skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Seriously ... this post is a year in the making. I've been meaning to post about our visit to Chincoteague & Assateague Island for almost a year now ... and now I'm finally doing it.
In August of last year, Mike's mother was visiting to help us celebrate Mike's 40th birthday. We knew we wanted to do something special, but we just weren't quite sure what that was. We decided to get in the car and just drive. We really didn't have a destination set ... we just knew when we got there, that's where we would be. We did think we might end up on the coast of Maryland.
Finally, we started seeing signs that said we were getting close to Chincoteague. I said ... hey isn't that where the wild horses roam? That's pretty much all I knew about the place. My mother-in-law Bett loves horses, so we decided to see if we could find a room there. Well, let me just say, that was no easy task. On the entire island there seemed to be only one room available. The Presidential Suite in one of the hotels was all that was left. Mike said we should just do it ... let's just say the cost of the room was VERY presidential. It was nice though ... right on the water, balcony all around, jacuzzi, HUGE room.
If you would like, you can click on any of these pictures to see them in a bigger view.

This is a picture of us on the drive ... we stopped off at a rest area that was over the water. It was beautiful! As you can see Griffin had no interest in looking at the camera. It was all about looking at the boats for him.

I had never seem a ship like this before. Wait ... maybe I have in Tampa Bay ... I don't remember. But it was HUGE!!

The first night we were there, we ate at a place called Steamers. Okay ... let me just say ... it was SO good. And what is a post from me without a picture of food, right?

After dinner, Mike and Griffin went back to the room and Bett and I went for a walk. Here we are in front of a statue of the famous "Misty of Chincoteague".
The Chincoteague Pony was made famous by Marguerite Henry’s 1947 children’s novel Misty of Chincoteague, and the subsequent sequels Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague, Stormy: Misty’s Foal, and Misty’s Twilight. The real Misty of Chincoteague was born on Chincoteague in 1946, and her descendants still serve as ambassadors of the breed.

And here we are entering the seashore area ... I didn't take pictures of the beach. It was what I would say looks like a lake shore ... not really beachy at all to me.

And I just LOVE this picture of Mike and Griffin walking along the path that would lead us to where the wild horses and ponies were. It was quite a hike there, but we finally made it!!

We did see the wild horses, they were way off in the distance. I was a little surprised there were condos in the distance too.
From what I hear, many times the horses can actually be seen on the beach. Here's a little history lesson for you.
There are two theories of how the ponies came to live on Assateague Island. The legend is that a Spanish galleon wrecked off of Assateague Island and the surviving ponies swam to the island. However, the more likely theory is that early 17th century colonists let their animals loose on the island to avoid the tax on fenced livestock. Whichever theory is true, the free-roaming ponies of Assateague have been living there for hundreds of years.
The Virginia feral ponies are owned by Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. The government allows the fire department to keep a maximum of 150 adult ponies in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. For over 80 years, on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, Pony Penning is held on Chincoteague. The herds on Assateague are rounded up, and on Wednesday of Pony Penning week the ponies swim from Assateague to Chincoteague. The ponies are held in a pen at the carnival grounds on Chincoteague until they swim back on Friday morning. On Thursday, an auction of most of the foals is held with a few kept as future breeding stock. The proceeds of the auction are used to care for the feral ponies and finance Chincoteague’s fire department. A second roundup is held in the fall for a vet check, an informal sale of the foals born after Pony Penning, and the foals sold in July that were too young to be weaned are picked up by their owners.
If you ever have a chance to visit ... I highly recommend Chincoteague. It's a quaint, beautiful place for families.
I'm in a nostalgic mood lately. I've been searching through the pictures on my computer and I came across this one of Griffin and me.

