Montross, VA (USA)

Stephanie arrived at my apartment at 0900 and we packed up for our trip to Westmoreland State Park.  We took my car because it had more gas.  There was a lot of traffic on I-95 but we made it to the outskirts of Fredericksburg by 1025.  I filled up on fuel at Wawa (Stephanie also got snacks).  We then drove east on VA-3.  Stephanie was very excited about all of the fleamarkets and antique shops we passed.  We reached the State Park at 1115 - the weather was beautiful - and the gate guard at the park gave us information about finding fossil shark teeth near the picnic area on the west side of the park (a place I'd never been before).  However, when we looked there, we couldn't find anything.  In a vain attempt to reach a promising area down the beach, we walked along the bluff on "sort of" a trail but eventually gave up and went back towards the car.  We asked a local lady where the best searching was and she said it was over at Fossil Beach (where I'd been with Mollie previously).  So Stephanie and I drove there and parked.  There were lots of cars - most of the people had been there early for the low tide fossil searching.  We walked to the beach and started looking.  Stephanie tried to "melt" the thick sandstone rocks along the bluff but it took forever and yielded very little.  Many other people had brought colanders and shovels but the best way to locate the fossils appeared to be by walking the "seaweed line."  The kids called me a few times (to sort out a disagreement) but I was generally able to enjoy the peaceful search.  Eventually, we ended up (along with many other people) in a "danger area" and started to find interesting fossils.  At about 1300, I found a shark tooth - very cool!  The tide started to rise so we left the state park.  I took Stephanie to the restaurant, The Art of Coffee, where Mollie and I had eaten in February.  We got some paninis and enjoyed a meal, finishing just as the place was about to close (1500).  We then drove a short distance to the Montross Brewery and tried a flight (6) of their beers.  We then picked two we liked and drank those.  By 1615, we were on our way west again. Stephanie wanted to visit the Bourbon Distillery but it was too late in the day.  Instead, we stopped (1630) by the Highmark Brewery and tried another flight - this time, it was 16 (!!!) beers.  We stayed at the place for almost three hours.  Stephanie got some fries ("dinner") before we left and then I drove her back to Alexandria (2030).  She left for home from there.  We had a really great day!