We rarely went to the beach when I was a young girl; we lived in land-locked western states like Wyoming and New Mexico, and the beach was several days away. I remember only one vacation where we traveled to the beach - our 1990 trip to Florida. Perhaps this land-locked childhood is the reason that I so look forward to the beach vacation every year!
We don’t even have to leave the state of Maryland to get to the Atlantic Ocean! (Although we do cross into Delaware to take advantage of the tax-free shopping, and the quaint seashores!)

Arriving on Friday afternoon, we did not waste any time - Kris was looking forward to trying out his new crab cage, and I had some trekking to do. So we trekked down to the docks on the bayside, and enjoyed ourselves!
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Kris caught quite a few crabs, only to play with them for a few minutes and send them back on their way in the bay. |
I had to reuse the picture I took last year - this year’s crabs were too quick to photograph! We walked up and down the docks, and luckily I had my Trekking sock with me for a photoshoot.

Trekking by the docks of the bay, wasting time…
I am using Trekking XXL colorway #108, and matching it with Nancy Bush’s Sleeping Socks pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks. I am planning to add a heel, unlike the book pattern - I am looking at the Dutch/Horseshoe Heel, as it will probably be the best fit for this pattern.
Unfortunately, in a moment of clumbsiness, I dropped my fourth double-pointed needle right into the water… and the extra needle was at home! It was metal, and I began to wonder if a bamboo needle would have floated. So, we planned a trip to the yarn shop to pick up a spare set. A minor setback in my Trekking sock progress, but I had other projects to keep me busy.
We greeted Kris’s family later in the day, and made plans to head out to Assateague Island the next day. Kris, his father, and his brother have enjoyed clamming off the shores of Assateague for many years, and I was looking for any excuse to get out and ride my bike… so we were off to the “Wild Pony Island”.
Now you hear stories, but you just never know how bad it is till you actually get there… There are tales about the mosquitoes of Assateague Island, and let me tell you, they are all true. Within 3 minutes of getting out of the car and unloading my bike from the bike rack, I had approximately 200 bites all over my body - they even bit through my clothes! They were absolutely vampiric! Once I got on the bike and got some wind around me, they could not “latch” on. Because of this, I was not able to take many pictures of Assateague. I couldn’t subject myself to more bites by being a standing target! I did manage a few however…



I did not see as many wild ponies on the island this year (Last year, I saw several!). This was the only group I came across on my ride: three ponies eating marsh grasses. The ponies that live on Assateague (and the neighboring southern tip of the island, called Chincoteague) are of unknown origin. The two main theories are that the ponies are descendents of the horses kept by the colonial settlers (in the 17th century), or horses that survived a Spanish shipwreck and swam ashore, adapting to the climate and the brackish water and marsh plants for food. Both theories are very plausible, but regardless of their origins, the ponies are a fascinating part of the beautiful island.

There are paved bike trails all over the National Seashore, and the adjacent State Park. I enjoyed my ride all over the island - about 14 miles on the particular trails I chose - and arrived back at the bayside just in time to see Kris and his dad bringing in their fresh clams. (They prepared a clam feast that evening - and I heard it was very good. I don’t eat seafood, so I will take their word for it!)
Although I became quite immersed in my current book, Alias Grace, and took many long walks on the beach with Kris, I managed to get in some knitting! While at the beach, I knew I had to get to Sea Needles, the great shop I discovered last year in Bethany Beach, Delaware, to get a replacement set of DPNs for my Trekking sock. On the way there, I worked on my Blueberry Waffle knee socks - just perfect for the Socks on Vacation contest for the Summer of Socks!

I have a few more inches to go before the heel turn. I hope it is smooth sailing from there - these socks are taking forever!
Although I was tempted by their new shipment of sock yarns (so many beautiful colors!), I went to the shop with a list - and I stuck to it. I stayed true to the Summer of Stash rule! I bought some replacement needles for the socks, and some other needles for a one of next month’s purple projects. I went to see the new books and pattern pamphlets and I was impressed by some of the new Berroco patterns - Norah Gaughan is a good influence! - and I left with the Keltic and the Memoirs Collection books.

… and I discovered a new yarn shop - just off Coastal Highway on Fenwick Island! It is called The Spinning Wheel. They carry a full line of Patons yarns, some sock yarns, and some goodies not seen in other shops - handmade buttons, kits, etc. They have a large pattern and book collection, as well as a wall full of needlepoint and embroidery kits. I was very tempted to try one of the Kristin Nicholas stitch kits - they are so cute! I just may have to track one down in my area. However, I walked out with two books: one is a gift for momma, the other is the Patons’ Indigo Days Collection, the book I have admired many times online, and finally saw in the store.
I really could go on and on… but I don’t want this to turn into a boring vacation slideshow! For those of you that are interested, you can see more photographs of my trip on my Flickr page - don’t miss my adorable husband, my naughty picture, and another trek on the beach … and one more -

I am the one with the skirt, and without all of the hair on my legs