[Collection of journal entries for First Landing State Park, during the September 19-24, 2021, Virginia Beach Trip]

September 19, 2021

In the afternoon, I hiked in First Landing State Park. Its entrance is on 64^th Street, a few blocks west of Atlantic Avenue and comprises much of the land between that avenue and the bay, for Virginia Beach is a barrier island, a long and narrow strip of sand between ocean and bay. I enjoyed the many flowers in the gardens along Atlantic Avenue and its side streets. Crape Myrtle, a small tree with brilliant red flowers that lines the sidewalks, is especially beautiful. Not paying sufficient attention, I overshot the entrance, taking 66^th Street instead, and then took an informal trail over a tree-covered dune to the main parking lot.

I walked northwest along the Cape Henry Trail, which is more of a woods road with a packed sand surface. It crosses a swampy area, full of shallow, Duckweed-covered ponds out of which tall Bald Cypress Trees grow. These trees have “knees”, stalagmite-like protrusions that rise out of the water, two-to-three feet, often quite far from the trunk of the tree. According to Wikipedia, their function is unknown. The trail is mostly level, but passes some low hills, which I took for ancient, vegetation-stabilized sand dunes. I turned onto the White Hill Lake Trail, which is a narrow hiking trail. Along it, I encountered many trees draped with Spanish Moss (which despite its name, is an epiphytic flowering plant). The trail took me to White Hill Lake, which is a marshy area with a central pond, that sits in a broad hollow formed by the dunes that I had passed on one side and an arcuate sandy ridge on the bay side that I suppose is some kind of beach deposit. The vegetation is mainly Spartina alterniflora, with some Horsetails, Glasswort, rushes and, of course, the ubiquitous Phragmites. I found several spur trails that took me to the edge of the marsh, which allowed me to see some waterfowl, and especially Common Egret. I transferred to the Long Creek trail and soon reached a footbridge over a channel that connects the lake with the bay. It was wide enough that I suppose that the lake water is saline (though I did not check). Past the bridge, I took several spur trails that provided view of the Broad Bay (which is a tiny appendage to the enormous Chesapeake Bay to which it connects). Some sections of the trail offer excellent view of the lake. I sighted a Little Blue Heron (though its color was more grey than blue), a few more Common Egrets and an Osprey. Many sections of the trail pass by trees heavily decorated with Spanish Moss. I also encountered a few individuals of Prickly Pear Cactus, mostly on steeper (and maybe drier?) hillsides along the trail. Eventually, I crossed a paved park road (which connects 64^th Street to the boat ramp) and joined a section of the Cape Henry Trail that I had not yet traversed. It parallels the shore of Lake Susan Constant (actually, an impoundment with an earth-fill dam at its western end. I spent a few minutes admiring the Cypress swamp near the park entrance, before heading back to the apartment. 2:30.

September 21, 2021

Late in the afternoon, I took another hike in First Landing Park. I took the Cape Henry Trail (which seems also to be called the Raptor Trail) from the 64^th Street park entrance to its western end at the boat ramp. The trail passes Lake Susan Constant and then crosses a wetland. Two pedestrian bridges span small tidal channels. I spotted a Common Egret fishing in one of the channels. An Osprey flew by, high overhead. The last third of the way is along Broad Bay. I passed several little beaches that I will encourage Dallas to try out. I hiked to the boat ramp, and the took the park road back to 64^th Street. 1:30.

September 23, 2021

In the mid-morning, I walked with Dallas in First Landing Park. The weather had deteriorated a bit and light rain was falling. We admired the Cypress swamp near the 64^th Street entrance. All the Cypress knees give the flooded land beneath the trees a very exotic look. We hiked west along the Cape Henry Trail and stopped at the first little beach that we came to, which I guess is about a mile from the Park entrance. Dallas swam in Broad Bay while I looked on. An along-shore current expedited her swim west, but slowed her return. On the way back, Dallas spotted a tiny lizard, only an inch or so long, on the sandy trail. 1:00.

September 24, 2021

In the morning of a sunny day, Dallas and I repeat yesterday’s walk in First Landing Park, taking the Cape Henry trail towards the boat launch. We passed an Osprey sitting in a Pine Tree whose branches overhung the sea. We stopped at the second little beach that we came to, one beneath an old dune. Dallas swam in Broad Bay, while I sat relaxing on a log. Like yesterday, the current seemed pretty strong. 1:00.

Later in the day, I took a longer hike in First Landing Park. I began at the 64^th Street entrance, and after walking past Lake Susan Constant on the Cape Henry Trail, crossed the paved park road, and hiked a short section of the Long Creek Trail to the Osprey Trail and then back to the Long Creek Trail. These trails follow the arcuate sandy ridge that encloses the wetland that includes White Hill Lake. They are mostly beneath trees draped in Spanish Moss and have nice views of Broad Bay. Towards the end, the Long Creek Trail skirts the lake and crosses its connection to the bay via a pedestrian bridge. I could see a few Common Egrets out in the lake, but none of them were close to my location. Once past the bridge, I followed an unnamed trail on a narrow strip of sand between bay and marsh. I guess it is some sort of old beach deposit. The tide was high and the trail was underwater in places. I resigned myself to just walking through it and getting water into my (low cut) hiking boots. The views are all terrific. Returning to the Long Creek trail, I climbed up onto an observation deck that I guess is used for birdwatching. It offers a nice view of a little crescent-shaped bay, but none of birds at that moment. I passed the beach where we had pulled ashore during our kayak trip, and another beach with a rope wing that we had passed earlier in that same trip. Finally, the Long Creek Trail turned inland and terminated at Route 343, a paved park road. I walked that road just a few hundred yards until I connected with the Fox Run Trail, which took me to the Bald Cypress Trail. The Bald Cypress swamp that it circles is extraordinary, with much large trees, with much larger knees, that the one that I had viewed by the 64^th Street Park entrance. Eventually, I connected with the Cape Henry Trail. It took me straight back to 64^th Street, a distance of about four miles. It is a flat, easy trail, which suited me well, for I was getting pretty weary. 3:45.