Chincoteague

When I was a kid, the highlight of every summer was our annual trip to Chincoteague and Assateague beach. I was facinated by the wild ponies that roamed free and the beaches that were not too crowded, and there was that awesome ice cream place with a line that led down the street, the Island Creamery. Last week we took a spur of the moment trip with my dad and two sisters, Kristin and Becky and their families to this oasis of my childhood. I was anxious to share with Cameron the magic of the place, and even though I haven't been there for 5 years, only a few things have changed. It seems like the secret of Chincoteague has gotten out, and there were so many people that our families had to stay in separate hotels because they were so full. We spent most of our time at the beach, getting sunburned and playing in the waves and sand, both of our kids had a ball, especailly since they were sharing the experience with their cousins a plenty.

We also went biking one morning, all 11 children and 7 adults. We were quite a sight! Jeremy and I were adventurous and chose this vehicle called a surry which was basically two bikes side by side with a bench in the front for the kids and a bright yellow canopy. It didn't take long for the snickering to start, and some of the members of our posse called us clowns and asked us to make them balloon animals. We were unphased and determined to leave everyone in our dust. This proved quite difficult since the maximun speed of our surry was about the same as that of the crabs that scurried by us. We peddled harder, and somehow, even with the two of us we could not keep up. For every one pedal of the regular bikes, we took three and very quickly we realized that we probably should have opted for a bike with a trailer instead of being intrigued by this colorful contraption. Thankfully, we were able to trade off driving responsiblities and made it to the beach and back. We later rewarded ourselves with a large sundae at the Island Creamery which was still as delicious as I'd remembered. Our three and a half day trip was the perfect end to our summer and beginning to the memories there for our kids. Thanks dad for making this family get together possible.
Last week was also our 8th anniversary. I know, that's really hard to believe, time sure flies! Jeremy and I went out to dinner and to see the Phantom of the Opera. This was Jeremy's first real broadway show and I think it met all of our expectations and left me in awe of the performers. It was a terrific show that left us wanting to see more. Maybe this was the start of adding a bit more culture in our lives.