Horses, Harbours and Happenings:Steve and Sue visit Chincoteague and Hilton Head, May 2009! - COMPLETE About This Page:

[rescuesk]

And a new adventure begins!

The pre-planning:

If you read my Decade of Dreams trip report, this will be redundant, and if you didn't, you should! http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...-6-5-09-a.html

Anyway...this year there would be no big trip to WDW due to budget constraints. That's the politically correct way of saying OH MY WORD WE HAVE A SON GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR! When my future DDiL said "yes", we said "no" to a big trip this year. But we were OK with that, and went ahead with planning a few smaller, driving trips.

One place we really wanted to go back to was Hilton Head Island. We had stayed overnight at Disney's HHI in 2004 as we were passing through on our way home from Florida, and really only got a tiny taste of island life. It's about a 12 hour drive from us, so that was doable. We were going to drive down on Sunday, May24, and come home on Saturday, May 30th. I whipped out my DVC card and called at my...oh about...6 1/2 month DVC booking window to see what I could get for the last week of May.

Who knew that HHI was so popular on Memorial Day weekend? And who knew that they were limited on 1 bedrooms? And who knew that they held some of the rooms for cash? So I booked May 26, 27, 28, and 29, and waitlisted for May 24 and 25.

And waited....

And waited...

And waited some more. I called to book my DoD trip and checked. Got that, but no availability at HHI yet. I called to do an RCI exchange. Got that, but no availibility at HHI yet. I called to book a treehouse for January 2010. Got that, but no availability at HHI yet.

Hmmmm. What to do.

We had a few choices. One was to pay cash somewhere for a few nights in HHI. I wasn't keen on that one because I hate changing resorts. The second one was to just go Tuesday to Saturday. I didn't like that one either, because it seemed like alot of driving for a short vacation. And then there was option 3....

I started to think about combining 2 vacations into one. Where could we stay on the way down that would be something we could enjoy, and that we both wanted to do?

(Aside here....I have a "bucket list" on my computer. It used to be called "Things to do before I die" but the after the movie of the same name, "bucket list" seemed so much more appealing!)

So I took a quick perusal down my bucket list. Hmmmm....Glacier National Park is nowhere near South Carolina, so that's out. Italy? I don't believe we can drive there... Assateague Island...

STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!

Oh baby, we are SO there! After all, I love horses!

And so the planning began....

Wait!!!

What do you mean you don't know what Assateague Island is famous for?? Assateague Island Assateague Island National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service) is a small barrier island off the coast of Maryland. Depending on which part of it you are in, it is governed by the State of Maryland or the National Park Service. And right down the road a piece is Chincoteague Island, which is a tiny island sandwiched between mainland Virginia and Assateague Island. Chincoteague is a fun and funky shore town, with restaurants, shops, hotels and people. Assateague is wild and untamed, basically uninhabited except by campers and the NPS. Oh and of course, the wildlife.

Ah yes. The wildlife.

Assateague Island boasts a herd (actually 2) of wild ponies. They are really full size horses, but the locals and visitors alike who love them and protect them have given them the title "ponies". The NPS and state government protect these wild creatures to assure they are there for future generations to enjoy.

Did I happen to mention, I love horses?

One of the items on my bucket list was to be able to see the wild ponies. And now I had a chance to make it happen. I ran this by Steve, who had never heard of Assateague or Chincoteague, but, good guy that he is, he just said "sure, dear, whatever you want." (Do I have him trained or what! )

And on I went to stage two of the pre-planning!

Next...where should we stay and what should we do?

[MinnieMary]

Oh, I can't wait to hear about this. I've also wanted to go there. Waiting for more.

[DrDolphin]

So glad you found an option!! Can't wait to read all the details!

[rescuesk]

The pre-planning continues....

We had the Hilton Head part of the vacation down, but we now needed to figure out where we were going to stay for the Chincoteague part. By the way, it is pronounced SHIN-co-teeg (hard G). Steve spent the entire vacation trying to pronounce it, and came up with anything from Sheenotuck to Chickpeas!

