While on my first vacation in 1989, I found a travel brochure that indicated the infamous Chincoteague ponies were nearby on the eastern shore.
Reading Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
Yearning to explore the site of one of my favorite childhood books, it became many years before that happened.
Reliving the story, I read the Misty books to my kids when they were little.
Dreaming of Chincoteague Ponies
Ever since we’ve longed to visit these ponies.
Now that we’re living in Virginia, and I had free hotel points, we made use of them for this longtime dream.
Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge outside Annapolis, Maryland we saw the enormous Chesapeake Bay for the first time.
My ideal of summer vacation was met with the amazing views under the clear blue skies. Gorgeous! We don’t see this in Texas. What a treat!
Upon arrival we picnicked near the Misty statue, the real-life Chincoteague pony that became the main character in a famous children’s book and family movie.
Visiting the Infamous Beebe Ranch, Home of Misty
Our favorite tourist stop of the day was to the Beebe Ranch where Misty lived, the setting for the famous book by Marguerite Henry.
After we walked into the house (yes, that was the start of the tour) we were greeted by Mrs. Beebe!
Her husband, another grandson of Grandpa Beebe, is cousin to Paul and Maureen.
When Marguerite Henry wrote Misty of Chincoteague, she spent time on the island learning the local lore, breathing the salt air, feeling the sea breeze, and interacting with the people and the infamous Chincoteague ponies.
Having fallen in love with Misty at the Beebe Ranch, she purchased Misty and took her home with her on the mainland while she continued writing the book.
Later, Marguerite Henry let Misty return to Chincoteague for breeding purposes.
By this time, Mr. Beebe, the cousin, took care of Misty at this property.
After a tour of the barn, we saw a short movie about Misty and the Beebe Ranch connection.
Then we visited their Chincoteague ponies, one of which is a Misty descendent.
During the terrible Nor’easter that flooded the islands in 1962, Mr. Beebe sheltered pregnant Misty in the kitchen of this very house because her stable flooded.
When Misty’s foal is born, she is named Stormy.
National Geographic Magazine featured Misty’s story and the Beebe Ranch weathering this fierce storm.
Kindred Spirits at the Beebe Ranch
Although the museum portion of the Beebe Ranch had closed, Mr. and Mrs. Beebe kept asking if we had questions. So we did!
After a few pony questions, I told her how I loved Virginia and Colonial Williamsburg, that we had just moved here from Texas, etc, etc, etc.
Mrs. Beebe is a kindred spirit! She enjoys Colonial Williamsburg as much as I do!
She gave me lots of touring tips. We found that we all had a lot in common.
Driving along the eastern side of the island provided amazing waterside and marsh views…reminding me of some of the descriptions in the Misty books.
Parking our van at the hotel, we stumbled upon the Bed and Breakfast Marguerite Henry stayed at in 1947 while writing her book, Misty of Chincoteague.
Ocean-fresh Seafood Dinner
Working up an appetite, we found a restaurant with fresh from the ocean seafood dinners.
Deciding to share plates, we ordered 2 large platters of steamed oysters, clams, snow crab, blue crab, stone crab, and shrimp.
After the waitress demonstrated for us how to open our first blue crabs, she kept returning to check on us.
Quietly intent on cracking all those shells, we were trying to dig out larger chunks than the tiny bits our inexperienced cracking produced.
Napoleon Sighting
While I was cracking shells, I happened to overhear something from the table next to us.
That one word made me stop to wonder if I had really heard what I thought I heard. No, it couldn’t be.
That man who followed us all through school in history and literature this past year, week after week, followed us on vacation!
Looking at my daughter, I realized she heard the same thing when she exclaimed, “They are talking about Napoleon!”
Incredulously, we started our own conversation about Napoleon.
Scenic views of the sound from the hotel
The next morning we enjoyed gorgeous views of the narrows between the island and the mainland.
Assateague Island
After a great breakfast we headed for Assateague Island.
We drove across Chincoteague to the bridge, which connects to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island in a short time.
More waterside views allowed a peak at our first destination, the Assateague lighthouse.
Assateague Lighthouse
A short hike from the parking lot brought us to the Assateague Lighthouse on a hill, the highest point on the island.
At 142 feet tall, it was a thigh burning climb to the top, but the views were worth it.
Continuing as a working lighthouse, the night markings for boats at sea are double flashes every five seconds.
The day markings are the unique four red stripes and three white stripes.
In case modern technology fails, sailors rely on old fashioned navigational charts and tools, including the day and night markings.
From the top we saw far and wide…and found wild ponies!
En route to the beach, we found a Great Blue Heron catching a fish!
Assateague Island National Seashore
The ocean was cold!
Grabbing some of our empty water bottles, my son used his pocketknife to cut off the top so he could use them for building a sandcastle.
The kids also found an old horseshoe crab shell.
While returning to Chincoteague, we saw more wild ponies!
Chincoteague Uniquely Vintage
After window shopping in town and another seafood dinner that we shared, we took the long drive home.
This was a great weekend vacation.
Although I’ve visited other beaches, Chincoteague was unique. It was a quaint vintage step back in time.
