Horses, Harbours and Happenings:Steve and Sue visit Chincoteague and Hilton Head, May 2009! - COMPLETE - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Great update Sue! We absolutely adore the 'Teague. we have been going faithfully for 4 years now and this August will be the 5th year. We normally rent a house with extended family and spend many hours on the beach and riding bicycles around town. I hope you got a chance to try out the Island Creamery. They have, IMHO, if not the best, then at least top 3 best ice cream I have ever had. I have lived all over the world and have eaten a lot of ice cream in my time and I can't wait to go back every year. My goal is to stop there at least one more time than the previous year. Last year we were there 5 times and you know what that means? This year it has to be 6. Can't wait to hear what you thought about the rest of the Island(s)...
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We paid our $5 fee and we were in! Our first stop was the Assateague Island Lighthouse. It was only open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and being lighthouse junkies, we were glad we got to see it.
We parked our car and walked down the aptly named Lighthouse Trail:
The first glimpse of the lighthouse through the trees:
The current lighthouse was built in 1867, and stands 142 feet tall. It is a working light, and the current beacon can be seen for 19 nautical miles. It is constructed of stone and brick, and the keeper's quarters are used as temporary Park Service housing.
From the front steps:
We paid our $3, and up we went! We were both foolishly under the assumption that it was 145 steps. Not sure where we got that figure from, but....here goes....
Spiral steps, common in lighthouses:
Imagine the old-time keepers who had to climb these stairs twice a day, as the lights were not automatic!
View from the first landing:
Second landing:
Third landing:
Fourth landing:
Fifth landing:
Head your watch!
After you got to the last level, there was a narrow set of steps that led directly to the light and the all window view of Assateague. It was breathtaking!
And finally, the view from the top!
The light itself:
When we climbed down from the light level, Steve was happy to see an AED (automatic external defibrillator) on the wall. We talked to the woman at the top for a bit, and we told her that it was nice to see the AED there, just in case. She said, "Well, 198 steps is a hard climb, we like to be ready!" Excuse me...what? We told her we thought it was 145 steps. No, 198! It's a good thing we didn't know that before the climb!
We made our way down, which was much easier than up. We chatted with the women in the gift shop and bought a fridge magnet and a coffee mug:
She was a retired schoolteacher from New York, and loved living down here and working part time!
On the walk back to the car, I took some pictures. (I know, you're shocked ):
An uprooted tree:
Through the trees:
From there, we drove the short distance to the Bateman Visitor Center:
The Visitor's Center is a relatively new building nestled in between the trees:
Inside, it's a museum detailing the life and history of Chincoteague and Assateague Wildlife Centers:
Some of the displays:
One of the most fascinating displays was a live camera trained on a huge eagle's nest that was out on Snow Goose Pool. A pair of nesting bald eagles had recently had three little ones. The camera right now showed an empty nest, and we asked about that. The volunteer from the center told us that the eagles were actually out of the nest more often than not, because their parents were teaching them how to fly! She said if you look up from the nest, you can see them in the tree practicing their skills. We asked if there was a way to the nest, and she pointed us in the direction of the hiking trail around Snow Goose Pool.
We left our car behind, and away we walked. Steve took a picture of the car, and it was a good thing, because it would be a good long time before we saw it again. See, the volunteer told us to go out past the visitor's center and around back, making a right. Only problem was, that was a non-public access road. So we turned around and found the public access road going the same direction. Since we turned around in the parking lot, it was now a left for us. But...if we had gone out of the parking lot and walked right, Snow Goose Pool was about 1/2 mile away. As it turned out, we walked...and walked....and walked....total about 3 miles to access the pool! We went about 1 mile down the main road, and then cut across a smaller hiking/biking trail, which did lead us to the pool.
I took LOTS of pictures on the way, though!
We were not alone though! Lots of hikers and bikers were enjoying the day on the trails. Everyone was really friendly and polite, and no one got run over by a bike. One boy did wipe out, but he seemed OK as he got up and rode away.
Finally, we were at the island with the eagle's nest on it. It's a bit hard to see, but it's in the middle. I was having some trouble focusing on it with my camera, as it was pretty well camolflauged:
We looked up, we looked down, we looked left, we looked right. NO EAGLES! Maybe they had "flown the coop" so to speak, or maybe they were at a Memorial Day barbecue somewhere. Maybe Mom and Dad eagle took the kids to a matinee...I don't know but they sure weren't anywhere near their nest! Well, at least the walk was nice and I got to take some pictures.
The park service uses electric cars in the park:
You are HERE:
It had been a long walk, but alot of fun. We still had plenty of adventures ahead today!
Next...first pony sighting, and another cruise adventure!
After our long trail walk, we decided to drive the rest of the way around the park. We drove down the main road, when I spotted up on the right....
HORSES!!!
But wait...they are in a paddock? Are these the famous wild ponies? Well yes....and no... Let me explain...
