Wild Horses, Water Snails, and Hibernating Crabs

Last weekend we returned to the ocean for the first time since we left it in Jacksonville, more than a year and a half ago. We’ve been to the Chesapeake Bay, which is basically ocean, but this time it was the real Atlantic. We drove over the bay to the eastern half of the state and checked out Ocean City, MD. It had a similar feel to Daytona Beach, mostly a party town shut down this time of year, but it was interesting. We really went to see the Assateague National Seashore, a thin strip of land running out into the ocean controlled by the National Park System, where we could use our America the Beautiful pass that we got for Christmas. The park is famous for its wild horses. Yes, seems strange, but there are wild horses running free in Maryland. The legend was that a Spanish ship ran aground offshore and the horses onboard got off on the island and have been there ever since. We drove around but never saw the herd, just a couple loners eating grass on the side of the road. It would have been better had it not been intensely foggy to the point that we couldn’t see more than a hundred yards. But the ocean was as awesome as it’s ever been.


Maybe our roots have always been in the mountains, but this is where our family grew. It was good to hear it again...

Don't think about it Paul, please. It's far too cold and we didn't bring you any other clothes.

Keep an eye out for horses, or whales, or yes... even great white sharks!!

At the visitor center a ranger gave a talk about the different sea life along this seashore that Paul and I found very interesting. We learned what a Whelk is (a sea snail often called Conch in the southern warmer waters), and we learned about these creatures, Horseshoe Crabs. Turns out they hibernate this time of year, but this one is more than just sleeping.

Trying to keep warm with the ocean breeze a little bitter on this fine February day.

It was Adam’s first visit to the ocean, he wasn’t too sure about it…

... unlike his brother, who is a natural born boy of the sea, complete with salt water running in his veins.

And Paul finally found this great white land shark! Gravel lots in Ocean City are dangerous, and we're going to need a bigger boat.

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet, our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”

And we journey on...