Chincoteague

Lois Szymanski vividly recalled the day Carollynn Suplee bought her daughters, Shannon and Ashley, a pony from Chincoteague Island. The girls had saved $500, but it wasn't nearly enough to buy one of the wild ponies they coveted. "At first we told her that we couldn't accept the pony," said Szymanski, 50, of Westminster. "But she persisted until we agreed." That was 1995, and the pony, named Sea Feather, started a tradition that Suplee continued until she died in 2003. Szymanski wanted to continue the tradition, so in 2004, she helped start the Feather Fund, which helps buy Chincoteague ponies for children.

If the clouds part sufficiently, this evening offers another opportunity to watch the International Space Station fly over Maryland. This time the $100 billion contraption will be moving from northwest to southeast at 17,500 mph - from high over Milwaukee or Cleveland when we first see it in Baltimore, to Washington, D.C., Chincoteague and points southeast. You know the drill: Watch for a bright, steady light rising over the northwest horizon at 5:52 p.m. By 5:55 p.m. it will skirt the star Vega and pass almost directly overhead.

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va.-- --Wayne Estes woke up before dawn on the third day of his vacation, scarfed down an egg sandwich and doused himself in bug spray. He bucked the heat, putting on his spurs, leather boots, jeans and long-sleeved yellow shirt. Then he settled into the back of his red "cowboy Cadillac" pickup truck for what is, every year, the ride of his life. It is a ride that alternately breaks and warms little girls' hearts as Estes and his fellow "Saltwater Cowboys" round up the wild ponies on Assateague and drive them across the channel to this small Virginia island, where a lucky few can buy the foals at an auction today.

Scotts Landing -- David Chamberlain and Luke Breza might seem an unlikely pair to be coaxing a crop of oysters from Maryland coastal waters that haven't harbored the bivalves in years. But their small aquaculture operation in southern Worcester County near Snow Hill is being watched closely by state environmental officials and has been noticed by consumers, restaurants and raw bars who are willing to pay premium prices for the telltale salty taste of Chincoteague oysters - a delicacy one restaurant owner said reaches "almost cult status this time of year" on the Eastern Shore.

THE SIGNIFICANCE of the moment was clearly lost on these youngsters; mostly 1- and 2-year-olds, trucked hundreds of miles across the country to find themselves clustered in makeshift pens in the middle of a Lorton, Va., field one recent Saturday morning. This was a chance for horses fresh off the Western range to catch the eye of a prospective adopter, someone to love and care for them and provide a safe new home. Particularly for those without striking colors to distinguish them from the predominant bays, a quick bonding with humans gazing through the fence was their best shot to be chosen.

CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND, Va. - In her seventh straight year here, Kathy Seay has this Pony Penning ritual down pat. She ought to offer consulting for rookie spectators. The suburban Richmond mother of two has it all boiled down to one backpack - full of bug spray, two tarps (one to sit on, one as cover for rain), water and a few snacks. It's all about provisions and patience if you're waiting five or six hours to see 100 of the world's best-known wild horses make their annual swim to Chincoteague across a narrow channel from their home on Assateague Island.

A Memorable Place Kayakers greet morning on the bay By Rebecca Motil SPECIAL TO THE SUN We woke before dawn -- four adults and three teen-age girls -- to take a sunrise kayak tour of Oyster Bay, a wide body of water between Chincoteague and Assateague islands. By 6:30 a.m., we were helping our guide from Oyster Bay Outfitters unload the kayaks. As we waited, the late- August sun came up in the east, painting the clouds in delicate shades of pink, melon and gold. After a thorough safety lesson, our guide, Ray Miles, led his intrepid kayakers out into the bay. We headed for 427-acre Morris Island, gliding across the calm water like swans.

For many people, it just wouldn't be summer without a trip to Ocean City. Every weekend, sun- and fun-seekers travel by carloads over the Bay Bridge, east on U.S. 50 and across the drawbridge over the bay, which leads to North Division Street, right in the heart of O.C. But wait. Back up about a mile west on Route 50. Instead of crossing that last bridge into town, hang a right on Route 611 and follow it until the roadway ends. There you'll find yourself at Assateague Island -- a different kind of beach retreat.

Get lost in a corn field at Chincoteague's 7.5-acre corn maze. The whole family can experience walking in circles at this huge maze, created in the shape of a blue crab. After you have completed the large maze, you can try the hay-bale maze, the rope maze or the kids' maze. In addition, there are pony rides, a petting zoo and a "Corn Crib" sandbox. Especially adventurous people can roam the twists and turns by flashlight on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Chincoteague Corn Maze, 36310 Corbin Hall Lane, Horntown, Va., is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays.

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. - They crammed the shoreline looking out across the channel for hours yesterday morning, some standing in the mud, others waist-deep in the marsh and muck. They watched from boats and golf carts, from horses and ladders. They came to see the ponies. On the Wednesday before the last Thursday in July everything stops for them. In a tradition more than 75 years old, 150 or so ponies are rounded up on the southern tip of Assateague Island and herded into the water for a quick swim to shore.