Go-Karts, Mushrooms, and Birds

Last summer a three-story go-kart track opened in Fredericksburg, VA.  We decided to check it out on our latest journey.  After a lovely breakfast at Mason Dixon Cafe, we went to Fun Land of Fredericksburg to play.  We bought our tickets online while at the restaurant, saving $3 for each ticket.  I debated whether to spend the extra $10 to include video gameplay.  We went for it and were very happy with our choice.

It was a cold day so it was not at all crowded.  We started with a game of putt-putt, fun despite the fact that both of us played horribly.  After the game, we went back inside to warm up.  It was fun playing video games together.  The beauty of the all-day pass was that we could continue playing until we beat the game.  We made a great team.  Obviously Chris was much better at the games than me, but I held my own.

After we warmed up, we headed back out into the cold to the go-kart track.  The track was a lot of fun.  The go-karts were fast and the track wound around and up three stories before winding back down again.  I was a little frustrated that the guy in front of me was moving at a slower pace than me but was right in the middle of the track, not leaving any room to get around him.  Finally, he moved to the inside to navigate a sharp turn and I zipped around him on the outside.  The rest of the race I ran wide open with no brakes.  Chris and I finished first and second, which is how we think it should always be.

We played another round of putt-putt.  Chris still beat me by 10, but we both played better in the second game.  We hit the go-kart track again.  This time there were more people racing.  I passed the leader, much to his dismay.  I spent the rest of the race attempting to catch the next kart.  I was just about to catch him when the light turned yellow indicating we were on the last lap.  I let off the gas to exit, but the gate had not opened yet.  It disappointed me that I was not able to catch “the leader” until Chris pointed out to me that I was actually about to lap them.

We went back inside where we played mini-bowling.  In regular bowling, we were competitive with each other.  In the last frame, I only needed eight pins to win.  I picked up seven on my first throw, but then completely missed on the second, leaving the game in a tie at 128 each.  They had some fun games in addition to normal bowling.  One had us bombing each other’s castle and others had us creating monsters and fun characters.

We originally planned to spend a couple of hours at Fun Land but ended up playing like little kids for six hours.  It was getting late and we had an hour’s drive to Westmoreland State Park so we grabbed Wendy’s before heading out.  Once we arrived at the campsite, we quickly set up camp.  Tired, we passed on the campfire and called it a night.  It was a cold night (in the 30s) but we were comfortable and slept well.

We woke up early.  I broke down camp while Chris made breakfast.  Breakfast was simple (burritos and coffee) but tasty.  We went to clean our dishes and get ready for the day.  When I came out of the bathroom, Chris had disappeared.  I cracked open the door to the men’s room and called, but he wasn’t in there.  I looked to see if he was waiting in the truck, but he wasn’t there either.  I looked around and then saw a lion’s mane mushroom sitting on the picnic table.  Not surprisingly, he was off hunting for mushrooms.  I could see him walking around not too far from our site.  Before we left, I made one last trip to the restroom and when I returned he was gone again.  This time I yelled.  He had gone off in the other direction, finding another lion’s mane.

Before we left the park, we hiked a trail down to the fossil beach.  It is a short, easy hike, although a fairly steep incline. The colorful leaves were beautiful and we spotted plenty of mushrooms.  As we walked, Chris saw a large owl.  He flew away before I could pull the camera out.  When he flew back up the hill, I caught a glimpse of him, but again he was too fast for me to capture an image.

We rounded a turn where the trail opened up to the beach.  The view was spectacular.  Fossil Beach is a small stretch of beach on the Potomac River with gorgeous, tall, colorful cliffs lining the beach.  As we turned to the right, we saw a stream dissecting the beach.  On the other side of the stream, we saw buzzards eating something on the beach.  There was a heron with them.  As I pulled the camera up, we realized that there was a bald eagle in the mix as well.  Unfortunately, he flew away as soon as we spotted him.  With the zoom on the camera, we could see that they were eating a large fish.  We think the eagle caught the fish and the rest of the birds joined him on the beach to share in the spoils.  It was amazing to see the different species of birds interacting peacefully while enjoying their feast.

Next, we drove to Hickory Hollow Nature Trail, where we enjoyed a three-mile hike through the woods.  We did not see much in the way of wildlife but enjoyed the lovely yellow hue of the leaves as we enjoyed the walk.  After the hike, we went to Willaby’s Cafe for lunch before stopping at Chris’s best friend’s parent’s house in Middlesex.  Almost two years ago, we lost our beautiful canine companion, Cheeba.  We buried her at their house, giving her a permanent home with people who loved her.  It took us over a year to find the perfect stone to mark her grave.  We found one in February when we stopped at Hobby Lobby on our way home from Peaks of Otter.  Unfortunately, life had not given us the opportunity to place the stone until now.  We had a lovely visit with family that we have not seen in almost a year.

Cost of trip – one tank of gas $31.62, Fun Land passes $97.92, campground $31.33.