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Across the Chesapeake Bay to the East lies Maryland's "Eastern Shore". It is a beautiful, wild wooded and unspoiled piece of country only 2 hours from Washington D.C. We were headed to the Southeastern shore, near Maryland's border with Virginia, bound for Assateague Island. As you can see below, Doug is wearing some sort of parka-type clothing and he is being threatened by a policeman and his canine assistant. Contrary to what you are probably thinking (that Doug got caught AGAIN with illegal fireworks) he is preparing to be dog chow for a demonstration at our new campground. The long story is that we made reservations at a public campground with two parts, one on either side of a river. Unfortunately, the side we were originally on did NOT have the pool but did have all the pets. Swimming in the river was not allowed. At least we think that's what we were told. It was a little difficult to hear over the barking. We managed to beg a spot across the river, the side with the pool and without the dogs, with one exception (see below). 
Doug is looking a lot like a chew toy. He is still smiling but only to mask the fact that his gonads had temporarily disappeared. The very nice officer kindly suggested that Doug could jump up and down a few times and cough and they would return to normal position. The demo was really interesting, even with Doug in the padded suit. The dog was a beautiful (and strong) Polish shepherd that lived with the officer all the time. We learned how they train dogs for tracking and "bite" work. Doug did get a small bruise on his arm even through the suit.
The kids found a small downhill sloping road near our campsite that they made good use of. The pictures didn't turn out very well due to the fading daylight and the multiple miles per hour of the scooter riders. But you can kind of get the idea. It had the added bonus of keeping the mosquitoes from being able to lite.
We were camped at Pocomoke River State Park (we love State Parks!) . Kenny discovered that frogs were everywhere; he spent quite a lot of his time one evening chasing, catching and observing them. He found the frog in the picture below -- so tiny!
The next day we drove to Assateague Island. This is a beautiful island owned entirely by the state and federal governments so there is no development. It is famous for the wild ponies that live there and continue to roam freely. The headless creature below is our nephew, Kenny, astounding us with yet another amazing feat. He was actually breathing (a bit) under the sand. Remember: he is a professional, kids -- do not try this at home.
Joya just can't stop taking pictures of Jordan and we just can't resist putting them on the website. Jordan developed a reaction to cold water which manifested itself for the first time in the ocean on this day. She got out of the water after swimming and had little raised, itchy welts all over her body. We at first thought she had gotten into a jellyfish cluster, but it proved to be a hive reaction to cold water. The water was about 70� and felt really good, but it was cold enough to cause hives in Jordan.
The yin and yang of beach goers. I can't get enough shade and Doug is happiest in the full sun. Doug's hat posture came from the wind, and it is fetching, don't you think?
The Mod Squad. (Doug got to be Link).
I caught Joya after she got dusted by a wave. The surf wasn't big, but the sea floor got shallow really quickly so if you caught a wave and rode it in, you got rubbed right into the sand. The water was nice. There was no seaweed or tar and the water was clean and warm(ish).
Ah, the ponies saunter by. It was obvious they had the run of the place. They were coming by for their afternoon scrounge for food, slowly working their way up the beach. People quickly hid their lunches and watched the parade. Kenny, however, had other ideas...
Kenny walked along with the horses, at a respectful distance for quite awhile. Then he plunked down in the sand to watch them. One of the ponies came right up to him and nuzzled his head. These are gentle ponies, but they are still wild. He held really still and it eventually meandered on. Fortunately, Kenny did not have anything too yummy stuck in his hair, or we might have had to have a difficult conversation with his parents...
The ponies were all over. It was such a beautiful, perfect beach day.
We decided that our perfect pristine day at the beach should be balanced out with an over-the-top beach city board walk amusement park kind of experience. So we headed north to Ocean City, about 10 miles away from Assateague. We parked the car and went directly to Jimi's Crab Shack, where we feasted on crab sandwiches and fries and lemonades. Then we cruised out on to the board walk. We thought the Ferris wheel would be fun (if a bit scary for Kenny and me). Well, as you can see by the picture from the top, it was pretty darn high. Kenny opened his eyes, briefly, at the top, and I started making plans (and noises) about getting off. It was WAY too high for me. So we did one revolution, got off (at my earnest request) and the rest of our party continued on the ride. I was happy to be safely on the ground and watch. My stomach did a wee flip-flop when I saw that Doug and Jordan had changed places while at the top of the Ferris wheel. For those of you with sharp eyes, that's me and Kenny to the left of the "Crossbow Shoot".
Doug took Jordan and Kenny to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium. It was Kenny's first time and Doug and Jordan's second (Key West, in March). They all have different things in them and they are fascinating in their absolutely bizarre way. In the meantime, Joya was hunting for a tattoo pattern she liked. Both girls got henna tattoos on their legs. Henna tattoos last for two to three weeks and are THE choice for those folks who need permission from their parents for the other kind. And these don't hurt.
We capped the night off with Polish water ices with vanilla cream. What a great day! |
