6/19-6/22 To Chincoteague and Cape Charles by car

6/19 The winds were still keeping the Chesapeake very choppy.  We rented a car for the next few days.  First, we did a large provisioning trip to Walmart.  We got heavy items like Gatorade, etc.

6/20 We headed to Chincoteague, VA.  On the way we passed NASA Wallops.  Christine has to go there periiodically.  But the big draw of Chincoteague is Misty, the pony.  Two herds of feral ponies live out on Asseteague Island.  The caretakers of the herd keep the herd to about 150 ponies.  Each July, the herd is rounded up.  Each pony is given a physical.  Only the ones strong enough are guided to swim to Chincoteague where they are sold at auction.  The book, Misty of Chincoteague, was written in the late 1940's about the pony, Misty, and the family who bought her, the Beebe's.  There was a movie but I don't remember it.  I do remember the book though.  The story of Misty was one of my favorites.  My mother kept the book and my children read it too.  In the 1960's when Misty died, she was preserved.  Today, she is in the Chincoteague Museum.  John got this picture of me and the story of Misty. 

We took a bus tour about the history and development of the island.  It was interesting to see how much everyone cares for the ponies.

We drove out to Asseteague Island which is now a nature preserve and National Park.  I used my National Park senior pass and the entrance was free.  We drove around the trails but we only say the herds way in the distance.  While walking out on one of the viewing areas, I did see this bunny though. 

We stay on bays and rivers so much, it was nice to see the open ocean there. 

6/21 We had planned to visit Cape Charles by boat but the winds and waves were not cooperating.  So we drove south on the Delmarva to Cape Charles.  This quaint little town is at the end of the Delmarva.  It is a sandy shore on the Chesapeake.  At the beach is this LOVE sculpture and sculpture of Poseidon.

The town water tower is decorated as a lighthouse.

We strolled the shops.  John was fascinated in the old hardware store.  They sold everything.  Yes, they had all the regular tools, etc.  They had huge pots to cook your crabs, a full sized skeleton, swimming and beach toys, brass knuckles, lawn products, and thermometers.  We bought a thermometer.  It was hard to get John to leave.  After a really good lunch at the Shanty Restaurant in Cape Charles, we headed north and turned in the rental car. 

The best lesson of the day came from the Enterprise driver, who drove us back to the marina.  He told us that most people worked for either the Tyson or Purdue plants, both of which are huge.  He used to work there and explained the process from bringing the chickens until the chicken breasts, wings, etc. leave frozen from the plant.  The process is very manual and physically demanding. 

For dinner, we ate at Mallards, which is on the Onancock Marina Wharf.  We knew they had Smith Island Cake there.  Smith Island Cakes are made on Smith Island and sold around the area.  They are very dense multilayer cakes that were made for the watermen to take on the water with them.  The cakes are very flavorful.  Last night, they had a lime cake.  We were able to polish it off.  Yum.

6/22 We saw a weather window and sadly left Onancock.  The Chesapeake was choppy for the first few hours but finally calmed down as we headed for the York River.  The weather is hot and humid.  The next few days promise some winds and lots of rain.  We will hole up here before heading back to Norfolk.  We are in no rush.  The Great Bridge, south of Norfolk, was hit by lightning over a week ago.  A piece had to be flown in.  It is only opening twice a day and causing back ups in both directions.  So we will take our time heading south.