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Thanksgiving Week Vacation Day 4 – Back in Virginia

We relaxed at Tranquil Shores, our airbnb rental, for a couple hours upon our return from Maryland.

In the afternoon we drove to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, VA. We followed the Beach Access Road to Toms Cove, where we turned around. We had a few photo opportunities along the way.

a Great Egret and a Cormorant Sharing a Log

The Egret flew off, and the Cormorant was joined by a friend.

Two Cormorants

From the refuge we drove to the Island Nature Trail on Chincoteague Island. We had not known about this trail during past visits to Chincoteague. The Island Nature Trail is located along both sides of Hallie Whealton Smith Drive. The land where the trail is located represents some of last large tracts of undeveloped land on Chincoteague Island. The south side of Hallie Whealton Smith Drive has an accessible 0.7 mile long, paved loop path complete with benches and interpretive signs. The north side of Hallie Whealton Smith Drive is a natural surface trail that loops approximately 0.45 miles through pine forest and glade. We went for a walk on the 0.7 mile loop trail.

the Island Nature Trail

A Pine Siskin on the Island Nature Trail

There are three ponds that can be seen from the Island Nature Trail.

One of three ponds seen from Island Nature Trail

This bridge crosses over the third pond that we saw from the Island Nature Trail.

This is the pond over which the bridge crosses.

After our walk we returned to the wildlife refuge and drove around the Wildlife Loop, which opened up to vehicular traffic at 3:00 pm. The highlight of our drive around the Wildlife Loop was the sighting of several tundra swans.

Tundra Swan

On our way back to Tranquil Shores we stopped at Subway for take-out subs, which we ate at the house.

Thanksgiving Week Vacation Day 3

Today (November 23rd) is day 3 of our Thanksgiving week vacation.

It was raining at 5:30 am this morning. I saw lightning and heard a roll of thunder (just one). It was 61 degrees outside. The temperature would drop throughout the day.

By 7:15 am we both had showered and gotten dressed. Bob made a cheese omelet for breakfast. I made instant oatmeal. We both had hot beverages, coffee for Bob and tea for me, and orange juice.

After breakfast, we went for a short drive. Our first destination was the nearby Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. We followed the Beach Access Road to the Toms Cove Visitor Center, where we turned around. We saw a few egrets and great blue herons, as well as ducks. We saw horses too, way way off in the distance. I didn’t take any pictures, as the dim lighting wasn’t conducive to good quality photography.

Our second destination was the Veterans Memorial Park back on Chincoteague Island. The park has a good view of the Assateague Lighthouse. Again the lighting was poor for photography, although I did get a decent picture of the boardwalk and gazebo. Bob captured a nice picture of me inside one of the gazebos.

Veteran’s Memorial Park Boardwalk and Gazebo

Veteran’s Memorial Park. If you look closely, you can see Assateague Lighthouse in the background.

We returned to Tranquil Shores, our rental airbnb, from the park to await the sunny skies expected at 3:00 pm this afternoon.

My most enjoyable activity, during our downtime, was sitting on the screened-in porch preparing draft blog posts.

My work station

I must admit it wasn’t easy to keep my attention on my blog, when I had such a beautiful view of the marsh to look at.

Today’s lunch was leftover Sloppy Joes, coleslaw and cottage cheese.

After lunch we drove to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. We followed the Beach Access Road to Assateague Island National Seashore, stopping for photo ops.

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

Do you see the difference between these two egrets? The Snowy Egret has yellow feet and a black beak. The Great Egret has black feet and a yellow beak.

Cormorant – Pose 1

Cormorant – Pose 2

Cormorant – Pose 3

We made it to the Atlantic Ocean.

Leaving the beach we made our way back up Beach Access Road. We stopped at the parking lot for the Wildlife Loop. We went for a walk on the Marsh Trail. The trailhead is close to the parking lot. The trail is .6 miles one way. There are no side trails or confusing intersections, so there is no way to get lost.

The Wildlife Loop Marsh Trail is flat and an easy walk.

The highlight of our walk was seeing a wild pony at the trail’s overlook platform.

a Chincoteague Wild Pony

The Wildlife Loop Marsh Trail Overlook Platform is in the background. The wild pony was behind the overlook platform on the right side.

We made a loop out of the trail by walking along Wildlife Loop back to the parking lot.

