“I wish I was born here. Chincoteague is the home of all pony lovers, and I am one!” — Fiona, age 7
So yesterday Adella, my Mom, all four bunnies, and I drove to
Chincoteague, a small town on Virginia’s Eastern Shore known for its
family friendly atmosphere, wild ponies, and annual oyster festival.
The kids like the simple beachy things to do — swim in the sea, play
mini golf, go for pony rides (nice and safe on supertame ponies in a
circle), and maybe even drive some go-karts.
Chinco is a lot less built up than many other east coast beaches. The
barrier island where there’s the beach is a national park, so all the
places to stay are on the island between that and the mainland. The
places to stay are still mostly little motels rather than big resorts,
and the places to have fun are still family owned and operated. Adella
said it reminds her of Anguilla in a strange way.
I say still because this is the first time I’ve been here in several
years (since my honeymoon with the older kids’ mother, yikes) and I can see how it’s changed a little. There are many more realty places, they’re building big, modern looking (i.e. hideous) condominium buildings, and there are just generally more people milling about. Still, it has a lot of that “well kept secret” feeling, and we’ll enjoy that while it lasts.