The Chincoteague Carnival opens every summer, rides, food, games, usually around Pony Penning. I remember about 3 pm I would be all ready to go in my clean clothes. All I had to do was wait for my dad to get home from work, and around 6 pm he’d come walking back home from Jacks shop. I’d go to the front porch or hang out in the front yard and wait for my dad without getting dirty, but always situated so I could see him come walking home from Jacks. I wanted to see him first! I can see him now walking home carrying his thermos jug that had been filled with water for his work day. Sometimes if there were no cars coming we would run to meet him on his walk home and be singing “TINKTINK CARNIVAL, TINKTINK CARNIVAL!” like a chant, the word “chincoteague” -but a kids version. My dad to this day can mimic it. We knew he had to come home and wash up so we could eat dinner and then we were off to the Carnival.

That causeway was the longest ride of life when we were on our way. All the windows rolled down made my hair blow wild and I was wearing my very favorite perfume- Sweet Honesty. It was from Avon and it had a pink lid. ♥ I even had it in a little glass jar and it was in cream form. Very special stuff.

We always parked in the parking lot directly across from the carnival grounds and sometimes we had to ride around a few times before we found a spot. I remember being so excited, I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest, I could smell all the carnival smells and was worried to death we wouldnt find a place to park in time.

I wanted to pull the string and get my prize! That was my favorite game, and only because I thought I could spot the prize I wanted and if I was careful enough I could follow its string with my eyes, all the way up the back wall and across the ceiling. Then down to the front of the booth all in a bundle and we had to choose which string to pull to make the prize wiggle on the other end. I might have gotten lucky once but this method never worked! Entirely too many strings.

I was the oldest so I got to carry the tickets, and I wasnt satisfied until I had each one zigzag folded so it was a fat stack and I could hold them in my hand better. That ticket line was always long but it moved fast, way faster than the lines to the rides.

Although I don’t remember it being inside a building like it is now, the tilt-a-whirl was my very favorite ride because you could slide your body from side to side while pulling hard on the bar and it would make our cart spin so fast, round and round- spinning and making the lights blur as we whirled and twirled…I was freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Chincoteague wasn’t the only carnival back then but it is one of the only ones still opening for a few weeks every summer in our area now. I ride by it now and it seems so small, just like everything else, larger than life when we are children. That’s the wonder though, that’s the beautiful part – everything is huge to a child…remember that and make memories every chance you get.