The Chincoteague Report - Day 4

(Tuesday, August 11, 2009)

Well, another hot day. Another sunny day.

A morning of leisure followed by an afternoon at the beach. Lots of sun. Lots of sand. Lots of fun!

Jeff stayed at home out of the heat. (Was he avoiding the heat or just staying off my irritation radar?)

The beach was significantly less crowded than it had been on Sunday. Without the tent o' shade and shadow, set up was much quicker and I was free to enjoy the water much sooner than the previous beach outing. As Shelby and I stood looking out at the water, I commented, "People aren't out as far today."

We soon discovered why.

We didn't get far from the shoreline when neither of us could touch the bottom! It was fabulous! The water was relatively placid without the waves that crashed and foamed further out. The ocean had turned into a swimming pool. After enjoying myself for a bit, I headed in to sit and read in the warmth of the summer sun.

The horseflies seemed to think that I was some sort of picnic spread just for them and were quite a pain (literally and figuratively) but a bit of spray around my ankles solved that problem for the most part and I ploughed my way through most of Susan Wiggs' book, Just Breathe. Not my usual literary fare or fantasy or sci-fi, it was a nice beach book. Mind candy for someone who just needed to relax and not think about things for a bit.

I've actually plowed my way through quite a few books in the last few weeks. Shelby loaned me the Books of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau. As a young reader's series, I can recommend them. They are well written and characterized with sound messages and enough depth for adolescents to do some serious thinking about the world around them as well as for adults to engage their children in meaningful dialogue. (This reminds me... I have to read the last one... Jeff was reading it and I was waiting for him to finish.)

Kristin Hannah's book, True Colors, was also swiftly devoured. Another beach blanket jewel, it dealt with love and family and revolved around three sisters.... and.... a horse ranch. Ah, yes.... I'm always a sucker for a book with horses involved.

The Diary by Eileen Goudge was a quick, afternoon read for me. Two sisters trying to unravel the mystery of their dying mother's diary and the mysterious love revealed within its pages. Had she given up the love of her life for the security of their father? Captivating.

Right. Well, this wasn't intended to be Chip's Book Corner. It's my vacation!

Kate was a real pro with the water this time. I'm telling you.... there is the Horse Whisperer and the Dog Whisperer.... well, my niece Shelby must be the Child Whisperer. She's got the patience of a saint with children who are not her siblings and she had Kate out jumping waves. Perhaps it helped that the ocean was calmer, gentler but in my eyes she was a miracle worker!

Jumping waves? Or waves jumping them?

Yes! She's standing!!

Okay, I'll be honest. Kate's new found confidence with the water makes me a tad bit nervous. Where before I knew as sure as the sun rises and sets, Kate wouldn't dip her toes into the surf and unless she wandered down the beach chasing seagulls or surf-lines she was relatively safe.

Now, I'm not so sure and since her swimming skills are zero... it makes me a bit apprehensive. Ah, well, I'm her mother. That's why I get paid the big bucks. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Dinner was burgers, fries, shrimp kabobs, rice, laughter, lip smacking, giggles, and most importantly a taste of home. For some strange reason, my brother Ditto has a case of Stella Artois at his house. This Belgian beer can be found in almost every alcohol selling venue in the UK (unlike my hometown fav Yuengling) and so I did what any good sister would do when she might be missing her every day life..... I commandeered a six pack and brought it to Chincoteague! Yay me!

The Creamery beckoned and we could not resist it's siren call. Tonight's Creamery Report:

Jeff: a scoop of Oreo cookie and Mint Choc Chip. Though he had declared his orange sherbet/grapefruit sorbet combo of the other night to be something special, this blend of flavours was deemed to be "perfect."

Kate: Chocolate with rainbow sprinkles. Her fav and disapeared faster than an ice cube at the beach.

Me: Sorry my nut-haters. I had a one scoop sundae. Vanilla ice cream. Choc. Syrup and peanut butter with whipped cream and topped with a cherry. It was FAB!

No Round Ups attempted.

Please, Mum... Can we have some more?


Mine! Mine Mine!


Ummm.... Jeff? Ice cream is for eating.... not smoking.

We stopped by the Chincoteague Pony Center (http://www.chincoteague.com/ponycentre/) before heading back to the house. Many ponies were seen. Maybe I'll do a brief blog about the Chincoteague Ponies for my non-Chincoteague savvy readers. Kate suckered me into buying her a horse hand puppet. It makes a change from the dinosaurs.

A few pony pics.



