This weekend’s outing to Cape Hatteras was being derailed by the approach of Hurricane Ian but the current weather was beautiful so a quick change of plans was in order. In true S24O fashion, I decided to stay very local and hit First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. It’s only about 7 miles from my doorstep so I left the office, threw my car camping kit in the 4-Runner and made the arduous 10 minute drive to the park. It was a nice reminder that you don’t always have to travel a lot of miles to enjoy a little time in the outdoors.

After a nice dinner and a short walk around the campground, I threw a fireplace log on the campfire and enjoyed a couple Manhattans to the faint sounds of automatic gunfire. OK, that probably requires a bit of an explanation.

First Landing State Park Campground directly adjoins Fort Story – the Army’s only training facility for logistics-over-the-shore operations to train troops on amphibious equipment. In fact, the campsites on the outer most part of the eastern loop are directly adjacent to a chainlink fence and the typical “U.S. Govt. Property – No Trespassing” sign. I have no idea what kind of drills were being conducted, but it’s the first time I ever fell asleep to the faint sounds of a machine gun. At least there was no doubt about it being friendly.

The gunfire subsided, the campfire eventually burned down, and I enjoyed a restful night before packing up the following morning and still making it to the office by 9AM. Not a bad way to spend the an evening.