Chincoteague Island

Last stop before driving back to Richmond was Chincoteague Island. This area was made famous years ago by the children's book, Misty of Chincoteague and of course by the Chincoteague Pony Swim.

There's a statue of Misty in Chincoteague.

We stayed near the Bed and Breakfast where Margarite Henry wrote her novel.



The stores seem to have unusual hours!

The seashore was just beautiful. It has been left in its natural state and was very uncrowded.

Here's the Assateague Island Lighthouse. The mosquitoes were unbelievable even with insect repellent on.

There are herds of wild ponies living in the marshes surrounding the seashore. We stumbled upon this mare with her baby.

And more while at the marshes. We were hoping to see them on the beaches but no luck there.

This guy blocked the road for a while and someone was actually petting his head although you are admonished not to as they can bite and kick.

We were stopped for a while to allow these geese to cross. The large white one on the right stood in the middle of the road and honked for a good five minutes encouraging her babies refused to follow!

We saw a number of landscape painters.

Favorite daughter again!

I think the lighting was just right to catch this guy. Talk about blending in with your surroundings!

One last picture before we left.

Quilter's Block

My apologies for lack of posts, but I've been busy! And it hasn't been with quilting. My sewing room is beginning to gather dust. It has been weeks and weeks since I stepped foot in it. I have been busy catching up with laundry, gardening, doctor's appointments, eye exams, haircuts, etc.
We returned home last Sunday after a most enjoyable trip to Virginia. The weather was just lovely and a nice break from the intense humidity and heat here in Florida.

After visiting with a friend in Charlottesville, it was on to Monticello. I had been once before back in second grade. The grounds were beautiful, all abloom. The house was smaller than I remembered. No pictures were allowed inside the house.

Here's a picture of The Best Daughter in the World next to a life size statue of TJ!

Then it was onto James Madison's home, Montpelier. This was a big disappointment. They are in the midst of a decades long restoration and the house is unfurnished. We couldn't figure out why they didn't just furnish it with reproduction furniture. Apparently they are trying to track down the actual furniture and buy it back. It was neat though, walking the same floors that many of the Founding Fathers also walked on.

We visited Madison's grave though the cemetery was poorly maintained.

James Monroe's home was next. No interior pictures allowed here either. We saw the back door that Jefferson used and the bed Madison slept in when he visited. It was the smallest,and coziest, of the three homes we visited.




Then it was down to Colonial Williamsburg. I had never been but have wanted to go for years. What a disappointment! I had a problem with the stores interspersed among the historical buildings, just too darn many of them.

The craft demonstrations were nice. And my daughter got to fulfill a long desire and play an actual harpsichord in the cabinetmaker's shop one rainy afternoon.
Next post I'll finish up with our last stop and hopefully get back to quilting. I'll leave you with recent pictures of the Sandhill Crane chick.


Thanks for stopping by!

Quilt Free

I wanted to update the saga of the Sandhill Crane family. One chick disappeared the day before I left for St. Louis (May 3). No surprise that the more assertive one is the one who has survived. We saw the three of them this morning and she's getting big! I had to really hustle to get this picture before they moved further into the littoral zone.

Finally saw the Arch and have the concept of it firmly planted in my brain! I should explain: For many years I simply could not conceptualize this landmark no matter what. I imagined it sort of, small. And then I heard you could go in it!? Something I might add I did not do once I took a look at those "capsules" they use to transport you to the top in. Yikes! They looked like the old Sputnik satellites with the trip taking 4 minutes! With 4 strangers no less! If you have gone to the top, please share what I missed!

Moving along... this is Saint Louis taken in front of the St. Louis Art Museum.

And a Toucan in the bird house at the St. Louis Zoo.

They had three tiger cubs about three quarters grown that were so playful.

People managed to get this giraffe over by feeding it pulled weeds. They are my personal favorite.

The Art Museum was a real shock to me. I didn't expect to see Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas, and famous pieces I had only seen prior in art books. And admission was free!






Our last stop was the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

There is an archway that makes a tunnel to walk through and is stupendous!

The same tank can be viewed as a wall in another area. It was so relaxing to just sit and watch the variety of fish, sharks, whale sharks, and sea life go by. It is pricey to get in, but so worth it I thought. I hear the crowds can be bad, but we got there a little before 2:00 on a Monday afternoon and it was very uncrowded.
I have not been in my sewing room since mid-April! I have enjoyed hanging out with my daughter and getting caught up with my reading. Tomorrow we are off to Virginia to visit friends and sightsee.