Chincoteague Visit - take 3!

Hi there!

Last weekend, the three of us went back to Chincoteague Island, Virginia. We just love it there. The past two years, we went mid-week during the first or second week of June.  This year we decided (on a whim) to try it earlier, and quickly booked a few days at our favorite hotel, The Refuge Inn, at the end of April.

It was just as great as always - although there were no baby ponies yet at the Refuge Inn. There were, however, plenty of older ponies to feed and watch and pat though!

Plus, being earlier in the year, the indoor/outdoor pool was heated, with the roof still in place.   Jessica just cannot get enough time in the water - ever!   She was thrilled with this trip.  Our room had horses on one side and a pool on the other - she could not have asked for more! (but, of course, we did do more!)


This time, we took a boat trip around the South end of Chincoteague Island and the Eastern coast of Asseteague. It was awesome! We went with "Captain Charlie" of Chincoteague Cruises. Being pre-season, I was able to reserve it just a few days in advance, and we were the only people on the boat. (His max is 6, so you'll have a small group no matter what.)

I could tell right away that Captain Charlie loves what he does. He later mentioned how much he still truly loves boating around the islands.   I know he does many of these trips each day, but he was fully attentive to us, and in no way did the trip feel "routine". He had great enthusiasm for it.

He was also very knowledgeable and spoke to us totally on our level, as though we had all made fast friends.  Even if we had not seen any horses (ponies!) along the way, it would have been very enjoyable just to see the coastlines and the boats fishing the bay between the islands.

Of course, we DID want to see some horses... and we were able to. While no ponies happened to be right along the coast during our trip, we were able to view two wild herds using the provided binoculars.   Both herds included a newborn (score!).

We will likely go to Chincoteague again this summer, and definitely will go during pre-season in future years. We will continue to stay at the Refuge Inn, and may well book another Chincotegue Cruise with Captain Charlie.