Hightop

It's been too long. I realized that as soon as I stepped out of my car onto the Hightop Mountain Parking Area in Shenandoah National Park. I used to hike the park's trails regularly. Now, because of their distance from me, it's something I do maybe, if I'm lucky, once or twice a year. I'd like to promise myself to return more frequently, but I know I can't. I can only make the most of the opportunities I have. So here I am about to embark upon another adventure up the Hightop Mountain Trail.

Return to the Sea

As this region prepares for yet another round of high tides and coastal flooding as the result of a close brush with a hurricane (Erin), I'm reminded of how Tidewater Virginia was all once the bottom of an ocean anyway. The evidence is never far from reach.

Chesapecten Jeffersonius

Chesapecten jeffersonius? I think so. If so, then Wikipedia says that it is "the fossilized form of an extinct scallop, which lived in the early Pliocene epoch between four and five million years ago on Virginia's coastal plain."

Trail Bites

A recent return to the Greensprings Interpretive Trail revealed higher than usual water levels in the swamp and . . . a correspondingly high number of bug bites. Ouch!

Wingin' It

Over the North Atlantic

Over Frankford, New Jersey

Breeze Airways

 

This was my first experience flying Breeze Airways. I booked it primarily because it offered a direct flight from Hartford, Connecticut to Richmond, Virginia, and most definitely not because I would have to get up at 3:30 a.m. in order to get to Bradley International Airport in time for the 7 a.m. departure. 

Would I fly Breeze again? Definitely. Even if I had to get up again at 3:30 a.m., mostly because of my prevous experiences with connecting flights. Like the flights from Richmond to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to Hartford. No complimentary snacks, but there was plenty of room for my carry-on bag and briefcase. 

Leverett Trail

Leverett Trail