Staunton River battlefield State Park

While on our recent weekend trip to Scottsburg (Halifax County) we made a stop at Stauton River Battlefield State Park.  This park is should not to be confused with Stauton River State Park, which is close and we also visited.  The Battlefield Park is a historical Civil War site that is near and dear to many in this area.  There are two entrances to the park, each with a visitor center.  The park has Confederate earthworks and a trail that is close to a mile long.  

Crossing over to the earthworks

 

Beautiful views along the entire way.



The visitor center for Roanoke Station



Could have passed for a real train station if you asked me


Mark and I nicknamed the trail Honeysuckle Path because it smelled of honeysuckle the entire way.  There were no bathrooms on the mile long path.  There was a port-a-john at one end of the trail and the station at the other end of the trail.  The only problem was that on a Sunday morning the station was closed.  There are picnic tables at the station if you want to bring a basket full of goodies....and invite us. 

Hope you are getting over this hump day....or as we call it Hump Me Day ;-)

Busy Busy Bryants



What's been blooming at HQ



Since my last post we have visited 2 Virginia State Parks, 2 wineries, and 1 botanical garden.  We have put together one giant shed, celebrated Mother's Day, and visited Norfolk for a concert.  We have been trying to live up to the name Busy Bryants.  The weird thing is from day to day I feel like we are moving pretty slow...it's not until I look back at the calendar do I realize we sometimes burn our candle at both ends. 

Happy to say IT'S DONE!

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens



Jazz Music at Weston Manor in Hopewell Virginia


I'll post more on the parks and the wineries this week and next.  And that shed....well now that it is done it leaves room for another project to take place...I have this mad crazy idea on how to create a perfect little hide away in the yard!  You know Mark is a saint for putting up with my crazy plans :-) 

If you live in or around the Tri-Cities area of Virginia you still have a couple weeks to enjoy a free concert put on by the Historic Hopewell Foundation.  The concerts are held at Weston Plantation in Hopewell.  You can find more info here. 

And that little trip to Norfolk....got us home about 1 am....and we had to both get up for work the next morning!  We really had a great time at the concert but I hope we don't ever have to come to work again on just a few hours sleep. 


Fitz and the Tantrums!


So how about you?  What kind of fun things are you getting into for the summer?  Maybe you'll give me an idea for our next adventure. 

  

York River State Park

It's a rare thing that I have a day off and nothing already planned.  It's even more rare that on a day with nothing planned the kids have school, Mark has to work and I'm pretty much free to do whatever it is I feel like doing.  This past Monday was exactly that kind of day!   I took advantage of the time and visited a place I've been interested in visiting but knew that everyone else would only be going because of me.  I got up early (ish)....I mean it was a day OFF....and headed East on I64 towards Williamsburg.  I took the 231B, Croaker, exit and followed the signs.  Before I knew it I was at York River State Park.

Like I mentioned before I have wanted to visit this park for a while now.  I've passed by the exit at least a dozen times in the last couple years and every time I would think "I need to visit that park".  I was surprised at how close it is to home and how close it is to our favorite wineries ;-) 

The park is located right on the York River and on Taskinas Creek.  So you get marshes, forest trails and river beaches  all in one park.  I saw herons, hawks, deer, and one black snake.  He went one way and I went the other!   According to their website they offer canoe and kayak rentals during the summer for use on the river and creek.  I also saw paddle boats on the small pond that is located in the park as well.  But no bike rentals.  Like the other state parks we've visited, they have bathrooms, pavilions, playgrounds and a visitor center.  This is a day use park only though...no camping or cabins.   

I spent a good five hours hiking around the park and sitting on the river beaches.  Now that I've seen the park I think the kids would all find something here they can enjoy.  Maybe when we visit the local wineries again we can make the extra trek here for a picnic afterwards!