Our lovely campsite. When Sean suggested this trip, we had NO idea how hard it was to get a campsite. We found out that if you want to camp on the beach, you have to reserve your spot a YEAR in advance. If I remember right, this was the last spot left for the weekend we wanted for the amount of time we were planning on spending there. Notice the bathrooms in the background. Not cool. They toilets were glorified port-a-potties. Most of the time it wasn't a problem, but when the wind blew the wrong way. oooh, did it stink. yuck. 
We arrived at 10:30 am, early enough to set up our tents and enjoy the rest of the day. As soon as we got out of the car the mosquito's attacked. vicious little buggers!! We had to put "Off," with DEET in it, on as soon as we left the car. once we got the tents up, we headed to the beach 2 miles from the tent. Since it was Friday, it wasn't too busy. 
The girls had a blast on the boogy board and helping Sean dig for sand crabs. After we had our fill of the sand and surf, we headed to Ocean City, MD for dinner. it was only 10 miles down the road. The crappy part was finding a place to park on Friday night. We ended up having to walk a few blocks to get there, but it was fun. 
The Kite Loft had a bunch of flags flying in the sand near their store. This is the largest kite I've ever seen. It was amazing, a huge sting ray. It was only out on Friday, we didn't see it on Sunday when we were down there. There was no one flying it. The wind was blowing enough off the water that it stayed in the air without any help. 
At the place we ate dinner there was a souvenir shop right next to it. They had hermit crabs in a cage right next to our table. The girls were fascinated, or something.
After dinner we stopped at Dairy Queen for ice cream. Nothing tastes as good as ice cream when it's so darn hot!
The girls had a blast on the boogy board and helping Sean dig for sand crabs. After we had our fill of the sand and surf, we headed to Ocean City, MD for dinner. it was only 10 miles down the road. The crappy part was finding a place to park on Friday night. We ended up having to walk a few blocks to get there, but it was fun. The Kite Loft had a bunch of flags flying in the sand near their store. This is the largest kite I've ever seen. It was amazing, a huge sting ray. It was only out on Friday, we didn't see it on Sunday when we were down there. There was no one flying it. The wind was blowing enough off the water that it stayed in the air without any help. At the place we ate dinner there was a souvenir shop right next to it. They had hermit crabs in a cage right next to our table. The girls were fascinated, or something.After dinner we stopped at Dairy Queen for ice cream. Nothing tastes as good as ice cream when it's so darn hot! One of the cool things about the island is that it is a National Seashore and the wildlife on it are all protected. Including the ponies. So there are ponies that wander all over the place, including into your campsite. People, including us, stop and take pictures all the time. pretty cool.
On Saturday we went back to the beach. We got there at 10am, I think. We were lucky that we did, because when we left at 3-ish, there were people parked all over the place to get to the beach. We went to Carrabba's for dinner. Sean wanted to go since there isn't one around here and we haven't been in over 2 years. So we took advantage of the proximity to us. After dinner we went out to find some crabs. The girls thought it was a great idea. We went to the place where they rent canoe's first, but weren't having much luck. Not sure why, maybe the water was too shallow, or maybe too many people in it, the crabs stayed away. This is Sabrina working on getting some crabs.
Here's Abby trying her hand at it. I think she spent more time pouting than anything, because Sabrina was getting more than she was. After we didn't get much we went to the old ferry landing and had more success. Both girls were able to catch a few.
On Sunday we headed to Ocean City early. I'm talking 9am early. We got a parking spot 2 blocks from the head of the boardwalk. Nice. It was already hot enough that we didn't have to worry about being chilly. We were more worried about parking in the wrong spot and getting a ticket than being cold. 
Sean convinced Abby to let him bury her in the sand. Then he made her into a mermaid. A pretty fat mermaid, but a mermaid nonetheless. The girls were getting some pretty good waves on the boogy board.
By Sunday Sabrina had is mastered and could ride it on her own. Someone actually loaned her theirs because they weren't using it. So both girls were able to ride their own.
Abby still needed a little help from her dad, but she did great once she got going. They kept begging for us to buy another one, but I kept saying, "when are we going to be back at the ocean so we can use it?" Uh, yeah, not anytime soon, since Sean will be starting school in the spring.
Horses in the parking lot, just after walking up from the beach. I think these were the 2 I saw on my morning run.
A horse that was in the middle of the road when we returned from dinner. Her foal was behind her and he didn't know what to do. We had stopped so that they could get off the road.
