Where's Wendy? Livin' in the Edge!

May 16-20, 2021

Leaving Assateague Island was sad, but I was excited to move on to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Unfortunately, my car battery was dead again the morning I was heading out. 🥺 I’m very grateful that the campground is closely monitored to protect the ponies because a Park Ranger drove by about five minutes later. He radioed for help and two very nice Park Rangers arrived to jumpstart it within ten minutes. At that point, I knew I had to find somewhere to replace the battery. I made it to an Advance Auto Parts shop, an hour before closing. I was expecting to make an appointment for the next day. The manager is a woman about my age and she’s been there for about 15 years. She assured me that she could do it for me then! When she looked up the battery details for my car, she frowned. According to their information, this replacement can take 45+ minutes and they’re not supposed to do an installation that takes that long. I asked for her recommendations for a garage. She smiled and said “Honey, I’m not sending you away tonight! I’m going to replace your battery and it won’t take me 45 minutes!” She was right! She finished it in 25 minutes and wouldn’t accept a tip from me! I wrote a glowing review (minus the details) on their website. I hope she saw it!

I didn’t have camping reservations for the next two nights because I thought I’d be delayed by the car repair. Most Cabela’s sporting goods stores allow overnight parking for travelers, so that was our solution! There was even a beautiful sunset across the parking lot!

As I approached Shenandoah National Park, my GPS became very intermittent. I’d been aware of that possibility, so I’d written down the directions. What I hadn’t realized was how scary the drive up to the campground would be for me. It was 51 miles and almost 2 hours on a WINDING mountainside road. Have I mentioned that I’m very afraid of heights??? I was TERRIFIED. 🥺 I hadn’t had enough sleep and it was drizzling and foggy. I had to keep going because I was too frightened to cross the road to an overlook rest stop. By the time I got to the visitor center, I was emotionally and physically drained.

Just as I walked into the visitor center, a friend called to welcome me to Shenandoah! Before I started this journey, I added the Life 360 app to my phone. My sister, my niece and this good friend are all monitoring my travels in real time. I let them know my next destination and they can make sure I’m on track and safe. It’s been a huge comfort to know that I’m not “alone”. 💝

The campground was really nice. Sadly, I was too traumatized by the drive up to explore any of the park, so we stayed in our campsite. Between all of the daily warnings from the Park Rangers about bears in the area and already fearing the drive back down the mountain, I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I had hoped. 🥺 As it turned out, the drive down wasn’t bad because the weather was clear and I knew what to expect.

Next stop: Horseshoe Point in Henry, VA

Hugs from South Carolina! 🤗

Wendy & Maddie 💕

May 10-14, 2021

While visiting with my niece Cari, we talked about me always wanting to visit Assateague Island National Seashore Park to see the wild ponies. Misty of Chincoteague Bay was a favorite childhood book of mine and it’s based on these wild ponies. I’d read that dogs aren’t allowed on the island, but then someone in a FB group I belong to posted a photo of her dogs on the beach! It turns out that the Virginia side of the island forbids dogs, but the Maryland side allows them! Thank you, Maryland!
Cari and I went online and we were able to secure one night at the campground! I was ecstatic! Sadly, I didn’t see any ponies that night. The next morning, I drove around before checking out and I saw several ponies! It was amazing and a childhood dream had come true for me. When I was checking out, I asked about any campsite openings, due to a cancellation. There was one available! As it turned out, I was able to stay for 4 nights, on a day to day basis. I just had to keep moving to a different spot. No problem!

Watching these beautiful ponies wander free is magical. There are strict regulations in place to protect them, but sometimes keeping the appropriate distance is challenging. One afternoon, Maddie and I were “trapped” in the car because we were surrounded by ponies for a long time. Eventually, they wandered off, all except for one very pregnant mare. She chose to lay down and enjoy the sand and warm sun in my campsite. A woman walked by and told me this pony is Susi Sole, pronounced soleil, for sunshine. Susi visited my area every day and night. I was able to capture the photo of her that looks like a painting, after sunset. I posted it on the Assateague Island Alliance FB page and everybody loved it. Susi stopped by early the morning I was leaving the park. I was very sad to leave, but I knew that there would be lots of her baby’s photos posted on FB. As it turned out, she had her adorable foal, a colt, 11 hours after I last saw her! Her baby is very handsome and as a friend said, I’m feeling like a grandmare! 😉

I ate well while staying in the area. I have lots of food with me, but I can never resist a good, old-fashioned diner. The Decatur Diner was only a few miles away and I enjoyed two fabulous meals there. Actually, it was four meals because the portions were enormous! I reheated the leftovers on my campfire each night. I’m trying to eat a meal in each location that we visit that’s a traditional favorite for the area. In Maryland, of course it was crabmeat. Diner food is notoriously loaded with calories, fat, cholesterol, etc. and yes, I finished every bite. 🤷‍♀️ I had the same wonderful waitress each day (Madeline aka Maddie!) and she was a Kindred Spirit. She’s from Colorado, but van/tent camped all across the country before moving to Maryland. She was going to be camping at Assateague that weekend, so she was happy to learn that the ponies were waiting for her!

Leaving Assateague Island was bittersweet. I had fulfilled a childhood dream, enjoyed spectacular weather and ate really delicious food. I hated to leave, but I joined a few FB groups about the ponies, so I’m following them through posts and photos. I’m definitely going back there someday. If you love horses and want a unique experience, book it now! 🐎💝🐎

Next stop: Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Hugs from South Carolina! 🤗

Wendy & Maddie 💕

May 6-10, 2021

Good morning!