Thunderstorms moved in during the night, rolling over the waters with the resonance of a drum line. Jeff actually asked me if he should be worried. "Are you sure it isn't an earthquake?" Yes, I do sometimes miss my extreme weathers. Weather in England can be a bit like its food. Bland.

Well, that's it for Tuesday. We'll find out how Wednesday goes on.... Wednesday.

Good night!

The Chincoteague Report - Day 3

(Monday, August 10, 2009)

Well, what can I say?

With temps in the high 90's and a heat index of 105 it was not day day for walking trails and being active people. It's the kind of day that snakes spend beneath rocks and hippos don't bother getting out of their river.

My Kate went with her cousins to the beach in the morning with Grammy and Dad and I... stayed home. Most people don't really get that. I rarely take the time to actually sit and READ a book and when I get an opportunity handed to me like that... I take it. Sometimes when Gran takes Kate for the day, she seems to expect that Jeff and I will spent a whirlwind day going places and doing things.

The reality is.... we'd much rather just hang around and be... us.

Anyhow.... we spent a good portion of the day reading and then decided to wander out and get a few supplies that were needed (like water) and just drive around the island a bit. We drove out past the NASA Wallops Island Facility and looked at things through the chain link fence and hoped that we weren't going to be mistaken for terrorists.

Then we drove around Chincoteague Island just looking at things that I remembered from other summers. Tom's Cove Campground, other properties that we had stayed in, the giant viking, docks, food places, etc....

When everyone returned to home base we headed out to dinner. Not just any dinner. I guess I better explain.

A billion years ago, my Mom and a friend had been traveling in this part of the world and had stumbled across a restaurant with a nice view over the waterfront at a Marina. They had a lovely lunch there and then continued on their way.

Mom has wanted to return there. She couldn't remember the name of it, the town it was in, anything about it except for a vague memory of what direction it was in. She had Gretchen and Steve driving around last year in an attempt to find it.

Enter the Web Ferret.

Gretchen asked me to try my hand at the internet to help find it. After pumping Mom for as much information as I could, I dove into the burrows and tunnels of the interweb (Jeff hates when I call it that). Sniffing my way through Google, I found a likely suspect. It appears that the Web Ferret was successful.

So, off to The Island House Restaurant in a small coastal town known as Wachapreague, Virginia.

http://www.wachapreague.com/theislandhouse.html

We had a lovely dinner for the most part.

http://www.wachapreague.com/MENU/IslandHouseDinner%20Menu.pdf

Kate had chicken tenders, fries, and applesauce and also shared Mom's shrimp cocktail. Jeff started with the Clams Casino and then had the 1st Mate's catch. I had the crab quesadillas and a Prince cut of delmonico steak. For which I got much harrassment about. Oh, noes! I got a steak at a seafood joint!

Honestly? I wasn't totally thrilled by the selections offered and decided that I would order a steak that I knew I would enjoy (have I mentioned that British beef.... quite frankly.... sucks) than a seafood meal that I may or may not enjoy. So there.

Anyhow... Jeff ended up sharing my crab thingy... I enjoyed my steak and other than the lipstick on Gretchen's glass, Steve getting the wrong starter (which they quickly replaced) and Jeff getting sweet potato fries instead of a baked potato (which was also quickly replaced) we had a nice time. The mystery of the Missing Restaurant was solved and the day ended peacefully with full tummies.

(Coming for Tuesday.... Beach and Ice Cream.)

The Chincoteague Report - Day 2

(Sunday, August 9, 2009)

So, I promised a house report and a house report you'll get.

First of all, let me remind you that we're dealing with accommodations for nine people. Affordable accommodations for nine people. Five adults. Four children. So, we managed to find a lovely three bedroom house that fit the bill quite nicely. A queen bed, a double bed, three twins, and a sleeper sofa.

Basically, my sister and brother in law were assigned to the queen, Jeff and I managed to commandeer the double, my mom snagged one of the twins... and then there were the children. Ah, yes.... the children. Four kids, two twin beds, and a sofa bed which is located downstairs.

Well, the only way that I was letting Kate the Great sleep downstairs was if she slept with her cousin Shelby. Eventually, it was decided that the Kate-ly wonder would sleep in one of the remaining twin beds and her cousins would rotate in the third with the other two sleeping in the sofa bed.

So. Sleeping arrangements sorted.

