Put a little Love in your life!

Fifty years ago the Virginia Tourism Corporation created one of the most catchy slogans: Virginia is for Lovers. I always thought the slogan promoted Virginia as a great honeymoon destination. It may have. Today the slogan promotes the love of all adventuresome souls...those who love music, mountains, beaches, and anything the commonwealth offers.

For the last couple of years, VTC has been encouraging businesses and locales to create LOVEworks sculptures. These sculptures capture the essence of the location within the four letters: L O V E. I have seen pictures of many and several in person.

For the slogan's 50th anniversary, the VTC is encouraging LOVEworks sculptures as destinations.  What an awesome concept! Capture family photos at each sculpture and your family sees the beauty of the commonwealth as your make memories.

I embarked on such an adventure with my Littles. So far, we have visited two. As I take the photos, I will add them to my Pinterest account: Pinterest.com/adventureswithmamaberry!

The LOVEworks sign above is located in the VIBE district 

of  Virginia Beach at the Oceanfront library, 700 Virginia 

Beach Boulevard. The LOVEworks sign below is in front 

of the Bunny Hutch at 1165 Jensen Drive, off

 Birdneck Road, south of Virginia Beach Boulevard. 

Dinosaurs roamed Virginia

Millions and millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed throughout North America, including Virginia. Many fossils and dinosaur bones, teeth and tracks have been found to substantiate the claim; most, however, are buried beneath vegetation, bridges, roads, and parking lots. Astute observers are finding the tracks before they are paved over. One such site is in Northern Virginia near Culpeper.

In 1989, Robert Clore, a stone engraver from Orange County, and several of his coworkers found almost 2,000 three-toed dinosaur and reptile tracks. It was the most numerous find on Earth at the time. More have been discovered; today the number is close to 5,000 tracks.

A newspaper reporter quotes Clore as saying of the initial discovery, “It was 17 tracks. It looked like a big chicken had walked through."

He wasn't too far off!

Paleontologist Robert E. Weems studied the tracks and identified six dinosaurs: Agrestipus, Anchisauripus, Apatichnus, Eubrontes, Grallator, and Gregaripus. Agrestipus and Gregaripus were herbivores; the others were carnivores.

The Grallator is a member of the coelurosaur family and is more related to birds than dinosaurs. Dr. Weems noted the Grallator may have had feathers. Although not capable of flying, the dinosaur must have had “sufficient aerodynamic lift to run easily at high speed.”

The Gregaripus was a member of the ornithischian family; ornithischian means bird-hipped.

The Anchisauripus, Apatichnus, Eubrontes were members of the carnosaur family. Fast and agile, these meat-eating dinosaurs ran on two legs.

The Agrestipus was a member of the sauropod family. These dinosaurs are known for their long necks, long tails, small heads, and four thick legs.

Each year the quarry welcome, visitors one day only, to examine the tracks. Past events have sold out fast, and the same is true for the 2019 event. Tickets this year were $20, with all proceeds going to the Museum of Culpeper History. The museum has on site one of the dinosaur tracks and an entire exhibit dedicated to the late Triassic period of between 235 million and 200 million years ago.

Happy 6th Birthday!

Grandson #2 turned six years old Tuesday. I no longer can say my grandchildren are 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. They now are 2, 3, 4, 6, and 6...at least for another two weeks when the oldest will turn 7! The four boys were born in four successive years between May and July...one big celebration! So much fun!!! The youngest, a girl, has a winter birthday.

As a treat, I took Grandson #2 to Shakalod Chocolate Factory in Virginia Beach. He assembled a house from chocolate---even the "glue" was chocolate! He had such a good time.

The store gives tours and provides opportunities for guests to assemble chocolate projects. My grandson selected a project from six available choices. The fun began with covering a marshmallow in chocolate.


While the marshmallow cooled in the refrigerator, the owner helped my grandson assemble the house pieces. She was impressed with his eye-hand coordination; my grandson promptly announced he might want to make chocolate when he grows up.

The chocolate factory was a great place to take him. I had considered taking the entire brood, but decided against it. I really enjoyed the special one-on-one time. He did, too!

If you decide to visit the store, tell the owner MaMa Berry sent you!

A week-long birthday celebration

I celebrated my birthday this past week...an entire week of celebrations. It began with a dinner at Grandstaff & Stein in Richmond to celebrate my husband's birthday and mine, followed by being a mystery reader in grandson 3's preschool class, a birthday dinner at my son's house, and visiting two alpaca farms and a dinosaur park. Our family celebrated grandson 2's 6th birthday Saturday at Munden Park in Virginia Beach, and I closed the fun-filled celebration week aboard a pirate ship, the Lost Pearl! WOW!!! No wonder I am exhausted. 

