Another road trip in the books! Chincoteague Island, Virginia is the most recent destination of interest for Liam’s family, so naturally we jumped in the car for a spontaneous trip.
Chincoteague Island is famous for the wildlife that inhibits its’ nature preserves. It is estimated that around 150 wild ponies live on the Virginia side of Chincoteague and Assateague Island, grazing the marsh grasses for hundreds of years. Local rumor has it that they are the descendants of survivors of a Spanish ship which wrecked off the coast of Assateague. Besides visiting wildlife refuges, Chincoteague offers miles of uncrowded beaches for tourists to relax. There is no main boardwalk or pier, so visitors can enjoy a relaxed atmosphere surrounded by untamed nature.
At about a 9-hour drive from my apartment, we weren’t too worried about getting there before dark… but I should know by now that Liam’s clock drastically differs from mine. Although we left early in the morning, we didn’t arrive until almost midnight. We parked at a Toms Cove campsite opposite the popular side of the island, so the area was quiet and right on the water. This makes for a perfect breeze on a hot summer night sleeping in a car!
The next morning, we took a double kayak into the miles of marsh around the island, where we eventually found the wild ponies! There are signs everywhere around the island warning visitors not to get too close, reading “horses will bite”, but we didn’t listen. I stood at least five feet away from a horse, casually saying “hi” and asking for a selfie with the shaggy animal. Horses are not aggressive animals; they will not bite or attack unless severely provoked… I think the warning signs are more for the horses’ peace than for protecting tourists. We left them alone quickly, not wanting to disturb their territory and continued on our kayak journey.
Eventually, we had to eat. I wanted to do a little downtown exploring, so we found a local tiki-bar, The Ropewalk, overlooking the ocean for lunch. Liam rediscovered his love of strawberry daiquiris while I sipped on a Bloody Mary. I even got Liam to snack on some crab dip! A small victory from a supposed seafood-hater. The various downtown shops were what you can expect of a touristy area; a couple t-shirt and ice-cream stores, some even sold live hermit crabs. Sundial Antique Bookstore was what caught my eye. I found a true crime novel to keep me company for when Liam would eventually go kiteboarding on his own.
My favorite part of our road trips is cooking. We have a small propane burner to get creative with, and there’s always plenty of wine packed wherever we go. Liam set up a hammock for me to rest in while he prepared macaroni. It’s always a bit of an ordeal cooking with Liam, even if we had a fully stacked kitchen. I love to cook and he loves refilling my wine glass… we’re the perfect team. Since the water takes so long to start boiling and we always forget to pack utensils – I ended up burning the tablecloth and losing half the noodles while attempting to drain the pot.
After dinner, neither Liam nor I were ready to settle down. We decided to bike back to the tiki bar for another round of daiquiris. It was the perfect summer night. Since the sun had already set and there are no streetlamps on the island, we loaded the bike basket with flashlights and a Bluetooth speaker set to blast Florida Georgia Line. Overall, I think the ride took around 15 minutes to arrive at the bar from our campsite. The fun part was avoiding cars on a pitch-black road!
Once back at our campsite, we found Liam’s father and girlfriend sitting around the firepit attempting to roast the perfect s’more. We munched on some graham crackers and conversed until the embers died. It was the ideal ending to a wonderful summer getaway.
If you have any follow up questions about Chincoteague Island, please email me at hello@alostblonde.com
♡ Abigail Reagan