The house is what one would describe as.... quaint, eccentric, filled with character. A lovely screened in porch greets you at the front. The kitchen is small by American standards though it does manage to comfortably hold a table that seats four. The rooms are .... interesting. Well, not the rooms so much as the.... floors. Every room seems to be at a different elevation. You can't go through a doorway without having to step up or down.

Oh, and the height of the ceilings is.... interesting. Let's just say that at 5' 3" I sometimes have to fight the urge to duck through doorways. Jeff has hit his head so hard that it's brought him to his knees. I can't and don't even want to begin to imagine what it would be like if someone was...... 6'4"!!

So, Sunday.... a morning of investigating and shopping for various odds and ends that we needed here at the house. Lunch. Then... the beach!

The beach was ultra-crowded. At a point right before the parking lots begin, there was a ranger stationed in the middle of the road letting traffic into the lots. For every car that left, one car was let in. Never in the years that I've been here have I ever seen it like this!

Jeff hates the sun. Hates the heat. Hates water. So the beach would be the absolutely best place in the world to take him, right?? After fighting with a lovely sun tent that was purchased to aid in his comfort (actually, it was more a small tiff than a fight), Jeff decided that he was worried that the thing would make like a kite and fly away. Which led to him and I recreating a scene from Gunfight at the OK Corral and me making like mermaid and heading into the water to cool off.

Shelby was quick to join me as I headed out a bit farther than the others and we had a great time in the waves until my maternal/wifely guilt kicked in and I decided that I had better go check on the more non-aquatic members of my family.

Kate was absolutely brilliant this year! She loved playing in the surf and had a great time jumping in the waves and playing with Carly's boogie board. (Small surf board thing for those who are unfamiliar.)






It was back to the house around 3:30pm and then some baked ziti that my sister prepared and froze before vacation. (Have I mentioned that my sister is the EXTREME planner in the family? Vacations are planned down to the final detail and menus are arranged and prepared weeks in advance. I should also mention she rocks and I know that my more lackadaisical and spontaneous view of vacation must drive her batty.)

After dinner, Gretchen and her family rode their bikes to the Creamery. Mom, Jeff, Kate and I did the car thing.

Creamery Report:

Jeff had orange serbet and grapefruit sorbet and proclaimed it excellent. Kate had her chocolate in a dish from the start. (It was eaten with due haste and rainbow sprinkles.) I stuck to my vow of one scoop only and got Elvis Chocolate Dream which was created by one of the local elementary schools. Rich chocolate ice cream, chunks of peanut butter fudge (apologies to my peanut butter hating friends), and frozen bananas. Horribly rich and divinely decadent. I LOVED it. No roundups were attempted at this time.



Steve is confident that he will perservere and Jeff is still balking at the idea of putting his money where his mouth is. (Or as I like to say.... his mouth is writing checks his ass can't cash....)

The bike riders than headed over to Assateague for another tour of "The Loop." The Mom-mobile also made the trip as well. I had my camera in hand this time! When we stopped by the side of the road so I could see how photogenic a lovely pair of deer were...... I was thwarted by a winged menace! Well, many winged menaces!

Mosquitoes!!! Argh!!

As soon as I stepped from the car they swarmed me like... like.... like mosquitoes! I quickly snapped a few shots... killed the ten or so that were attempting to raid my blood supply and jumped back in the car! Unfortunately, a few determined blood suckers came with me and we spent some time on a bug hunt before all was clear.





When we saw the ponies again (same set that was seen the night before...) I was ordered to remain IN the vehicle.

Jeff was quite amazed by the numbers of dragonflies that he saw... but judging by how plentiful their food supply is (you guessed it... mostquitoes) it suddenly wasn't quite so amazing.

It was twice around, looking for the bike riding contingent of the vacationers and then back to the house. (Bike riders spotted on the way home.)

Oh, I forgot to mention our friend! Evidently there is a pet deer that roams around the house and after the bikers left for The Creamery.... he made an appearance!




Okay... I better get to bed. It's going on 11pm and someone.... whose name begins with J and ends with F is getting annoyed at me being up "so" late. *cue the maniacal laughter*

I'm going to add pictures in the morning. (If I can!) (As you can see.... pictures added!!)

(Coming up.... Monday, Monday..... Searching for Mom's Restaurant of Dreams and Other Non-Adventures.)

The Chincoteague Report - Day 1

(Please note: These are NOT written on the day they happen....)

Saturday, August 8th

Greetings and welcome to my report from the merry land of Chincoteague!

For those who don't know....

