Having been in the big city for so long, it is hard for me to imagine those small towns where everybody knows everybody else. Last weekend, we went to Chincoteague Island in Virginia. There is one stretch of highway that goes straight to the island, with billboards every five feet. Once you arrive on the island however, it's very peaceful.
This time is not the tourist season, so a lot of restaurants were closed. This quiet however, made it a really nice escape from the busy city. We got lucky with the weather. As we approached the island, my first thought was how blue the water is. It's a different type of blue though, since it isn't indicative of how clean the water is. Indeed, if you look closely, the water is murky and really muddy, though as a result, the shores seemed to be filled with oysters. One man said that his friend used to just hop to the seashore during his lunch break and open oysters and have them as a snack. The water there smells pretty bad too, probably due to the minerals. Nevertheless, from far away, the water is such a dark, bright blue, that it looks even bluer than the clear sky above it. The seagulls also eat the oysters, by flying with them above the highway and dropping them onto the pavement so that their shells crack open, and then they can eat the meat inside. I saw one seagull do this--later the islanders would complain that it is a danger actually, as sometimes the oysters end up hitting people's cars!
You can drive around the entire island in about 15 minutes. Main street wraps around the island. The church is on church street, and there is a school on school street. Farther out, the names of the streets are ocean themed, like seaweed street.
We stayed with an older couple who had six dogs, since we wanted to bring our dogs with us on the trip. It was a great environment for them, since the couple had a very large yard, where the larger dogs would stay in for most of the day. Two smaller dogs stayed inside, and a cat came to visit every now and then.
The seafood on the island was very good. On friday's the American Legion is open to the public, and they have excellent shrimp and clam happy hours. There is only one bar that is open during the off season, which is Chattie's Lounge. The atmosphere was really good, with live music. The seafood was indeed very fresh, but so fresh that there was still mud and sand on the oysters. I was not such a fan of the raw oysters, but the fried oysters that I had from one of many seafood carry out places were very good.
The main attraction from Chincoteague Island is the wildlife preserve on Assateague island. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed, even in vehicles, from the Virginia side of that island.
We did a few short hikes on Chincoteague, through old marshland, around the High School.
This time is not the tourist season, so a lot of restaurants were closed. This quiet however, made it a really nice escape from the busy city. We got lucky with the weather. As we approached the island, my first thought was how blue the water is. It's a different type of blue though, since it isn't indicative of how clean the water is. Indeed, if you look closely, the water is murky and really muddy, though as a result, the shores seemed to be filled with oysters. One man said that his friend used to just hop to the seashore during his lunch break and open oysters and have them as a snack. The water there smells pretty bad too, probably due to the minerals. Nevertheless, from far away, the water is such a dark, bright blue, that it looks even bluer than the clear sky above it. The seagulls also eat the oysters, by flying with them above the highway and dropping them onto the pavement so that their shells crack open, and then they can eat the meat inside. I saw one seagull do this--later the islanders would complain that it is a danger actually, as sometimes the oysters end up hitting people's cars!
You can drive around the entire island in about 15 minutes. Main street wraps around the island. The church is on church street, and there is a school on school street. Farther out, the names of the streets are ocean themed, like seaweed street.
We stayed with an older couple who had six dogs, since we wanted to bring our dogs with us on the trip. It was a great environment for them, since the couple had a very large yard, where the larger dogs would stay in for most of the day. Two smaller dogs stayed inside, and a cat came to visit every now and then.
The seafood on the island was very good. On friday's the American Legion is open to the public, and they have excellent shrimp and clam happy hours. There is only one bar that is open during the off season, which is Chattie's Lounge. The atmosphere was really good, with live music. The seafood was indeed very fresh, but so fresh that there was still mud and sand on the oysters. I was not such a fan of the raw oysters, but the fried oysters that I had from one of many seafood carry out places were very good.
The main attraction from Chincoteague Island is the wildlife preserve on Assateague island. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed, even in vehicles, from the Virginia side of that island.
We did a few short hikes on Chincoteague, through old marshland, around the High School.
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