Chincoteague Collage

Chincoteague, Virginia

Sharing with Mosaic Monday

P.S. I notice that the title is easily misread on a cell phone so here's clarification. The word is collage with an A, as in artistic assemblage... Or perhaps not so artistic, like when we tore out magazine pictures and pasted them together for a school assignment. I will try to remember that sometimes readers use very small devices to visit my blog.

Monday Marine Murals

These colorful murals in the town of Chincoteague takes up two walls. The complex mural (first photo) shows a fanciful undersea scene and on an adjoining wall (facing Main Street) we see a giant wave.

The first mural is dedicated to Miss Ruby Lee, who "enhanced the joy all across this little island." The art is by "Island School Children" and design is by "Egret Moon Artworks with a Little Help from My Friends."  That reference to a Beatles' song is echoed by a yellow submarine farther to the right.

Do you see Puff the Magic Dragon?  (Sorry about the dappled light from the trees.)

And perhaps the great wave looks familiar. I'm certain it's modeled after a famous Japanese print by Katsushika Hokusai.

Sharing with Monday Murals

Link: Works by Hokusai 

A Few More Beach Pictures

I hope I'm not boring anyone with all these beach scenes. We had crystal-clear light that morning at Assateague and I snapped 130 pictures. Frank took a few too. I've picked out my favorites and posted them over the past few days, so this is the last batch from that early morning session.

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and Through the Lens

Early Morning Beach Scene

Assateague Island, Virginia

Sharing with Shadow Shot Sunday and Black and White Weekend

Sunrise Shore Birds

Sea gulls and other birds don't mind being up at dawn. I enjoyed watching them at the seashore on Assateague Island.

Not many people were on the beach at 6 in the morning but half an hour later, families were showing up and enjoying the scenery.

Sharing with The Bird Depot 

and Saturday's Critters
and Saturday Silhouettes

See more Assateague Posts

Welcome, Dawn!

Frank has a tradition of getting up to see the sun rise when we visit the beach. Last year we were greeted with rain just as we got out of the car at Assateague, but this year the weather cooperated and the rising sun put on a beautiful show.

Sharing with Skywatch Friday

and Weekend Reflections and

Orange You Glad It's Friday

Atlantic Ocean, 6:24 AM

Inside NASA's Visitor Center

Photo op! NASA provided a cut-out picture of space suit so that everyone can look like a lunar explorer.

Sharing with Little Things Thursday

Short films were shown on a large globe. When an earthquake was depicted, the globe shook.

Another film told the story of the water cycle. NASA studies the earth as well as space. They are tracking climate change.

Several displays depicted huge research balloons. The one shown here has a football field superimposed to make the point that the balloon is larger than a football field! Imagine spotting that floating in the sky! I imagine it would appear to be a UFO.

Welcome to NASA

If you drive to Chincoteague Island from the mainland, you pass the NASA Wallops Island Facility. 

"The Wallops Island Flight Facility was established in 1945 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and is one of the oldest launch sites in the world. This facility was built to conduct aeronautical research using rocket-propelled vehicles. Its first rocket, the Tiamat, was launched on 4 July 1945. With the birth of NASA in 1958, Wallops contributed to the development of components of space flight programs, capsule escape, and recovery techniques. In 1981, Wallops was consolidated with the Goddard Space Flight Center and is now NASA's primary facility for suborbital programs."

The NASA Visitor Center has exhibits, films, and even activities for children.

Sharing with Signs, Signs and Good Fences

#nationaldogday

We did not take Flash on our trip because dogs are not allowed in the wildlife refuge. He was not pleased with me when we picked him up at the kennel.

Sharing with Black and White Wednesday and Wordless Wednesday

and Blog Paws Wordless Wednesday and Monochrome Wednesday

From the Pedestrian/Bike Trail Bridge

Egret, Chincoteague, VA

A nice bridge takes cyclists across the marsh between the Museum of Chincoteague and the entrance to Assateague Island. Motor vehicles use Maddox Boulevard a few feet away.

You can rent a bike on Chincoteague and ride it through town and through the wildlife refuge. Just be prepared for mosquitos; they like the marshes they like to bite!

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday

Evening, Chincoteague Island

Sharing with Our World Tuesday

and NF Trees and Bushes and

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Misty Miscellany

We went to Chincoteague Island for the weekend and I took many megabytes of photos. I'll start sharing them with you here while also sharing with three blog hops: Monday Murals, Mosaic Monday and Good, Random and Fun.

Perhaps you've heard of Chincoteague through the story "Misty of Chincoteague," which was a popular children's book that was made into a movie in 1961. Or perhaps you've been there to visit the wildlife refuge or the beautiful beach on nearby Assateague Island. (If you haven't, I recommend that you do.)

The Good: The annual pony sale made popular by the book and movie has raised ample money for the Chincoteague Fire Department. It has also drawn large numbers of tourists to the island, bolstering the local economy which had previously been dependent upon fishing.

The mural of a pony relaxing in a hammock is on the carnival grounds.

The Random:  Chincoteague celebrates it's famous ponies! You see ponies on local ranches and on neighboring Assateague Island, which has Misty herself, taxidermically preserved.

Click on image to see a larger version.

The Fun: Horseback rides are available. There are also boat tours that take you to see the wild ponies on Assateague.

Barn and Former Barn

These are near Woodstock, Virginia. The second one is now the office for a plumbing company.

Sharing with The Barn Collective

Weary but Wary

Flash

Sharing with The Weekend in Black and White and Sundays in My City

Doorknob in Sunbeam

Sharing with Shadow Shot Sunday and Weekend Reflection
and Through My Lens

A Fuzzy Rabbit

Sharing with Saturday's Critters and Camera Critters

A Wagon Wheel Chandelier

Sharing with Orange You Glad It's Friday

The View from Range View Overlook

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Sharing with Skywatch Friday

Outdoor Front Royal

View from the Outdoor Flea Market 

The town of Front Royal is outdoors-oriented. It's not only the "Canoe Capital of Virginia," it's an Appalachian Trail Community, and the northern gateway to Shenandoah National Park.

I liked the design of this sign for Shenandoah Riverkeeper, a not-for-profit that had a booth at a festival in Eastham Park.

Below are two snapshots I took along the path in Eastham Park. This paved trail runs along the South Fork of the Shenandoah. (Click on an image to see a larger version.)

The final shot has no deep meaning, I just liked the bright umbrella at an ice cream stand.

Sharing with Signs, Signs and Good Fences

and Little Things Thursday