Assateague Island is divided between Virginia and Maryland. We went to the Maryland side multiple times, as that side is dog friendly. The Island has many wild horses. On the Virginia side, the horse population is closely regulated--the horses are actually kept in a fenced area, and a few times a year, a vet visits and gives them their shots. Apparently, in the spring, they round up all of the foals, and there is an auction. During that time, 50,000 people go the Chincoteague, according to our hosts.
The horses of the Maryland side are less closely regulated, and there seemed to be a lot more of them. As you enter the island, there is a public beach, and then the park fee area. The fee was waived for President's Day. The weather was wonderful, and the beach was fairly empty because it was the off season. Our dogs ran along on the beach happily, chasing the waves.
Within the State Park, there are several short trails, through marshes. The boardwalks were well maintained, and apparently, you can catch crabs there. Signs were posted, reminding people that crabs had to be a minimum of 5 inches in order to be taken. I can definitely understand now who Maryland is famous for crabs. There were pieces of crabs all along the beach!
We saw several wild horses, though people warned us that they would sometimes attack people. I'm not sure whether that is actually true, or just told in order to deter people from approaching them too closely. I did see people feeding the horses from their cars, despite the many signs forbidding people from feeding them, with threats of fines. I can understand the temptation to feed the horses though--since it is winter, there is less vegetation, and all the horses we saw were skinny, so thin that you could see their ribs. I was tempted to get a bunch of carrots and accidentally drop them, but I did not--the park rangers do not want them accustomed to approaching people, as not all people will have good intentions, and some people might even be afraid of horses.
This part of Maryland seems to be very dog friendly. We went to the Burley Oak Brewing Company, which is one of the few bars that allow dogs inside. They do not serve food, but allow you to bring food from outside. They have a selection of interesting beers. I had a coffee and cream beer, which I liked a lot. They have some sour fruit beers too, which smelled nice, but were not really compatible with my tastes. We ordered pizza from across the street, and it was also a very good pizza--the "Godzilla", which had every type of meat, plus ricotta cheese, and bombs of tomato sauce.
It was such a nice trip. I also found a new appreciation for this gas station chain called Royal Farms. Apparently they always have fried chicken, a good selection of coffee, and milkshakes.
The horses of the Maryland side are less closely regulated, and there seemed to be a lot more of them. As you enter the island, there is a public beach, and then the park fee area. The fee was waived for President's Day. The weather was wonderful, and the beach was fairly empty because it was the off season. Our dogs ran along on the beach happily, chasing the waves.
Within the State Park, there are several short trails, through marshes. The boardwalks were well maintained, and apparently, you can catch crabs there. Signs were posted, reminding people that crabs had to be a minimum of 5 inches in order to be taken. I can definitely understand now who Maryland is famous for crabs. There were pieces of crabs all along the beach!
We saw several wild horses, though people warned us that they would sometimes attack people. I'm not sure whether that is actually true, or just told in order to deter people from approaching them too closely. I did see people feeding the horses from their cars, despite the many signs forbidding people from feeding them, with threats of fines. I can understand the temptation to feed the horses though--since it is winter, there is less vegetation, and all the horses we saw were skinny, so thin that you could see their ribs. I was tempted to get a bunch of carrots and accidentally drop them, but I did not--the park rangers do not want them accustomed to approaching people, as not all people will have good intentions, and some people might even be afraid of horses.
This part of Maryland seems to be very dog friendly. We went to the Burley Oak Brewing Company, which is one of the few bars that allow dogs inside. They do not serve food, but allow you to bring food from outside. They have a selection of interesting beers. I had a coffee and cream beer, which I liked a lot. They have some sour fruit beers too, which smelled nice, but were not really compatible with my tastes. We ordered pizza from across the street, and it was also a very good pizza--the "Godzilla", which had every type of meat, plus ricotta cheese, and bombs of tomato sauce.
It was such a nice trip. I also found a new appreciation for this gas station chain called Royal Farms. Apparently they always have fried chicken, a good selection of coffee, and milkshakes.
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