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The Natural Bridge in Natural Bridge, Virginia
Friday, March 26th, 2010 / Island Chick

What started out as a beautiful day on the island has now turned to windy and rainy – ych.  The best thing you can do at this point is to kick back and dream of where you want to go on your next vacation.

So what is higher than the Niagara Falls and one of the seven natural wonders of the world?

We’ve traveled lots of places (the main reason I started this blog) but I was kicking back, looking through pictures and I came upon a few pictures of The Natural Bridge in which my family and I visited on our way back from the Smokies a couple of years ago.

The Natural Bridge is unique in that it’s 20 stories of solid rock carved by nature.  It’s really awesome to see.

According to Wikipedia, The Natural Bridge (located at Natural Bridge, Virginia) was a sacred site of the Native American Monacan tribe, who believed it to be the site of a major victory over pursuing Powhatans centuries before the arrival of the white people in Virginia.  What’s really neat is that it is believed to be a fact that George Washington visited as a surveyor.  In 1927, they found a stone engraved with “G.W.” and a surveyors cross and so they accepted that as proof that he indeed surveyed the bridge.

Hundreds upon thousands visit The Natural Bridge every year.  We hadn’t planned on stopping actually because we had so far to travel, but you know how it is on the way home, you want to get in as many sights of interest as you can despite the fact you’re tired and weary from whatever you’ve been doing in the last few days or week or whatever, but somehow adrenalin or something kicked in because we had a blast.

Natural Bridge

Here is moi standing at the entrance.  Tickets include admission to Natural Bridge, Cedar Creek Nature Trail and Monacan Village, Wax & Toy Museums and Drama of Creation Show (dusk) are $18 for adults and $10 for children 5 – 12.  You can buy advance tickets online here.

The Natural Bridge 2

And here are my babies…

The Natural Bridge 3

You actually start out by purchasing tickets in a big brick building then veer off to your right coming out and begin the trail.  It’s almost as much fun getting to it than being there.  Lots and lots and lots and lots of steps.  That’s my son who refuses to keep up with a woman who insists on taking pictures of every single thing.  But it was a beautiful walk.

The Natural Bridge 4

And here it is in all its splendor.

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To find out more about The Natural Bridge, click here!

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Special Guest: Paul V. Stutzman on hiking the Appalachian Trail
Sunday, March 14th, 2010 / Island Chick

Let’s see a show of hands who loves mountain stories???

I think my hand was raised higher than anyone else.  I love the mountains.  Been on several mountain trips through the Smokies and the Blue Ridge and I always come back so refreshed.  I’ll be blogging about my trips shortly, but I have a special guest today.  Paul V. Stutzman has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (2,176 miles by foot) after his wife died and wrote a book – a very very good book – about his journey.  It’s called Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail.

Paul is presently on a book tour – a physical and a virtual book tour – to talk about his book and it’s my pleasure to have him here today.

Paul V. Stutzman 2

Quit Dreaming, Start Walking

by Paul V. Stutzman

In the fall of 2006, my wife Mary died of breast cancer. Life as I had known it for 32 years was pretty much over. For a year, I struggled to make things “normal” again, but that, of course, could never happen. My life situation had changed drastically, and I knew that somehow, I myself needed to change, too.

In the spring of 2008, I left a secure job and paycheck to walk the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. I had known, even before losing my wife, that being out in the beauty of God’s creation had a healing effect on me. That was one reason I decided to hike the Trail. A second reason for my decision was that I had long dreamed about doing a thru-hike on the AT, and I had come face to face with the fact that we are never assured of tomorrow—we need to live today. So I quit dreaming and started walking.

Paul Stutzman 5

I was a thru-hiker, which meant I walked the entire 2,176 miles in one season. Along the way, I met many section hikers, folks who wanted to experience the Appalachian Trail but only did short sections. Some of those people go back year after year, each time doing different sections of the Trail. I also met many, many day hikers. The Appalachian Trail is legendary, and hikers everywhere want to experience at least part of it.