I did a Google search (why oh why is there not a Passporter for every state in the union? ) and came up with a few choices. We priced out a big name hotel, and the price per night was . Yes, they gave you breakfast, but at that price, it should have been served in a private room with a butler and a maid attending you. Hmmmm. Let's check out an alternative. We (ok, well, *I* ) did a little research and found that Chincoteague is teeming with bed and breakfasts! Having never stayed at one, this seemed to be intriguing. There was only one small problem. It was Memorial Day weekend, and they all wanted a 3 night minimum stay. That meant, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Could we leave on Saturday? Well, since we were now contemplating a 4 hour drive, yes, we could do that.

I looked at several websites and tried to figure out where we wanted to stay. I felt like guest who have never been to Disney...overwhelmed! So many choices, where should we pick? And then...and then....

Let's digress back to Chincoteague and the ponies for a moment, shall we? In 1947, Marguerite Henry wrote a little book, called "Misty of Chincoteague". It is the story of 2 children and their adopted Chicoteague Pony, Misty. It is a beloved children's book, and it put Chicoteague and Assateague on the map. It is a story, but there is alot of facts in it, and in fact, Misty was a real horse, as was the Beebe ranch noted in the story. Several sequels followed, including "Stormy, Misty's Foal", "Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague" and "Misty's Twilight". It was one of my favorite books growing up, as a matter of fact, I still have my copy. Have I mentioned lately that I love horses?

...and then....I found Miss Mollys Inn: A Chincoteague Virginia Bed and Breakfast Miss Molly's is not only a bed and breakfast, but is THE HOUSE where Marguerite Henry wrote "Misty". And...the room where she wrote the book when she boarded here WAS AVAILABLE!!!

Being a nice wife, I actually showed Steve the pictures on the website before I booked it, but it was already a done deal. A click of the mouse, and we were golden!

So, I got ready for the DoD trip, went to work, worked in my garden, scrapbooked...all of a sudden it was two weeks out and I really didn't have anything planned! I had the travel details done ("camp" for the puppies, had hired my kitty sitter, stopped the mail, did the finances, etc, etc, etc) but I really didn't have anything planned. So I sat down at my computer, and all I can say is, wow, how did we travel before the Internet? I sketched out a basic itinerary, printed a plethora of papers, found a folder, made about six million lists, and waited for the day to arrive.

Which it finally did! The week before had been a whirlwind of getting the car in for an oil change, etc, doing my bills in advance, going to the bank, making a packing list or two or three, cleaning the house, getting in enough cat food for my cat sitter (my nephew) to feed, working, getting my nails done, shopping for groceries for HHI, mowing the lawn so we didn't come home to a forest, etc etc etc. I always feel like I need a vacation just from the planning of the vacation!

But soon, it was Saturday, May 23rd! And we were ready to go!

Next...the journey down, and arriving at Miss Molly's! And yes, the pictures will begin...all 1129 of them! (well maybe not all of them... )

[Colexis Mom]

What a great start Sue!! Can't wait to hear all the details!!

[chezp]

Great start Sue!

[Starla4436]

I can't wait to read this TR! It sounds like it is going to be really fun.

[pamcarey]

This is so cool! I've heard of the wild ponies, but don't know much about them. I'm sure by the time I read this TR, Assateague Island will be added to my list of Places I'd Like to Visit.

[magic mickey]

Sue I can't wait for pictures and more of this TR.

[Grammy Grumpy]

Great start Sue. Oh, and by the way, when I asked DH if he had heard of Assateague Island and what it was famous for (I was reading your TR to him and spelled Assateague to him), he said "Of course, everyone has heard of the Assateague wild ponies!" I, on the other hand, had no clue. I think that this is now on DH's bucket list, especially if we can get an official stamp by the NPS in our national park pass book!

Keep it up. I have two brothers in SC near HH and will be visiting them hopefully during the next year. May actually stay on DVC points for a period of time when we visit just to see say we've stayed at another Disney resort!

[mcc0313]

Great start Sue...can't wait to hear how you enjoyed the bed and breakfast, my parents are addicted to them and they spend a month every summer driving up through the Northeastern States into Canada staying at a bunch of them...

[DrDolphin]

Hmmmm - I am thinking we need to take a trip to Virginia.... Can't wait to read more!!

