Day 123: The stuff of dreams

The girls' expressions, when told that we were going to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, was priceless. The islands, part of a national seashore shared by Virginia and Maryland, are home to hundreds of wild ponies. Legend has it that the original herd arrived as survivors of a shipwreck off the coast back in the 1600s. The truth is perhaps a bit less romantic...they're more than likely the descendants of farm animals that were grazed on the islands by "mainlander" Virginians. They shared the space with cows, pigs, sheep and goats.

Whatever their story, the ponies are beautiful. We saw them crossing some marshy fields on our drive into the park reserve. We nearly had to remind Kelsey to take a breath. And now that she is breathing normally, she hasn't stopped talking about them!

The magic of our day didn't end with the ponies; we spent a couple of hours combing the beautiful seashore for shells. The waves were quite dramatic, precursors of an approaching storm. Fellow beach goers were few in number, making us feel as though we had miles of it to ourselves. We saw many kinds of crab and jellyfish, and the shell variety was huge. Perhaps our favorite beach encounters were with the piping plovers, little birds that chase the water line looking for tiny bugs and creatures to eat. They seem always on the verge of a dousing, scampering away just ahead of the foam. One bird in particular caught our attention because it managed with just one leg. It inspired us to maximize what God has given us, not compare ourselves to others, and live with gusto!

With all we've seen and done in the past months (today is our four-month anniversary of being on the road!), today may stand out as one of the very best. The time spent outdoors, gazing upon creatures big and small and playing together on an empty yet gorgeous beach, was extraordinary. We climb into our beds tonight with an equal mixture of exhaustion and exhilaration. Another night of sweet dreams.

Horseshoe crab

Piping plovers