Mini vacation - part 2

Thursday afternoon

Wow, that had been a glorious morning and lunch. A little rest, probably a coffee and a game of cards on the patio. Ha-ha, may be no internet means I can't work on anything and chill (but then when back home again ... catch-up).

So, after 4 pm we decided it was time for a walk on the beach. Nice not to need the car. 

I think this is actually not the ocean yet but its still the Chesapeake Bay (or estuary). Not sure what those poles are for. For boaters? For fishers? Anyway, it was funny to see a bird/gull on each one of them.

Yes, plenty of steps today. This was a really wonderful time mostly spent in nature. Thank you, Lord!

Friday

The weather forecast was not so favorable. We were supposed to get rain on and off most of the day. We 'googled' on parks/trails near by and decided to go to West Neck Creek Natural Area. It had a nice write-up.

It was strange that it lead us to park the car in a cul-de-sac in a brand new subdivision but there was what it looked like the beginning of a trail. 

We walked around and around but always came soon to the edge of the woods and the walkway ended every time. We never came across the natural trails it had advertised. 

Finally we went back to the car and googled again. When we put the address again into the app and drove it got even more strange. Obviously we were not going in the right directions. When we pulled over and checked everything again we found that as soon as we clicked 'go' it would change the address. This was on my iPhone but when James tried it on his exactly the same happened.

This photo is just before 2249 Mt Pleasant Rd and it is right next to a bridge which opens to let taller ships through. Of course this is what just happened here. We could see the masts of the sailboat go from left to right.

We never solved this mystery, gave up and went back. We had a quick lunch and a nice walk again on the beach. The clouds looked ominous but it was warm so we didn't care. 

There was quite a strong wind and people was using sails for boarding etc (not sure what you call it). We watched a guy for quite a while who never got up. Poor guy. He had a teacher but it didn't seem to help.

We had a lovely walk. Lots to see. No worries about covid. Here we put our shoes back on.

Two blocks back to the airbnb. A cup of coffee. 

Then we decided to pack up and go home. Rain still forecast. Only a 2 hour drive. Might as well sleep well in our own beds. Some rain on the way back. Some hold-up before going through the tunnel. We had a good time altogether. We are encouraged to do something like that soon again. Ha-ha, might just splurge a little more on the accommodations.

Mini vacation - part 1

We had some busy times and thought we should take a break ... go away just for a couple of days. A quick google search. Should it be into the mountains or to the beach. We didn't want to go far and decided that we should go into the mountains next month when the leaves are turning color. So an airbnb at Virginia Beach it was. 

Wednesday September 15

It's only an about 2 hour drive. Even though we had to finish up things to do at home we were still too early. Check-in at 2 pm. I had packed a lunch picnic and we found a little park close to our destination. It was very cute. A mom was on the swing with her little girl who said hello. And we did a little walk. 

The airbnb was very close to the "First Landing State Park" so we had a quick stop before check-in. There was even a little museum. Much of the history we knew from visits to Yorktown and Williamsburg. 

A quick view of the beach.

2 pm and check-in. We had a little problem getting the code for the door because we looked in the wrong place but soon it was resolved. We settled in and played a game on 'our' patio.

Walking around here has some problems. See those burrs? Well, just be careful.

Even though the airbnb was not quite what we had expected the location was super ... walking distance to the beach and walking distance to the bay and restaurants. We walked for dinner to the "Porch on Long Creek". 

Don't know whether we would have found it without our smart phones but well, we have them!

We asked for a place outside, had to wait a little and then were very happy. Haha, roll reversal. James had scallops. I like seafood but had salmon this time even though I thought it wasn't really local (which I usually prefer). We both thoroughly enjoyed our dinners. 

And what is better than being able to walk to and from? 

No problem finding our way 'home'.

Thursday

Yup, leisurely waking up and even watching some morning show.

We are not much about breakfast so we soon were at the state park which was very near. We went to the visitor center/ ranger station and got good advice which trail to pick. 

We went on the Osmanthus Trail which is a loop. We enjoyed it tremendously. Parts were boardwalks because it was a wetland area. Some were even eagle scout projects. Very impressive. 

Lots of spanish moss in the next two photos. Later in the museum we were told that this is the most north area were you would find that.

The trail went a bit up and down (because these are actually dunes) but very comfortable. We hardly met other people. Quiet and peaceful.

Already back. Should have gone on another trail.

But we had a quick look at the exhibition there.

First we thought we would go back to our airbnb but then decided to see what is on the other side of the park ... more Virginia Beach. Well, this is the boardwalk area.

We decided to park in a parkhouse. This is from the stairs going down.

And right on the other side of the street was an inviting looking restaurant "Catch 31", right next to the Neptune Park and Neptune Statue. Not sure what we had but it sure was good!

Afterwards of course we had to walk down the beach. Neptune is in the picture but I didn't take a closer picture. It was all just so nice.

Ah yes, and then it was time to head back ... to contemplate what to do next!