Tonight is the big night; mother and daughter will be reunited. First up, Jutta and I went for a trip south through the Maryland countryside to the Assateague Island National Seashore.

Out here next to the Atlantic Ocean, we spent the better part of the day watching ponies.

In keeping with the tradition of her high-spirited daughter, Jutta doffed her shoes and headed right for the surf for her very first encounter with this side of the Atlantic ocean.

We came for ponies, but we know how to enjoy the deer, too.

Being here also has another special meaning for Jutta as her horse-loving granddaughter Katarina, back home in Germany, will likely appreciate the souvenirs we’ll be collecting out here. Speaking of Katarina, it was just her 9th birthday six days ago.

Caroline and I first visited this island just a couple of years ago, in 2007.

Around noon, we were delighted to watch this new foal cling to her mother…

…until curiosity got the best of the youngster, and it came over and gave a sniff to my very surprised mother-in-law.

We are on our way north along the Atlantic coast.

The shoes didn’t come off this afternoon, which was okay as Jutta had already dipped her feet into the chilly Atlantic.

Well, before reaching Caroline at the Baltimore airport and after having passed through a small corner of Delaware, we just had to have this photo of my mother-in-law standing in from the welcome sign of Caroline County, Maryland.