Dela-where?

In late July, we began to think it was too hot to live in Maryland, so we drove over to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware with some friends. Apparently we weren't the only Washingtonians to have this idea. When federal employees go to the beach, they go en masse to either Rehoboth or Ocean City, Maryland, just down the coast from Rehoboth. After our initiation with a day of rain when we arrived, the weather obliged by cooling off and we had a simply glorious time.

	Our friend Tara and I built this sandcastle on the beach at Cape Henlopen, near Rehoboth.
	This was the first sandcastle, built the day before the one above. After the second one, we decided this was just a warm-up. This particular day we were on the beach at the Delaware National Seashore, south of Rehoboth.
	Linda got up incredibly early one day to take this picture of an empty Rehoboth Beach. Usually you can't see the ocean for all the people.
	Later that same day... Note the profusion of umbrellas. Our theory is that people come over from New Jersey, plant their umbrellas and don't pick them up until they're ready to go back. We were down at the far end of the picture, where there weren't any people.
	Of course, some people who aren't from New Jersey bring them, too. This is Tara, sitting under Cathy's umbrella.
	Since the Delaware beaches are on the Atlantic, the waves are rougher than what we were used to. We spent a few minutes body surfing before deciding we'd rather keep the skin that the ocean floor was scraping off our bodies... No wonder these beaches had few shells!
	After I went back to DC to go to work, Cathy, Linda and Tara took a drive down to Assateague National Seashore on the border of MD and VA. Here are Linda and Cathy on the bay side of the island.
	Assateague is one of the few places in the U.S. that harbors wild ponies. When Tara, Linda and Cathy drove into the park, these two ponies came right up to the Blazer to greet them. Learn more about Assateague National Seashore. Learn more about the wild ponies.
	At one point, the horses were so close that Linda told Cathy to roll up her window because this guy looked as if he wanted to take the Blazer on a test drive.
	Once they told him he needed a license to drive the car, he decided to go around back and kick the tires instead.
	These horses are grazing on wild beach grass, which makes up 80 percent of their diet. The other 20 percent comes from tourists who don't roll up their windows.
	The Assateague herd, though wild, is managed by the National Park Service, which maintains its numbers at about 150 horses. Last time I was there, I didn't see many up this close. Guess I'll have to go back. (In fact, wild horses couldn't keep me away...)