Wild Horses and Eagle Eye
Exmore, VA to Salisbury, MDHow invigorating! It was 70 degrees with low humidity when we began our day in Exmore, VA. We meandered our way up Virginia's Eastern Shore to Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island on the Atlantic.
Built in 1833, the Assateague lighthouse continues to be an active navigational aid.


These barrier islands are a study in contrasts. Chincoteague is densely developed with many shops, vacation rentas, restaurants and all the other features of a beach resort. Assateague was headed in the same direction in the 1950s when some 5,000 private lots were zoned and sold for resort development. A Nor'easter halted the development in 1962, destroying the few existing structures on the island and eradicating roads.
The Assateague Island National Seashore was established in 1965 to preserve the island in a natural state. Assateague remains unpopulated except for its wildlife, most famous of which is the Chincoteague pony.

The National Wildlife Service requires that the population of the pony herd be controlled to preserve the environment. In the Maryland portion of the island, this is done with contraception. Virginia ponies are managed Chincoteague Island, which reduces the herd by auctioning foals each year.

In Salisbury, MD, where we landed for the evening, we were fascinated by a display in the local grocery store, which allows shoppers to scan and bag their items as they shop. So one arrives at the register with nothing left to do but pay. An improvement or not?

Miles: 151
Letterboxes: 7
Weather: Sunny, high 70 degrees
Ponies: 21
Ticks: 2 (both on Dianne-- one found before he bit, one bit twice)