October 6, 2020 #2 Chincoteague/Assateague~~Saxis, Wildlife Refuge, Beach

 

Tuesday, Oct 6, 2020

"The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of 2 counties on the Atlantic coast DETACHED from the mainland of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The 70-mile-long region is art of the Delmarva Peninsula and is separated from the rest of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay." Chincoteague/Assateague are ISLANDS east of the Eastern Shore. 

Honestly, I don't think I realized the lay of the land until we were there😲😲😲

"Saxis is perched right on the intersection of the Chesapeake Bay and Pocomoke Sound." This fishing town in North Accomack County was our first destination of the day. Saxis is a peninsula....... off of the  peninsula Eastern Shore. 

Blue Crab at it's finest! 👇👇👇

Included in this fishing village was the famous MARTHA'S KITCHEN. It didn't look like much from the outside, but had been highly recommended by several of my sources! 

OH MY MY MY! What a find! Martha (the owner, and sole chef) agreed to have her photo taken!

She apologized for not having the 'proper' amount of soft shell crabs on the sandwich that each of us ordered.... 7 instead of 12 😂😂😂 ! (that is 4 sandwiches with a total of 28 soft shelled crabs!)

A short drive back to our motel, we then hastened to the beach part of the Wildlife Refuge.(FYI, there is a fee to enter the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge , unless you arrive after 3PM....... then it is FREE). Included in this highlighted link is a description of the area! Our obligatory walk, due to our indulging lunch, was taken on the LEFT side of the parking area. We were told by our waitress, at Etta's , that this was a more private than the public area. SHE WAS RIGHT!

We entertained the thought of walking from the Virginia side to the Maryland side, based on the amount of food we had....... but it was getting late.

Driving back through Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, we stopped long enough to see the ponies. (But not too long, as the mosquitos were alive and hungry! 

Tuesday's sunset was taken from our room, officially ending our day!

October 4-5, 2020 #1 Chincoteague/Assateague EasternShore

October 4, 2020 

We arrived safe and sound, after driving 6.5 hrs from Roanoke.  The weather was chilly........ and WINDY, but obviously the conditions didn't stop these 4 amigos from enjoying new adventures! After checking in to HAMPTON INN we skirted off to see the famous Lighthouse, in the National Wildlife Refuge.

It was a treat to include Cousin Craig☝ and wife Doris in our travels! 

The dash on our way back to our hotel was paused to soak in Sunset #1

And in the far distance above👆, our first sighting of THE FAMOUS CHINCOTEAGUE PONIES!

Our first few hours on the island were victorious! 

.....and the view from our room was not bad either!

October 5, 2020

After a substantial breakfast, we headed out for a pontoon boat ride, touring the waterways around Assateague and Chincoteague. Captain Spider's knowledge of the area was superb! Highly recommend: SPIDER'S EXPLORER . 

The weather was 'special-ordered' perfect!(Would you believe Captain Spider had no other spectators but US? Boy, did we talk😃😃😃)

The vistas were phenomenal. 

Every nook and cranny, as we weaved in and out of coves, was more breath-taking than the previous.

****A serendipitous moment***** 'Spider' was a pre-retirement sales person, for Salisbury, Md. One of his big clients was LEE HARTMAN&SONS , the audio visual (and CAMERA) specialists in Roanoke, Va. since 1936. We knew some of the same employees! Spider is not only a tour guide, he is a Marriage Celebrant for the Commonwealth of Virginia! 

We laughed, and asked questions, and oohed and ahhed at the sights.

Did I mention that we saw PONIES?

Captain knew EXACTLY WHERE TO GO.

Seeing the Chincoteague ponies was one thing, but being able to get this close was marvelous.

BINGO!👇👇👇

 I just couldn't get enough of the ponies 😁

We say eagles' nests, lighthouse, clam and oyster communities, the Waterman Memorial......all by water! 

After a brief return to our hotel for refreshing, we drove north, and then south on Main Street.

Sights seen included: 

Captain Timothy Hill House, 

SHARPLEY STREET😁😁😁, 

Captain Chandler Cemetery, 

abandon boats and docks, 

more magnificent marsh views, 

and a close up of the Waterman Memorial. 

Ron's ancestry (as we confirmed later in the week) had deep roots to the Eastern Shore. 

Here is a little 'genealogy digging" done by a blogger on Capt. Chandler..................

Capt.Chandler  I'll bet, after reading this, he some how knew the Sharpleys! 

An early dinner overlooking the Assateague Channel at ETTA'S CHANNEL SIDE RESTAURANT was the perfect ending to a crammed day of sightseeing(menu included in link, but HIGHLY RECOMMEND bacon wrapped scallops for appetizers. The Crab Cakes were the BEST ). We viewed the sunset from our outside dining on the screened porch .

The lighthouse beacon guided us safely back to our lodging.