Welcome to the home of Misty, the Chincoteague Wild Pony!
Our trip began on July 27th and we were headed to Chincoteague Island for the annual pony penning festivities. This is something I've always wanted to do since I was a little girl. As a country girl living on a horse ranch I had of course read Misty of Chincoteague Island and now that we lived so close I wanted to witness the pony penning festivities before we moved back to the west coast. This would also be the maiden trip with our new travel trailer and get use to it.
It was fun going around the fairgrounds and entering all kinds of raffles. I entered one for a quilt made by the ladies in the community but unfortunately I didn't win. We found some fantastic sweatshirts and t-shirts at one of the vendor spaces and I'm really looking forward to wearing them this fall and winter!
The hoof prints of Misty are in the cement of the theater entrance. As you can tell the community keeps alive all the memories of this wild pony who was imortalized in the book by Margaret Henry.
At the Chincoteague Pony Center there is a museum dedicated to Misty. They also own several ponies from Misty's line. They have ponies there that children can ride and even take lessons on.
While we were there we
watched the pony show and were quite impressed with all they could do in such a small arena. They jumped various hurdles, did an obstacle course and seems most of them were taught to step onto a stool. We got to see some of Misty's offspring while there too.
There was one pony named Minnow who was once a wild pony and bought as a colt at Pony Penning Day several years ago. He now is quite famous in horse shows winning many awards and has
even learned to paint. One of his paintings he did in the show was auctioned off for over $600! He also did an adorable show wearing large sunglasses and playing with a beach ball.
We went to the Assategue National Park and I was thrilled when they gave me a card that will allow me to go to any National Park free due to my disability. It's a beautiful park and is where the wild ponies live free and safe. There's also a nice visitor's center, which they've won awards for being so educational. There are all kinds of tours one can take, including one to the lighthouse.
We stopped at the corral where the ponies are herded into before swimming over to Chincoteague. The ponies not only are sold at the auction but all of them are checked over and given innoculations and made sure that they're healthy. They are marked so a record can be kept on each pony and their foals.
It was quite hot while we were in Chincoteague and a short trip to the beach sounded good, even if I couldn't get out and walk down to the water. I did manage to at least get out and walk onto the sand so Alan could take a picture of me...just to prove that indeed I was there.
After going to the beach it was time for something to eat so we found the McDonald's and to our surprise there were even Chincotegue Ponies in a corral there. They even had conatainers of food you could purchase to feed to them. We took a drive around the island and came upon an old church there that was built in the 1800s.
Our campground was really nice at Pine Grove Campground and Waterfowl Park. They had black swans, emus, miniture horeses and of course all kinds of waterfowls.
While at our campsite we figured we better get out the Hershey chocolate bars, marshmallows, and Graham Crackers to make some S'mores! The weather had been so hot and humid, along with a lot of mosquitos that we hadn't even had a fire the entire time we were there. The last day it turned out to be nice enough that we could make our S'mores, so we did. They were quite yummy too!
We were able to watch the ponies make their swim from Assateague Island over to Chincoteague Island in the wee hours of the morning. It was amazing seeing how many people were there to watch these wild ponies swim across and the foals were able to keep up with their mothers. Of course the fire department made sure to keep close to them in case any problems arose. I was given a special place to park my little red Go-Go mobility scooter right on one of the docks and could take pictures of the event. After the ponies rested an hour after their swim they were herded down the streets of Chincoteague where everyone gathered to cheer them onto the fairgrounds. Once there they were guided to some wonderful corrals with lots of feed for them. They were a site to behold, so free and happy.
The babies were glad to have a place to lie down after a very busy and exilerating day...what excitement! The auction was held the next day where only the young ones would be auctioned off and then the ones too young or grown would return to Assateague the day after the auction. There were so many people at the auction, which started at 6am, that I couldn't even see but my sweet hubby, Alan, took my camera and was able to capture a few pictures for me.
The babies were glad to have a place to lie down after a very busy and exilerating day...what excitement! The auction was held the next day where only the young ones would be auctioned off and then the ones too young or grown would return to Assateague the day after the auction. There were so many people at the auction, which started at 6am, that I couldn't even see but my sweet hubby, Alan, took my camera and was able to capture a few pictures for me.
It was fun going around the fairgrounds and entering all kinds of raffles. I entered one for a quilt made by the ladies in the community but unfortunately I didn't win. We found some fantastic sweatshirts and t-shirts at one of the vendor spaces and I'm really looking forward to wearing them this fall and winter!
Alan and I really enjoyed the quaint little comunity of Chincoteague and even treated ourselves to going to a movie while there at the Roxy. This is a very small theater and has only one movie screen, unlike the ones in the city where there are multiple screens. They have the best real popcorn with real butter too, which was a real treat! 
The hoof prints of Misty are in the cement of the theater entrance. As you can tell the community keeps alive all the memories of this wild pony who was imortalized in the book by Margaret Henry.
At the Chincoteague Pony Center there is a museum dedicated to Misty. They also own several ponies from Misty's line. They have ponies there that children can ride and even take lessons on.
While we were there we
watched the pony show and were quite impressed with all they could do in such a small arena. They jumped various hurdles, did an obstacle course and seems most of them were taught to step onto a stool. We got to see some of Misty's offspring while there too.There was one pony named Minnow who was once a wild pony and bought as a colt at Pony Penning Day several years ago. He now is quite famous in horse shows winning many awards and has
even learned to paint. One of his paintings he did in the show was auctioned off for over $600! He also did an adorable show wearing large sunglasses and playing with a beach ball.We went to the Assategue National Park and I was thrilled when they gave me a card that will allow me to go to any National Park free due to my disability. It's a beautiful park and is where the wild ponies live free and safe. There's also a nice visitor's center, which they've won awards for being so educational. There are all kinds of tours one can take, including one to the lighthouse.
At Assategue National Park we were able to see the wild ponies after they had taken their swim back to their home. It was awsome seeing them in their natural habitat!
We stopped at the corral where the ponies are herded into before swimming over to Chincoteague. The ponies not only are sold at the auction but all of them are checked over and given innoculations and made sure that they're healthy. They are marked so a record can be kept on each pony and their foals.
It was quite hot while we were in Chincoteague and a short trip to the beach sounded good, even if I couldn't get out and walk down to the water. I did manage to at least get out and walk onto the sand so Alan could take a picture of me...just to prove that indeed I was there.
After going to the beach it was time for something to eat so we found the McDonald's and to our surprise there were even Chincotegue Ponies in a corral there. They even had conatainers of food you could purchase to feed to them. We took a drive around the island and came upon an old church there that was built in the 1800s.
Our campground was really nice at Pine Grove Campground and Waterfowl Park. They had black swans, emus, miniture horeses and of course all kinds of waterfowls.
While at our campsite we figured we better get out the Hershey chocolate bars, marshmallows, and Graham Crackers to make some S'mores! The weather had been so hot and humid, along with a lot of mosquitos that we hadn't even had a fire the entire time we were there. The last day it turned out to be nice enough that we could make our S'mores, so we did. They were quite yummy too!
We enjoyed our mini vacation and it was the perfect way to reflect on all God had done and provided for us during this trying time of my recuperation from cancer surgery. After we returned from a few days at Chincoteague Island we were ready to return home and prepare for our return to work. I've truly enjoyed having Alan around to help me out, otherwise we would've had to hire someone to help me. Alan was a real trouper and I thank him for all he's done to help me, a sign of true love. Thank you Honey for always being there for me.
Until my next entry, here's wishing you an exciting adventure.
God Bless,
The Happy Wanderers
