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This year my sons’ cheder did an amazing thing – one weekend in the summer, they gave off on Friday and Sunday, and actually gave ample notice, specifically for families to be able to plan a weekend getaway. I don’t know if everyone was so excited to have their kids home for an extended weekend, but I’ve been dying for a family getaway and this was the perfect opportunity.
We looked into a few different options (The Lion Hotel in Canada was one we consideration). Then we found this adorable airbnb in Delaware – just a half hour from Assateague Island which has been on my bucket list for a while and we knew this was it.
Thursday
Last minute, we decided to leave Thursday night instead of Friday. This would give us all day Friday in Assateague and we would be able to drive when the kids are sleeping. At about 8pm we headed out. The way took just under 5 hours and at about 1am we pulled up to the Howard Johnson in Ocean City. It was the cheapest decent-looking hotel in the area, but still cost $300 for the most basic ‘pool view’ (i.e. not beach view) room. Check-in was smooth and soon after we were all asleep.
Friday
The next morning, the kids woke up bright and early at 7 o’clock. I took them down for a bit so my husband can sleep in a little. The hotel is right on the beach which is really nice. We came back up, made breakfast – pancakes in the Betty Crocker, and got dressed in beach-wear. We then headed back down to play at the beach and pool before they started to fill up. (For reference, at 9 it was still pretty empty, at 10 it was starting to get pretty full). Just in time for checkout at 11, we showered, dressed and packed everything back in the car ready to head out.
It was a short drive from Ocean City to Assateague. We first stopped at the visitor’s center which is still before the bridge. There’s a small exhibit about the climate, animals and history of the island. There’s also a small ‘aquarium’ made up of 2 fish tanks and a touch pool. We asked the rangers what to do and they showed us the best hikes they would recommend and explained all the options for the kids. There are ranger led programs geared to kids every hour and a Junior Ranger program where kids need to do 4 things on a checklist to receive their own badge and certificate. We also asked them where we were most likely to spot horses. They said that they can tell us, but they’d be wrong. The horses roam freely and there’s no way of knowing where they’d be at any given time.
The first ranger program at 1 sounded the most interesting so we decided to head there first. Right outside the visitor’s center is the bridge taking you to the island. The top half of the Island is a Maryland State Park and after that is the National Seashore (run by the National Park Service). We were so excited to find our first herd of about 5 horses right after the bridge! Excited we drove on. The line to enter the park was a bit long, but kept moving smoothly (we paid admission at the visitors center – $25 per vehicle). In no time we made it to the first stop. The views were spectacular. Surrounded by marshes and the river, people crabbing (apparently that’s an activity people do for fun), and horses off in the distance. The ranger handed out nets and set up a clear container where kids could dump any creatures they found. It was cute but my scared-of-their-own-shadow kids got bored quickly. It didn’t help that the sun was beating down on us and there was nowhere to hide. The 7-9 year olds in the group seemed to especially love it.
Looking for a break from the sun, we decided to do the 1/2 mile forest trail next. Again, the views were so picturesque. There was a group of horses – two of them babies – grazing nearby. I could sit there for hours and just enjoy the scenery, but alas 5 minutes of staring was enough for the kids.
Exhausted, we were almost ready to call it a day, but the kids really wanted to get their badges, so off to the beach we went. One sandcastle building and shell finding mission later we started heading back to the visitor center. On the road, we passed another group of horses right on the road. The kids loved seeing the horses up close and yelled to them from the open windows. We did three u-turns to pass them again and again (and get good photos 🙂 Finally, we headed to the bridge, and there – as if they were a welcoming comittee, was another herd. We definitely got to see our fill of horses!
Back at the visitor’s center, the ranger took the program very seriously and looked at the shell, asked the kids questions and finally bequeathed them with their badge. Mission accomplished. Fully satisfied, it was now time to head to our house stay for Shabbos.
Shabbos
The house we booked is a beautiful 2 bedroom house located right on a farm. The house itself is beautifully decorated, deliciously clean and pretty spacious. But the real draw is the yard. Right outside the door, a fenced off backyard is surrounded by farm animals. There were chickens, a peacock, turkeys, a sheep, a llama, and goats. And of course my favorite – a pony and a horse. All this is visible from all the windows in the house and the house’s private yard. Shelley, the owner, left plates with fruits for the kids to be able to feed the animals every day. By the time we left, the kids were best friends with the goats (Nacho Cheese and Cinnabun). One surprising highlight for me was the beautiful butterfly garden right outside the door.
Shabbos was the most beautiful, relaxing, experience. We just spent time together, played games, shmoozed and enjoyed the animals. We had brought along most food, except for the cholent which we put up there.
On the property – Cowtown Cabins – there are some other glamping-style accommodations and a tiny house, which could make it a great location with a group. There was a sign in the house that booking directly with them can save up to 18% on booking site fees. We booked through airbnb and paid about $800 (the Chase Sapphire travel credit applied and so it only cost us $500 out of pocket). The farm also offers a few fun activities like feeding and grooming the animals, paint and pet sessions and more, but we didn’t have time to try any of them.
