Rachel grew up in Idaho, and had never been to the beach before, at least not that she can remember. She has a picture of her and her dad when she was only 2 years old. Her dad is holding her hands as she is walking along the water in her nightgown and cowboy boots. Rachel was too little to remember that day though. Rachel wanted to go to the beach so much.
When Rachel heard about a place called Assateague Island, she decided she needed to explore it's beach. Rachel took her roommate, Holli, and her friends, Justin and Lee, with her.
They backpacked for 4 miles along the beach until they reached their campsite. Rachel saw lots of little crabs in the sand as they walked.
The first thing Rachel did, after applying a heavy dose of sunscreen, was jump in the ocean! She soon discovered how fun it is to play in the waves! She giggled and giggled as the waves tried to carry her to shore.
Rachel knew a trip to the beach includes playing in the sand, so she built a sandcastle, but she couldn't get the princess tower to stand very tall. Justin could see that this made Rachel sad, so he helped her turn it into a sea turtle. The princess tower became its head. It was the finest sand sea turtle this side of the Mississippi.
Rachel had heard of people burying each other in the sand with only their heads poking out. Rachel thought this sounded funny, so Justin let her bury him while he took a nap next to the sea turtle.
Rachel also heard that this island had wild animals living on it that most beaches don't have. Can you tell what they are?
Wild horses!!!!!!!!!
Rachel wanted to pet the horses even though she knew they were not safe. She also knew the park rangers would make her pay $100 if she got too close to the horses. Rachel decided not to pet the horses.
Rachel quickly learned that the wild horses brought horse flies with them. They bit her so many times that she counted 20 bites on her feet and legs. She ran out of fingers and toes to count on, so she stopped counting.
There was also a big rainstorm when they were visiting the beach. Rachel and her friends had to go into the tent to stay dry, and the rain made the tent really loud. There was so much wind, Rachel got scared that they might blow away into the ocean. Rachel's friends decided to play cards in the tent, and Rachel had so much fun she forgot she was scared.
The next day, Rachel and her friends went back to the ranger station. Rachel could see dolphins waving goodbye to her and her friends as they walked so Rachel waved back. This was the best trip to the beach Rachel could remember in her entire life.
