We hadn't been to Chincoteague
and Assateague Island in a year and a half. Its one of my
favorite places to visit so it was time to go back. It had to be a
short trip since unemployed people don't get long trips. I was
also curious to see
how much the town had changed due to the new
construction.I was up at 4:00AM and heading east. You have to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and head across Maryland. When you get to Salisbury, go South on Route 13 and look for the signs.
When I got there, it was straight through Chincoteague to Assateague Island. I was headed to the beach but took a while to get
there. There were
several Great Blue Herons in the creek along the road. There were
also a bunch of ducks at Swan Pool near the beach. I got seriously
sidetracked on the way to the beach. I even set up the scope and
tried digiscoping for a while. I got some pictures but they need
work. Not sharp enough for prime time. On the other hand,
the pictures are of birds a long way off.
I made a swing around the wildlife loop after the beach. Its 3.5
miles and took me forever. Way too many distractions. There's an eagles nest in Black Duck
Pool. I had a good scope and couldn't find the nest but could
watch the eagles occasionally. By the time I got to the forested
section, I'd killed a lot of time. The eagles were in and out as
they were sitting on eggs. There's a closed circuit TV you can
watch in the Visitor's Center to see them.
I finally completed my walk. It was many pictures later. I wanted pictures of Northern Shovelers and got several. Not great but better than none. I also got pictures of herons and egrets standing side by side. Normally, the herons tolerate no one. I also saw an eagle carrying a major branch back to the nest. I'm not really a birder but saw Green Winged Teals, Pin Tail Ducks, Black Ducks, Common Merganser and other birds I couldn't name.
Lunch was at McDonalds. I wanted something quick and it was getting late.
I stayed at the Lighthouse Inn. It was OK. I checked their website before leaving and found little useful information. They didn't even show rates. The reservation / rate parts of the site didn't work. The ice machine was turned off and there was no breakfast included in spite of what was on the web. I was kind of irritated but I suppose it all turned out OK. The room was old but clean. It had a small fridge and microwave. The king-size bed was comfortable. The rate was $59.95 for the room and that was reasonable but you couldn't find it on their website.
Up at 5:30 for the sunrise. Assateague doesn't open until 6:00 so
no rush to get there too early. Sunrise was mildly disappointing but I got
some good pictures anyway. The trick is to zoom into the sunrise
to where you get only the good parts. You also have to have a
tripod.
I didn't see many ponies. There were 8 or 10 near the road in Black Duck Marsh. There's pictures of them in the album. There was one loose in the Wildlife Loop. He wouldn't quit eating long enough to look up. Typical but I took his picture anyway.
On the way back to town, I stopped at the Refuge's Visitor's Center. One of the bald eagles had hatched overnight. It was cool to watch one of the parents tear off pieces of meat to feed it. It then laid back down on the little one and the other eggs. I heard later in the day that the other one hatched too.
Changes in town.
Breakfast was at Mr. Baldy's. It used to be the Chincoteague Family Restaurant and serves a mainly local crowd. I wasn't impressed but would go back again for lunch just to see. I wanted to go to Skipper's for breakfast but there isn't a Skipper's any more. It has a new name but I don't recall what it is. It didn't have a buffet sign either. Oh, well. Dinner was at the Chincoteague Inn. Their porch area is like a local bar but they serve food too. The crab cakes were pretty good and the atmosphere was what I wanted. I had a couple of drinks earlier and thought I shouldn't drive to AJ's. One other thing, the Mariner is now a Quality Inn. It looked pretty good too.
I didn't know what to expect of Chincoteague this visit. There's
been talk of a lot of new building. The new bridge is well under
way. I'd guess 6 months to a year to finish it but don't have a
basis for that. Sunset Bay Villas is built. In Ocean City,
it would look nice. In Chincoteague, I thought it was an eyesore.
It isn't ugly but didn't fit the landscape and blocked the view for many except those
that could afford a $600K condo. My thought was that if you need a
place like that to stay, you may well not like the town you're staying
in. I like Chincoteague as it is but fear places like this will
cause even more changes.
The Landing at Water's Edge is also nearly complete. Its townhomes located between the Waterside Inn and the Anchor Inn. They don't fit the town much in my opinion either but they don't take up near the view that Sunset Bay does. They were $700K when we were last there and I didn't check this time.
The Landmark Center is like a ghost town. Cap't Fish is where the
Shucking House Cafe is. They used to be where Sunset Bay is now.
Not my favorite but they must be doing OK. Shucking House used to
be Sue's favorite breakfast place because of being over the water.
The old Landmark Crab House looked closed but not necessarily deserted.
Not sure what's going on there. The rest of the shops seem to be
waiting to be torn down for the new condos and marina.On the whole, I had a great time and look forward to going back. The town is changing but much of what I like is still there. Its still my kind of place to go to the beach.