Three Weeks in Chincoteague, VA (and belated Kid Day 2020)

Before we left DC, we had our next two destinations booked: Orange and Chincoteague.  We figured after having done the country life, it would be fun to do some beach time.  We had been to Assateague Island several years before, although only for a day, so it was familiar but also somewhere to explore. And this time we decided against the touristy spots and opted for a house in the little town of Chincoteague.  It was lovely: a short walk to Main Street and a short drive to the beach.

Our home for three weeks.

Brandon's 'office' was the enclosed porch,

which shared a wall with our bedroom.

Some of those early morning calls were hard to sleep through.

The first week we were there, the weather was still warm and summery.  Walking the few blocks to the docks meant swatting mosquitos away that were so pesky that you could feel them land on--and bite--your skin.  Sun block and bug spray were a must!

We also tried to do some of the hiking trails during this time. I had read online that we should use bug spray, since mosquitos were plentiful, so we sprayed ourselves before the short walk to the lighthouse and, although there were a few mosquitos, it was no big deal.  

But since the walk to the lighthouse was so short, we went down to another trail.  We nominally put on some more bug spray before heading out on the trail and for the first 1/3 of it, we were fine.  And then gradually the mosquitos started to notice our presence.  About half-way through the trail, we were being annoyed almost constantly, swatting them away.  Our pace quickened and we stopped taking breaks to look around because if we stopped for too long, I could look down and see them sitting all over my clothes.  Eventually, probably the last 1/4 of the trail, we just ran, trying to outrun them.  We all had bites all over our bodies--even through our clothing--by the time we got back to the car and vowed not to do that trail again.

These were taken at the beginning of the trail,

before we were swarmed.

There was a nice view.

Wild horses!

We realized when we were in Orange that we had neglected to celebrate Kid Day!  We usually try and have it the week before school starts, but with the evacuation and remote school and yada yada yada we forgot all about it.  So we planned it for an upcoming school holiday during our first week in Chincoteague.  Brandon even took work off so he could--for the first time--fully participate in Kid Day.  As always, the kids got together to plan out meals and activities ahead of time.  

This is what they came up with.

Presenting their schedule

I made a sign with the only thing I could find (post-its) and put them at the top of the stairs so the kids would see it on their way down.  

The very chic sign

They had a (Eggo) waffle bar with all the fixins for breakfast and then we headed to the beach.  

breakfast waffle bar

Once we had our fill, we came back home to wash up; the girls wanted to watch a show, I wanted to go for a drive and explore the island and Kiddo came along with me.  

For dinner we got pizza and the kids (read: E) chose the toppings.  Unfortunately, we didn't check how big the pizzas actually were, we just habitually ordered two larges.  And we ended up eating those two pizzas twice a day for a week before they were finally gone (and that last day or two of pizza-eating definitely took some bribery.)  Don't get me wrong, the pizza was great, but there was a lot.  For dessert, the kids wanted to walk down to the nearest gas station to get some Icees.  By then, it had gotten windy and CJ was done, so we headed back home to get ready for bed and watched a show.  All-in-all, a pretty great Kid Day!

We decided that on Sunday mornings, we would take long walks on the beach.  It was usually pretty empty and it felt like we had it to ourselves to explore.

Chelon came to visit!  We went to the beach and made some killer sand castles...

... went hiking and, since the weather had cooled, this time there were no mosquitos!

But the highlight of her visit was probably the dolphin tour.  It was cold, but totally worth it.  We went out to the captain's 'secret spot' and didn't see any, so we finally turned back.  About half way there, we saw a few.  We were thrilled!  And then when were almost all the way back to where we started, there were suddenly dolphins everywhere.  It was amazing.

The last day of her visit, we went on a long walk on the beach and got caught in the tide and it was a great.

It was a lovely three weeks in Chincoteague and we already want to go back!

A couple random things: 

• Occasionally, at any time day or night, we would hear a siren go off.  Was it a warning of some kind?  Should we be concerned?  After the second or third time I finally googled it and apparently they use the old air raid siren to alert the volunteer fire department about an emergency.  I feel like there are probably more efficient ways of doing that....

• Based on our kids' passport expiration dates, we knew that we should get them renewed while we were state-side.  We never got around to it in DC or Orange, but while we were in Chincoteague we finally managed to get it done at the post office in nearby Oak Hall.  Because of Covid the US wasn't doing expedited service, so we hoped it wouldn't take too long to get them back.

