2009 Road Trips and Adventures

VIRGNIA BEACH 2009
This year we again adventured down the east coast to Virginia Beach. This time we spent a great deal of time learning about the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay.

On our drive down we crossed over the truly impressive and terrifying (did I mention I'm claustrophobic) Chesapeak Bay Bridge-TunnelThe Bridge-Tunnel project is a four-lane 20-mile-long vehicular toll crossing of the lower Chesapeake Bay. From shore to shore, the Bridge-Tunnel measures 17.6 miles (28.4 km) and is considered the world's largest bridge-tunnel complex. Construction of the span required undertaking a project of more than 12 milesof low-level trestle, two 1-mile tunnels, two bridges, almost 2 miles of causeway, four manmade islands and 5-1/2 miles of approach roads, totaling 23 miles.

We stayed at the First Landing State park. The park is the first place where members of the Virginia Company landed. They went on to settle Jamestown. The National Register of Natural Landmarks and the National Register of Historic Landmarks have listed First Landing State Park because of its historic heritage. The park is also home to the Chesapeake Bay Beach. This is a beautiful stretch of quiet uncrowded beach. A great place to swim, run, picnic observe the sea life or watch the sunset.

We spent a whole afternoon hiking the Long Creek Trail which follows along the edge of the bay and salt marsh lands for over half its 5 mile length. It also passes near While Hill Lake, offering lovely views of the lake and the open wetlands that surround it. Just south of its northern junction with Long Creek Trail, there is a salt marsh boardwalk and a viewing platform. This trail is a great bird watching spot.We were able to see several Egrets, native oysters, a terrapin and a lot of blue crabs. They were everywhere!

The blue crab is an monivore eating both plants and animals. Blue crabs typically consume thin-shelled bivalves, annelids, small fish, plants and nearly any other item they can find, including carrion, other blue crabs and human waste. Male and female blue crabs can be distinguished by their "aprons", or their abdomens. Male crabs have a long, narrow apron, while mature female crabs have a wide, rounded one. A common mnemonic is to remember that if the apron looks like the Washington Monument, the crab is male; if like the U.S. Capitol, it is female. (This tied in well with the fact that we visited these places last summer)


Both on the trail and at the First Landing Education center we were able to study native oyster beds and learn about the effort to restore them.

While in Virginia Beach we also visited the Abbey Road Pub and Restaurant. This is a must for all Beatles lovers! We had an amazing lunch pouring over all the memorabilia and singing along to the music. Naturally we had to take our picture out back in the parking lot with the GIANT Abbey Road painting.

Flower Show, Adams National Historic Park, Amethyst Brook
In April 2009 we visited the Mount Holyoke Flower show. This is an annual event that we look forward to ever year. This year the event showcased hundreds of spring-blossoming bulbs and plants.

In September we visited Adams National Historic park. The park has two main sites: the Birthplaces of 2nd U.S. President John Adams and 6th U.S. President John Quincy Adams, and Peacefield including the “Old House,” home to four generations of the Adams family, and the Stone Library which contains more than 14,000 historic volumes. The library was wonderful. I just wish they would let us read the books! Outside Peacefield was Abagail Adam's beautiful garden. It was just gorgeous! We have now visited the homes of the first 6 Presidents of the United States: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Adams.

As usually we spent much of our summer hiking at the Amethyst Brook Conservation area and climbing Mount Orient. This is one of our favorite places. Just before the bridge on the left side of the trail there is a large rock cairn constructed. It is a reminder to all the things in our lives we have to give thanks for. Each time we visit the conservation area we take a small rock from the stream bed and add it to the pile reminding ourselves to be grateful for our abundance. Our neighbors and friends ow regularly add to the pile and it is a beautiful place where we can all share and give thanks. If you walk further down the trail towards the next bridge up on the left you will find an amazing spiral built of stones. I'm not sure who built it. It has been there for years. It is a treasured sacred spot in the woods. The brook is a great place to splash in the water a bit, build a sand castle or fairy house on the stream bed and play with friends in the forest. The top of Mt Orient has an amazing view and a wonderful energy. At the top you can sit in a two person swing and look out over the valley. It is about a mile and a half hike to the peak. The views are worth every inch of the hike.

We had a wonderful, educational and inspiring summer this year. Currently we are planning our next road trip to Montreal for Thanksgiving 2009.