4 kids, 2 parents, 1 pop-up camper, 1 very full Suburban (affectionately known as "Sully") and 17 hours on the road. This year our family headed to Assateague Island, Maryland for a week of "beach-camping!" It was a new experience for all of us and one that we can hardly wait to repeat.
The first leg of our journey took us a little over 9 hours to Pittsburgh, PA to stay with Dustin's aunt, uncle and 2 little cousins. Their hospitality was so warm and inviting that it really made our first night of vacation so much more than "just trying to get to the beach." The kids got to reunite with cousins, play with their husky dogs, swim, chase the cats, watch movies and stay up late.
--Tristan with his "dream dog"
We started out early the next morning to finish the last 7 hours of our trip. Make that 9 hours of our trip after a 2 hour delay at the Bay Bridge........
Welcome to Assateague State Park--our home away from home for the week.
The first morning we were at Assateague this was what greeted us on the beach about 20 yards from our campsite!
If you didn't know already, Assateague Island is where the wild ponies run free and about which the book "Misty of Chincoteague" was written by Maugerite Henry in 1947. One of the joys of homeschooling is that we were able to fully enjoy learning about the history of Assateague and the mystery surrounding it well before our actual trip. The kids (and Dustin and I) were so excited to see the ponies roaming freely both on the beach and in the campground and kept a careful watch out for ones that might remind us of "Misty" or her mother, "Phantom."
Most of our days were spent combing our beach for shells, splashing in the waves, soaking up the sun and building some impressive sandcastles. There is just something to be said for living mainly outside, cooking simple meals over a fire together as a family and just enjoying being together rather than feeling the need to race off to the next event or tourist location.
That being said, we did enjoy one very rainy, windy day at nearby Ocean City exploring the old wooden boardwalk!
--The kids with their bucket of famous "Thrasher" french fries
--The spectacular kites on the boardwalk/beach outside of the kite store! Some of these kits were 40+ ft in length
Other than our beach and Ocean City, we had fun exploring Chincoteague Island, Tom's Cove and the neighboring towns of Pokomoke, Snow Hill and Berlin. Our vacation was simple, low-key and filled with lots of "together" time!
Of course, our family can never do anything "simply" so we ended our vacation by adding an extra day at the beach--after the our beloved "Sully's" starter went out and left us stranded right as we were trying to leave to come home!
Our final, unexpected, day turned out to be the most beautiful one yet and we made many new friends through the process. One more little reminder that I am not the one in control, but I serve a God who is!
For more information on staying at Assateague check out:
*www.assateagueisland.com/
*www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/assateaguecamping.asp
*ococean.com/
*delmarvadiscoverycenter.org/
*www.berlinchamber.org/
*www.chincoteagueisland.org/attractions.htm
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