It’s Sunday morning, June 27, 2021. Maddie and I had another wonderful day yesterday. We’re still in South Carolina and loving it!

After eating way too much at the smorgasbord, I set my GPS for a visit to my niece Cari and her husband Frank in Virginia. Over the years, I haven’t spent enough time with Cari or my nephew, Chris, so I was thrilled with the opportunity.

When Cari asked if I’d like to spend the night, I didn’t hesitate! Even though this adventure revolves around being outside in nature, I’m never going to turn down the offer of a really comfortable bed, a hot shower, a delicious meal and most importantly, wonderful company!

Cari is developing her own law practice and is currently working from home. In between business calls and her office work, we were able to spend some much appreciated quality time together. I love that we chatted like we were continuing a conversation from the week before, when in reality, it’s been years.

When I told Cari that my next stop was going to be Assateague National Seashore Park in Maryland to see the wild ponies, she was very excited for me. The love of horses runs deep in my family. My Mom was on the equestrian drill team for her junior college. My grandfather was a CPA and worked out the finances with the school for my Mom to be able to participate. My sister Carla and I grew up with a love of horses and over the years, she owned several.

Cari and Frank are the co-owners of the beautiful equine magazine, Equine America.

Assateague National Seashore Campground is generally booked many months in advance and I had mistakenly thought dogs weren’t allowed. When I learned that dogs aren’t allowed on the Virginia side, but are allowed on the Maryland side of the island, Cari encouraged me to check out reservations for camping. Mom was working her special Guardian Angel powers that day because I was able to reserve a campsite for the following Monday night!

I ended up staying with Cari and Frank until Monday morning, which meant I had the pleasure of watching Cari ride her handsome horse, King Cornbread on Sunday morning! He’s a Haflinger/Belgian cross and she’s training with him in dressage. I absolutely loved spending time with Cari at the stable. I’m sure that Mom/her grandmother was smiling all day! 😇

Cari’s dog, Cue and Maddie can both be very territorial, so we had to be careful to keep them separated all weekend. Eventually, we decided to take them for a walk in neutral territory. Mission accomplished! They were great!

After saying goodbye on Monday morning, I discovered that my car battery was dead. 😳 Luckily, I have lots of emergency equipment with me, so we were able to jumpstart it. After needing another jumpstart at Assateague Island a few days later, I invested in a new battery. 🤷‍♀️

Next stop: Assateague Island National Seashore Park in Maryland to visit the wild ponies!

Hugs from South Carolina!

Wendy & Maddie 💕

May 2-6, 2021

Today is already Day #55 of our wonderful adventure and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get this blog launched! Several of the campgrounds we’ve stayed in had little to no reception for days at a time. It’s been frustrating, but HOPEFULLY I’m on track now! I won’t bore you with the almost 1000 photos I’ve taken 😳, but I have some really nice ones. I’ve been taking notes along the way, too.

My current plan is to do a summary of each area we’ve already visited and then add on as we move along. I doubt I’ll be able to post on a regular basis because of the reception issues, but I’m going to try!

First of all, thank you for wanting to be included in my “Where’s Wendy?” roadtrip adventures. To all of you that reached out to me because you thought I was MIA, thank you! We’re currently camping 30 miles away from Charleston, SC!

My planned departure date of April 3rd failed miserably, but that’s ok. Maddie (my 13.5 year young pup) and I are on the road now and it’s already been a wonderful experience. My goal is to relax and have fun and that’s definitely happening!

Without going into all the details, a majority of the delay was caused by car issues. The car needed new tires and I had to wait a week for the appointment. Then I decided to get a roof rack and cargo box. I’m really happy with it, but it was another week delay. The major problem was getting the alternator replaced. That was unexpected and the garage struggled with it. I lost most of 3 days getting it done. At least it happened BEFORE we left home.

We finally headed out on Sunday, May 2nd. Our first stop was for lunch with my sister, Carla and her husband, Joe and their almost 30 baby goats, plus sheep at Timberdoodle Farm in Connecticut!

It was a nice, but very quick visit because our next stop was Manhattan later that day! After holding my breath driving through the city, I met up with my childhood friend Louis and his wife, Carolyn. They live practically on Broadway! We sat in a pretty park to enjoy our coffee and NY style bagels with cream cheese and lox, before heading out for a 2 mile walk around their beautiful neighborhood. Of course, we had to walk by Tom’s Restaurant, made famous by the restaurant in the tv show, Seinfeld. Maddie was really well behaved on the walk, especially since she’s never been in a big city before. I’m still amazed that I drove in and out of Manhattan, but I’m glad I did it! It was wonderful to see Louis and Carolyn. 💕

The next day was a washout with heavy rain, but it gave me a chance to rest and plan ahead. A friend suggested that I eat at a traditional smorgasbord before leaving the area. The food at Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA was amazing and I can’t believe it was all-you-can-eat for less than $12.00, including tax! It was definitely NOT a sugar-free, low calorie, fat free, cholesterol free breakfast!

Ok, that’s more than enough for now! This was only up through May 6th, so there’s a lot more to come! I HOPE to add some more photos here as soon as I figure it out!

Hugs from South Carolina 🤗

Wendy & Maddie 💕