I know it was taken in 2005, however without looking it up, I honestly can't remember the month. He was at least six months old, as I can see the baby food on his bib. I still had good hair and good skin in this picture, leftover from my pregnancy days ... lol.
===================================
Griffin has been pretty talkative and funny lately.
Here's some of my favorites ...
The other day he woke up from his nap and I could hear him on the monitor saying "I want to see Mommy" ... "I want to see Mommy" ... over and over. I walk into the room and this is what he said ...
G: Big Mommy ... with his hands held out for a hug
M: Ummmm .... what did you say????
G: Big Mommy ... pointing at me
M: I said nothing ... must have had the look of shock on my face
G: And then he pointed to himself and said baby Griffin
Oh okay ... I got it ... he was thinking about his favorite tv show (Hi-5). On the penguin part of the show the baby penguin calls himself baby penguin and he calls his mommy Big Mommy ... he wasn't being disrespectful.
Can you imagine what was going through my mind at this point? My son will NOT be calling me Big Mommy or Big Momma. Never. Period.
====================================
Last night Griffin was laying in Mike's lap. It was quite a bit past his bedtime and he was really tired. Mike started singing:
Go to sleep,
Go to sleep,
Go to sleep little baby,
Go to sleep,
Go to sleep,
Go to sleep little one.
Griffin looked up at his Daddy and said:
Daddy you funny, that's Mommy's song.
Awwwwwww ... I thought that was the sweetest thing!!
======================================
And finally ... Griffin's favorite song to sing lately is "You Are Some Kind Of Wonderful". I love that he sings this song. Again, it's from his favorite tv show Hi-5 ... this is his version and he does all the little dance moves to it to ...
You are some kind of wunnerfulllll ...
WUN-NER-FULLLLLL ...
You are everting to meeeeeee ...
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ...
(repeat, repeat, repeat)
I have to order this CD for him
=======================================
Mike is officially on vacation beginning today. It's going to be a stay-at-home, work around the house vacation. I'm really looking forward to it!!
Well, I hope you all have a fabulous Sunday!
Yesterday we were pleasantly surprised to receive an unexpected package in the mail from Uncle Jerome and Aunt Bonnie (my brother and sister-in-law).

Mmmmmmm ... what do we have in here????

Oh my goodness ... look at these great surprises!! Griffin received this really cool "Just Mow It" John Deere t-shirt, Vehicle/Airplane Tubby Toys, and there was also a darling squishy teddy bear pillow in the package.

I'm pretty sure the teddy bear pillow was meant for me ... but as you can see in this picture, he took complete ownership of it. As a matter of fact he slept with it last night.
Thank you Jerome and Bonnie ... your sweet gifts were totally unexpected and very much appreciated! We LOVE you guys!!
========================================
And ... I've been tagged by Gary to answer these questions.
Answering the Meme:
1. Last Movie you Saw in a Theater:
Elmo in Grouchland ... it was on the free movie schedule in 2006. Harley and I took Griffin and he did amazingly well sitting there watching the movie.
2. Favorite Board Game:
Good old fashioned Monopoly for me
3. Favorite Smells:
Lavendar, Vanilla and I love the way the grass smells right after it is cut
4. Favorite Sound:
Griffin saying "I LOVE YOU MOMMY"
5. Worst Feeling In The World:
Loosing someone I love
6. Favorite Fast Food Place:
Arby's Barbacoa ... our Arby's offers these great burritos and I love the ability to go through the drive-thru for a burrito
7. Finish This Statement. “If I Had A Lot Of Money I’d…”:
Buy Mike and airplane an I would open a scrapbooking store
8. Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal?
Nope
9. Storms-Cool Or Scary?:
It depends really ... I love a good hard rain, and after living in Central Florida I'm certainly mostly comfortable with thunder & lightning. But something about the thunder & lightning here in Virginia is different. It's as if the sound gets amplified through the big trees all around our house.
10. Favorite drink:
Brewed iced tea
11. Finish This Statement, “If I Had The Time I Would …..”
Create more.
12. If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Color, What Would Be Your Choice?
Golden brown with natural looking highlights.
13. One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You:
He is dang funny!!
14. What’s Under Your Bed?
Our hardwood floors ... we have a full-wave waterbed and nothing can be under our bed.
15. Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?
Yes, I love my life.
16. Morning Person Or Night Owl?
Definately a morning person ... when the clock strikes 9:00 pm I am usually asleep.
17. Over Easy Or Sunny Side Up?
Neither, I want my eggs scrambled hard. No runny stuff at all for me.
18. Favorite Place To Relax:
On the couch reading.
19. Favorite Pie:
My mother-in-law's pecan pie.
20. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Breyer's Light Chocolate Mocha Silk
21. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
Well, first I guess I have to tag someone ... so let's see ... I'll tag Cecile ... and if anyone wants to do it, please do!
Hope you all have a great day!!