Flatlands

We got away this weekend to a place my dad would call "the flatlands." Generally, this region is called the Virginia Tidewater. Specifically, we were in Surry County.

We spent two nights camping at Chippokes State Park. This was not glamorous. This was not gourmet. This only happened because we planned it for my birthday weekend and had to postpone because of the hurricane. It was cold. It was rainy. It was flat.

We spent the better part of Saturday morning at the campsite trying to make breakfast while dependent on fire in the rain. Those sweet rolls that are cooked through and not burned are a victory you will never comprehend. We spent the afternoon at Colonial Williamsburg (yes, a recurring theme but we need to make the most of our yearly passes and learn so many new things each visit) and Sunday was devoted to birding at Hog's Island Wildlife Management Area and seeing the sights of the farm museum on site at the state park.

In other news, we upgraded our camera to a Panasonic Lumix with a 60x zoom to help us get some good pictures of birds. We waited, all bags packed, for the UPS man on Friday so we could take it with us. Here are a few snaps of life from the weekend. We've not had the chance to read the manual yet, much less work out the kinks. I thought the camera did a great job of tolerating mediocre users.  Note: the butterfly picture was taken by me at full height, using the zoom to avoid getting on my hands and knees for a macro shot. The eagles were about a mile away.