Several friends of Norma and myself, along with their kids, joined us for a car camping weekend at Westmoreland State Park in Virginia. The day before our adventure began, it rained quite a bit. But I think the storm drew in all the humidity so when it passed, we were left with clear, sunny, dry weather.

Some of us drove out on Friday afternoon. Norma and I left the house at 1450. This was not a wise decision. Traffic was hideous. But we made it with more than enough time to get set up with plenty of daylight. Spots are first come, first served. Rekha and Harald were the first to arrive so they snagged several nice sites in a cul-de-sac for our group. It eventually became a haven for small children throughout the B loop.

I tried to build a campfire and failed miserably. But Harald had some lighter fluid and with his help, we got it stoking. I guess I would not have made a good Boy Scout. We all ate hot dogs that Harald grilled.

We put away our food before bed last night but I left out my Nerf football. In the morning, I saw several chunks of it scattered about. My first thought was to blame Jimmy and Joyce's younger daughter because she has a reputation of being destructive but it is more likely that a wild animal came through our campsite and chewed it up.

Norma and I prepared an egg and sausage breakfast with eggs from our chickens and sausage from her sister Laah's farm.

Malar's family showed up. I think her two youngest girls grew about six inches since I last saw them.

We drove to the visitor center and then walked on Big Meadow Trail to Fossil Beach. We were there for about two or three hours, looking for shark's teeth, and playing in the water. I found 21 shark teeth, four pieces of ray dental palate, some petrified wood, and something that looked like molten rock.
Jimmy had the most interesting find, a cow shark tooth. After I told him what it was, he looked things up and reported that cow sharks are
Typically found in northern cold deep waters and only occasionally found in shallow waters for feeding or giving birth. They are very aggressive meat eaters and have six to seven gill slits as opposed to the normal five of all other sharks. Can range in size from about four to 18 feet.

On our walk back, we saw Rey, Federico, and their sons. We all walked back to the cars, drove back to the campsite for a rest, and then went swimming at the park pool. Rey and I did a short swim race. I'll let you guess who won (not him).

Back at the campsite, we had a feast which included grilled chicken and goat made by Malar. Rey, Federico, and their kids enjoyed fine camping cuisine.
In old-fashioned camping tradition, the kids (and some adults) roasted marshmallows and made smores.

In the wee hours of the morning, I heard a barred owl and then coyotes howling.

Jimmy, Joyce, and their two daughters left early for another commitment but before they departed, we took a group picture. Not pictured is Rey's youngest son who was still sleeping.
The rest of us ate breakfast which included bacon which Rekha cooked.

Rey, Federico, and their sons went to Fossil Beach while the rest of us did an approximately two mile loop hike from our campsite to Rock Spring Pond Trail, Rock Spring Pond, back to the main road on Laurel Point Trail, and finally to the B loop on the Conservation Corps Fitness Trail.

We saw a seven point buck.

At the pond we saw a frog and turtle.

The fitness trail has various stations set up for exercises which the kids (and some grown ups) tried out.

Our final adventure at the park was kayaking on the Potomac River. They don't let kids under six use their boats so I had Harald and Rekha's youngest son and Harald use my Ocean Kayak Cabo tandem while I paddled my Cobra Expedition. Out of the goodness of their hearts, the boat rental place loaned Harald and Rekha's youngest a personal floatation device (PFD) which fit him just right.

The boat ramp was closed for repair so we carried my boats to the beach where we launched with the other rental boats which were already there. After being on the water for less than ten minutes, one of Malar's girls fell out. I pulled her back in and we continued. We paddled along Horsehead Cliffs which looks very much like Calvert Cliffs on the Chesapeake Bay. Both are well known for being good places to find shark teeth. Unfortunately, the staff at the boat rental facility told us not to land at the cliffs. On the return, I passed a couple of other kayakers whose boat was submerged. Fortunately, they weren't far out from shore so they could swim it back easily.

Back at the campsite, we all packed up. Rey, Federico, and their kids headed home to celebrate Father's Day with their wives while the rest of us drove to the town of Colonial Beach where we ate a late lunch at Dockside.

For a few people, it was their first time camping. This was a great introduction to easy, family camping. There was plenty of stuff for the kids to do and it was far from "roughing it." Norma and I felt it was a big success. Maybe we'll do it again next year, choosing someplace different but just as fun!