The ponies of Assateague Island divides between two states, and therefore the hoses are divided into two seperate herds. One herd is in Maryland, and one in Virginia, and they are seperated by a mostly unseen fence. The horses in Maryland are owned and managed by the National Park Service in conjunction with the state of Maryland. They are managed quite differntly then the Virginia ponies. The Maryland ponies roam freely throughout the island, and receive very little vet care or human interaction. Their numbers however, are controlled by birth control methods within the herds, administered by vaccine by veterinarians. This keeps the population manageable and allows the herd good health, as they are not outsourcing the food staples. The Virginia herd is owned and managed by the Chincoteague Fire Company. Their trucks even have horses in their emblem! These horses also roam free, but they receive a fair amount of veterinary care, although they are still considered wild animals. Every July, the pony penning occurs. This is a fire company sponsored event. The ponies swim over from Assateague Island under the direction of the pony cowboys. The foals are then rounded up and sold at auction to become domesticated. After the sale, the adults swim back over to the Island to await next year's swim. Not all the foals are sold, this keeps the population on the island healthy. The fire company auctions off about 60 foals, and the proceeds not only help the (all volunteer) fire company, but pay for the upkeep of the ponies year after year. The fire company has never lost a horse on the swim, and they have been doing this for many many years!
So how does this relate to the paddock ponies we are seeing? These are the "buy back" ponies. Not every wild pony can be domesticated, and rather than have them put down or abused, the fire company buys them back. I believe they also do this if for some reason the owner can't keep the pony. They are pretty conscientious about who gets these animals. When they are bought back, they come back to Assateague, where they are kept in the paddock for a bit. Once they are deemed healthy and ready to return, they go back to the wild life they came from.
I found the history fascinating. These ponies all looked healthy and fit, just not quite ready for domestic life!
It was really cool to see the horses, but this was not quite what I was here for. That would, however, come later.
We drove down the rest of the beach road through to the area known as Tom's Cove. We drove as far as we could, until we needed an "off-road permit" to continue. Somehow, I didn't think that the convertible qualified as an off road vehicle, so we looped back around and drove back.
By now we were both getting a bit hungry. There's no place to eat in the park, so we crossed over the bridge and stopped a little ways onto Chincoteague. We had lunch at a place called Maria's, which was a local Italian place that had gotten good write-ups.
I had an eggplant parm hoagie, Steve had spaghetti and meatballs.
Done!
It was about 2 PM now, so we figured we had plenty of time. We couldn't find it in Garmin, but we knew where the harbor was, so we headed in that direction. We drove down Main St, looking left and right, no Assateague Explorer! We turend around at the end, and headed all the way back. Still didn't see it! By now we were getting a bit frustrated, and Steve kept complaining about not being able to call. Ummmm....honey? Ya know that thing thatnever leaves your hand...that thing I call the GameBoy for adults? Your BLACKBERRY?? Ummm...google the darn thing! Duh! One click, he had a number, one call, we had directions, one more trip down Main St and we were there! We had been literally yards away from the dock, but it's not very well marked, so we missed it!
Up the pier we tracked, and soon enough, we were setting sail with Captain Mark. I was thrilled that the name of his boat was "Misty"! Mark is a native that went away for awhile and came back in 1985 to help his father with his fishing business. He decided he liked this part of it better, so he now runs the Assateague Explorer for the tourists! He was very friendly and knowledgable. He assured us we would see ponies!
Heading out of the harbor:
Chincoteague Island:
Assateague Island:
Ponies!
Mark was apologetic, because in earlier cruises, the ponies had been right out on the sand bar. It wasn't his fault, after all, they are feral creatures and not tied to the tourists whims!
Kind of distant, but the best was still to come.
I guess he doesn't want any visitors!
This is the area where the ponies swim over in July:
What a great view you must habve from these places:
The lighthouse:
We finally saw a bald eagle!
And an egret:
Some shore shots:
And back in to the harbor:
Me, Captain Mark, and Steve:
The cruise was nice, but a little pricey for what we saw. We went back to Miss Molly's for some rest. Our day was still young!
What fantastic photos of the eagle and horses!! Those are some great views from the lighthouse too!! Those narrow steps remind me of the steps in the Statue of Liberty.
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We were both foolishly under the assumption that it was 145 steps. Not sure where we got that figure from, but....here goes....
It's a good thing we didn't know that before the climb!
She said if you look up from the nest, you can see them in the tree practicing their skills. We asked if there was a way to the nest, and she pointed us in the direction of the hiking trail around Snow Goose Pool.
See, the volunteer told us to go out past the visitor's center and around back, making a right. Only problem was, that was a non-public access road. So we turned around and found the public access road going the same direction. Since we turned around in the parking lot, it was now a left for us. But...if we had gone out of the parking lot and walked right, Snow Goose Pool was about 1/2 mile away. As it turned out, we walked...and walked....and walked....total about 3 miles to access the pool! We went about 1 mile down the main road, and then cut across a smaller hiking/biking trail, which did lead us to the pool. 
Maybe they had "flown the coop" so to speak, or maybe they were at a Memorial Day barbecue somewhere. Maybe Mom and Dad eagle took the kids to a matinee...I don't know but they sure weren't anywhere near their nest! Well, at least the walk was nice and I got to take some pictures.
PassPorter Guide Author
Let me explain...
Duh! One click, he had a number, one call, we had directions, one more trip down Main St and we were there! We had been literally yards away from the dock, but it's not very well marked, so we missed it!
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