Another early morning, though we had a full breakfast today. Pony Auction started at 9:00, and we figured seats would be hard to come by (the bleachers had all been “reserved” by the time we left the carnival grounds yesterday, and many rows of lawn chairs had already been put in place. Lesson learned, bring a lawn chair and get it set up the day before it you want good seats at the auction!), so we headed out early enough to arrive by about 8:15 or so, with Bob driving us all in their car for a change. Surprisingly, we found a good place to stand, in the shade (as the heat and humidity had made a comeback), and soon the auction was underway! It was sad to see the babies go, and the prices were much lower than we though they would be, averaging around $400-700 for most of them except the “buybacks,” ponies selected to be returned to the herd because of their superior or desired characteristics. The cost of their lifelong freedom was high, with most of them going for between $5000 and $7000, a lot to pay for a horse that you weren’t going to take home, but I got a sense it was a matter of pride among some of the islanders to continue the tradition of good breeding within the herd. In any event, we stayed and watched for several hours, until our legs just couldn’t take standing anymore. A number of people asked if we were going to bid, and I said, no, I like my horses bigger. The ponies were all very nice, but my horse is nearly 15 hands, most of the ponies were only 12-13, too small for me or Hubby! We finally said good-bye to the ponies and headed out. We decided to drive over to Assateague to see the famous lighthouse, which were giving rare tours on this day. Hubby and Bob weren’t interested in climbing, but Jane and I were game, so we paid our $5 and headed up the 175 stairs to the top, where we enjoyed incredible views of the surrounding area. A short drive down to the beach where the Pony Walk was held, but now was filled with families sunning themselves and enjoying the beach as many do in the summer. After getting a bit blown away with the wind, and a short respite at the Tom’s Cove Nature Center, we once again we headed to the Creamery for lunch, then back to the house for a bit. After a brief rest, Hubby and I rode the bikes into town to turn them back in, figured it would be easier to do that today, won’t have time tomorrow. Then we walked around town and bought some souvenir shirts, something we rarely do, but we are so enthralled with the place we just couldn’t resist! Found a nice collared golf shirt, the last one in town apparently (Jane tried to find another one later in the day, no luck!), and several other great looking T-shirts. Hubby got one with a herd of ponies galloping along the beach, I got a pink tank top with some line art horses on them, including one on the back, and another one with an iconic picture of just a pony’s face swimming, with eyes looking straight out at you, only the head above water. Classic! Bob came to pick us up, and not long thereafter, we walked down from the house to another nice restaurant with a fantastic view (or I should say, Jane and I walked, Hubby and Bob drove, though it was less than a quarter mile) called ??? Another lovely meal, a great view of the sound between Chincoteague and Assateague, and a fantastic way to (almost) finish off our incredible adventure with the ponies!!
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