A few weeks back, BWmF, JJ, and friends accompanied me on an expedition to Calvert Cliffs State Park on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake. Neither BWmF or I had been in the better part of a decade, but we'd gone a few times together back in elementary and middle school. Fossil hunting on one of the sunniest days in February should have been a nice change of pace, if it weren't for the tides and the wind.
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| BWmF |
The two mile hike from the parking lot to the beach was pleasant. The sunlight shone clearly through the trees, illuminating the salt marsh and revealing sliders sunning on logs just beyond the reach of my 35mm lens. If the wind wasn't sign enough that we were in for a tedious experience on the shore, we passed a group of people armed with buckets, shovels, sieves, and waders looking dejected and tired as they passed us on the trail.
We were greeted by high tide and violent winds that whipped sand in sporadic bursts across the couple hundred yards of open beach. Thirty foot cliffs on both sides of the beach intensified the onshore winds and the four of us hid behind sunglasses and hoods. My D70S stayed safely in the bottom of a zip-top LL Bean tote, Diana should have made an appearance (but didn't), and I only thought to take two quick shots with my Droid X once on the beach.
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| Margot's final effort. |
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| BWmF before the log crossing |
An hour of lackadaisical digging and sifting of the sand produced not a single shark tooth between the four of us. BWmF and I reminded ourselves that we weren't in Aurora, NC, a town that seems to be built on fossil-rich river sediment. After a picnic, sponsored by Wawa, we returned home disappointed, empty-handed, and sandy. Sometimes, that's just how it goes.
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