Sunday
Sunday morning, we headed out taking the scenic route. We passed countless farms and little towns til we made it to the Lewes – Cape May ferry. I had read online that you should really make reservations, but we weren’t sure if and when we would do it, so I left it for last minute. By the time we left, the only tickets available were 11:15 and 5:15. It was 10 oclock and we were an hour away, so I wasn’t sure if we would make it. We decided not to book tickets and just show up to see if we can still get them then. When we pulled up, the gate agent told us that the boat had just left. While waiting in line I had refreshed the page and miraculously a 12:15 option showed up. The agent checked and yes, there seemed to have been a cancellation just then! We paid the $75 fee (car + 2 adults; kids up to 6 ride free) and entered the parking lot. We were told to park in lane 21 and wait around the property until they announced boarding. The waiting area had a nice air conditioned building with a few restaurants and bars. Outside there was also a cute small playground, area to play bean bag toss, and a stage where it looked like a band was setting up for later. The kids enjoyed the playground, my husband worked a little and before long the announcement was made to head back to the cars.
Back in the car, security went around and checked all trunks and then we just drove right onto the boat. It was a very cool experience. Once parked on the ferry, we exited the car and headed upstairs to one of the decks. On the deck we could hear a symphony of car alarms going off. Apparently the movement of the boat sets off the alarm, so it’s important to turn it off before leaving your vehicle. On board there are snack bars and even a bar on the top deck. The water was nice and peaceful and we even spotted a few dolphins. The whole thing from arriving until disembarking takes about 2.5 hours. It’s not the fastest route, but it probably is the nicest.
After disembarking, we had a 2 hours drive to Lakewood where we would stop for dinner. This was just enough time for the kids to catch a great, badly-needed nap. I may have dozed off at some point as well..
In Lakewood, dinner was at Ishtabach. The restaurant is beautifully designed with an outdoor Israel-y vibe. The menu is very interesting with a lot dishes I was tempted to try and also some basics for the kids. Some of the things we tried weren’t exactly our type, but others were polished down in minutes. Then we got dessert, which was amazing. We especially loved the tahini, walnut, cream thingy.
With tummies full, we were ready to tackle the final 2 hour stretch from Lakewood to Monsey. We played car games like ‘I spy’, find the color green, ‘Racing’ other cars (i.e. celebrating any time we passed any car) and listing names and objects for each letter. Once in the home stretch we put on music we could all sing along to and counted down the minutes til home sweet home.
I couldn’t believe how wonderfully the trip worked out. From the last-minute change to leaving on Thursday to the perfect house on the farm for Shabbos, bH. For me, the best part of a trip is the excitement I have to going back to routine. The kids too were excited to go back to cheder on Monday morning bright and early. I hope the above can help you plan the perfect trip yourself.
Thinking of doing this trip? Here is some additional information which didn’t make it into our trip but might make yours.
- The hotel we stayed in the first night was just so that we could sleep over. If you’re looking for nicer hotels, they’re a little harder to come by in Ocean City, but Hyatt has a beautiful resort about an hour from the park. The Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay is a beautiful waterfront resort which often gets good points deals and is a popular destination in combination with Assateague. You can stay there for a night or the whole Shabbos.
- Assateague has three sections – the Maryland State Park, Assateague National Seashore (run by the National Park Service) and Chincoteague Island which includes Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (run by US Fish & Wildlife). The first two are in Maryland, the last is in Virginia. We chose to visit the National Seashore because the ponies are wild, the NPS services are generally great, and we didn’t want to drive down all the way to Virginia. There are pros and cons to each or you can visit all and compare for yourself.
- There is camping available on the island itself at both the state park and national park. It wasn’t possible for us to make it there early enough to set up a tent before dark, but it would’ve been cool to wake up with the waves crashing and the ponies strolling around. There is also a company that sets up small trailers/cottages for you in advance so you can get a full glamping experience on the island.
- Other activities available on the island include: kayaking and paddle boarding (with beautiful views of the horses), bike paths throughout, OSV (over sand vehicle) driving area, as well as birding, crabbing, and fishing.
- For the Lewes – Cape May Ferry, you should really make reservations ahead and not wait until the last minute like we did. It is also recommended to arrive there an hour early, but that seemed like overkill to us. You can probably arrive up to a half hour before departure time and still have time to stretch your legs before boarding.
- When leaving your car on the ferry, make sure to turn off any anti-burglar alarms. The movement of the boat triggers the alarm causing a chorus of car alarms going off on board.
- While we didn’t get a chance to visit, there is a Chabad in Ocean City offering food and minyanim when available.
- We did the trip from Monsey and it was amazing. From Lakewood the driving is even less and I think this would make an amazing Chol Hamoed trip.
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