Assateague Island National Seashore, Berlin and Ocean City, MD

Assateague Island National Seashore is famous for its herds of wild horses.  Assateague is a 37 mile long barrier island which is divided into Assateague State Park, Assateague INS and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge which is at the southern end of the island and part of Virginia.  The horses roam free and are easily seen along the one road which travels down the narrow island.  The beaches and campgrounds are beautiful; however, they were very full of visitors.   You really wouldn’t want to be there on a weekend when traffic and parking are big problems.  Visit during mid-week.

http://www.nps.gov/asis/index.htm

Enroute to Assateague, we visited Berlin, MD billed as “The ‘coolest’ Small Town in America”.  Berlin is quant and interesting.  Several movies have had scenes shot in Berlin – most recently “Runaway Bride”.  However, the numerous shops catering to the tourist trade detract from the historical beauty of the town.  At one time, Berlin was the home to the largest horticultural nursery in the U.S.  It was a major producer and canner of peaches.  The famous thorough-bred, Man o’ War who was the father of War Admiral and grandfather of Seabiscuit wintered on the nearby Glen Riddle Farm.  Today the peaches are gone and so are most of the horses.  Peaches grown in Delaware will be brought to Berlin for its Annual Peach Festival (we have this information from a reliable source).

http://www.berlinmainstreet.com/

Our last stop before heading home was Ocean City.  Highlights were the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum and the Boardwalk.  The Life-Saving Station Museum was particularly interesting.  It was amazing to learn about the living conditions of those serving in the life-saving stations and the rescue methods used to save thousands of lives.  The US Life Saving Service was the predecessor of today’s Coast Guard.

http://www.ocmuseum.org/

The Ocean City Boardwalk was everything advertised.  For us, it was a step back in time.  The amusement rides we rode as children were still alive and doing well in Ocean City.  Carnival games, food vendors and t-shirt shops lined the Boardwalk.  The place was alive with vacationers.  The beach was spectacular, broad and well groomed.  We ate at all the long established vendors:  Dolle’s Salt Water Taffy (since 1910), Dumser’s Dairyland (since 1919), and Thrasher’s French Fries (since 1929).  A long walk on the Boardwalk but fun and worth the effort.

http://ococean.com/