Wild Horses, Beach, and Glamping Girl's Weekend

Who remembers the episode of the Wonder Years when they take their annual summer fishing trip to the lake? Last weekend my girlfriends and I took a road trip and went glamping. What is glamping you ask? It’s glamorous camping. You can sleep in a real bed, have a/c, indoor plumbing, a fridge and microwave. Yet can still step outside to roast s’mores over the campfire while drinking rose (which we consumed plenty of). We enjoyed gazing at the night’s sky to admire all the stars you can’t see in the city. We fell asleep listening to frogs croaking and woke to the chirping of birds. We got closer to the real outdoors yet had the best of both worlds!

For the last ten years I’ve always wanted to go to Assateague island. Twice I almost went camping but something came up. After this trip, I’m glad I had the more comfortable experience of staying in a cabin. Just 150 miles away is Assateague National Seashore, not far from Ocean City. Your parents probably read the classic children’s book Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry based on the wild horses in Assateague Island.

Assateague Island is a 37-mile long barrier island located on the Maryland -Virginia state line. There are approximately 300 wild horses that live on Assateague. They were brought in by early colonial settlers 400 years ago. Technically they are called ponies as they aren’t tall enough to be classified as a horse. They roam in small herds of 5-10 and eat a very limited and harsh diet of dune grass and drink water from ponds as the sea water is too salty. There are rangers around to keep the horses away from heavily populated areas of the beaches. It’s illegal to feed the horses.

 Assateague consists of both a National Park and a State Park. We visited two beaches on the National Park that did not have life guards, but the facilities included large port a potties, changing stalls and open showers. The National Park charges $20.00 per vehicle per week so keep your receipt.The sand was a pretty light beige color, unlike the red sand beach we went to in Annapolis last year. I collected some pretty white and purple seashells and saw small clams running into their holes in the sand. I saw lots of people surfing in the high tide. Along the drive to the beach we passed people fishing and some oyster farms. The picturesque Assateague Lighthouse is free to visit, but we got a great view of it from our evening cruise.

We stayed in the charming coastal town of Chincoteague which has lots of gift shops, restaurants and tons of hotels. Our drive to Chincoteague was very scenic as we stopped at a winery first then had lunch in the historic small town of Berlin, MD. The movie Runaway Bride starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts was filmed there. The town has art galleries including a glass shop, restaurants, a brewery and an amazing antique store! The drive also passed NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility where you can watch rocket launches from the beach!

The weather was near-perfect while we were there with sunny 90s and the ocean breeze kept most of the mosquitoes away. Although I did get a couple bites at night by the campsite. You know I had to get my mural photo in! lol


  1. Looks like a really pretty place and like you had a really nice time!

  2. sounds like it was an amazing weekend! great pics too :)

  3. These pictures are awesome! Makes me want to plan a weekend with my girls now!

  4. Runaway bride is one of my favorite movies! That's enough for me to go there!

  5. How cool! I would love to get back to the beach sometime soon.