Assateague Island

Written by Leann Pettit
Assateague Island, about a 20 minute drive from Ocean City, Maryland, is a great place to go hiking, pony watching, and there are even a few public beaches to relax and take in the sun and surf. Wild ponies roam free on Assateague Island, and there are plenty of opportunities to see the ponies in their natural habitat.

Stop by the visitors center and pick up a map of the island and make a plan for your pony spotting excursion. We began heading to the Old Ferry Landing, where the marshes were suggested as a popular spot for the ponies. Keep a look out in the distance and along the shoreline for the ponies.

From there, we headed to Bayside nature trail, which is mostly boardwalk with some dirt trail. The trail leads you out to a marshy area, again, a good place to see ponies, and, along the way, keep an eye out for other critters (we saw a snake!).

Lastly, we headed out to South Ocean Beach, where you can set up beach towels and chairs and relax in the sun. We didn't see ponies here, however, we were told this is a good place to see them early in the morning, before the crowds get there, and in the evening, after the beach goers have left for the day.

We also saw ponies as we were driving around the island. The ponies will cross the streets, or hang out by the side of the road. Many times, you'll see a volunteer near by that will "guard" the ponies, keeping visitors at a distance so no one gets hurt (including the wild ponies), as well as answer questions for you.

Brass Balls Saloon

The Brass Balls Saloon, with indoor seating (with air conditioning!) and outdoor seating on a patio overlooking the Ocean City, MD boardwalk, was a great stop for lunch on our trip.

We ordered the Avocado Chicken "Samich," which had a nice moist chicken breast and was topped with a very tasty, but spicy, pepper jack cheese and served with the chipotle mayo on the side. The avocado was a nice cooling flavor among all the heat. This is served with chips, but unless you have a real hankering for chips, upgrade to the fries. They are seasoned waffle fries and worth the upgrade cost.

We also ordered the chicken and cheese quesadilla - which was huge, but still light enough to not feel stuffed after lunch.

Traveling with a 6-year-old, we also ordered the chicken finger meal from the children's menu. The children's meals are served in a take home beach bucket, which is a cute idea, however, impractical for eating. The chicken fingers were served on top with a bucket full of fries. A pickle was stuffed in on the side and all the way on the bottom of the bucket was carrot sticks. By the time we realized there were carrots in there, everyone was done eating. We did ask for an additional plate, but there was still a lot of fries to dump out before getting to anything on the bottom.

De Lazy Lizard Bar & Grill

 Chesapeake Mahi

 Pulled Pork BBQ Sliders

 Lizard in Paradise Cruzan Bucket

 Kid's Zone

 Sunset at De Lazy Lizard

 Sunset at De Lazy Lizard

Sunset at De Lazy Lizard

We were so excited to find this place - De Lazy Lizard Bar and Grill on the bay side of Ocean City, MD. De Lazy Lizard has two locations, a brew pub and the bar and grill.

The bar and grill has three distinct locations within the restaurant. The indoor dining area and bar, the outdoor tiki bar, and the Kid's Zone. Traveling with a 6-year-old, the advertisement of a Kid's Zone drew us to the place, the menu, food, drinks, and service kept us there.

The Kid's Zone, secluded to one side of the outdoor portion of the restaurant, featured a plastic play area and a bounce house for children, which is monitored by parents. Tables in this area are filled with families and the wait staff is not afraid to ask if you want to order for the kiddos early.

The adults in our party ordered the Chesapeake Mahi, which was cooked with Old Bay (a Maryland shore staple, if you ask me) and garlic and served with two sides. The fish was cooked perfectly - moist, but had a meaty quality to it and the seasoning was done well, not too heavy on the Old bay, which can be overpowering.

We also ordered the Pulled Pork BBQ Sliders: Four sliders topped with sweet, moist, barbecue and served with chips.

The adults also ordered two of the Cruzan Buckets - a 32 oz. bucket of adult summer drink happiness. We tried the Lizard in Paradise, a variation on a rum punch, and Drunken Lizard, a summery lemonade style drink topped with ginger ale. Both delicious, but we suggest ordering one each and not trying to share.

For the kiddo traveling with us, we ordered the chicken finger meal, which was served with french fries. The "plate" that the children's meals are served on are frisbees that the little ones can take home.

There is free parking here, but it is limited.  Be aware that you may need to park on the street, which is all paid parking, if you don't get here early enough.