A couple of dead things I saw on my run on Saturday morning. I ran 3 or so miles, then went back to the car to get the camera. The horseshoe crab was dead, i thought he was alive, until I came back with the camera and he was upside down. nope, not a good thing.
A lovely jellyfish. not sure if it was a man of war or not, but it was pretty big. We saw a bunch of jellyfish (not Porteguese man of wars) in the water when were were at Ocean City. I actually got out of the water because I didn't want to get stung by one. We were sitting next to a girl that got stung, it looked like it hurt pretty bad.
A couple of sandpipers I saw on my run. They were all over the the beach. I actually sat and watched them for a while. They were cracking me up because of the way they would run in after the waves had retreated then run out as the waves came in. And this one didn't like anyone encroaching on his territory. They are vicious little birds too. They spend the entire time looking for sand crabs. When they find one, they dig it out and then pull it limb from limb to get at the meat in the middle. I saw crab legs littering the beach. felt sorry for the little guys.
More crabbing with the girls. This was at the ferry landing. Much more success there. Although Sabrina seemed to have a better spot than Abby. They actually caught several keepers, which they gave to a family that was going to cook them up for dinner. We would have just thrown them back otherwise.
A beautiful sunset on the bay side of the island.
On Saturday we went back to the beach. We got there at 10am, I think. We were lucky that we did, because when we left at 3-ish, there were people parked all over the place to get to the beach. We went to Carrabba's for dinner. Sean wanted to go since there isn't one around here and we haven't been in over 2 years. So we took advantage of the proximity to us. After dinner we went out to find some crabs. The girls thought it was a great idea. We went to the place where they rent canoe's first, but weren't having much luck. Not sure why, maybe the water was too shallow, or maybe too many people in it, the crabs stayed away. This is Sabrina working on getting some crabs.
Here's Abby trying her hand at it. I think she spent more time pouting than anything, because Sabrina was getting more than she was. After we didn't get much we went to the old ferry landing and had more success. Both girls were able to catch a few.
On Sunday we headed to Ocean City early. I'm talking 9am early. We got a parking spot 2 blocks from the head of the boardwalk. Nice. It was already hot enough that we didn't have to worry about being chilly. We were more worried about parking in the wrong spot and getting a ticket than being cold. Sean convinced Abby to let him bury her in the sand. Then he made her into a mermaid. A pretty fat mermaid, but a mermaid nonetheless. The girls were getting some pretty good waves on the boogy board. 
By Sunday Sabrina had is mastered and could ride it on her own. Someone actually loaned her theirs because they weren't using it. So both girls were able to ride their own.
Abby still needed a little help from her dad, but she did great once she got going. They kept begging for us to buy another one, but I kept saying, "when are we going to be back at the ocean so we can use it?" Uh, yeah, not anytime soon, since Sean will be starting school in the spring.
Horses in the parking lot, just after walking up from the beach. I think these were the 2 I saw on my morning run.
A horse that was in the middle of the road when we returned from dinner. Her foal was behind her and he didn't know what to do. We had stopped so that they could get off the road.
A couple of dead things I saw on my run on Saturday morning. I ran 3 or so miles, then went back to the car to get the camera. The horseshoe crab was dead, i thought he was alive, until I came back with the camera and he was upside down. nope, not a good thing.
A lovely jellyfish. not sure if it was a man of war or not, but it was pretty big. We saw a bunch of jellyfish (not Porteguese man of wars) in the water when were were at Ocean City. I actually got out of the water because I didn't want to get stung by one. We were sitting next to a girl that got stung, it looked like it hurt pretty bad.
A couple of sandpipers I saw on my run. They were all over the the beach. I actually sat and watched them for a while. They were cracking me up because of the way they would run in after the waves had retreated then run out as the waves came in. And this one didn't like anyone encroaching on his territory. They are vicious little birds too. They spend the entire time looking for sand crabs. When they find one, they dig it out and then pull it limb from limb to get at the meat in the middle. I saw crab legs littering the beach. felt sorry for the little guys.More crabbing with the girls. This was at the ferry landing. Much more success there. Although Sabrina seemed to have a better spot than Abby. They actually caught several keepers, which they gave to a family that was going to cook them up for dinner. We would have just thrown them back otherwise.A beautiful sunset on the bay side of the island.
3 comments:
Looks like a blast!
That looks like a BEAUTIFUL beach. I've only been camping on the beach once, and I loved it (even though it was REALLY hot). Btw, I can't believe you go to work at 3:30 some mornings! Sheesh, you are a whole lot tougher than I'll ever be.
Looks like lots of fun! I love Assateque.
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