Hungry Mother State Park

 

 

About a month ago we checked off another state park from the old "to-do" list....Hungry Mother State Park.  Located in Marion Virginia (think Southwest part of the State) right off of I-81.  It has hiking, camping, cabins, a lake, a restaurant and the cutest visitor center ever. 

 

 

Since we visited the park at the tail end of February we opted for a cabin.  This park has both newer cabins and older cabins.  Some have open porches while others have open decks.  All come with the standard linens, pots/pans, and bundle of firewood that you get with the State Parks.  There is a 6 bedroom lodge on site as well if you have a big family or just need your space :-)

 

There are tent camping sites and RV sites in the park.  The stream above is right along the tent camping sites which can be reserved in advance on the park's reservation website.  I'm already scoping them out for the warm season! 

 

 

Can you see the snow flakes in the picture?  Yes it snowed while we were visiting!  And there was fog!  That made it hard to see the mountains in the distance but if you squint just right....well I can see them.

 

 

Also unique to the park is their restaurant.  It isn't open in the winter. The restaurant sits right next to the lake so you have a nice view of the water with the hills reflection. 

Well hello there.



Molly's Knob

Lets talk hiking....this park was the BOMB.  Mark bought us each a shirt at the visitor center with Molly's Knob on it.  I told him we had to hike up to Molly's Knob if we wanted to wear the shirts without question.  Despite the chilly weather and the snow on the ground we made it to the top and back in just a couple hours.  There were some pretty neat findings along the way too. 

Icicles coming off a log

Molly's Knob in the back ground

More brown icicles



At the top!

This was the first longish hike we went on that Emma did without us having to carry her.  She was a trooper.

Coming back down you have a great view of the park's beach

 

The view from the top...too pretty to not post it again.

I showed you a picture of the beach at the park....that beach in the summer is for swimming, renting canoes or paddle boats, it has a bathhouse and a floating dock out in the water with a diving board.  When we come back to camp I want to bring our kayaks. 

 

I've heard a couple stories about where the park gets it's name.  Warming...if you don't like sad stories just stop reading here...otherwise....There is a legend of a settler named Molly that was taken, along with her small child, by Indians.  Eventually they escaped from the Indians and wandered the wilderness with little to nothing to eat.  Eventually Molly became to weak to go on and the child wandered down the creek.  The child was found and lead others back to where Molly had been left...but it was too late. Molly had died.  See I told you it was sad.  I've read that in books, on web sites and in forums.  There is apparently a version of the story in Pennsylvania as well.  I don't recall if it's ever been confirmed.  I suppose that is why it's a legend. 

 

I'm not one to end on a sad note but this momma has some plans to make. 

 

Hope you have a great week.  Happy adventures.

 

 

 

Happy New Year and a First Day Hike

Happiest of New Years to you!  We are just getting settled back in from a quick New Year/Birthday trip.  I got the wild idea that since we've never brought in the New Year at the beach it would be the perfect year to mark that off the list.  Plus it was my birthday and everyone knows that if it's your birthday you get to pick where/what you do :-) 

Our nearest beach is Virginia Beach-about 2 hours away.  With all the kids in tow we headed East and in no time found sand, waves and a boardwalk still decorated for Christmas.

 

Three miles worth of the boardwalk is decorated with lights.  At night you can drive on the boardwalk to take in the full affect.  We did that on a visit a few year ago. 

 

 

We had a great dinner and played board games until later in the night.  Then headed inland just a smidge to actually bring in the New Year.



Laser show

Virginia Beach puts on a big celebration including a laser show, live music, a ball drop and fire works.  Last Night on the Town. 

Last Night on the Town





Everyone but Emma managed to make it to the new year awake and standing.  It was a fun night celebrating with family....and of course a few thousand strangers :-)

 

The next morning we continued a Bryant Family tradition with a First Day Hike.  Since we were at the beach we visited First Landing State Park for our hike. 

 

Bald Cypress Trail

 

I have been here countless times.  We have camped here, biked here, stayed on the sandy beach for hours here....but I have never hiked here.  In fact I have never been over to the hiking trails.  Can I just tell you that it was awesome!  First off the weather in the area had been raining for days, if not weeks.  The day of our hike the rain stopped and for a brief minute the sun actually came out.  Secondly I love swampy areas with a boardwalk.  Weird I know but I LOVE it.  There are plenty of boardwalks over swampy land here.  As an added bonus this is one of the few areas in Virginia that grows Spanish moss.  I was in heaven.  Third...my family was all together.  With Tommy off at college and working we don't often get everyone together as much as I would like. 

 

 

Now we are home and getting back into the routine of work, dance classes, scouting and crafting.  I hope that you all are enjoying the New Year.  May you and your family share many bright blessings. 

 

Outlook Beach

 

With the end of summer staring us down I thought I would share some pictures from a resent trip we took this summer to the beach. 

 

Located in the Hampton Roads area, Outlook Beach, is one of two beaches associated with Fort Monroe and is located on the Chesapeake Bay.  This beach does have lifeguards, bathrooms (port-a-johns) and a picnic area.  There are no showers, no fees to enter and no convenience stores next to the beach.  There is a board walk that looked great for biking or roller blading but bring your own as there were no rentals...at least at this end of the beach.

 

 

 

 

You are directly across from Fort Monroe so if you need a break from sunbathing you can cross the street and tour the area.  We did exactly that and snapped a few pictures...I promise to share those soon. 

This beach wasn't crowded and offered plenty to do.  If you are the kind that needs to rinse off after a day at the beach before driving home I suggest bringing a solar shower filled with water and rinse off after visiting the beach.  And since the bathrooms are in the form of port-a-johns I would also suggest handi wipes and hand sanitizer. 

 

 

Pros for us: small waves (I didn't worry as much about the 5 year old) and no parking fee

 

Cons: small waves (teenagers were looking to body surf) and no place to wash our hands

 

All in all everyone had a really good time and we checked another new-to us place off of our list of places in Virginia to visit.