Even if you’re eighty, if you dream of walking on the famous Trail, I encourage you to do it! Many parts of the AT were so strenuous, so rugged, that I wondered sometimes how I could go farther. But there are sections of the Trail that are relatively easy, and yet so beautiful that hikers will never be disappointed.

Paul Stutzman 4

Let me take you briefly to three of those places.

Max Patch Mountain is called the “crown jewel” of the Appalachian Trail. The bald summit, covered by 350 grassy acres, is part of Pisgah National Forest near Hot Springs, North Carolina, and is a favorite spot for picnickers and kite-flyers. The trail crosses the very top of the bald, and I felt as though I were on that mountain meadow with Julie Andrews singing “The Sound of Music.” The views are 360-degree panoramas of mountain ranges stretching to every horizon.

The AT cuts through Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia, and this area has some of the most beautiful scenery and interesting rock formations that you’ll find anywhere on the Trail. The Highlands are dotted with pink and red rock outcroppings, with clusters of evergreens scattered in open fields on the hillsides. Herds of wild ponies graze throughout the state park. Although hikers are encouraged not to feed the ponies, many of the animals were so tame that they nuzzled us, looking for a handout.

Paul V. Stutzman 6

Our quick tour is going to stop in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, for two reasons. First, the headquarters of the AT is in this little town, and anyone who dreams of hiking the Trail will find the few miles of trail through West Virginia only whet the appetite. Also, hiker-friendly towns like this all along the Trail are the hikers’ lifeline—we stop for supplies, a hot shower, big meals, laundry. Yes, sometimes we stop just because we’re lonely and need to meet and greet people.

If you dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail, don’t wait for someday. Do it now! Dreams can come true. Just start walking.

If you’d like to hear more of Paul’s story, purchase his book, Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail, online by clicking  here.

Hiking ThroughPaul V. Stutzman grew up in the middle of Ohio’s Amish and Mennonite community. His new book, Hiking Through, chronicles his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, seeking peace and healing after losing his wife to cancer. He is available to speak to groups on the subjects of hiking the AT, working through grief, and finding a relationship with God. More information available at www.hikingthrough.com.

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Chincoteague’s Best Kept Secret – The Doggie Park
Tuesday, March 09th, 2010 / Island Chick

If one were to travel to Chincoteague with their doggie friend in tow, as a lot of people do, it’s really no problem finding a place for them to do their multi-daily constitutional.  Most bring bags (the city folks) and then there are some who let Fido go do their thing by the millions of pine trees scattered all over the island.

And let’s just say they want to give Fido a little walk?  Anyone traveling down Main Street can catch a glimpse of dog walkers even in winter.  They. Are. Everywhere.  Small doggies.  Big Doggies.  Cute doggies.  Ugly doggies.  Doggies you want to jump out of your car and sqeeze and doggies you think only a mother could love.

But…there are many places closed to dogs.  The beach and the one park are always closed to dogs.

So what if you thought this wasn’t really fair as Fido really enjoys those nature spots as much as you do?

There’s a little known place here on the island that I refer to as ‘The Doggie Park.’

Although I’ve only lived here three years, I’ve lived not far from here almost all my life and I never even knew this place existed.  There’s a good reason for this.  The locals don’t want you to know about it.  Every summer, the locals are bombarded by tourists invading all the hot spots leaving the locals counting down to the day when it’s too cold for them to come and that’s a shame because then it’s too cold for them to do anything either.

This doggie park was revealed to me by a friend of my daughter’s.  One day we checked it out.  O.M.G.  It’s maybe a half mile walk around a loop through pines and other Chincoteague native trees and bushes.  There are benches along the way.  There are covered trash cans along the way (for the city slickers to get rid of their doggie doo bags I’m presuming), there’s a bridge and there’s a pond you pass as you make your way to the same spot you began.

And on top of that…it’s the most quiet and serene place I know of.

