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.
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!
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.
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!”
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
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
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 Ponies
Wildlife Loop – Wild Ponies
Wildlife Loop – Wild Ponies
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!
Late in the morning we rode our bicycles in the neighborhood to Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Veteran’s Memorial Park sits along the Assateague Channel
Our round trip ride was 5 miles.
We ate lunch at McDonald’s and then drove onto the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, stopping for photo opportunities along Beach Access Road.We saw wild ponies in the marsh, closer than we have seen them in past years. There were wild ponies in the pony corral, too, near the Woodland Trail.
According to a delmava now news story, published on April 1st, “Chincoteague pony stallion Riptide and his band were penned in the south corral on Assateague Island after visitors to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge disregarded warnings not to approach the wild ponies…The ponies will remain in the corral until the spring roundup April 12 and 13”.
We saw great blue herons, egrets and wood ducks.
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Pair of Hooded Mergansers (Thanks EileeninMD for ID)
We spent a couple hours at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, before returning to our vacation home. We relaxed for a couple hours.
We returned to the Wildlife Refuge around 4:30 pm. We went for a drive around the Wildlife Loop.We saw birds, a fox, Sika deer, egrets, turtles, snapping turtles and a muskrat.
Leaving the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, after an approximately 45-minute visit, we drove to Food Lion and picked up dinners for three nights (through Thursday).Our purchases included three ready-made salads and three Culinevo ready-made dinner entrees–lasagna, beef stew and beef and noodles.All dinner entrees are microwaveable. We shared a Chef Salad and the beef stew for dinner. For dessert we had cheesecake.
We watched a few more episodes of NYPD Blue and went to bed.
After our bicycle ride on the Wildlife Loop at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, we went for a drive along Beach Access Road, stopping for wildlife photo opportunities.
Around noon we decided to drive to Assateague Island, MD. Along the way, we stopped at a deli and picked up cold cut sandwiches, cookies and honey roasted nuts.We ate a picnic lunch at a picnic table, located in a pavilion, along the Assateague Island National Seashore.After lunch we walked to the seashore.
Assateague Island National Seashore, MD
We drove along the Stephen Decatur Memorial Road / Bayberry Drive, as well as side roads, and didn’t see any horses.We didn’t walk any trails. Last year, when we visited Assateague Island, MD for the first time, we did see horses and we did walk the trails. Here are links from last year’s visit:
We had planned to make a return trip to Assateague Island, MD during vacation, but that return visit never happened.
On our way back to Tranquil Shores, our Airbnb rental, we stopped at Food Lion and picked up a couple items for dinner. Our dinner was leftover chicken and naked chicken wings, leftover coleslaw, potato salad and, for dessert, more cheesecake.
It rained in the evening, accompanied by thunder and lightning.We saw a high temperature of 81 degrees.The rest of the week was cooler and dry. By the way it did not feel like 81 degrees, while we were at Assateague Island, MD. I wore a hoodie, with the hood up, and was still cold! The wind was brutal.
We watched three episodes of NYPD Blue and then went to bed.
On Day 3 (April 8th) of our vacation, we drove to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The wildlife refuge is located on Assateague Island, VA. We carried our bicycles via bike carrier, even though the wildlife refuge is only a couple miles from Tranquil Shores, our Airbnb rental.
We rode our bicycles on the Wildlife Loop (3.25 miles), which is open to walkers and bikers all day. Vehicles are permitted to drive the loop from 3:00 PM until dusk. We rode several trails branching off the Wildlife Loop and ended up with 6.86 bicycle miles.We also got in a few walks, mostly to the ocean.
Black Duck Trail branches off the Wildlife Loop.
The Black Duck Trail can be used to connect the Wildlife Loop to the Woodland Trail. On this day we rode to the Beach Access Road and back (2 miles round trip) on the Black Duck Trail. The sign indicated that we might see Canada goose, tundra swans, black ducks and other waterfowl; deer; snakes; and songbirds. We did see a few birds, including a Flicker, but I was not able to grab my camera quick enough to capture any photographs. The only photograph I took, while on Black Duck Trail, was of the lighthouse.
Assateaugue Lighthouse, as seen along the Black Duck Trail
Swan Cove Trail branches off the Wildlife Loop.
Swan Cove Trail (0.5 mile one way) is a popular route to the beach.
We saw this pool of water, as we were bicycling to the beach on Swan Cove Trail.
Swan Cove Trail leads to the beach.
Continuing on the Wildlife Loop, a short distance from the Swan Cove Trail is a boardwalk trail.
The boardwalk trail leads to an overlook of Snow Goose Pool.
This is a Service Road that branches off from the Wildlife Loop.
The Service Road is a gravel foot path, 7.5 miles one-way, with limited bicycle access. Bicyclists can access the trail for 1.25 miles (one-way) to the D-Dike beach access area. Cars are not permitted on the Service Road, with the exception of Oversand-Vehicle (OSV) Permit holders.
Public Nudity must be a problem. Otherwise, I wouldn’t think a sign would be necessary.
Bob, riding to the beach on the service road
Beach access from the service road
This was our fourth year on the Wildlife Loop, but it was the first time that we saw it via bicycle. With the exception of the boardwalk trail, we had not been on any of the trails that branch off from Wildlife Loop. We rode around the Wildlife Loop several times during our vacation, both by bicycle and by car. I will share more photographs from Wildlife Loop in future blog posts.
The Beauty Around Us 