Number Two Hundred and Twenty Six:
CAMPING PART 2
James River State Park, Lunch, Ham Sandwich
The next day after breakfast, we went to the Canoe Livery, rented some inner tubes and took to the James on a two mile float. It was extremely relaxing, I hadn't gone tubing in years, the kids loved it and we did too. There weren't a lot of rapids necessarily, but some decent enough ripples to work you up. The halfway point was a giant boulder coming up out of the river, with an island like sandbar on the opposite side. There was already a group of people on the island, so we went for the rock. We found a nice sized snake skin there, then a few of us wanted to try and cross the river to the island after the break. All but two made it after some goofy-ass paddling to get over. The two left were Ceci and one of her boys who meandered around the other side of the bank and apparently came across a big ass snake while doing so. That set Ceci's mojo off a bit.
Anyway, we finished floating down, the trip taking about 2-3 hours after goofing off at the halfway, and then the stoner-like Livery guy came and picked us up to take us back. As he drove us around the park back to the Livery, he told us about the three sets of small graveyards that were around the park. He pointed to two on the way, but said he couldn't remember where the third one was located. They were from the previous owners of the land. We had lunch back at the campsite, Ceci insisting on cooking for the boys while Lisa and I very low keyly made ham sammies. Ceci really wanted the exchange student, Francois, to be involved in a Napstache, so we did the one here. The kid probably had no idea what this whole 365 Project is about, but he certainly understood the humor of putting a napkin on your face to look like a moustache!
The afternoon was spent with the kids continuing to play in the River, while Lisa and I went looking for showers to take. Later in the evening, after dinner, Ceci, Lisa & I went to hike the "money shot" hike that they advertise for the place; the Tye River overlook. It was a nice energetic walk uphill to view. The overlook was very pretty, a place where two rivers meet:
Tye River Overlook
But as you can tell, the time of day was a little off for peak enjoyment. The sun was directly on us, like a magnifying glass to ants, very hot and we didn't linger there long. As we were heading back, nearing the car which was parked near the visitor's center, we found the third graveyard! All of us were curious as to how old the graves were, so we headed up the embankment to check it out. It was the Dixon family plot, with the oldest grave being from the Victorian era, the newest was 2009! We paid our respects among the yucca and shade then headed back to camp. A good solid day at a State Park!
Yucca and Dixon Graves
