Treating myself out to a day of photo adventuring for an off-season afternoon on Assateague. First off, because it is so nice to get out to the ocean, even when it is chilly. Second off, because it is a great excuse to parlay the day at the beach into a Happy Hour Adventure. But the best reason is because it forces me to try and see the island in a different way, to look for the opportunity to take photos I haven’t seen a lot, or at least ones that I think are worth seeing.
People love surfing even when the water is a little colder than normal. Give them a lightening-free sky and a wetsuit and they are good to go. Winter waves are pretty good at Assateague, which is something of an attraction that goes beyond the weather.It is really, really difficult to get bad photos at the beach. Assateague is particularly difficult to mess up because the dunes constantly provide alternate angles and views. Even when it is pleasant out, you can tell summer from winter by looking at the dune grasses, which give the landscape a little starkness.Assateague Island National Seashore is a jewel any time of the year, and always a delight in the summer. In the winter, however it provides the kind of solitude that first drew people to the ocean.This looked at first like some weird avant-garde art project, like a beach lost and found. In fact, it still may have been. If you can’t make it out someone left beach goggles and a plastic spoon in the water fountain. It wasn’t far from the garbage can so I got the impression either that some child had beachcombed them and was returning shortly or a very concerned citizen established this drinking fountain as an impromptu Lost and Found.Times certainly have changed on the Island in just the last 20 or so year’s I’ve been here, but not all change is for the worse. This snack shack is run by the Friends of Assateague Island and they use the money to support the island’s programs and as a stopgap against the vicissitudes of Federal funding
Tony Russo has worked as a print and digital journalist for the better part of the 21st century, writing for and editing regional weeklies and dailies before joining the team that produces OceanCity.com and ShoreCraftBeer.com among other destination websites. In addition to having documented everything from zoning changes to art movements on the Delmarva Peninsula, Tony has written two books on beer for the History Press. Eastern Shore Beer was published in 2014 and Delaware Beer in 2016. He lives in Delmar, Md. with his wife Kelly and the only of his four daughters who hasn't moved out. Together they keep their two dogs comfortable.