From the refuge we drove to downtown Chincoteague and stopped at the Robert Reed Waterfront Park. The park is decorated for Christmas, complete with a huge Christmas tree.

The statue of Misty the horse greeted us, as we approach the Robert Reed Waterfront Park.

“Christmas by the Sea” at Robert Reed Waterfront Park

The lights are on the Christmas tree and, I believe, the lights were turned on November 16th. We will try to return to the park at nighttime to check out the lit Christmas tree.

Bob photographed me sitting on one of the “Love” chairs.

These four Adirondack chairs are 10 feet tall and weigh more than 500 pounds. The chairs arrived in Chincoteague in the summer of 2014 and promote the state’s “Virginia is for Lovers” tourism slogan.

It was a lot easier getting into that chair than getting out of it!

Late in the afternoon we returned to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and drove around the Wildlife Loop. The Wildlife Loop is open to vehicular traffic between the hours of 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Earlier I transferred images from my camera to my iPad and had forgotten to return the memory card to my camera. I am glad that we didn’t see anything remarkable during our drive; otherwise I would have been upset that I didn’t have a memory card!

Tonight’s dinner was take-out fish, onion rings and hush puppies from Captain Zach’s Seafood.

My dinner from Captain Zach’s Seafood

Dinner was delicious. Even the pickle tasted really good.

Thanksgiving Week Vacation Day 2

Today, November 22nd, is the second day of our Thanksgiving week vacation. Breakfast was from 7:00 am-10:00 am today at our hotel — the Best Western North East Inn, located in North East, MD. We went downstairs for breakfast a little after 7:00 am. Because of COVID-19 breakfast wasn’t the hotel’s typical full hot breakfast, served buffet style. Breakfast was still good, though, with selections individually wrapped. I had a hot egg and bacon sandwich, applesauce, a banana, orange juice, a chocolate chip muffin, and a cup of tea. Bob picked up similar selections. We carried our breakfast to our room on a tray and ate there.

We checked out of the hotel around 8:40 am and began the last leg of our drive. Today’s destination is Chincoteague, VA. As was the case yesterday, the GPS is programmed to avoid highways.

We made a bathroom stop in Cambridge MD at the Dorchester County Visitor Center. A monument caught my eye.

This is the “Flying goose” monument fountain.

You can see the “Flying Goose” from several viewpoints or see it up close.

“Flying Goose” monument fountain

Returning to our car from the “Flying Goose” monument, we spotted a lighthouse off in the distance.

View of Choptank River Lighthouse from Dorchester County Visitor Center

We hopped into the car, drove 1 mile to Long Wharf Park and parked the car.

Bob and I with the Choptank River Lighthouse in the background

Choptank River Lighthouse

and one last photograph of the picturesque lighthouse

Choptank River Lighthouse

At 12:15 pm we met Tom and his girlfriend, Ellen, for lunch at Evolution Craft Brewing Company in Salisbury, MD. We sat outside and ate our lunch.

Lunch with friends at EVO Brewery in Salisbury, MD

Bob ordered a pulled pork sandwich with French fries; Tom ordered a brisket sandwich with French fries; and Ellen and I ordered Brioche French Toast with strawberries and whipped cream.

Brioche French Toast with strawberries and whipped cream

A little background … Tom graduated with Bob’s brother, John, who is 9 years older than Bob. When we got together for lunch, I believed that I had never met Tom and that Bob and Tom hadn’t seen each other since high school. During lunch Tom mentioned John’s 50th birthday, and I had a vague recollection of a photograph taken during John’s 50th birthday celebration. I found that photograph, upon our return home.

Photograph Taken on the Occasion of John’s 50th Birthday (October 2000)

Apparently in October 2000 Tom, his wife Anne (who died in May 2019), and Bob and I celebrated John’s 50th birthday together. The four of us are in the back row on the left.

… Fast forward to 2018 …

Bob and Tom became Facebook friends in August 2018. Tom and I became friends on Facebook a few months later, in January 2019. Tom likes photographs that I share on Facebook. He has left many complimentary comments over the years. We message each other occasionally too. It was via Facebook Messenger that we made plans to meet on our way to Chincoteague, VA. Tom, Bob and I believed an outdoor setting would be the safest way to meet, given COVID-19.

