Checking Items Off My Bucket List: Visiting the Wild Ponies at Assateague Island

My favorite pony picture from our trip to Assateague Island

I don't remember exactly when I first heard about Assateague and Chincoteague Islands and the wild ponies who roam free there, but I do know that I have longed to get there ever since I learned that such a place existed. I am a walking, talking contradiction of sorts - a city girl who LOVES horses. It may seem ironic that a girl who was born and raised in a small urban neighborhood just outside of Center City, Philadelphia, would grow up loving horses, but I can explain.

When I was a little girl, there was a horse stable right in the middle of our inner city neighborhood. It was called Walt's Stable and it was located on Leopard Street just a block from the elevated train station at Front and Girard. At Walt's, they rented out horses by the hour, and you could ride them up and down the streets until your time was up. I was introduced to Walt's by a neighbor. When I was in first grade, a girl a couple years older than me moved in next door. One day, she rented a horse from the stables, and brought it back to her house. From that moment, I was obsessed! I wanted to go to the stables all the time. I constantly tortured my mom to let my neighbor, Kathleen, take me with her so I could visit the horses. As fate would have it, my Granny died right around that same time, and my Poppy came to live with us. My grandmother's death at such a young age was a horrible shock to all of us. When I look back on it, I think my grandfather coped with his loss by distracting himself with entertaining his grandchildren. He did everything with us and for us. As a result, I really didn't have to work very hard to convince him to take me to rent horses. We'd walk the 7 or 8 blocks to the stable, rent a horse, and then he'd lead me back to the school across the street from our house where my friends and I would make countless passes around the block on horseback until it was time to return the horse to Walt's. 

One morning, I went out to my grandfather's car and found a saddle, bridle, and a brush in his trunk. Initially, I was confused and then tremendously delighted when he explained that he had bought my favorite horse at the stable as a gift for me, and I could ride her whenever I wanted. Having "Cindy" is by far one of the fondest memories of my childhood. I can vividly recall the sound of her hooves clip clopping on the pavements when we rode her around Penn Treaty School, the feel of her coarse brown hair under my hand when I rubbed her neck, and the pride I felt every time I put my foot in that stirrup and drew myself up in the saddle. Nothing made me happier than brushing her mane and looking into her soulful brown eyes. It broke my heart when Cindy developed an infected saddle sore and had to "go live on a farm where she could get some rest." 

To this day, I can't look at a horse without a rush of nostalgic memories flooding my heart. A few years ago, when I heard there was a beach where wild horses roamed freely, there was no question in my mind that I would get there some day. So, once Wanda passed her camping test run in Long Beach Island last month, you can guess where I immediately booked our next camping trip for my birthday weekend. Happy Birthday to me, right? We actually ended up staying about five miles from Assateague State Park at a campground called Frontier Town, a destination in and of itself, with its own water park, a Wild West Show, camping sites with boat slips, and many other great attractions and amenities. The staff at Frontier Town was friendly. The sites were clean and flat, but not shaded enough for my liking. The bath house was huge and very clean. My only complaint is the button you had to hold in to keep the water flowing out of the shower head. I understand the park's desire to conserve water, but I NEED water flowing the whole time I'm under the shower, and taking a one-handed shower in order to keep the button depressed and the water flowing steadily is just as challenging as it sounds. My husband thought the buttons were a brilliant idea. He said he wished he could put one in at home to cut our own kids' shower times down.

Our site at Frontier Town. I love my new picnic table cover.

Every campsite needs a good old fashioned clothesline.

The waterfront sites with boat slips, a boat owner's dream come true.

A cool spot to hang out on the grounds.

The Wild West Show. We didn't see it, but it looks like a lot of fun.

The water park. It was closed while we were there, but kids would definitely have a ball here.

We actually weren't at the campground very much because there was so much to see and do in the area, and we were only there for three days. If we traveled five miles in one direction we were at Assateague State Park, and ten minutes in the opposite direction brought us to Ocean City, Maryland. Obviously, our first stop on Saturday afternoon was Assateague Island. For those of you who like to know things, Assateague Island is a 37 mile long barrier island off the coast of the Delmarva Penninsula with the northern 2/3's situated in Maryland and the southern 1/3 in Virginia. When you cross Bay Bridge onto the northern end of the island, you can visit either Assateague State Park or Assateague Island National Seashore. The two parks are situated adjacent to one another on the sandy beaches, salt marshes, maritime forests and coastal bays of the Maryland shoreline. The entire island is a wildlife sanctuary that is protected from development. You can camp oceanside or bayside year-round in tents or trailers, or you can try backcountry camping if you want to backpack or paddle the island. There are numerous opportunities to explore and enjoy the diverse wildlife on the island such as fishing, crabbing, clamming, kayaking, birding, biking, hiking, and relaxing on the beach.

