Chincoteague - 2011 Edition

I've been heading to Chincoteague almost annually since 1995, when my boss gave my coworker keys to a house he had rented but was unable to use. That was a huge mistake of my boss (I've always wondered if he got that security deposit back), but great fun for me and the 20 or so other people that piled into that little house for the weekend.

Over the years, the trip has mellowed considerably. Which is probably a good thing.

This was the first year that Helen truly embraced the beach. No more being annoyed by sand for her - she was ready to play. Most of the time. She still enjoys sitting in a chair with a towel beneath her feet so they don't get too dirty. But luckily, the rest of the time she seems able to cope with the dirt.

This year, Therese and Rob introduced the boys to the boogie board. And, no surprise, Connor loved it.

Helen wasn't quite as into her board as Connor - which is good since she can't actually swim. I like to have her holding someone's hand when she's near the ocean. It just makes me feel more comfortable. And she's happy to oblige, though she does love the "way deep" water when a parent, usually Ed, takes her past the breakers.

I'm happy to report, that we accomplished every single item from our list of things that Connor insisted we do the next time we went to Chincoteague. I didn't actually look up this list prior to departing for Chincoteague - and as it turns out - I didn't need to. Connor and Helen remembered every.single.item.

As a review:
1. Get a toy. There was a cheap plastic horse, trailer, and car at the Chincoteague Pony Centre. We weren't on the island more than a few hours before Connor recalled how "Daddy had promised he would get a toy" and that's the one he wanted. We're not that into buying a bunch of plastic junk, but Ed and I both agreed that if Connor could remember the dumb thing for a year, he could have it. Wonder what egregious things he's going to remember from his childhood?

2. Go to Mr. Whippy. We had actually done this last year, but not enough for Connor's liking. Just in case you wondered if Helen has grown in the past two years, check out these photos - taken in 2009 and 2011. The sign hasn't changed. The kid sure has!

3. Ride the ponies at Chincoteague Pony Centre. Again - we did this last year, but not enough. For Helen's entire ride, she kept chanting "giddy-up, giddy up". The teen horse leaders were shocked. I wasn't.

4. Ride the convertibles. We rented the mini car for an hour, and Helen thoroughly enjoyed her 20 minutes in it. Ed did not enjoy his hour rattling around the beach nearly as much. When describing Chincoteague to a babysitter, Helen noted it was "a place where you can rent houses and little convertibles". She also casually mentioned, while at the Build Your Own Cookie stand that "if, you  know, we just happened to want to rent a convertible again, there was one right over there. We could just walk! See! It's not far at all."

5. Golf. We actually managed to hit both courses.


And of course, the list was longer than that. The thing we did different this year? We left the fair before the fireworks, drove about an hour and saw a fireworks show from the side of the highway, and then kept right on truckin', with both kids sleeping. No more ruining vacation with a long drive!

Elaine