James River State Park

After Thanksgiving, we stayed in a cabin for a couple of nights at James River State Park.  My brother and his family rented a cabin as well.  We saw in the cabin journal that many people saw bald eagles, so here is Reid trying to scout one out (we didn't have any luck).

There was a nice visitor center, a bit of a walk from our cabin.  Behind the visitor center was an observation deck and a long wooden boat.

The boys enjoyed playing chicken on a guard rail just outside our cabin.  We were getting ready to go on a hike.  We had decent weather, for November.

The boys introduced their cousins to the fun of geocaching during hiking.  We found four geocaches.  Reid also found a cicada, which you can see on the left side of his hat:

All five boys/cousins enjoyed the overlook of the Tye/James River.  We felt happy to be outside hiking about with family.  Virginia State Parks was having a photo contest over Thanksgiving weekend, and I submitted an edited version of the photo below.  It won grand prize, which was a gift card to the state parks.  Since we visit the state parks a couple of times a year anyhow, this was the perfect prize to win. 

There was also a playground that got much use.  My boys sure are better at the monkey bars than I am.

 

Claudia, at 12 weeks old, was too young to leave at home alone all weekend.  So she came along.  She's a good little traveler and a pro by the fireplace snuggler. 



The cabins were very nice, and offered amazing views of the sunset in the evenings.  It was one of our favorite things about James River State Park.

Overall, we had a wonderful time. It was nice to skip all the Black Friday madness (not that I ever do that) and just get outdoors for the weekend.