where the ponies run free

One of my long-time dreams has been to visit Assateague Island where the infamous wild ponies live that made Marguerite Henry's book "Misty of Chincoteague" so popular in my middle school years. And oh the experience did not disappoint! There were ponies everywhere. When we first parked our car in the parking lot, a pony walked right up by our car and licked our car's bumper. It was amazing to see such beautiful creatures in such close proximity.

 Assateague is part of both Maryland and Virginia; the MD side was a national park while the VA side was a state park, so on this particular trip we went to the national park since military families get into national parks for free. I would love to see the state side sometime so I can compare the two, but that's for another time! I have since gone back to Assateague with a friend but we didn't see any ponies up close. They were all grazing from a far distance, in the marshlands. I'm not sure if this has to do with the seasons of if these particular days they were just in different areas. But it was disappointing to go back a second time and not have one single pony approach us! During this first trip with my family we went during peak tourist season (so maybe the ponies know they're getting lots of camera attention?) Haha!

The cool thing about this national park is that there's literally everything to do. There's plenty of beach space for swimming or sand play, hiking trails, rentals for water sports like kayaking, and even a large campground. There's also a path along the road for bicyclists. Even though our kids are fairly young (not ideal hikers haha), we had a great time with them because a lot of the park was stroller accessible. 

So this day trip was undoubtedly a success. It was fun for the kids and a memorable experience for me. And now I can cross a legit item off my bucket list. :)
​Until next time~ ♥