Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Chincoteague Island Wedding

Over Memorial Day, my brother Tom married his darling Sue on the beach. It was actually on the beach of Assateague Island, because - as the kids told us more times than you can imagine - there ARE NO BEACHES on Chincoteague. Chincoteague has salt marshes and bay shores, but no beaches with sand and waves. The wedding itself was beautiful and brief, leaving us with three days to fill. Holiday weekends require a three day stay at the hotels - so there we were.
We had some great seafood and enjoyed some terrific shopping. Eventually we allowed the kids to leave for home a day early, and the whining finally ceased.
Maryanne and I did get out on the beach one morning to look for shells to use in the resin crafting we've been thinking about. We were also going to try to find some nice seaweed for soap, but there was absolutely no seaweed to be found. We did find lots of gorgeous little shells. The water is really icy this time of year, so there was no need to try dipping the tootsies.
Next to the beach is a wildlife refuge where lots of gorgeous sea/water birds are nesting in the dunes. Right over the line (the refuge is marked off with a rope) there were a couple of hen-sized brown and black speckled eggs just left carelessly in the sand. Don't know what kind of bird that was, but I'm thinking that maybe a rope and refuge might not be enough for that one....
The beach is always gorgeous and the wind that comes off the ocean is so mysterious to me. I always think about where that particular breeze last touched land... whose cheek it brushed, and all the things it passed to get to me.

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