April 20, 2008 - Home: Final Thoughts
When Bruce wanted to do a paddling trip during his spring break (he’s a teacher, I’m a retired school administrator) we fixed on Assateague Island for several reasons. The main reason for Bruce was that Assateague is close enough to be a reasonable day trip. For me, it was a chance to explore a place where I could take my grandchildren paddling in the future. The seven-hour drive was a reasonable distance. However, it is the near south for us, with April weather that is very changeable (350 nights to 550 nights, 500 days to 800 days). In fact, it was warmer at home on many of the days and nights we were gone.
I was disappointed in the nature of the campsites. The backcountry sites are available to both paddlers and hikers. We saw three of the four backcountry sites. Tingles Island is closest to Ferry Landing. We did not visit Tingles, but the information we have says that it is very shallow there, sometimes necessitating wading across a mud flat, dragging your boat to get in or out. I don’t know where the campsites are, but there are five of them that will accommodate up to 25 people.
Would I bring my grand children here to paddle on their spring break? I don’t think so. Certainly not as a self-contained expedition. I might consider a hotel based trip with some day paddling or perhaps one overnight. The ponies are a real draw, especially with all the novels written about Misty and her offspring. But I think the combination of unpredictable weather, the possible party atmosphere at campsites and bugs (read “ticks”) would argue against bringing inexperienced paddlers and campers on this trip.
