We finally figured out which week we could both get off of work (Aug 3-9), and were making plans to deposit DS at the Virginia Space Flight Academy near Chincoteague and find a motel in the are to camp out at. We had been thinking of somewhere like Pocomoke City, since we did not really want to pay for a week's motel in Chincoteague or Ocean City. I had checked a couple of other weeks (that we had foolishly thought we might both get), and there seemed to be a good variety of properties, and it appeared that we could be in something like a Best Western or a Day's Inn for a bit under a $100. I went onto the net to check the week we do have, and there are very few properties listing availability, and except for a grungy-looking one star without a pool, they are all well over a hundred. I checked several sites and it is the same story on all of them. What is going on? Is it Pony Swim week? Is August so much more desirable than July? Is it something local to Pocomoke City that I have no clue about? Would we do better a little further down into Virginia? I am not spending that kind of money for a week in a pooless motel in August, just because life is short and this is our vacation, even if we have to make entirely different plans.

The carnival/pony swim this year runs from 7/30 through 8/2 so yes, you picked one of the two busiest weeks of the year for that area. The other week is the week before that leading up to the carnival. I would try farther down on the shore if you don't really care about being on Chincoteague...you might want to try Wachapreague or Cape Charles both of which are about 45 minutes to an hour below the turnoff for Chincoteague. The other option would be to look at realtors in the area and rent a house for a week since that is what most people do vacationing down there but the chances of one of the houses having a pool is pretty slim to none. If you're absolutely set on a pool there is always Salisbury which is to the north and almost exactly an hour from Chincoteague Island.

We stayed at a nice B&B in Cape Charles a few years back, the Cape Charles House, no pool. Not sure I could've spent a week there though. Of couse I don't think I could spend a week in Pocomoke City either. We stayed in Cape Charles while doing a week of kayaking in VA and Md. We also stayed at the Waterloo Inn, a pretty property not to far from Crisfield, MD (the blue crab capital of the world) but kind of in the middle of nowhere - it did have a pool. Other quaint towns on the Bay to look at Onancock, Va.

Landlocked but still interesting, Snow Hill and Berlin, MD. You may have already tried them though - good luck.

Thanks, we will try your Virginia suggestions. Salisbury was just as bad. I hadn't realised about the carnival and had thought the pony swim was a little earlier. Renting a house is so not us, would be both a little silly for two people, and likely more than even a pricey motel. It did appear we could still get a decent (and pooled) motel, but it would be close to $200 dollars a night, which is really more than I'm comfortable with. DS will be in the clutches of the Space Academy, and DH and I will be on our own. We had even thought of spending a night or two in somewhere like Williamsburg or Kitty Hawk (which wouldn't be cheap either).

We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Onley, VA just south of Chincoteague for three nights last week. Not too bad and SR. rate starting at age 55 was $107.85 per night tax included. They have a decent cont. breakfast and a pool.

An excellent restaurant is Mallards in Onancock, about two miles away, and Island House Restaurant a little ways south in Wachapreagueis another. Crab cakes at Mallards and soft shell crab dinner at Island House were just great.

South of Onley in Exmore is a Best Western and a new Holiday Inn Express.

Disregard the signs in the area for the Onancock boat/passenger ferry to Tangiers Island. It stopped operating last year. Also, if you go through Onley, watch your speed. Radar is active.

Assateague has a nice beach with rest rooms and and chamging booths.
If you have a National Parks pass you can use that to avoid the entry fee.

We rented beach chairs and an umbrella in Chicoteague for our day at the beach, as we forgot to bring a blanket along..