Even though I live in a beach town on the Gulf Coast, there is something magical about visiting the tiny beach towns on the Eastern shore of Virginia. While you travel along US-13, you see everything from factories (my kids did not like the smell of the Perdue chicken factory) to charming cottage homes to many right hand turns for the various beach towns.

We visited Chincoteague Island which was fabulous for a family vacation because there are so many things that you can do together.

Walk or bike – The town is small and set up perfectly for walking and biking. If you don’t bring your own bikes, there are plenty of rental shops. It seemed like everywhere we looked there were people of all ages walking or biking!

See the ponies – Chincoteague Island is where the famous story Misty of Chincoteague took place and is probably one of the things in which it is most famous. You can try to find the wild ponies or see ponies that are penned in different parts of the town.

Climb the Assateague Lighthouse but be sure to check the official schedule before you go.  It was closed when we arrived!

Hunt for shells – Your kids will be ecstatic if they spy one of the large whelk shells. You are allowed to take shells from the beach but there are limits so be sure to check before you go.

Eat ice cream – Ice cream shops can be found everywhere! We ate at a shop called Mr. Whippy’s. The kids loved the gigantic sundaes full of all of their favorite things including hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cherries.