Chincoteague is an island located off the coast of Virginia near the Maryland border. My family and I have been coming to the island since... well... since I was in sixth or seventh grade. Ever since I had read the book "Misty of Chincoteague" by Marguerite Henry, I had an overwhelming desire to see the place of "Pony Penning." In the fourth grade, when presented with a project to research and report on a place I would want to visit, Chincoteague was the place for me.

In meticulous detail I presented a week of fun in the sun complete with itinerary, travel arrangements, and budget. I drew pictures, wrote to the Chamber of Commerce, and got pamplets from any place that could provide them. In those days before the instant gratification of the internet, it was a project of love and patience and in the end I persevered.

Well, it turns out my teacher, Mrs. Killian, wasn't the only person impressed with my imaginary travel log. My mother was as well. A few years later, she packed her four kids and assorted belongings into my Uncle Harold's pickup truck with the cap on the back that converted into a bed or a table and we were off to visit my dream destination.

And we've never looked back.

Or anywhere else.

Now we're passing the love of the islands to the next generation and three generations of the Evans family are now sharing a house on good ole Chincoteague. Things have changed since that first summer so many years ago when the island didn't even have a McDonald's, but our love for it hasn't diminished.

So, after an almost five hour drive with my mother at the wheel (Some things don't change.) I once more smelled the pungent saltiness of the marshes on the heat of the summer breeze.

That evening to celebrate our arrival at the place where my childhood dreamed fanciful scenarios and my teenage heart first twittered softly at the sight of a boy's long, tanned legs and shoulders just beginning to show the first signs of muscled broadness, we went to The Island Creamery.

The Island Creamery (www.islandcreamery.net) is one of the newer things in the grand scheme of the family history but has quickly become one of the favourite. Hand made ice cream with a large and ever changing selection to choose from, the Creamery is THE place to go for an evening treat.

So, night one at the Creamery....

Kate the Great went the simple route. Chocolate in a cone. Which promptly became chocolate in a cone in a dish. And a chocolate covered child.

Jeff's choice of the evening was Mint Chocolate Chip. Devoured quickly and I was informed that he would be happy to help with mine if needed. The sacrifices he makes for me. How lucky can a girl get?

I went with variety. A scoop of Cherries Jubilee (cherries and liquor) and a scoop of cantaloupe ice cream. (It had chunks of actual cantaloupe!) Jeff requested that if he DID have to help me out with mine, he would appreciate it if I ate the Cherries Jubilee first. Unfortunately for him, I managed to choke it all down. Though I did vow that from this night on I would stick with one scoop.

Now, the Creamery has challenge. If you can eat a whole Round Up (five scoops of ice cream, three toppings, whipped cream and cherries (nuts optional)) by yourself, they will take your picture and put it on their photos page on their website. (It used to be on the wall inside the shop but technology and lack of space moved them to the infinite nature of the interweb.)

The eldest of Kate's Levan cousins, Shelby (age 12), decided that this was her year to shine. So, she ordered the Round Up. Ate and ate and ate.... and couldn't finish it all. Better luck next time, Shelbs!

After the Creamery, we set off to Assateague Island (home of the "wild ponies") to do a quick tour of the wild life. Ponies were seen! (I, of course, didn't have my camera with me and sulked in the car.) Kate was riding with her cousins in the other car and got out to see them. Hopefully, I'll be able to steal a few of her photos to post.

Back to the house. (Remind me to tell you about this... odd .... bit of architecture.) Off to bed.

End of Day 1.

Hopefully, I'll feel inclined to at least present ice cream updates on a regular basis!

Pulling a John Denver....

Well, as the song goes....

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Actually, I've already left and have arrived in the good ole US of A.

Thought I'd share a few of my many thoughts of the flight here...

Well, we made it.

The trip to the airport wasn't as annoying as it could have been... Jeff decided that we were taking public transportation. Much to me endless irritation. I've done this before with just my luggage and a small child in tow. Now we'll have THREE people's worth of luggage and hand luggage and one five year old. A five year old who I needed to remain in a good mood for an eight hour flight. But hey... who am I to argue?

I think I must have developed some sort of inner zen. Some sort of secret place where I can go during less than positive moments. Whenever I felt a rising wave of annoyance, frustration, or irritation..... I just... went there. At one point on the tube, Jeff looked at me and asked,”What are you grinning about?” Don't ask me where I go and no, I'm not taking you with me.

So, train to Farringdon station, then on to Hammersmith, across the street to another ... tube which took us to Terminal 5. Heathrow.

We had checked in online so we just had to check our bags and make our way through security. Try explaining to Kate that her stuffed flamingo had to leave her hands in order to go through some scary looking machine. Oh, and take her shoes off.

