Chloe and I slept very soundly, not even wakening until sometime after 7:00 am.  We wandered down to the kitchen to see Beth already up and making a fresh fruit salad and steel cut oatmeal.  I made a cappuccino and wandered into the living room where Phil had Fox & Friends on.  We had decided last night to all go to Assateague this morning but there was no hurry as I am going to a hotel in Chesapeake, VA after this.

I walked Chloe through their beautiful neighborhood of mature plantings, exquisitely manicured yards, ponds, and winding roads.  Chloe satisfied, we returned to the house where Nancy had come down.  We chatted and eventually, everyone got ready to go explore Assateague.

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Assateague Island is a 37-mile long barrier island located off the eastern coast of the Delmarva peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. The Maryland section contains the majority of Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park while the Virginia section contains Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.  It is best known for its herds of feral horses, pristine beaches, and the Assateague Lighthouse. The island also contains numerous marshes, bays, and coves.

At about 10:00 am, we loaded into Beth’s car and a few minutes later, were in Assateague State Park on the hunt for wild horses.  The park itself is beautiful, unspoiled, and, while we did see people, it didn’t seem to be overrun by them.  We saw wild horses several times but when we stopped to take pictures, they were mostly far away as you can tell by my picture on the left.  Karen drove over there on Sunday, August 12^th and sent me these awesome pictures:

After the Assateague tour (and I stopped it because I was attacked by mosquitoes as soon as I left the car), my plan was to leave but I got talked into staying for lunch.  We stopped back by Phil’s where I took my car (which I had previously packed) and we went to Marina Deck where I ordered Crab Imperial topped with mild cheddar cheese, baked on a toasted English muffin.  Yum!  Told you, I LOVE crab!

I had an absolutely wonderful visit with my cousins and then left directly from lunch on my way to Chesapeake, VA. Most of the trip was quite beautiful with such lovely flowers and trees alongside the roadway, I stopped at one point and took a picture.  Most of the ride was uneventful but always memorable is crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  It is an absolute marvel which the picture below (I obviously couldn’t have taken it as it must be from the air) shows.  For a mere $15.00, you go across a causeway, then a bridge, then a tunnel, then another bridge, then another tunnel, then another bridge  It is approximately 23 miles long and one of the tunnels is 105 feet below the surface of the water!

When I got to Chesapeake, I checked in and decided to just chill and read.