For several years we have been venturing to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to the small town of Chincoteague to get our beach quota in for the year. After living in New England, where access to oceans and mountains in a single day was easy, living in Western Virginia (not West Virginia, to be clear) we found ourselves in need of regular ocean trips to clear the mind.
We started these trips before kids (BK – a magical time in the distant past parents talk about with the same sense of awe and detachment frequently shown toward sci-fi space operas) camping on the beach at Assateague State Park in Maryland.
This trip, as is our habit, was off season, windy, and cold. But don’t let those adjectives give you the wrong impression, it was great. We put up our tent just over the dunes, walked out to the awesome ocean and got to know our neighbors. What struck us during this trip was not necessarily the weather, but the fact that the wild horses would steal the clothes off your back if you weren’t paying attention. We saw horses steal loaves of bread from cars. Who knew they liked wonderbread?
Our second trip back was a few years later and definitely after kid (AK – when things get real). We stayed at a nice bed and breakfast, the Channel Bass Inn, complete with tea ceremonies and barely working AC. The owners put up with our 2 year old mostly out of deference to his name, which reminded them of home. This was when we discovered the joys of biking to the beach.
From Chincoteague it’s a short bike ride over the bridge to the Assateague National Seashore. Popping the kiddo in the bike trailer and cranking out to the beach rewarded us with a nearly empty beach, plenty of birds (some of which were mosquitos), and the occasional horse. The ride was easy enough and we swore we’d be back with both kids… oh, spoiler alert, we were pregnant.
More spoilers, 2 kids means more crazy and not just 2x what you had before.
We returned the next year for what would be the first of two trips to the Refuge Inn. This great little hotel offers a full cooked breakfast, has a great partially enclosed pool (and hot tub my wife would surely add), and nice rooms that, if you are on the ground floor, have sliding doors that allow you to lock your bikes on the patios.
This was great for young families not yet ready to venture into the camping arena. Mornings at the beach by bike, afternoon naps, swimming in the pool made this a great transition vacation in our pre-adventuring days. Of course youngsters on a tag-a-long cannot fend off horseflies… don’t ask how I know.
When things really got interesting was when we acquired a pop-up camper. Now we’re cooking with gas!
Maddox Family Campground is the way to go for the biking-to-the-beach set. The location is great, although make sure you book early to get the best spaces on the eastern side of the campground among the trees. Camping out in the full sun can by quite warm, it is Virginia people! Our se
cond year here also coincided with the 4th of July. Avoid the 4th of July.
Chincoteague is a nice contrast to Ocean City or other popular beach destinations. The town is small, the people are friendly, and you can still find great food and lodging at reasonable rates. We love the seafood you can get at Captain Zacks and Woody’s and the proximity to the Wallops Island Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport means that you can get your science on (read more about that soon).
The great part about camping, even camping in your back yard is that the kids get a chance to live outside where they easily make their own entertainment. It has become one of our favorite trips each year and a great slow start to adventuring.