A Family Weekend

Having guests from out of town is always a treat. This past weekend the guests were family. Some from California and our Virginia family. A tour of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery was in order.  Of course, it was, that is where Bill says he works.

While the adults were touring, my grandson and I made cookies. He dumped in flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips but mostly he just wanted to taste. To his delight I let him lick the beaters just like the last time we made cookies. As he enjoyed every bit of the stuff left on the beater he kept saying "I am trying." I am not quite sure what he meant but I assume he was trying to get all of the stuff he could.

Yesterday he came into our room early and he and I played a bit, quite a bit. You know how a two year old is, "Can we do it again?" were his precise words. The television was droning in the background with coverage of 9/11 events, the National Athem started and the little guy stopped his play and became very quiet. Then he said to me, "There is President Barak Obama. It is President Barak Obama." I asked he quietly, "Who is Barak Obama?" To which, this little guy who is about 33 months old said, "He is our President." A little in awe I was.

It was then time to head to Lewes for brunch (Jake put one of his new Baca Bill shirts) and then to spend some time at the Lewes beach area. From there the Virginia family headed home and the rest of us, Margaret, Eunice, Bill and I headed for Assateague Island.

Birds catching ride on island pony.

Turkey buzzard looking like he was Photoshopped.

Look closely to see minnow in the brackish marsh.

Margaret and Eunice coming from a walk.

Ponies in a camping parking lot.

Island beach bird.

Some of the surf at the island.

It was really a good weekend especially since the heavy rain of the week had ended and the sun came out long enough for us to enjoy some time outside.

Good Day Despite the News

We were fortunate to have our good friends Robin and Dave to visit for a couple of days. Yesterday we drove down to Assateague Island to see the wild ponies and the seashore. This trip we first drove to Chincoteague which is on the Virginia side of the island. We saw this lone pony in a marsh alongside the road. There were other ponies but they were mostly in the trees and very hard to see. This pony seems to be enjoying some down time now that the summer population has gone home and there are just a few campers and visitors.

In this picture you can see the Atlantic from the Visitors' Center. The sky looks a little ominous here but that is how it has been for a few days now. Perhaps a reflections of the grim news in the financial world.

It was then onto a brief visit of the Assateague Island Light House. It was commission by Congress in 1855. It is going through some much needed renovation. When I near one of these old sentinels my mind sets to wondering about the days when these beacons were manned. There had to be some amazing stories. We went from here back into the town of Chincoteague and had a late lunch at a place call Bill's. We all thought that appropriate.

Then it was time to go and see if we could find some ponies on the Maryland side of the island. That trip is over 20 miles because there is no through access on the island. When we were last here there were lots of folks taking in the nature trails and just walking the beach. This time there were few in trails area, more on bicycles and lots of campers in the designated areas along the beach. It was getting on in the afternoon and we had still not clearly seen a group of ponies. We drove clear around the National Park Area and missed the trail area we spied ponies in during our last visit. Mind you, we saw lots of evidence ponies had left behind but still not seen a group of real live horses. We drove through the park and back around and with the gracious assistance of the ranger at the entry station we got to trail the we had sought. We parked the car and started out on the trail down to the marsh. We dodged evidence all the way but it was worth it because some of the ponies were right next to the wooden walk.

I had the longer lens on the camera by this time so the horse in this picture looks closer than it was. The three guys on the opposite side of the water were trying to net something.

You can see in this picture how close these ponies were to the boardwalk. I think there were three more horses in the group that are not in this picture.

While on our last trip to Assateague, Bill's grand-niece Rebecca adopted a pony named Rosie. It is a pinto and looks much like this one. I need to research this a little and see if this might be Rosie. The next couple of pictures are some close-ups that could not have been taken if I had not been so close to the ponies. We were close enough to touch them which is illegal to do. It was awesome to be that close.

It was very enjoyable making this trip down the coast and sharing it with such good friends.

The marsh as the sun is taking its position in the late afternoon sky.

Visitors and Visiting a New Place (for us)

Friday was as my last post says a gray and rainy day. But, it was a also a bright day for us because Bill's nephew and family from San Francisco came to visit for a couple of days as part of their east coast vacation. It really was good to see them. they had suggested earlier that on Saturday we travel to Assateague Island and spend the afternoon there. To be honest, I had thought about it before and for some reason put it out of my mind because I thought it was much further than it is from where we are. It is just under forty miles and is a very easy trip.

Jonathan enjoying the marsh foam and skipping seashell pieces over the water.

Assateague Island is a barrier island just off of the Maryland/Virginia coast line. It has two entrances from the mainland but you cannot travel by car from end to end. For this trip we only went to the Maryland end of the island. The island is known to many for Misty of Chincoteague. Yes we went to see the ponies that have made the island so famous. We saw a group of the Maryland herd. Misty was of the Virginia herd. We also saw lots of birds and plants that make up National Seashore there.

Some of the ponies we saw on our trip.

Other wildlife and some plant life. Mark was really surprised by the cactus.

After spending time watching ponies we went to the ocean side of the island. This is literally across the road. It was a cool day and there had been storms earlier and more would follow in the next day so the water was churning.

As we were leaving the island Kelly mentioned that she was a little disappointed that we had not been able to a close up view of any of the horses. Just as we got to the bridge there were two horses beside the road and we were able to get a closer view.

I hope that this is close enough. The horse seems to be enjoying the forage and not me.

The day was topped off by Rebecca becoming a foster parent to a pinto named "Rosie." What could be better than a little girl with a "coast to coast" grin"?