4 wheels and a beach
While vacationing last week (yep, here comes a second vacation story), the wife
and I took our relatively new Xterra
for an adventure. More specifically, we took it on the exclusive off-road vehicle
beach on Assateague Island.
What a blast.
Wild ponies, other assorted wildlife, 13 miles of wide open beach, and
a Xterra fresh for its first four-wheeling experience is quite a mix indeed.
The little 4 wheel engage light was brightly shining on the dashboard. On my left,
the Atlantic Ocean threw wave after wave onto the sand from about twenty yards
away. To my right, sand dune after sand dune rose from the beach;
an occasional access trail, screaming for exploration, could be found between
them. Top it all off with the sights of wild horses making their way from place
to place and you have some of my most memorable experiences of my trip.
It’s funny, but I couldn’t help but feel like a member of an exclusive club.
No sports cars or family cars in sight, the special tools of the trade in the back
(which are a shovel, a piece of wood, and tow cable, for those who are interested),
and a proudly displayed, but rather expensive, OVR sticker on the front of the
truck helped solidify this feeling. My good old Trans Am couldn’t bring me
here; heck, it has trouble getting out of the driveway when it rains.
The only glaring fault of the island, from my perspective, is the bugs.
They have bugs that occasionally carry off a tourist just for the fun of it.
This is all the more worrisome when we factor in the fact that my wife is
incredibly allergic to mosquitoes; who, in a bit of irony, seem to flock
to her like she was the pied piper. I can hear the little critters now, “I have
been to Mosquito Jenn! It contained the nectar of the Gods!”
Unfortunately for the famous mosquitoes of the island, “Mosquito Jenn” was safely
withheld from them – try as they might, the glass of the windows protected us from their constant dive bombing attacks. However, they can take solace in one fact: the
OVR pass lasts for a year. We’ll be back.