… Back to the present …

Our respective lunches were delicious, and we enjoyed our time with both Tom and Ellen (whom we met for the first time today). We hope to meet up again one day.

I think it was 2:30 pm when we left the brewery. We drove to Food Lion in Oak Hall, VA. We picked up a few groceries and then drove to Tranquil Shores, our Airbnb rental in Chincoteague, VA. We arrived at the rental shortly before 4:00 pm and got settled in. Tranquil Shores is home through Saturday, November 28th.

Our Airbnb rental was cleaned to COVID-19 standards. We could smell the disinfectant, when we walked into the house. The house was spotless. When we stayed here before, pre-COVID, the refrigerator wasn’t completely emptied out in between guests. The refrigerator was completely emptied, when we arrived today. The empty refrigerator, in and of itself, gave me that little extra feeling of safety.

Tonight’s dinner was Sloppy Joes, coleslaw and, for dessert, cheesecake. We purchased a small platter that contains 8 slices of cheesecake, four different flavors. We will enjoy cheesecake for a few days this week.

Chincoteague Vacation – Day 7: Chincoteague, VA to Warren, PA

On Friday, April 12th, Bob got up at 4:30 am; I got up about 1 1/2 hours later. We were both showered and dressed by 6:30 am. We did most of our packing the previous night. We finished packing this morning, loaded the car and began our drive back home.

We stopped for breakfast at the Ocean Deli, an obscure restaurant attached to a Spirit fuel station on Wallops Island, VA. I just happened to notice a sign that advertised eggs, French toast, home fries, pancakes and bacon. We ordered breakfast at the counter and sat down in the dining room. Bob ordered a meat lovers omelet accompanied with home fries and toast. He didn’t care for the gyro meat. Otherwise, the omelet was good. I ordered two scrambled eggs, home fries, toast and bacon.

My breakfast at Ocean Deli

Our breakfast orders were delivered promptly. The portions were large and very filling.

After eating breakfast we continued our drive back home. We made a couple more quick stops on the way home, where we arrived around 5:15 pm.

Total miles driven Saturday through Friday were 1,275 miles. What a WONDERFUL vacation; we are looking forward to a return visit to Chincoteague, VA!

Please click here, if you missed any of my Chincoteague vacation blog posts. The link will take you to all posts tagged “Chincoteague Vacation 2019” and allow you to scroll from the most recent to oldest vacation post. Thank you very much for following along on our vacation.

Chincoteague Vacation: “Tranquil Shores”

We spent 5 nights (April 7th through April 11th), at Chincoteague, Virginia in an Airbnb rental called “Tranquil Shores”. Our host, Joseph, gave me permission to include details of his Airbnb in a blog post. The complete listing for this AirBnB rental may be seen by clicking here.

Here is a Google Map picture of our Airbnb accommodation.

“Tranquil Shores”

“Tranquil Shores” is the right side of this duplex house. We had use of that entire side of the duplex. The entrance to the home was via the wooden steps on the side of the house. We entered the door code, opened the door and we walked inside. The entry door opens to the kitchen.

Eat-in Kitchen

The kitchen contains all the essentials of cooking and dining to include cookware, dinnerware, utensils, stove, oven, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, spices, and so much more. We didn’t use it, but there was coffee grounds in the freezer for the coffeemaker. We brought the tea kettle that you see in this picture. We boiled water for hot tea and coffee. Bob used an Aeropress to make coffee.

The kitchen and living room form a Great Room.

Living Room

There is access to a Screened Porch from the Living Room.

Screened Porch

The living room was comfortable, and we made frequent use of the screened porch.

In addition to the kitchen and living room, this Airbnb rental has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms (queen bed and twin bed) and one bathroom are located downstairs. A washer and dryer are located in the downstairs bathroom. The master bedroom (king bed) and second bathroom are located on the second floor. There is access to a balcony from the master bedroom. We made use of only the master bedroom. The bed was very comfortable and provided for a good night’s sleep. Bed linens and towels are not provided in the rental cost. They are available, however, for an added fee of $10.00 per bed. We saved $10.00 by bringing our own towels and bed linens.

Tranquil Shores, as seen from Maddox Blvd.

This AirBnB rental is located at the end of a quiet road.

This is the view of the road on which “Tranquil Shores” sits. The house is at the end of this road.

