Fireworks x2! – 2014

July 6, 2014 by anyonecantakeapicture

I was lucky enough to get fireworks two days in a row this year! Chesterfield county does them at the fairgrounds so I watched those on the 4th. There is also a fireworks show downtown on the 3rd, but because of the threat of the tropical storm, they postponed the show until the 5th.

These are from the 4th.

I have never seen the show downtown and thought the war memorial would be a good place to see them, but I left the house too late and the bridges were closed off, so I went to the floodwall, which is under one of the bridges. I didn’t know where the fireworks would actually be coming from and the bridge definitely ended up getting in the way (that’s the black bar in some of the shots). But I now know the memorial will probably be a good vantage point, I’ll just need to leave early next time.

Echo Lake Park

June 9, 2014 by anyonecantakeapicture

There is a little park in Henrico I used to pass all the time and I finally went in last week. It has about a 1/2 mile trail that loops around the lake with a few benches to sit and watch the wildlife on. It also has a picnic area with some grills as well as a small playground.

While most people probably go clock-wise around a trail, I tend to start on the right-hand side and go counter clock-wise (I do the same thing at the grocery store too, don’t quite know why). If you start on the right, you have to cross a bridge over a spillway that drops down into a smaller pond.

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I stuck my head over the edge and found a mama duck and three babies either drinking the water, or catching little bits of I don’t know what and eating them. But it was cute to watch them float, catch themselves, and waddle back to mom!

I then made my way to the trail and took a few shots of the forest and trees as well as the path itself.

Not quite half-way around, there was an opening in the trees where I could see the lake again. I happened to look up while I was walking and spotted a Great Blue Heron!

I was fortunate enough to spot him (?) while catching a fish!

Spearing it

Grabbing it

Preparing to swallow it

And its gone!

Half-way point around the lake

View of the end of the lake

Bubbles from…something…

Ferns and other foliage I spotted on the trail

The sun was going down, but I was still able to catch some rays through the leaves

Part of the fishing pier and parking lot off on the left

It’s a nice, peaceful and quaint park that I will definitely be returning to in the near future.

Getting to know Virginia – Hopewell/City Point

May 25, 2014 by anyonecantakeapicture

Hopewell is just a few minutes away from Chester on route 10. After following a few Civil War signs, I came across City Point, which overlooks the Appomattox River. According to Wikipedia: City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.

It has a small pier for fishing as well as a trail that follows the river. I didn’t follow it the entire way, just long enough to shoot a few photos. It was quiet and very serene with some benches and a few picnic tables to sit and enjoy the view.

Up the hill from the water was the entrance to the National Park. It has a house and some nice grounds, but I didn’t explore further. I’ll return at a later time and add additional photos.