Drumroll, please! And the winner is…Chincoteague, Virginia, home of the famous Misty of Chincoteague (a children’s book by Marguerite Henry).

Named “The Beautiful Land Across the Water” by the Native Americans who visited there, Chincoteague and its sister island, Assateague, has been a favorite vacationing spot for our family for the last decade or so. We feel as though we’re stepping back in time a bit to a quainter, more family and community-oriented era where we can walk the town streets at midnight and feel totally safe. The Island Creamery (voted best ice cream parlor in the U.S.), charming shops and homes, picturesque nature trails, crabbing, boating, and bicycling activities are delightful (not to mention the lack of crowds and traffic), and we enjoy the surf and sun on the wild barrier island of Assateague,  just across a small bridge from Chincoteague. We search for (and always find) the herds of wild ponies that live there, and climb the 175 steps up to the top of the Assateague Lighthouse, 1 of only 20 operating lighthouses in the U.S.

The first time I ever visited Chincoteague was in 2007. My kids had read Misty and I had heard of the annual Pony Auctions they conduct on the island every July. (Beware, this is the most crowded time of the year to visit, by far.) “Saltwater Cowboys” (consisting of members of Chincoteague’s volunteer fire department) ride their horses over to Assateague, and round up some of the wild ponies to auction off back on Chincoteague Island. The auction raises money for the fire department and also provides veterinary care for the horses, in addition to controlling the population of wild horses on Assateague. The ponies swim (herded by the Saltwater Cowboys) across the narrow Assateague Channel. Those ponies that are not bought in the auction are, subsequently, driven back to the Channel by the Cowboys, where they swim back and are set free again. Spectators are permitted to watch on either end of the swim.

My family arose at the crack of dawn the day of the pony swim back to Assateague freedom. We were able to get a “front row” spot by arriving early. It was worth the wait. We were almost trampled by the stampede as the horses were driven down to the shoreline! What a glorious feeling! (I did tell you I have a sense of adventure, didn’t I?) Okay, I’m exaggerating a little – just a little – but, seriously, it was a breathtaking scene. Those wild ponies appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and raced down to the water just a few yards away from where we stood. I have always been a great freedom-lover, and it truly inspired in me a great sense of freedom.

That first trip to Chincoteague captured my heart. We stayed in a dumpy trailer home and went crabbing in a creek just down the path from the trailer. We tied chicken necks to strings and hand-crabbed in the creek. Caught quite a few, by the way, but I think we put them all back that time. My husband loves to cook and eat crabs, but not me. Ewww. We also took a fantastic boat excursion that let us out at different “island” spots around the bay and we learned to harvest oysters with our feet (a couple of my family members ate them raw out of the shell, but not me. Double ewww!). I am very picky about my adventurousness! My pickiness extends to bicycles, too. When my family goes bike-riding down there, I will rent an adult tricycle. Yes, there is such a thing. And, even then, I get into near-accidents constantly.

Many of my treasured memories from Chincoteague are the simple things like watching  amazing sunsets over the bay, or finding a solitary piece of beach (there are loads of them) at dusk and watching the ghost crabs pop in and out of their squishy holes in the sand. These days we stay at nicer motels or hotels, with either a view of the bay or a balcony room with a horse corral right outside our room. If you venture down that way, make sure you take bug spray. You’re safe on the beach during the day, but the mosquitoes are abundant on Assateague because it is very wild (Chincoteague is sprayed). But, hey, that’s part of the charm! It is truly “The Beautiful Land Across the Water”.

So, now that the cat’s out of the bag…shh…don’t tell anyone else! It is our Best-Kept Vacation Secret!