The rental cost was approximately $55.00 less than the cost of a King Bed with Balcony hotel room at Best Western Chincoteague, where we have stayed in past visits. “Tranquil Shores” was a much nicer accommodation than staying in a room in a hotel! We had lots more space, and we were able to eat in or eat out, as desired. We ate breakfast and either lunch or dinner at home, during our stay. Our view at “Tranquil Shores” was much, much better than at Best Western Chincoteague too. At Best Western Chincoteague, if you booked a balcony room, your view was the McDonald’s Restaurant across the street. Compare that view with the view from the screened porch and balcony of our Airbnb rental.

When I took this picture, I was standing at the edge of the property. The water seen in this picture is Eel Creek.

We enjoyed daily sunrises, sunsets and wildlife viewings, while at Tranquil Shores.

Snowy Egret on Eel Creek

Osprey flying over “Tranquil Shores”

Sunset at “Tranquil Shores”, as seen from back porch

Canada Geese on Eel Creek

Sunrise at “Tranquil Shores”

Tern Gull Flying Over “Tranquil Shores”

Sunrise, on the morning of our departure

I highly recommend “Tranquil Shores” to individual travelers, couples, and families. You will be within a couple miles of downtown Chincoteague and Assateague Island where you can enjoy Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the Assateague Island National Seashore. We brought our bicycles with us and enjoyed rides in the neighborhood, several rides at the wildlife refuge, as well as one ride from “Tranquil Shores” to the wildlife refuge.

Thank you, Joseph, for sharing your home with us. We will return!

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

Chincoteague Vacation – Day 5

On the morning of Day 5 of our vacation (Wednesday, April 10th) we rode our bicycles from Tranquil Shores (our vacation home) to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, VA. It is approximately 2 miles from Tranquil Shores to the entrance booths.

We followed the bicycle trail to Woodland Trail. We rode the Woodland Trail, where we saw several wild horses in the marshland.

Woodland Trail – Wild Ponies

Leaving Woodland Trail we took the Black Duck Trail to the Wildlife Loop. We rode the Wildlife Loop. We saw egrets, birds and wild ponies.

Wildlife Loop – Snowy Egret

Wildlife Loop – Red-Winged Blackbird

For the first time since 2011, when we first visited the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, we saw wild horses in the marsh, while on the Wildlife Loop.

Wildlife Loop – Wild Ponies

From the Wildlife Loop we returned to Tranquil Shores.

Crossing bridge from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island (Beach Access Road)

We rode 11.69 bicycle miles in the morning.

We ate lunch at Metompkin Seafood Market in Bloxom VA, which was a 13-mile drive from Chincoteague.

Metopkin Seafood Market

Metopkin Seafood Market
Food ordered here.

Metopkin Seafood Market
Fresh Seafood

Bob ordered a fish and scallop platter. I ordered a fish platter. We both had two generous pieces of fish with French fries, coleslaw and hush puppies. Bob had scallops in addition to the fish. There were three cats that were looking for handouts.

A bold cat at Metopkin Seafood Market

On our way to Metompkin Seafood and on our way back to Chincoteague, U.S. Navy airplanes kept circling us.

U.S. Navy airplane

I took these photographs from inside our car, through the windshield. We were traveling at about 55 MPH at the time. The airplanes were flying from NASA Wallops Flight Facility. It was awesome having the airplanes fly so close to us!

Before returning to our vacation home, we stopped for homemade ice cream at the Island Creamery.

Island Creamery

Island Creamery
Ice Cream Selections

Bob ordered two scoops of coffee ice cream in a cup. I ordered one scoop of Peanut Butter Cup and one scoop of Peanut Butter Chocolate, also in a cup. Delicious!

We went for a drive around the Wildlife Loop in the evening. The wild horses that we saw in the morning were still there. The horses were even a little closer to the road than they were in the morning.

Wildlife Loop – Wild Ponies

Wildlife Loop – Wild Pony

For dinner we ate salad. Bob had a Cobb salad; I had a chef salad. Neither of us were very hungry after eating a big lunch and ice cream.

Later in the evening we watched a few episodes of NYPD Blue and then went to bed.

I hope that you are not getting tired of seeing photographs of wild ponies. I will be sharing more wild pony photographs in my next blog post. Those ponies were closer to us than all of our other encounters!

TO BE CONTINUED