20080721-JWN0587, originally uploaded by neepeople.

One of my co-workers describes Assateague as a magical place, and indeed, it does seem so. How often does one get to respectfully share the beach with such magnificent creatures as these. One of the more beautiful sights was waking up to see the horses laying on the beach first thing in the morning.

The Assateague horses are not “big” horses, which is why they are often mislabeled “ponies.” They are beautiful creatures mostly wild, but wiley enough to search for trash in the campgrounds. I tried very hard to impress upon the children that the horses had the right of way; that this was their island and we were only visiting. The horses seemed to know that we were invaders and sometimes stood stock still for 20 minutes at a time, staring about them, as if on guard.

At any rate, our vacation was a good one. Grandmom came a long to make some memories with the kids even though she is not a camper. My guess is that she’ll be spending the night in a hotel next year! The kids always have a good time despite smoky campfires and never quite being able to get sand out of unmentionable orifices. I think for all of us it is good just to get out of our regular routine and away from the electronic devices that distract us.