Archives for July 2012

Another day like yesterday, without the side trip, though Toni offered to take us to a few local venues, which we politely declined. Frankly, we just need the rest! They were happy to oblige. We had one short “business” meeting, which was partially the reason for the visit, which might lead to a future collaboration, but most of the day was sharing wine and food and relaxing and Olympics. Very happy to have put some deposits in our sleep bank, we’ve been running on empty lately! Thank goodness most of the beds we’ve had have been comfortable, but we’re still looking forward to getting back to our airbed!

Spent the day in lively conversation with our friends, mostly watching the Olympics in between chats, with one side trip to some other friends of theirs who have a horse farm about 20 minutes away. Got to meet their very large horses (especially after being around the ponies all week!), with draft feet and thoroughbred lines, an amazing combination of breeds. Spent a pleasant hour in conversation with them before heading back to Don and Toni’s for another relaxing evening. Again, just what we needed!

 Jane and Bob were up and out early this morning, as they’re heading for their place on the southwest coast of Florida and therefore have a very long drive today. We got up in time to hug them good-bye before we quickly packed and headed out to Memorial Park for the pony swim back. We managed to find a parking space just before the parking area there was filled up, so again, we had a pretty good view. Not as close as we would have liked, but about the best we could get without being at the campground or on one of the boats on the southern end of the flotilla. I was able to get some good pix, though, which was a bonus. Oddly, the ponies didn’t run back up the marsh and soon as they crossed, I figured they’d be happy to get home after all that nonsensical activity they had endured, but I guess maybe the moms were missing their babies, wondering what happened to them and tempted to go back to Chincoteague to look for them. Must be tough for them to do through that year after year. Can’t help but feel sorry for them, even though, rationally, we know it’s best. This from someone who has a mother and colt who have never been separated in 16 years! Oh well, the trip is now complete, and we’ve had a fantastic time!! Check that one off the bucket list! Once the ponies were back, we hopped in the car and headed out of town, picking up breakfast along the way, heading out to Richmond where, four hours later, we landed at the house of our friends Don and Toni. We quickly settled in, and they were gracious enough to let me do some laundry (who knows when I’ll have time in the near future?), and we shared a fabulous evening of food and conversation and cocktails and watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics together. Just the kind of laid back evening we needed after all the excitement! Stayed up WAY too late, though still not to the end of the London broadcast, finally fell into bed around 11:00, joining Hubby who had gone at least a half hour earlier. What a day!

 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!!

Slept as late as we could with the daylight shining in, had our usual breakfast and then just relaxed, reading most of the day. Took one ride out on our bikes to the Island Creamery, one of the three ice cream shops we’ve found on the island. Absolutely fantastic! Some of the best ice cream we’ve ever had! Hubby had something called Marsh Mud, which is as dark a chocolate as he’s ever found. Mine was delicious too, though I can’t remember what kind it was now. They make their own waffle cones right in front of your, a whole row of them where you can watch while you wait. Weather is turning hotter, and the ride home was a bit sweaty, the first of many hot days to come, according to the forecast. A well deserved rest day overall, followed by a quiet evening.

Turned out the bed was quite comfortable and we enjoyed a good night sleep, but the windows only had the barest of blinds, no drapes, so the light ended up waking us pretty early. Headed out to the grocery store for supplies, then found a place to rent bikes at a very reasonable rate, right on Main Street. Other rental places over on Maddox, which is essentially the tourist strip of the island, wanted twice and even three times as much, so we were happy to get them at the better price. Hubby rode the bike back to the house while I drove the car with another bike in the truck, could only fit one at a time. Had our lunch of ice cream at Mr. Whippy’s and explored the island a bit to get our bearings. A very cute little town, everyone was very nice, the roads were busy with tourists, so many bikes it looked like China! Some scooters and trikes as well, of course. Wore ourselves out before heading home to a nice soup dinner (determined to stay on our diet!), then enjoyed a quiet evening, though watching commercials on TV is hard when you’re not used to it, and we aren’t! A lovely day!