Chincoteague Pony Swim Week: What It's All About

Towels draped over the balcony, drying in the hot sun

Sand.  Everywhere.

The roar of waves rushing past your ears, the salt up your nose, then the hard crash of your board against the sand.  You stand up and head back into the surf because you can't wait to do it again

Knowing the two most important items to pack are sunscreen and big repellant (aka Chincoteague cologne) and still going home tanned and covered in mosquito bites.

Imagining what it would be like to own that little foal in the pen whose tiny face and distinctive spots just capture your heart.

The hours spent hanging out on the boat with hundreds of other boats as you wait for the ponies to swim.  It's the best party of the year.

Seeing the red flare from the Coast Guard boat go off knowing the moment for the ponies has come.

The indescribable feeling you have when you are the one making the winning bid on that special pony.

The distinctive smell of hot oil used to fry oyster and clam fitters that emanates nightly from the carnival grounds.

On an island that is six miles long and a mile wide, it can still be sunny on one side and pouring rain On the other. 

Captain Barry.  Need I say more?

Waiting on the long line at the Island Creamery.  It's always worth it.

Walking down Main Street and Maddox Boulevard in the evening.  Every gallery has something you want.  You wish for a bigger house to put it all.

Riding a descendant of Misty at the Pony Centre.

Sunsets that look as if they were Photoshopped.

The evening migration of the local flock of ducks, crossing Main Street and swimming across then channel to Marsh Island.

The never ending display of wildlife everywhere you look.  

Locals who know you just a day and call you friend.