I spent a weekend at Assateague Island, at Maryland’s south-eastern coast, where I camped near the beautiful Assateague shoreline, allowing me to not only enjoy the unique experience of camping near the beach, but also to capture images during any time of day from a very convenient location. Assateague Island consists of a northern portion in the state of Maryland, as well as a smaller southern region in Virginia, which contains the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Assateague was set aside for preservation in 1965, three years after a damaging storm halted plans for development on part of the island. Now it is a great place to experience a natural shoreline, free from the houses and hotels that line much of the coast elsewhere. The island is best known for its wild horses which can frequently be seen walking around by the roads, on the beaches, and in the campsites. We observed horses walking through our campsite on a couple of different occasions. There is a state park and a national park side-by-side on Assateague, which makes choosing which to go to somewhat confusing, but on this occasion we camped in the national park. The vast majority of campsites are on the opposite side of the dunes, providing a short walk to the beach a few hundred feet or so away. There are fewer sites located on the dunes themselves, and some of these provide a view of the waves directly from your tent. We went in October and found that mosquitoes were not an issue at all at the campsites. Apparently the bayside sites are not nearly as free from the annoying insects; in fact it is generally not recommended to camp by the bay except during the winter months. We did not experience any major issues with mosquitoes anywhere on the island during our visit, however. Aside from enjoying the camping experience in such a fantastic location, I also enjoyed taking walks on the preserved and wild shoreline, observing the waterfowl and wild horses, watching meteors streak by the dark sky (there was a meteor shower during our visit), waking up early and walking just outside the tent to photograph sunrise, and taking a canoe out on the bay where one can paddle around the marsh areas or toward the larger heart of the bay. There are rentals provided on the island through mid-October, but even in the off-season one can get kayak or canoe rentals at locations off the island and bring the boat in on your car.