I Think We're Obsessed

This weekend Hal's best friend Sam and his friend Matt came into town. On Saturday while Hal was in Idaho for his grandma's funeral we decided to have some fun and check out King's Dominion in Virginia. It was really fun! I haven't been to an amusement part in over 6 years, so the first roller coaster was a little scary, but then we all had a blast.

Yesterday we took them to our absolute favorite place this summer. We might be a little addicted.

We took them to Assateague Island, our favorite beach spot. Having the beach only 3 hours away seems like a miracle compared to the 10+ hours we had in Utah. Although my co-worker told me I was really white for someone who has been to the beach a bunch this summer.

If we're going to go to the beach this much next year, I may have to invest in a sand proof/water proof cover for my phone. How do you take pictures at the beach without worrying about ruining your phone, or it getting stolen? Boo.

It was the most gorgeous day, and after a relaxing afternoon on the beach, we took them crabbing for the first time.

These are both females. You can't keep females.

 It's fun to see how much the crabs have changed from the start of the summer. They're generally now bigger and their shells and claws are so much more vibrant blue.

We also lucked out and the ponies were both at the ocean and over by the marsh. Normally we don't see them in the water at all. It was so amazing to see them come walking out of the water during the sunset.

I tried to take a picture with the horses and Hal. I learned that Hal is a scardy cat when the horses are near, so I ended up with this.

Assateague Island National Seashore

Hal and I love Assateague Island so much, that we've gone two weekends in a row. And that's saying something because it's about 3 hours each way.

We've been a few times before, and have loved it every time we go.

The ponies are always a nice welcome when getting onto the island. They roam freely around the island and most of the time, they couldn't care less about the people and cars, unless they're after your marshmellows.

Two weeks ago it had been storming and the waves were so crazy that when Hal got caught in a wave and was slammed down into the ocean floor, his back started bleeding from where it had hit the sand.

Last weekend couldn't have been more different. The waves were more like rolling waves and we kept stepping on horseshoe crabs.

The crabbing also couldn't have been more different between the two weeks.

Two weeks ago, we didn't catch anything big enough to keep. Granted, we've never caught anything big enough to keep, most are just slightly under. But it's still fun to feel that tug on your line and slowly pull them up to the surface and scoop them up in the net.

This last week we caught THREE that were big enough to keep. Once again, granted I accidentally knocked one back in the water so we only ended up with two, and we put them all back since it wasn't enough to eat anyway; but it was the best crabbing we've done yet at Assateague, and it was the most beautiful day.

This was the first female we ever caught. You aren't allowed to keep females, but their red claws are beautiful.

Assateague Island

Remember again when the government was shut down? Well it was very inconvenient in that we had planned to take our visiting friends to the Assateague Island National Seashore, a national park, which means it was closed. We were lucky that there is a state side to the island as well.

Assateague Island is so beautiful, and since you have to pay to visit it, it's way less crowded. A year pass to the national side is only $30 though so it's worth it! The island has wild ponies that live there!

One side of the island is a marshy inlet and the other side is the Atlantic ocean, about a 15 minute walk apart from each other, so it makes for some beautiful landscape.

Our friends are pretty much amazing and thanks to Southwest, flew out all the camping gear we would need since we didn't bring any out with us. It was cold and stormy all weekend long, but we persevered and camped anyway.

At one point the sun peaked out and it warmed up a tiny bit so we ventured over to the ocean. Slowly we got further and further in. Take this with a grain of salt because I'm an Oregon ocean kind of girl, but the water wasn't bad at all. It was wild and so fun to play in the waves. We were careful not to go out too far, and to keep track of our belongings so we could see how far the heavy current was pulling us.

Remember those wild ponies I was telling you about? We were so stoked to see them. They're beautiful, and really not so wild. They have learned how to kick open coolers and turn on spigots. Those trixy little minxes. Well, we were getting ready for dinner and the only thing out was some marshmallows sitting on the picnic table, which we were all standing around when a group of 10+ horses came up to us. We were so stoked they were coming that they stole our marshmallows right out from under us. 

Then they proceeded to eat them, bag and all. No s'mores for us that night. 

It stormed all night long. We didn't have a good tarp, so poor Charles woke up in a wet sleeping bag. It was great to be able to camp right on the other side of the dunes from the ocean. On the National side you can camp on the beach which we can hopefully go back and do next summer.

We sneaked over to the National side, and tried to find our crabbing spot, but when we got near some buildings we saw a person and all turned around and ran. We're real brave like that.

We attempted to go crabbing over in a different spot, and this picture pretty much sums up the 10 minutes we were there.

If you ever make it out to the beautiful island that is Assateague, stop along your way in Berlin, Maryland. It is the most amazing actual small town I've ever been in. It looks like a movie set. Runaway Bride was filmed there. Not like built sets there, like filmed in the buildings there because it's so beautiful you don't need sets.

And if you do go there, hit up the Baked Dessert Cafe, and get yourself a peach dumpling. You can come back and thank me later.