  

The grandkids had fun, and I had fun. We learned a lot and created fun memories; that's what counts.

Fishing with PaPaw

Both of my grandfathers liked to fish. Granddaddy, my father's dad, owned a commercial fishing boat. Groups of people, mostly men, would charter the boat for a day's fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. When all were aboard, Granddaddy would navigate to his favorite fishing holes. I loved to hear him and my father talk about the fish the men caught...and, of course, the ones that got away.

My father always wanted a son to take fishing. Instead, he took his two daughters. He bought us fishing rods and reels and off we went. There were two small problems. The first problem was he expected us to put the worms on the hooks ourselves. My sister was fine with it; I wasn't about to touch those slimy things. The second problem was I suffer from motion sickness. 

I remember being on the boat and feeling quite ill. Dad told me to go below and rest. BAD IDEA!!! I became violently ill. The fish must have been biting well that day, because I don't remember granddaddy immediately heading the boat to the marina. My recollection is we stayed out until the fishing was over. Needless to say, my fishing days were over!

The younger Carolyn loved to fish. I use that term lightly, because no fish were involved. I grew up in the country on a farm with ponds, creeks and swimming holes all around. I have vivid memories of one particular creek bed with a rocky bottom and ankle COLD deep water. I had a metal pail and a fishing pole---a tree branch outfitted with string, a hook PaPaw fashioned from wire, and a worm he speared onto the wire. Although it was a hot summer day, the shade from the trees made the temperature bearable. 

PaPaw leaned against a tree on the bank as I traipsed toward the frigid water. He was so patient with me. Never once did he rush me, tell me to hurry up, or get up to signal it was time to leave. He was content to watch me for as long as I wanted to fish. He lasted longer than I did.

The minnows were not interested in the bait. They liked playing tag with the hundreds of other minnows swimming in the creek. They darted right past my fishing gear and never once stopped to nibble. I guess by the time my feet were numb from the icy water, I grew tired of fishing. My solution was to scoop up as many minnows as possible into my pail and call it a day. 

I would sit beside PaPaw, count my catch, and release the minnows back into the creek. Only then was it time to go home.   

My logo...I LOVE it!

Do you like it?

I am thrilled with it! Mack Johnson with Johnson Creative in Norfolk is the creative genius behind this logo.

He also designed a simple black and white design I can carve in wood and use on t-shirts and other merchandise. I love it, too!

I was giddy the day the logos arrived in my inbox; I was dancing around and had tears in my eyes. I was so overwhelmed with Mack's creativity. I have wanted a logo for a long time. Thank you, Mack!

Santa Express

I read an article today about the value of family vacations. The author quotes British psychologist Oliver James as saying, "... family holidays are valued by children, both in the moment and for long afterwards in their memory...." The author also quotes Dr. Margot Sunderland as saying family vacations "advance brain development in children and help them build concentration skills." James goes on to say when comparing the benefits of family trips to the expense and often short-lived pleasure most toys provide (think children who like to play with the boxes the toys come in), family vacations are a no-brainer. 

I am a believer. 

I took my children on mini vacations frequently. While James says fun family vacations are more valuable than educational vacations, I am a history buff. I wanted my children to experience first-hand the places they would study in history class. The trips made history come alive for them. My daughter enrolled in a Virginia history class when she attended Florida State University. Her professor encouraged her to share personal accounts of the places she had visited. My daughter felt good about helping her classmates learn Virginia history from a primary source as opposed from a textbook. Win-win!

Whether family vacations or everyday experiences, giving children the gift of your time is the common thread. With a few exceptions, I don't remember individual gifts I received from family members as a child. What I remember is how much I loved them and the memories we made together. 

That's what I wanted for my children, and that's what I want for my grandchildren. 

December 1, 2018, was a day for making memories; two of my grandchildren and I rode the Santa Express. We boarded at the Buckingham Branch Railroad in Dillwyn, VA, for a 45-minute excursion that included singing Christmas songs and an audience with Santa. Most importantly, we spent the afternoon with two of my cousins and their families. The day was magical!

Many thanks to the Old Dominion Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society 

and its volunteers for helping to make our day so special.

 Santa chats with two of my grandsons.

My cousin and my grandson share a special moment.

My cousin's daughter-in-law and four of my cousin's 

five grandchildren are eager to meet Santa.

 My cousin's fifth grandchild isn't too sure about meeting Santa!

Fifteen members of my family make memories on the Santa Express!

My cousin and I brought jingle bells -- 

the perfect accompaniment when singing the song!