Your are correct-- the place you can see the ponies roaming free is Assateague. The ponies you can see in Chincoteague are the ones being rounded up/ ones that have been penned. In July they have the Firemens' Fair and Pony Penning festival going on pretty much all month with a lot of fun country-fair type events.

When we have gone, we like to stay in Chincoteague or another VA Shore town and drive to the national park to see the ponies. There is a pretty nice walk that they have there that my daughter (7) and I enjoyed, and we did see some ponies relatively close-up. The beach is wild and beautiful. The park is minutes from Chincoteague. (I am pretty sure that it straddles the state line-- but not 100% sure!)

I am sentimental about Chincoteague because of the book (Misty of Chincoteague) and because I am Virginian-- my family is from the Onancock area (although no one lives there full time now.)

And, of course, Chincoteague is also right by Wallop's Island where they still shoot off NASA rockets on a fairly regular basis. Not sure if there are tours though.

I like Chincoteague and the other VA Eastern Shore towns because they are like stepping back in time. There are a handful of brand new hotels and such, but basically its all owner operated small businesses and everything is very quaint.

Thanks for the welcome-- and enjoy VA!