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Greetings Everyone!!
As you may know, Bob, Sarah and I were away on vacation from Saturday, July 21, to Saturday, July 28, 2007. Here are the details as best I can remember:
Saturday, July 21, 2007: Left Muenster at 7:00 A.M., driving "MAX", my 2003 Chevy Silverado truck. It has a Duramax Diesel engine, hence the name, "MAX". We spent this first night in Jackson, Tennessee, at a Knight's Inn.
Sunday, July 22, 2007: I got up at 4:15 to shower. We were on the road by 5:30 A.M. The temperature was about 60 degrees--so nice! Arrived at Saint Edward's Catholic Church in Nashville, Tennessee at 7:40 A.M. and attended the 8:00 A.M. Mass. Thanks to Sarah and the Internet, we had no problem finding the church, or getting to Mass on time. Arrived at David & Billie's house in Glade Spring, Virginia sometime around 5:00 Eastern Time (4:00 our time). We lost an hour, as they are one hour ahead of us. Dave & Billie are Bob's brother and sister-in-law. We spent Sunday night at their house.
Monday, July 23, 2007: Billie had to go to work, but David drove the 4 of us to the top of Whitetop Mountain in the MAX truck. I have to admit that I was a little scared going up!! When we got to the top, we saw a big black bear loping across the grassy mountainside!!! Back down the mountain, we ate lunch at a tiny gas station/convience store/restaurant called "Cowboys". As we ate, we read newspapers, and that got me in trouble. I left my paper covering Sarah's wallet, which got left there.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007: We left Dave and Billie's at 7:00 A.M. and were 2 hours down the road when Sarah realized that she didn't have her wallet, and that it was probably lost at Cowboys. She got the phone number from Information and called. Lo and Behold! Her wallet was still there! She asked them to overnight it to the motel in Pocomoke City, Maryland, where we were heading. She then asked them, for her own peace of mind, to tell her what was inside. They told her, "There's your driver's license, a bank card, and a license to shoot people?!" Refering to Sarah's Texas Handgun License. Heh! Since Sarah was without her DL, I did all the driving this day, from the southwest corner of Virginia to Pocomoke City, MD. Tired! Going across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was awesome!! A postcard of same says, "Connecting the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area with Virginia's Eastern Shore, the first 17.6 mile shore-to-shore crossing opened in 1964 and was augmented in 1999 with parallel roadways and bridges. Consisting of 4 man-made islands, 2 mile-long bridge tunnels under the shipping channels, 2 pairs of high-level bridges, and 12.2 miles of parallel trestle roadways, the complex includes a 625-foot-long fishing pier with a restaurant and gift shop." Can you imagine??!! Driving nearly 18 miles across, and under, the ocean...it was wild!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007: The big day! We drove over to Chincoteague Island and parked the MAX at the school, where we were shuttled by schoolbus to the carnival grounds. Germanfest officials take note: We were not charged a parking fee, nor a shuttle fee, nor an entrance-to-the-carnival-grounds fee...How refreshing! We walked to the beach where the ponies would come ashore, and began our long, long wait. Bob spent the entire morning by himself, hiking around the town and resting under shade trees. Sarah and I waded through the marsh and found a good spot in the sea from where we could view the entire swim at close-up range. Yes, I said IN the sea--we stood in the water for several hours, as did many others. They say that 40 to 50 thousand people come to watch the ponies swim. Most of them stay on the grounds above the shores, but we knew we wouldn't have seen much from there, plus all the spots in front were already taken. By standing in the water close to the pier, we were SO CLOSE to where the ponies came ashore!! The red smoke in the picture is from a flare sent up to signal that the ponies were about to swim, which happened at low tide, shortly after noon. I had tears in my eyes after, and that's the picture of me going, "HOOO!" We ate clam fitter sandwiches at the carnival grounds, and shared a funnel cake. We looked at all the ponies. At 3:00 p.m. they had a drawing to give away the pony that crossed the channel first. Chances were only $1 each, and I took 5. But, alas, I did not win the pony. After that, we drove over to Assateague Island, to the beach, where I found myself swimming in the Atlantic Ocean! Or, trying to. I was pummeled mercilessly by the huge waves; it was pretty darn funny!! The video Sarah took of me diving into a wave and then turning to face her with a proud look of, Oh, see what I did?" also shows something that I didn't see coming--another HUGE wave, that knocked me off my roost and gave me my first drink of the salty sea-water! OH! But the ocean and that beach were PRICELESS!! I rode back to the motel in the back of truck, and Bob and I went to a laundrymat that night to wash clothes. The washer was full of bits of seashells afterwards!! Sarah's wallet had arrived at the motel while we were gone, with all its contents intact. What a miracle!
