Since it's 8 AM and I've been awake for three hours already, I thought I'd use this time to get the Chincoteague blog done. I've posted a couple slide shows of pony pix, but this blog will put everything together in one place for your viewing pleasure.
This is how it's spelled, but the locals say Schinkteague, and it only takes a couple days until I'm saying it that way too. My friend Pat
usually comes here (I tag along as much as I can) on the off season-you recall we were here in March-another good time is in the fall for the bird migrations. The peak time of year is Pony Penning/Swim/Auction week, which occurs the last week of July every year.
The action benefits the island's fire company, as well the ponies' care during the year, and is well attended by many folks from around the country. We were told that this year's attendance was down, but plenty of people still thronged the streets all week.
Some shots of the town
Main St-I'm jealous of the movie theater-we don't have any on Absecon Island!
Some Main St waterfront houses along the Intercoastal
More houses, including one that's getting a new foundation. The house was lifted using the same method used to lift our house for our new pilings.
Artsy fartsy shot of the house (remember I am just a person with a camera LOL)
A new bridge to the island is underway, and it will be interesting to see how it impacts life here-the present drawbridge
The new bridge
Interesting information about the ponies from a sign on the pen
Here's the first slide show-the ponies in the pen on Assateague after the round-up
and the next slide show is from the auction the next day-some info from my earlier blog-
The first pony you see is a buy-back- a colt that will be returned to the wild to breed. These horses brought the most money of all the ones we saw (maybe 25 in all). I guess the donation is an easy way to give money and "own" a horse for someone who doesn't want to take one home. All the proceeds from the first buy-back we saw went to the Shriner's Hospital. The black and white pony you see later in the slide show is also a buy-back-a filly that will be returned to the wild to breed (naturally, I might add-no artificial insemination here)
On Thursday night, Pat and I discussed our strategy for viewing the ponies swim back to Assateague the next day. After dinner we drove down to the carnival grounds, where we found out that the walk to the water would begin about 9AM. Pat's plan was genius-drive down to Main St with the bikes on the back of her car. Follow the ponies from the fairgrounds to the water on our bikes, watch them cross, and then ride back to the car and drive back to the house. Brilliant plan, and it worked like a charm! The first video shows the ponies, flanked by the saltwater cowboys (AKA Chincoteague firemen) on their horses, rounding the corner of Main and Beebe on their way to the water.
The next video is as close as I could get to the swim-it's not too bad but if you check youtube you will find some taken from the water-obvously the optimum spot, but my video has a couple of good shots.
This still picture actually turned out ok as well
And here's the long view from the street (that's Pat shooting from her blackberry)
Hope you enjoyed! :)
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