing but just walking up the boardwalk and checking out the shops was educational enough. Kids were in child heaven!
Lunch was followed by Olivia finally getting us to cave in and buy her a webkinz - the latest toy designed to be irresistible to kids and extract $ from parents. This one is sneaky enough that the website log in only lasts 12 months so you then have to buy another one ...
Kieren strongly wanted to play some games along the way back instead. That ended in tears as he obviously expected to win something in everyone he played. Of course the opposite happened. May have been educational, memory may not last long enough ...
That all took longer than we expected so arrived at Chincoteague later on Friday night than planned. Checked into our room at the Best Western which was the best place we could get three nights at with short notice. Room was ok, albeit with limitation of the four of us in two beds in one room. But the included breakfast was worth it, esp the Belgium waffles that you made yourself - pour in the batter, close the lid, flip the pan, wait for the alarm in two minutes, peel it out and cover in syrup. For those without super sized appetites, one was enough.
Dinner Friday night was at what used to be the Island Family Restaurant and was now Mr Baldys. Our short trips book recommended this one as an inexpensive family restaurant. Food was ok but Donna was less than impressed by the basic decor and the non-existent wine list.
After breakfast on Saturday morning, we headed into the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. After our $10 weekly entry fee, we walked over to the Assateague lighthouse. Climbing the 172 steps was made more difficult by children who were worried they were going to fall between the steps but some pacification got them to the top, albeit with Kieren tucked under my arm for a few flights. Good views from the top including our first view of the ponies.
We visited the visitor info centre on the way in which was set out quite well. The kids didn't want to leave. Had lots of interactive displays, videos etc plus we watched a deer fawn outside the centre for some time that was happily grazing through the shrubbery.
The ponies are what attracts visitors to Chincoteague. Marguerite Henry's 1947 children's book 'Misty of Chincoteague' was written around the ponies living on the Island and the annual pony penning when they are herded up and brought into town. Foals are sold to benefit the local fire brigade who own the grazing permit and 150 are returned to the Island. One of the best examples of destination marketing I've seen where people go out of their way to see a herd of slightly small feral horses at a distance.
We didn't see any ponies on the way in. This included attempting the woodlands' walk which includes a viewing area. Despite being drenched in repellent, the ferociousness of the mosquitoes drove us (and many others) back before getting that far. We drove into the beach at Tom's Cove but were driven back from there by the hordes of cars, beach umbrellas and people packing the beach area. Not our idea of going to the beach. We were saved on the way back by a herd of ponies coming in close to the roadside viewing area so we got our token view of the ponies.
Lunch was at the Famous Pizza and Sub Shop Family Restaurant, another recommendation of our short trips book and again a bit lacking in ambiance. Seeing a pattern yet?
Back into the Refuge after 3pm when you are allowed to drive around a small loop. Saw some birds that were new to us although common to locals. Also saw a herd of deer which we watched for a while. Kids were more excited by going for a swim in the hotel pool afterwards!
Spent a lot of time looking for the Landmark Crab House for dinner. Address in our short trips book was wrong and after trying another couple of restaurants that were booked out, managed to get a table after a 20 minute wait at Don's Seafood Restaurant. Bit better restaurant and at least had a wine list. Crab cakes weren't as good as those from last night, which weren't as good as those I had for lunch in Ocean City.
Sunday was intended to start with a visit to the Chincoteague Pony Centre. After being hit by the 'closed Sunday' sign, we ended up playing a round of mini golf followed by bumper boats where the kids managed to get us as wet as they could manage. Kieren was particularly expert in deliberately driving his boat under the centre fountain to get Donna drenched. I didn't give Olivia that much control of our boat ...
After a bit of tourist shopping, waited for ages for lunch at the Sea Star Cafe, which was a sandwich place recommended by our short visits book. Again, underwhelmed by the place. There must be a good eating place on the Island but not sure we're going to be here long enough to find it ...
A quiet afternoon around the pool was followed by dinner at the restaurant across from the hotel which the kids had wanted to go to ever since we arrived. After the fare of the past few days, I quite enjoyed my McDonalds' Asian salad. Suspect some of my criticisms of the other eating establishments are related to the seasonal nature of the Island's tourism. They are massively overcrowded in summer, including the 40 - 50 000 who watch the pony penning next week. Population in winter must be down to the 3 - 5000 permanent residents. Even the salt water bays freeze over, with the ice thick enough for boats not to be able to get around for a few days at a time.
The early dinner was to facilitate our booking on the sunset cruise on the Assateague Explorer. This was basically a blast down past the lighthouse to where we could watch a herd of ponies grazing at the treeline some 100 metres or so from the boat. Rather than looking for other things to show us, the anchor was thrown in and we sat there for about half an hour. The ponies did get closer and I did get the best photos I have of them from the trip. We did see some egrets and a black skimmer while there. But rest of the 90 minute trip was the blast down and back, with the hint that they did see a pod of dolphins on the previous trip. A bit more variety and less pony time would have made it a much better tour.
Monday was our last day of enjoying the Belgium waffle breakfast. Went back up to the Pony Centre for the kids to have a ride. Rather than the lush grass in their website photos, it was more the parched earth of post drought Canberra. Three rounds of a small enclosure for $6 each which kept them happy and the Centre rich. Was somewhat less than the 5 minutes for $5 that the stupid short short visits book sold the place as offering.
Four hours including lunch got us back home, not including a local shopping trip to pick up some super glue after Kieren's lighthouse fell out of the car door and the light broke off, but at least it was still working and salvagable. The driving made it a tiring weekend despite being only around 220 miles each way which traffic made around 3 1/2 hours, and about an hour longer to go down via Ocean City. Didn't help that there isn't much to see from the car, with the major exception of the 4.3 miles of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Malcolm
No comments:
Post a Comment