Thursday, July 26, 2007: This day we spent on Chincoteague, poking around the shops there, and on Assateague, where Bob and I climbed the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse, up to the top. We went back to the beach on Assateague, where Sarah took her turn getting her bare feet in the sand and the foam. While she was standing in the water, she spied a creature and scooped it up in her hand, then quickly dropped it. She said it had tried to burrow into her hand! We decided that it might have been a shrimp! We then went back to Chincoteague, to the Beebe Ranch. Here, we got to see the real Misty and her colt, Stormy. Both are long deceased, of course, but are preserved and on display in the very house where they stayed, in the kitchen, no less, during the 1962 storm that flooded the island and caused the family to be airlifted to safety. It was cool beyond words to see the very real animals and places depicted in the Misty books. We also saw Billy Beebe, a grandson of "Grandpa and Grandma Beebe" of the books. We saw the stable where Misty lived, too. Then, on the way back through town, Bob and I went inside one last shop, to buy the Misty movie. He placed the DVD on the counter while I continued to shop. The man behind the counter said, "Misty, Misty, Misty! If I see ONE more thing about Misty..." And I said, "Hey, hey hey! We came all the way from Texas to see this". So he said, "Oh, I didn't mean anything; it's OK..." Then I said, "That's OK, I know what you mean. I'm from a small town that has a huge Germanfest every year...I know what you mean." Well, there was this couple in that shop, and the lady asked me, "What's the name of your town in Texas?" And I said, "Muenster". And she said, "Well, we're from Lawton, Oklahoma, and we ride our bikes in your Germanfest Bike Rally every year!!" I thought that was pretty funny.
Friday, July 27, 2007: We left Pocomoke City at 7:00 A.M. and began the long drive home. Sarah and I took turns driving as usual. We stopped at Staunton, Virginia, to eat lunch, and a college friend of Sarah's met us there. Her name was Kara. I took a picture of her and Sarah together, then proceeded to drop the camera on the table. The telescoping lens was open, and it fell on that, mashing the lens in crooked, and now the camera is broken! But at least we were on our way home and not vice versa!! I never could sleep when it was my turn to do so, and so Sarah ended up doing most of the driving home! I fell asleep at least once where Bob had to grab the steering wheel as I was veering off to the left lane! Pretty scary and pretty dumb. We drove all night.
Saturday, July 28, 2007: We arrived home about 10:30 in the morning. It was a great trip!!
It all started when I was in the 6th grade. My family went to a dairyman's convention in Chicago. While we were there, my mom bought me the book, MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE. Ever since then I have wanted to go to the real-life Pony Penning days that were depicted in the book. Sarah planned this trip months and months ago and I have her to thank for all of it. It was her idea and her persistance that got us there. Thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear daughter!!
Greetings Everyone!!
As you may know, Bob, Sarah and I were away on vacation from Saturday, July 21, to Saturday, July 28, 2007. Here are the details as best I can remember:
Saturday, July 21, 2007: Left Muenster at 7:00 A.M., driving "MAX", my 2003 Chevy Silverado truck. It has a Duramax Diesel engine, hence the name, "MAX". We spent this first night in Jackson, Tennessee, at a Knight's Inn.
Sunday, July 22, 2007: I got up at 4:15 to shower. We were on the road by 5:30 A.M. The temperature was about 60 degrees--so nice! Arrived at Saint Edward's Catholic Church in Nashville, Tennessee at 7:40 A.M. and attended the 8:00 A.M. Mass. Thanks to Sarah and the Internet, we had no problem finding the church, or getting to Mass on time. Arrived at David & Billie's house in Glade Spring, Virginia sometime around 5:00 Eastern Time (4:00 our time). We lost an hour, as they are one hour ahead of us. Dave & Billie are Bob's brother and sister-in-law. We spent Sunday night at their house.
