Chincoteague Vacation – Day 6
On Day 6 of our vacation (Thursday, April 11th), after eating breakfast, we went to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We drove, rather than ride our bicycles. It was a chilly and windy morning, with a temperature reading of 49 degrees.
We saw NINE wild horses in the lighthouse parking lot and watched as they walked down Beach Access Road to the Wildlife Loop.
Wild Ponies in the Lighthouse Parking Lot
Wild Pony in the Lighthouse Parking Lot
Wild Ponies in the Lighthouse Parking Lot
Wild Ponies Walking Down the Beach Access Road Towards the Wildlife Loop
Wild Ponies Walking Along the Beach Access Road to the Wildlife Loop
There are 8 wild ponies in these two pictures; however, we saw a total of 9 ponies.
Wild Ponies Walking Toward the Wildlife Loop
One of 9 Wild Ponies Making its Way to the Wildlife Loop
This was the straggler, the 9th wild pony.
Seeing the horses was really cool. We have always seen evidence that the horses have been on Beach Access Road, but had not seen them there before.
Before leaving the Wildlife Refuge, we visited the Assateague Lighthouse.
Assateauge Lighthouse
The Assateague Lighthouse stands 142 feet high.
After visiting the lighthouse, we returned to the warmth of our vacation home. Bob turned on the heat for the first time since our arrival. For the next few hours I washed, dried and folded two loads of laundry; we ate lunch (ready-made lasagna and cheesecake); and we relaxed, enjoying the peaceful setting of our Airbnb vacation home, Tranquil Shores.
Around 3:00 pm we left for one more visit to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We drove around the Wildlife Loop three times.
Wildlife Loop Snake
Wildlife Loop Great Blue Heron
Wildlife Loop Cattle Egret
Wildlife Loop Turtle
Turtle Crossing the Road at Wildlife Loop
Wildlife Loop Little Blue Heron (adult)
We drove also to the beach and back, along Beach Access Road. We were saying so long, until next time, to a place that we have grown to love.
Leaving the Wildlife Refuge, we picked up a 12-inch sub at Subway to share for dinner and went to Island Creamery for ice cream. Yes! We ate dessert first.
Returning to our vacation home around 5:00 pm we discovered piles of dirt had been placed in the deep holes (craters in some instances LOL) on the road to Tranquil Shores. Thankfully a resident pulled in after us. We didn’t know if we should drive on the grassy area to the right of the dirt piles (to go around them). She told us it was okay. According to the resident, the piles of dirt will be graded the next day. I passed this information to our host, as I thought he might be interested. Our host replied: “I’m so glad we finally have it getting done. Last winter was so hard on the road! Corralling all the neighbors to pitch in was a project in and of itself!”
TO BE CONTINUED
The Beauty Around Us 
5 Responses to “Chincoteague Vacation – Day 6”
I would love to see those wild horses! Thank you for all your pictures as well as those of the other wildlife you spotted. You had a wonderful vacation and I’m glad you took us along.
Hello, I love all your horse photos. They are beautiful. Chincoteague is one of my favorite places. Your last bird is the Little Blue Heron, a gorgeous adult. Great post. Wishing you a happy day!
Thanks for the bird ID!
Great photos of all the wildlife you saw. I love those horses. They were always too far away from us when we were there, always in an area we were not allowed.
Great bird shots….loved seeing them. Two or three of the horses look ‘with foal’ to me….but who knows.