SaMe, sAmE. BuT DiFFeReNt

American as apple pie... or as Washingtonian as marble monuments. School is almost out and the hordes of tourists are beginning to descend. They always do the usual thing: D.C. Duck tours, congest morning commutes, the Holocaust museum, congest evening commutes, a tour of the capital, congest weekend bike paths, Arlington Cemetery and the Air & Space Museum. *sigh* you just can't escape them. That is, unless you do something every native Washingtonian does: Assateague Island.

Since I heard about this small, sandy island off the coast of Maryland/Virginia, I've wanted to go; mostly because the island is inhabited by thousands of my little ponies. So, last weekend my friend Simone became the brain child for a pre-summer/pre-mosquito infestation Assateague run. Saturday morning three carloads of us packed enough gear to last a month and headed the three-hours drive northeast of the District. I'll be honest, I forget country roads and farms exist... I just don't see it. It's nice to get a refresher and have a fresh fruit stand to patronage--YUM!

We spent the afternoon on the beach and (those of us that were sane enough to stay out of the freezing water) we got a bit of a tan, did some light reading, began the weekend long Would You Rather game and ate... and ate... and ate.... Then we began our safari onto the other part of the island to look for ponies. We weren't disappointed, they were everywhere! While all of this was grand and exciting, the weekend was pulled together not only by the continuous Would You Rather game, but also by the tshirt of our adventure-planner Simone. If you've ever been to Asia you'll recognize it instantly: same, same. but different. All the taxi drivers, restaurant owners, street vendors and self-employed tour guides in Asia say it. "You go in my car. Same, same. but different." or "Buy this instead. Same, same... but different." So, without further ado, I give you our "same, same, but different" photos.

roooooad triiiip!

crazy people that got in the water: "Yeah, it's cold. I swam a bit but then I got tired,
my arms were like lead...but it was okay, oh but my skin is blue."


National park v. State park

We piled in the back of the truck so we only had to pay one National Park entrance fee
to see the midget horses.

We saw horses and more midget horses

Same, same... but different.


mmmhmmm, food.

We didn't need to go hunting for them after all, the little guys found us.

I couldn't help it...

Now if you're curious about the many Would You Rather questions we posed, here is a sampling:
1) would you rather have sunglasses permanently affixed to your face, or hiking boots to your feet?
2) Would you rather be a raccoon or an armadillo?
3) Would you rather be illiterate or blind?
4) Would you rather live in a small town or be banished from the U.S. for your life?
5) Would you rather eat yellow Starbusts or no sweets for the rest of your life?
6) Would you rather be a politician infamous for an affair or a sex tape (can you tell we live in D.C.?)