Spring finally arrived so Sage jumped into the shotgun position in the car for a drive down to southern Virginia. The pup LOVES car rides, so she didn’t mind a 3 -hour drive. We had sunny skies and a light breeze as we drove through farmland, headed for the Chesapeake Bay. Having driven across the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, and now the Bay Bridge in Maryland, mom can safely say she doesn’t like driving on either one. But getting to the other side led to a super fun weekend.
We got to Chincoteague and spent two days exploring. The area is nestled between the bay and the beach. We learned that there are two islands that has so much history dating back to the colonial times and the fishing villages that built up along the coast. The area known as Assateague took on the Native American term given for the marsh land. It is now the location of a nature preserve–where doggies are not allowed–not even in a vehicle, so Sage kept her doggie paws at a respectful distance. Chincoteague is right next to it, which means the beautiful water beyond the marsh. This is where the wild ponies roam along the shoreline. They graze the island just as their horsey ancestors did that were brought over by the Europeans. We spent some time moseying around the quaint little town with cottages and little shops along the bay. We walked along the pier and watched the sunset and Sage earned a well-deserved hamburger for dinner! (Which she promptly gobbled up while wagging her tail to the glee of observing tourists who were so excited to meet her on the pier.
We got up early and went for an early stroll along the water where mom got to sit on a park swing with her coffee and the pup stared down so giant geese who decided the waddle up to Sage’s patch of grass. Sage then played at the doggie park at the edge of the nature trail where she met a French Poodle that looked like Steinbeck’s Charley. (We think that was a little wink from above that we were right where we were supposed to be.) Before heading over to the boat, we stopped at the special island ice cream spot called Mr. Whippy. After asking for a cup of whip cream for Sage, we were informed that they can do one better as they have a dog sundae where they give a scoop of ice cream and put little doggie bones on top instead of sprinkles! That caused extreme puppy tail swishing….and Sage was ready to tackle her first boat ride!
We went to the dock and this little puppy daredevil showed no fear in jumping down onto the floating docks. She then hopped right over the water gap and onto the boat’s platform like a pro and positioned her little puppy tush in between some friendly boaters joining us on our trip. We were on a pontoon boat and as it started moving through the inlet, Sage got her bearings. Soon she climbed her paws up onto the bench and peeked over the side. A few minutes later she climbed completely up onto the bench and enjoyed the rest of the trip. Our pontoon boat floated up near the shore and saw the beautiful ponies. They were magnificent looking–some brown, some painted white with dark brown patches. We learned they have Arabian bloodlines. They were incredible to watch from the boat. Sage did so well when some mean boaters came by too fast and made the boat rock. She quickly positioned her paws and found her balance…then hopped back up on the bench to feel the wind in her fur as her ears flapped behind her. Before leaving, the boat captain gave Sage a special little scratch behind the ears for being such a good little sailor. She was invited back to try some kayaking in the summer when the ponies swim across the bay….so stay tuned–this is definitely a place we will return for another adventure!
