Mason Neck State Park

We haven’t been there since we moved from Capitol Hill to northern Virginia. So yesterday we thought it might be a nice day for a one hour drive out to Mason Neck State Park. It’s a beautiful time of the year to drive down the George Washington Memorial Parkway, past DC, through Old Town Alexandria, past Mount Vernon, past Fort Belvoir, past Gunston Hall, and then on to the park. There is no longer a park ranger on duty at the gate so they ask that you use the honor system - put ten dollars in an envelope, stick it in the locked box, and hang the receipt on the windshield. We have been to this place at least six times and have never once seen an Eagle - and it was no different this time. In fact we hardly heard the sound of any bird or other animal. We got on one of the trails and meandered around near the water. All of a sudden we finally did see a blue heron standing knee deep in the water. He posed for us. We have also seen the blue heron in our own neighborhood park and constitution gardens by the Washington monument. The leaves on the trees were more green than I had expected. The weather was a crispy cool forty eight degrees with some sun. We ran in to one group with several people and a dog, but otherwise the park was relatively quiet. We remembered some of the trail, but most looked unfamiliar. There were a lot of steps and climbing so even though we walked less than usual it was a tougher route. After that we drove over to McDonald’s for a quick lunch and a leisurely ride back home on the parkway. The crowds were large at Mount Vernon - which would be a great place to walk but always too busy. So it was a delightful change in scene and we were glad we made the trip.