A Month in Orange, Virginia

Two hours southwest of Washington, DC--between Culpeper and Charlottesville--is the little town of Orange, VA.  Several people asked us "why Orange?"  Well, if you remember, we were not thrilled about having to come to the US when it had even more Covid cases than India.  So when it came time to book a post-DC AirBnb, being out in the country and away from the population at large sounded perfect.  Plus, after being holed up in our apartment complex for four months, the idea of being in wide-open spaces seemed like a dream come true.  

This wasn't our first choice, but it ended up being great: A five-minute drive into town, 45 minutes to Shenandoah or Charlottesville, a mile from Montpelier, a horse field across the street, and lots of cute little towns and trails nearby.  

Orange only had about four traffic lights, but it had boasted three different dollar stores.  We frequented all three--along with the Goodwill and the Little Library we found at the town's only park--looking for books and various household items that weren't available in our AirBnb (hot pads, tupperware, etc.).  In case you are interested, we would rank the dollar stores in the following order (least to greatest): Dollar General, Family Dollar, and--the winner--Dollar Tree.

The older kids started school the Monday after we moved to Orange.  Unlike CJ, who has recorded zoom calls to watch (which gets soooo tedious), the older two have weekly in-person zoom sessions with their various teachers, as well as assignments to do on their own.  It's definitely been an adjustment for everyone, but they have been great!  By week two, they were getting up in the morning and started on school before I even got up for the day.  I mean--how awesome is that?

Another perk is that they were usually done working around lunchtime.  So whenever school and work were done for the day, we were free to explore our new home.  We would often go on walks down the street to the train station-turned-segregation museum.

Or venture to the Civil War encampment/Gilmore Farm trail, which was just across the street from the train station, and a nice little walk.

We took walks in our neighborhood, too, where we discovered two little lakes and a stream that CJ especially loved to visit.

We found a nearby county park which was great for afternoon walks because all of the trails were entirely in the shade.

And on the way home, we made a side-trip to the Barboursville Ruins.  You can imagine how grand this Thomas Jefferson-designed home used to be.

We spent a free Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, making sure to get some pupusas (because we are always in the mood for pupusas) and walk around UVA while we were there.

And we made the drive to Ohio to see Brandon's sister and her family for a long weekend.  We went on a couple little hikes, but mostly it was great to see them.  The kids had such a great time with their cousins!

And of course, we went to Shenandoah.  I made a list of trails to try and we did a few every time we went.  The first visit was a good reminder of the variety Shenandoah has to offer.  The first trail wound around the forest, but the second trail peaked at a pile of rocks that the kids spent as much time as they could climbing over.  CJ doesn't think it's 'hiking' unless rocks are being climbed at some point, so this trail was a win.

We knew that the temperature was going to be much cooler during our second visit to Shenandoah, but we still weren't quite prepared.  We were so spoiled by the weather in Bangalore; we never saw temperatures below 75 degrees.  We had the kids bring jackets, but I should have brought one of my own, so I didn't have to steal Kiddo's.  We also saw deer on both of our hikes and again as we were leaving the park.

E was waving hello to the deer

H kept CJ entertained by playing tag

Our last visit to Shenandoah included Chelon, who came down to visit.  We did part of a trail that we had done once before, but the turn to the waterfall wasn't well marked and we missed it.  We ended up walking a half mile too far before realizing our mistake and turning back.  

CJ and I stayed behind while the other went the last 100 yards to get a better view of the falls.

On our return, we missed the turn to go back the way we came and kept going on another trail.  We hiked a difficult half mile before we came to a point where there was a fallen tree over the trail.  We definitely knew we hadn't had to cross over that before, so we turned around once again.  The kids had been good sports up to this point, but this was the last straw.  Brandon ended up carrying either one of the girls half the way back until we finally hit flat ground again.  He's a superhero.

We made it back to the flat part of the trail again!

And just a few days before we left Orange, we finally went to Montpelier.  Apparently it has only been open for about ten years, so no wonder we never visited when we lived in DC!  The house wasn't open due to Covid, but there was still a lot to see on the grounds.

Our month in Orange went by quickly and was just what we had wanted with wide, open spaces to explore.  But it was time to move on to our next destination--Chincoteague, VA.

Oh!  One last random thing that happened while we were in Orange: we felt an earthquake!  I was sitting on the living room couch and it felt like someone was gently shaking it back and forth.  Brandon was on our bed and he said he felt the same thing.  The kids were oblivious.