Here’s a picture of what it’s like inside:

Doggie Park

This is a picture of my daughter on one of the trees that must have gotten knocked down during a bad storm.

Doggie Park 2

Now this picture is of moi walking one of our doggies, Skylar.  This is the footbridge I was talking about.

Doggie Park 3

Notice how the path is paved which is nice for joggers, too.  But also notice – where are the people?  This is summer!  Where are the tourists???  Not here.

Doggie Park 4

In the famous words of Vanessa Williams, I’ve “saved the best for last.”

So I guess you are going to ask where this place is.  Where on the whole island of Chincoteague can you go for some peaceful jogging or quiet dog walking that has like zero population on a good day?

Sorry, guys…if I told you, then I’d break the secret bond that we locals share.  We finally have a place all to our very own.

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Category: Chincoteague Island, Virginia, Virginia  Tags: , , , ,  3 Comments
Biking on Chincoteague: The Loop
Monday, March 08th, 2010 / Island Chick

When we first moved to Chincoteague Island almost three years ago today, I remember it being the most windiest place I’d ever seen.  March is horrible on the island as far as wind goes but we do have our moments (today is supposed to be almost 60 and nary a drop of wind at this point anyway so I guess we’re having our moment) when the day is just right for bicycling.

That’s. All. The. Tourists. Do. Here.

Of course, I was all caught up in the moment and declared I was going to buy two bicycles and do what I couldn’t do the last place we lived.  Oh. The. Joy.

There are scads of places to ride your bike and “the loop” was one of the biggest challenges for me (besides the 10 mile ride my son and I did that summer going from here to the beach).

But let me tell you about this loop.  When you go through the wildlife refuge on the way to the beach, it’ll be on one of those side turnoffs after you go through the toll that allows you on the refuge ($5 for cars; free for bikes).

Chincoteague Loop

So here we are and here are my shiny new Walmart special custom bikes.  Mine is the purple; my son’s is the red.  Because we didn’t want to ride the bikes all the way from home to the refuge, we stashed them in the back of the truck to save us some energy for the long ride around the loop.

Chincoteague - The Loop 2

And this is the scenery – or some of it.  As soon as you enter the loop, nothing but wildlife, wildlife, wildlife.  Certain times of the year, the loop is closed so that migrating birds can have sanctuary or breed or whatever it is they do there *must make note to find out what exactly they do do there*.  But whatever it is, it makes for the most peaceful ride.  No sounds but nature sounds.

Chincoteague - The Loop 3

And this is what it likes going around the first half of the loop.  Wide open spaces…a car every now and then…and plenty of bikers.  Makes me miss that warm weather.  BTW, Chincoteague is known for its huge mosquito population.  A word of advice would be to do this sometime early afternoon and before 4 p.m. if you’re planning on doing it in the summer or those pesky varmints will carry you out alive.

Chincoteague - The Loop 4

On the first go around on the loop, there’s a road off to your side that allows bikes (some are marked off for people who drive you nuts by not letting you take the most scenic routes authorized vehicles).  This is a picture of my son down one of them.

Chincoteague - The Loop 5

And here’s the best part.  Be prepared to go to the beach!  Only for bikers is a turnoff, halfway around the loop, where you can park your bike and go lay out on a beach that has about 1/8 of the traffic the main beach has.  I never even knew this was there and I wouldn’t have even found it if not on bike.

Makes me wish for those warm weather days!

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Chincoteague Island to be Featured on TODAY SHOW March 8 2010
Sunday, March 07th, 2010 / Island Chick

Pony Penning '09Pony Penning ‘09

Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission announces the Today Show is scheduled to present a travel segment on family friendly vacations which will spotlight Chincoteague & Assateague Islands on Monday, March 8.  Be sure to check your local TV Guide listings for time.