Oh, and when her mother set off the metal detector, she was definitely trying to figure out why some strange woman was being a little too friendly... Ah well, we made it... didn't we?

Got a bit of lunch at the terminal in the form of some overpriced sandwiches... don't these people understand the beauty of McDonald's when traveling with youngsters? Then suddenly it was time!

Right. So, what is the point of pre-boarding if you're just going to be stuck on a bus like a herd of cattle and then all board en masse anyway?

Okay, I'll get the important stuff over with first. Food. I know you'll want to know even if it is airline food.

BA has always had pretty decent food in my opinion. (For airline food... I feel I have to qualify that.)

Kate's meal was awesome (in her culinary experience.) Usually the kids meals resort to pasta which is messy. This time they went with simple and simple is better! Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, peas. All good things in the world of Kate. The fruit salad was... well, pathetic. One grape, one slice of orange, one piece of pineapple, one piece (not slice) of melon, does not a fruit salad make. Though it did score higher on the Kate-meter than the chocolate dipped fruit from last time. In the world of Kate chocolate is chocolate and fruit is fruit and never the two should meet. Piece of cheese was devoured. Roll was nice, but she wasn't in a bread mood. Yogurt went untouched. Dessert was chocolate buttons.

The adult meals. We had a choice of cottage pie or chicken. Duh. No contest. The chicken was served in a red sauce over pasta with some grilled veg with it. (Ah HA! There's the obligatory pasta!) Taste was nice enough. A little.... dry (how can a sauce be dry? Oh, maybe pasty is the word I want. Pasty pasta!) Salad. What is it with weeds in a bowl make a salad? Dressing was rubbish. Roll was soft and not half frozen. Dessert looked nice. Chocolate mousse tort thing with an orange sauce. Jeff thought it was... very nice. I felt the chocolate was not strong enough and the overly sweetened fruit sauce overpowered it.

I've just been informed that I watch too much Master Chef.

And now I get to switch into movie critic mode. Yay!

First out of the gate. I decided to watch He's just not that into You. Not a bad flick. Mostly enjoyable. Ensemble piece with some interesting names. Jennifer Connelly. Drew Barrymore. Scarlet Johannson. Jennifer Aniston. Ben Affleck(who was strangely likeable in this.... though to be fair, I don't seem to have the dislike for Mr Affleck that some people do. Love him in Chasing Amy and probably anything he does with Kevin Smith.) And isn't Justin Long just as cute as the proverbial button?

It was a nice piece of mindless fluff with some amusing moments, some touching moments and some nice turns of acting.

Okay, next on my movie list was..... I Love You, Man. I tried. I really did. I just couldn't do it. I think I may have lasted a full half hour. I even made it past the part where the guy projectile vomited all over another guy. Paul Rudd was likeable enough. I just can't stand to watch when I know things are about to go terribly wrong.

So, why? Well, I just think I must be lacking something in the humour department. I just can't stand most of the grossly funny films out there and I DO want to be able to appreciate them. (I feel like some sort of freak because I don't!) Since I break out in hives when I see Will Farrel (with the exception of the movie Stranger than Fiction... but then I enjoyed cheering for Emma Thompson's character to kill him off... which... I must point out is the same reaction I had to Russell Crowe in Gladiator.... Kill him! Kill him NOW! Oh, damn, he's still alive ....) Paul Rudd seemed safe enough.

So, I switched over to Sunshine Cleaning. Billed as a comedy. Not a comedy in my book. Some wistfully amusing moments, but far too much angsty, down troddenness to qualify for a true comedy. Quirky. I did like it. Mostly. Just not what I expected or wanted.

After this was over, I was a bit at a loss. I had two to three hours before we would land.... I started to watch LOTR: RotK....but couldn't get settled enough to enjoy it. So, I popped over to the music section, chose a playlist and listened to music.

Kate was just great, by the way. She watched Ice Age 2 twice and Monsters vs Aliens. She's an absolute pro at traveling and I can't say enough about how great she is. (Though she was quite put out by the fact that she could not sit by the window.) She ate great. Sat quietly the whole trip and used the onboard facilities without any problems. I couldn't help but notice that she's not my baby anymore. She's growing up. I'm not quite sure if I should cheer or cry.

Eventually... we landed fine. Made it through passport control and customs without incident. Gretchen and Steve met us there... and was met by a Kate-o-saurus.

Well, that's the trip.

Next up.... Day 1.