We mainly went to view the ponies and check out the beaches. On our first ride onto the island, we came upon a group of ponies grazing on the grass along the side of the road before we even parked the car. I was like a kid in a candy store. It was very hard for me to exercise restraint and respect the park regulations that prohibit touching or feeding the horses. I pacified myself by taking lots of pictures instead. After that first encounter with the ponies, we headed to the beach. The beaches in the national park are unguarded. You can swim, fish, and surfboard in the ocean. Pets are allowed on the beach, as are bonfires. There were families with umbrellas spread out all along the water's edge when we took a walk along the surf and looked for shells. When we returned to the island on Sunday, we moved over to the bay side of the park and checked out the marsh trails. We saw more ponies, explored the camping accommodations, and simply enjoyed our serene surroundings.

We are already trying to book a campsite ON the beach at Assateague for next year. It's tricky because you can only book a year in advance and the sites get snatched up like hotcakes. We're shooting for the oceanside H Loop in Assateague State Park, the only loop with electric hook-ups. I'm loving this camper's life, but I don't know if I'm ready to do it without electricity, yet. When you see these pictures, you'll understand why it's so hard to book the oceanside camp sites.

Can I take her home? Pretty please!

I'll never tire of the beauty of a beach.

Couddn't resist this Kodak moment.

There are horses WAY out there.

Makes it hard to ever go home.

The horses hang at water stations and raid unattended coolers and other food sources. Pretty smart of them, I'd say.

Never got old.

After I didn't get bit or kicked for two days, my husband finally ventured out of the car. Can you say city slicker?

Second favorite horse shot.

Can you move your tent so I can pull my trailer up, please?

Bayside.

Bayside nature trail.

Edge of the south beach before you entered the area reserved for over sand vehicles only.

Future goals.

This guy's got the life.

I did give in to the city slicker and visit Ocean City, Maryland, eventually. If you haven't ever heard of it, Ocean City is an Atlantic coast resort town boasting 10 miles of white sand beaches, a 3 mile long boardwalk, hundreds or shops and restaurants, plenty of water sports, and 17 golf courses. If you enjoy vacationing at the beach as a family, Ocean City will not disappoint. When we visited Ocean City, we had dinner at BJ's on the Water at 75th Street and the bay. The waterfront dining room had an amazing view of the bay. Every table had their own TV mounted on the wall. (It was obvious that they took their football watching very seriously.) First, we shared the crab bisque, a delightfully creamy seafood concoction. Dinner did not disappoint, either. My filet was cooked to perfection, and my husband loved his Mahi Mahi. I'd definitely go back. 

Outside deck at BJ's on the Water

Covered dining room on the water at BJ's

The next day, we stopped on the boardwalk in Ocean City for lunch before heading back home to Philadelphia. The OC boardwalk is great. You can rent bikes, stroll the boards, browse in t-shirt stores and candy shops, ride the amusements, visit the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, or grab a bite to eat. After grabbing some salt water taffy, we headed to the Frog Bar for lunch. This place was kitschiness at its finest. Frog decor everywhere - not a spot on a shelf or an area on a wall that didn't have some sort of frog decoration on it. There was even a huge Kermit the Frog riding a surfboard suspended from the ceiling. We split a chicken sandwich and some nachos. It was good bar food served by a friendly waitress, but the view was what I liked most about this place. The entire wall behind the bar that runs the length of the small establishment is covered by huge windows that open onto the inlet. You can hear the water lapping the shore when the conversation inside dies down and a sign behind the bar says to keep your eye out for dolphins and horses. I could have stayed there all afternoon, but we had a departure schedule to stick to. 

The inlet outside the Frog Bar

Ferris wheel on the boardwalk

The boardwalk runs along the beach for three miles.

Frog Bar

Ribbit!

Thanks again for following our progress with Wanda and our camping/vintage mobile sales adventures. I hope you learn something useful, and enjoy hearing about our experiences. Please subscribe to this blog to hear about all the amazing vintage resale venues we plan to visit, all the cool spots we intend to camp at, and all the important business (life) lessons we are sure to learn along the way. I hope you enjoyed the highlights from Wanda's camping excursion at Assateague Island in Maryland. We'd love to hear about your experiences at Assateague Island in the comments section below. Next time, we'll be posting from Tuscaloosa, Alabama where we'll be visiting our middle daughter at the University of Alabama and attending our first football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Roll Tide!

Signing off with a Wanda Sighting: How cool is it that my daughter's best friend spotted us on the road?