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Historic Lighthouses: Assateague Lighthouse
Wednesday, March 03rd, 2010 / Island Chick

One of the things I find so incredibly wonderful about living on Chincoteague Island is the fact it’s right next door to Assateague.  The story goes there were people living on Assateague many years ago but due to everyone moving to Chincoteague, living conditions got pretty bad over there.  They never had electricity but Chincoteague did and that was one of the reasons for moving.  Today, Assateague is home to the wildlife refuge, the once beautiful Assateague Beach (we had a couple of bad storms this past winter and it took away much of the beach but they’re trying to restore it before the 2010 summer season) and this wonderful old lighthouse that was built back in 1867.  The story goes there was a lightkeeper that had to lug heavy containers of kerosene (remember no lights) every single day up to the top of the lighthouse to keep the light burning.  Today it is preserved and maintained by the Coast Guard.  The picture below was taken in the summer of 2009.

Assateague Lighthouse

Photo courtesy of Dorothy Thompson

The lighthouse is only available for tours from March to November.  Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children under 12.  Proceeds go for restoration.

Assateague Lighthouse 2

Photo courtesy of Dorothy Thompson

This is a picture of my daughter standing in front of it last spring.  And here’s one as she sits down for a bite to eat.

Assateague Lighthouse 3

Photo courtesy of Dorothy Thompson

One word of advice – make sure you go early early spring or wear plenty of mosquito spray if you are brave enough to make the hike to the lighthouse in the middle of the summer.  We hit it around the end of April or beginning of May which was perfect.  We brought repellent but didn’t need it.

If you’re a lighthouse lover like I am, you’ll love to stop off at the Assateague Lighthouse for it’s qaintness and historical charm.

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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New York? New York?
Tuesday, March 02nd, 2010 / Island Chick

City004It has been a rough winter here on the island.  I’ve never seen a winter as rough as this one!  Started out with flooding, then snow, then snow and then…more snow.

I’ve only been here three years but I’ve never seen it so bad.

So it doesn’t surprise me that my daughter comes into my office and tells me she wants to go to..of all places, New York.

New York is about five hours from here by car, but one hour by plane, and of course, she chose plane.

The last time I was in an airplane was when I was eighteen years old and I had to fly solo to Ft. Lauderdale to pursue a modeling career.  Terrified.  And the old fart next to me wants to carry on a conversation and all the time I was thinking he had ulterior motives so it was an uncomfortable ride to say the least.

Then, there’s 911.

Six months after 911, we did go to New York, this time though was by bus which I didn’t think I was going to like but I rather enjoyed it (beats being blown up in an airplane).  Slept most of the way but I liked the fact I wasn’t  millions of miles in the air.  Took us 5 hours to get there, but once we were there, this little country girl was definitely in awe.

New York 3We had 10 hours to do what we wanted before we were supposed to load back up and go home, but we saw nearly everything Manhattan had to offer.  Climbed the Empire State Building, walked through Central Park, browsed the NBC studio at Rockefeller Center and ate at the famous Hard Rock Cafe.  Life was great.  This picture to the left was my daughter and I when we just arrived at Times Square.

But the most memorable part of the trip was returning to where terrorists flew 2 airplanes into the World Trade Centers and well the rest is a haunting history we’d just like to soon forget.

New York 1I remember when we walked up to the disaster area (now it’s been six months since it happened mind you), you could still smell the smoke and in fact you could still see smoke coming out of piles that the fire department was still trying to get out.  Crews were still out clearing things but it was the most eerie place you’d ever want to go.  You could actually feel death.  You could smell it; you could feel it.

New York 2Now this picture has an interesting story.  There were signs everywhere saying no pictures allowed.  Not quite sure unless it was just in case someone didn’t want to capitalize on the fact they could get some good pictures and sell them?  Anyway, the signs never stopped me.  I wasn’t going to walk away without getting some so I whipped out the camera, took a few shots, and put it away real quick.  I’m not altogether stupid.  This picture to the left is the memorial that was placed at the disaster site.

It was an experience to say the least.  I’ll never forget it and the fact I could see a little bit of history firsthand was worth millions.

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick


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