[bsblady01]

more please

[LouigiAnne]

I can't wait to hear more and for picture's too. I always enjoyed the stories about the ponies!! LouigiAnne

[rescuesk]

Day 1....

And we're off!!!

The doggies went to camp, the kitties went to visit Aunt Margo, the house got cleaned, the car got washed and fueled up, the suitcase got packed....and we are on the road!

We left about 1:30, and Garmin said our arrival time was 6:04. We drove down the PA turnpike and it was cloudy, but about 5 miles from the Delaware border, it got sunny! So the convertible top came down:

A blurry world whizzes by at 80 mph!


While we were enroute, we got a phone call from Lin, one of the owners of the B & B we were staying at. Since our arrival time was a bit later than we had anticipated (I had put down 4 on the reservation when I made it) she wanted to make sure that we had the code to get in the building, since she and her husband, Sam, the other owner, were going out to dinner tonight! I was driving when she called, so Steve took all the information and we were good to go!

The drive was basically uneventful. We passed a pretty nasty rollover crash on Delaware Route 1, but a Google search later revealed that both parties involved would be OK!

Soon, we were getting close:






On the bridge:


We crossed the Chincoteague bridge and came to a T intersection. Garmin told us to go right, but actually, we needed to go left. I think she needs to be updated soon! lol. We made the initial right and drove along a funky Main Street that we would spend a fair amount of time exploring. I was already in love with this island, and I wasn't even out of the car yet!

A quick U-turn, and we were headed in the right direction. I saw Miss Molly's on the left, and we pulled into the crushed shell-covered driveway and parked in the back.

We have never stayed in a bed and breakfast, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We got out of the car, and before we unloaded the suitcases, I thought I should take some pictures.

And all I can say is...Oh.....My.....Word.....

This place is beautiful.

The side garden:

The side porch, which is the entrance:

The porch with one-eyed Steve video taping :

Flowers:

Another view of the sign:

The front door:

The front of the building:

Furniture on the front porch:

What Miss Molly's is famous for:

The front sign:

Also from the front:

Lin is an avid gardener. I took more garden pictures later, but these are some of her roses:








We went inside to check out our room. Inside, the spectacular beauty continued. Miss Molly's is decorated like an old Victorian home. As soon as you walked in, you felt welcome.

The breakfast room:






The sitting room:




The parlor:








The stairs lead to our room:




Our room:


























Wow. Double wow. This place was wonderful. Our room was big, and comfortable, with a king size bed, private bath and a sitting area. We only had two complaints overall. One was lack of shelf space in the bathroom. There was a small medicine chest, but it didn't hold the taller items. And our second was the room overlooked Main Street, and there wsa no air conditioner. This was not a problem for colling purposes, as the open windows let in a nice fresh breeze, but on Sunday night (the middle night of Memorial Day weekend), it was NOISY! But that would come a bit later, right now we were busy unpacking and taking pictures and relaxing and deciding where to eat.

I had read up on the area dn picked a few places I wanted to try. As you all know, Steve is a fussy eater and I had to keep that in mind. But, as you may not know, he is allergic to shellfish. So I needed to find places that he could have a good meal but that I could get my seafood fix.

We decided to try Don's, a locally owned seafood restaurant with an attatched bar! It was literally a block away from Miss Molly's, so we walked.
The harbor and Chincoteague bridge:

Main Street: (ther will be more pictures later!)

Don's:








I opted for the everything seafood platter. "Broiled or fried?" Oh, what the heck, let's go with fried. Shrimp, scallops, haddock, oysters and clams:

Oh, and did I mention I had fries with that?

Steve tried the prime rib, which he proclaimed wonderful:


I tried a piece and....wow. He was right. It was delicious. I might have to try this later in the trip.

We ate dinner, and we were stuffed. Of course, Steve made room for dessert:


It was close to 9 by now, and we were both exhausted. Steve dragged me up to the bar, Chattie's Lounge, for a nightcap, but I was falling asleep at the table, so he took pity on me. We left and walked back to Miss Molly's. We went back to our room, and we were too tired to hear the outside street noise, and were soon asleep!

Next...more of the inn, and our first taste of Assateague