Day 177 – Maryland and Delaware (by Jim)
December 21, 2010Events of Sunday,
December 19, 2010
It felt oddly familiar, walking around Duncan Family Campground. Having spent twelve nights here earlier this month, we have been here longer than we spent anywhere else on the trip. After breakfast and showers, we emptied our liquid tanks (fresh water, gray water, and black water) and refilled with fresh water. We do not usually take the effort to empty our fresh water, but the water from our last fill-up at Small Country Campground had a yellow tint that bothered some of us.
Pam was Super Driver Woman today, freeing me for other important tasks. Accompanied by our recordings of Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Pam worshiped and prayed her way across to the Delmarva (for Delaware / Maryland / Virginia) Peninsula. We traveled through Annapolis, across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and on to Delaware Seashore State Park, where we stopped for lunch. The bathhouse was closed for the season, but it was fun walking on the snow on the sand.
After lunch, Pam drove us down the coast to Ocean City, MD. We recognized this destination from a sign near Sacramento: “Ocean City, MD 3073”. So we searched for a sister sign here in Ocean City. And Pam found it: “Sacramento Ca 3073.” Ah, I love balance.
At the next turn, we found the entrance to Assateague. We had planned to visit Chincoteague Island (VA), home of the wild horses. Assateague Island (MD) is connected geographically (though not by roads) to Chincoteague, so we decided to explore this one first. Good thing! We started in their brand new Visitors Center, which featured an excellent movie about the central attraction: the Island “ponies”. Here we learned that the ponies on Chincoteague are privately owned and kept in a corral, while those on Assateague are truly wild horses. After perusing the visitor center’s exhibits, we drove (slowly) onto Assateague and saw plenty of wildlife. We did see ponies, with their long shaggy winter coats. Also along the road we saw some great blue heron and “Sika deer” (aka Asian elk). As we departed from the island we stopped to enjoy a red sun dramatically setting over mainland Maryland.
Finally, Pam drove us to nearby Pocomoke City, MD, where we found a friendly Walmart that received online praise for their delicious doughnuts. After shopping for doughnuts and other essentials, we enjoyed a dinner and quiet evening in the parking lot.
Posted by Jim Taylor.