Island Magic
Photos By: Julie Horton
Maryland’s Assateague Island National Seashore is a gem of a park. Maybe you should go!
Have you got a few hours or even a day?
Are you willing to disconnect and leave the neon lights and funnel cakes for awhile?
When was the last time you watched a meteor shower from horizon to horizon in the deep-midnight navy colored sky with not a single watt of ambient light around?
Do you solemnly swear to take you and your trash with you when you leave?
In a place where the ocean is near and the dunes wide open and the wildlife allows glimpses into their world, you can’t help but feel the magic. Whether yet another show-stopping sunrise, a coastal storm packing a powerful punch, or the serene and beautiful calm of new life, Mother Nature brings the awe without fail and leaves me wondering how I could be so lucky to be in just the right place at just the right time, my grin so wide and super careful not to utter a sound, snapping as many photos as I can and having absolutely not a clue if I got the shot. Whew. What a moment!
Assateague Island is a national park that stretches from the southernmost tip of Maryland’s coastal beaches about 30 miles to the state line and continues down Virginia’s northernmost coast for a bit. One of the Atlantic Ocean’s barrier islands, this spit of land is hugged by the Sinepuxent Bay along the west side and with not a building in sight, the sunsets take your eye well into night. It’s positively mesmerizing.
It's a perfect playground and a playground to be kept perfect. Please don’t mess it up. An easy day trip from the outer reaches of DC, Baltimore, and Philly will have you full of your fair share of sand, salt, and sun and feeling perfectly refreshed for a good night’s sleep back in your own bed.
Birdwatchers, beachgoers, paddlers, campers, cyclists, anglers, joggers, hikers and extra-long lens camera slingers… this is mecca. And it’s magic. Island magic.
It's in my backyard and it's a stone’s throw from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia resort towns. The island’s park rangers and volunteers stand always at the ready to welcome families vacationing in Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany and Fenwick Island, Ocean City, and down below in Chincoteague. But, you can’t cross the state lines by beach, you have to go out to the highways and navigate the beautiful Eastern Shore countryside. You won’t hate it.
Assateague Island is a treasure chest of gems only Mother Nature can collect, and then so willingly share with us. We really need to take a knee. It’s history and biology and literature all wrapped into one. And gym class! You should go home totally exhausted.
Campers, boaters, day-trippers, and OSV’ers alike, island passes are available for nominal fees. You can pick your trip and, may I suggest you begin at the island’s Visitor’s Center. It’s a quick right turn, just before the Verrazano Bridge continues Rt. 611 right onto the island, and some island education will make your day that much more spectacular. It’s the know-before-you-go, learning the island’s heritage and the history of the ponies, a checklist of wildlife residents, maps of the miles of waterways and hiking trails, some how-to’s, and a little bit of gift shopping. Christmas is coming, my friends… it’s never too early!
It's a sea-air beach and it’s a salt-water marsh. And it’s woodland trails and east winds. But it’s also a whole lot of sun, west winds, and sometimes a welcome wagon of bugs that bite – sunblock and bug spray are your friends, my friends. And speaking of biting… so do the ponies. And they kick. And they know how to open your coolers and grab a snack so, please, while you’re packing your gear and touring the visitors’ center, learn all you can and come prepared. Don’t feed them, don’t entice them, do keep your distance, and please don’t hit them – not with your hands, feet, boogie boards, or your cars. Ponies are very large animals and most of them are dark in colors ranging from beautiful browns to handsome blacks. They get very hard to see especially as night falls so the posted speed limits are there for a reason. Obey them, or I’ll be really happy to see you escorted off the island and invited to pay your fines. Not sorry.
When you come to this magical place of an island, you’ll be treated to sights all year long. There’s always something to see, and always something waiting to surprise you. Last winter I took a mid-day drive along the OSV beach. Only accessible with the specified pass and appropriately equipped 4wd vehicles, this is a spot like no other and totally worth another car loan. Gear up and air down, it is the only way. And it was the day I saw my first seal! My heart stopped and my camera started clicking at a safe-for-the-animal 100+ yards and we were one with nature. Next to check off my list… there’s a Snowy Owl known to perch along the winter dunes and I have read the island is a stopping point along the migratory route of the Peregrine Falcon.
One of my most treasured possessions is my Dad’s pair of binoculars. I have no idea how long he had them, but there was never a vacation since the beginning of time when they weren’t by his side. He always managed to find us a rental with a view, as humble as the houses would be, and without fail once the car was unpacked I knew right where to find him. Step out onto the deck or the screened porch — I can still see him out of the corner of my eye… his book and a cold beer or maybe a ginger-ale, his binoculars, and birds, waves, boats, clouds, and once — a shark fin — all ready to be watched. He really didn’t enjoy the heat of the day out on the sand, but rest assured he knew how to pick a good shady spot to just sit and see it all. That was his magic.
I don’t know if he ever saw a seal or a Snowy Owl or a Peregrine Falcon, but one of these days his binoculars and I will check those off the list for us.
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