Monday, July 23, 2007: Billie had to go to work, but David drove the 4 of us to the top of Whitetop Mountain in the MAX truck. I have to admit that I was a little scared going up!! When we got to the top, we saw a big black bear loping across the grassy mountainside!!! Back down the mountain, we ate lunch at a tiny gas station/convience store/restaurant called "Cowboys". As we ate, we read newspapers, and that got me in trouble. I left my paper covering Sarah's wallet, which got left there.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007: We left Dave and Billie's at 7:00 A.M. and were 2 hours down the road when Sarah realized that she didn't have her wallet, and that it was probably lost at Cowboys. She got the phone number from Information and called. Lo and Behold! Her wallet was still there! She asked them to overnight it to the motel in Pocomoke City, Maryland, where we were heading. She then asked them, for her own peace of mind, to tell her what was inside. They told her, "There's your driver's license, a bank card, and a license to shoot people?!" Refering to Sarah's Texas Handgun License. Heh! Since Sarah was without her DL, I did all the driving this day, from the southwest corner of Virginia to Pocomoke City, MD. Tired! Going across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was awesome!! A postcard of same says, "Connecting the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area with Virginia's Eastern Shore, the first 17.6 mile shore-to-shore crossing opened in 1964 and was augmented in 1999 with parallel roadways and bridges. Consisting of 4 man-made islands, 2 mile-long bridge tunnels under the shipping channels, 2 pairs of high-level bridges, and 12.2 miles of parallel trestle roadways, the complex includes a 625-foot-long fishing pier with a restaurant and gift shop." Can you imagine??!! Driving nearly 18 miles across, and under, the ocean...it was wild!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007: The big day! We drove over to Chincoteague Island and parked the MAX at the school, where we were shuttled by schoolbus to the carnival grounds. Germanfest officials take note: We were not charged a parking fee, nor a shuttle fee, nor an entrance-to-the-carnival-grounds fee...How refreshing! We walked to the beach where the ponies would come ashore, and began our long, long wait. Bob spent the entire morning by himself, hiking around the town and resting under shade trees. Sarah and I waded through the marsh and found a good spot in the sea from where we could view the entire swim at close-up range. Yes, I said IN the sea--we stood in the water for several hours, as did many others. They say that 40 to 50 thousand people come to watch the ponies swim. Most of them stay on the grounds above the shores, but we knew we wouldn't have seen much from there, plus all the spots in front were already taken. By standing in the water close to the pier, we were SO CLOSE to where the ponies came ashore!! The red smoke in the picture is from a flare sent up to signal that the ponies were about to swim, which happened at low tide, shortly after noon. I had tears in my eyes after, and that's the picture of me going, "HOOO!" We ate clam fitter sandwiches at the carnival grounds, and shared a funnel cake. We looked at all the ponies. At 3:00 p.m. they had a drawing to give away the pony that crossed the channel first. Chances were only $1 each, and I took 5. But, alas, I did not win the pony. After that, we drove over to Assateague Island, to the beach, where I found myself swimming in the Atlantic Ocean! Or, trying to. I was pummeled mercilessly by the huge waves; it was pretty darn funny!! The video Sarah took of me diving into a wave and then turning to face her with a proud look of, Oh, see what I did?" also shows something that I didn't see coming--another HUGE wave, that knocked me off my roost and gave me my first drink of the salty sea-water! OH! But the ocean and that beach were PRICELESS!! I rode back to the motel in the back of truck, and Bob and I went to a laundrymat that night to wash clothes. The washer was full of bits of seashells afterwards!! Sarah's wallet had arrived at the motel while we were gone, with all its contents intact. What a miracle!
Thursday, July 26, 2007: This day we spent on Chincoteague, poking around the shops there, and on Assateague, where Bob and I climbed the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse, up to the top. We went back to the beach on Assateague, where Sarah took her turn getting her bare feet in the sand and the foam. While she was standing in the water, she spied a creature and scooped it up in her hand, then quickly dropped it. She said it had tried to burrow into her hand! We decided that it might have been a shrimp! We then went back to Chincoteague, to the Beebe Ranch. Here, we got to see the real Misty and her colt, Stormy. Both are long deceased, of course, but are preserved and on display in the very house where they stayed, in the kitchen, no less, during the 1962 storm that flooded the island and caused the family to be airlifted to safety. It was cool beyond words to see the very real animals and places depicted in the Misty books. We also saw Billy Beebe, a grandson of "Grandpa and Grandma Beebe" of the books. We saw the stable where Misty lived, too. Then, on the way back through town, Bob and I went inside one last shop, to buy the Misty movie. He placed the DVD on the counter while I continued to shop. The man behind the counter said, "Misty, Misty, Misty! If I see ONE more thing about Misty..." And I said, "Hey, hey hey! We came all the way from Texas to see this". So he said, "Oh, I didn't mean anything; it's OK..." Then I said, "That's OK, I know what you mean. I'm from a small town that has a huge Germanfest every year...I know what you mean." Well, there was this couple in that shop, and the lady asked me, "What's the name of your town in Texas?" And I said, "Muenster". And she said, "Well, we're from Lawton, Oklahoma, and we ride our bikes in your Germanfest Bike Rally every year!!" I thought that was pretty funny.
Friday, July 27, 2007: We left Pocomoke City at 7:00 A.M. and began the long drive home. Sarah and I took turns driving as usual. We stopped at Staunton, Virginia, to eat lunch, and a college friend of Sarah's met us there. Her name was Kara. I took a picture of her and Sarah together, then proceeded to drop the camera on the table. The telescoping lens was open, and it fell on that, mashing the lens in crooked, and now the camera is broken! But at least we were on our way home and not vice versa!! I never could sleep when it was my turn to do so, and so Sarah ended up doing most of the driving home! I fell asleep at least once where Bob had to grab the steering wheel as I was veering off to the left lane! Pretty scary and pretty dumb. We drove all night.
Saturday, July 28, 2007: We arrived home about 10:30 in the morning. It was a great trip!!
It all started when I was in the 6th grade. My family went to a dairyman's convention in Chicago. While we were there, my mom bought me the book, MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE. Ever since then I have wanted to go to the real-life Pony Penning days that were depicted in the book. Sarah planned this trip months and months ago and I have her to thank for all of it. It was her idea and her persistance that got us there. Thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear daughter!!