Our Fabled Nest

January first is like a slate. Wiped clean from the year prior, holding its breath waiting in anticipation for those exciting moments, creating new memories, smiles, laughter, celebrations and all the amazing “what ifs” life can hold within these next 365 days. So much excitement and anticipation!

We have a yearly tradition of heading to a lake or ocean; collect a shell or interesting rock and write the year on it. In it goes with a variety of other natural pieces we’ve accumulated. This year, the seacoast was calling our name! We are fortunate to be within two hours of pretty much anywhere – another reason we love central Virginia! We settled on Buckroe Beach in Hampton, Virginia. Check your local areas; Virginia beaches are dog friendly from Labor Day through Memorial Day. Some have leash requirements – others don’t. So, check or call before you go! We are leash on only with our tribe; so, that is one thing I never really look into. We found a little park nearby, Sandy Bottom Nature Park. Trillium Loop Trail, we decided on from reviews: from the stroller friendly aspect, easy access, good signage and a big “wheelchair friendly” tag on AllTrails. Flat, easy to lazy adventure; we thought this checks all of the boxes we look for when it comes to hikes not just for Forrest but everyone else too!

Easy parking was the first good sign, paved and quite easy to navigate to the trails and bathhouse. Kiddos were super excited to be out and about, while Forrest happy tapping along in his stroller. Huge board with directions and we see there are other options for trails. Some much shorter, just as flat and it seemed to have a good deal of handicap access areas. Plus, a cute picnic area to boot!

From the bathhouse, near the playground, we began our adventure by heading towards the water and taking a right to follow the trail. This 5-mile loop trail started off easy enough. Loads of water views for Laveena and Atticus, wide path, cleared, well maintained, mainly paved, and easy to navigate. About two miles in, we noticed it was right beside the highway. It became very noisy; we were shouting at each other just to have a normal conversation. Then the smell hits. Across the highway, there’s a landfill. Oh no, but we are already this far in. It is still very handicap accessible, and the kids are enjoying themselves. We reckon it’s trivial since, the trail is decent. As we round the corner, towards mile 3.5 we start noticing stumps along the trail. These rocks, stumps, roots and obstacles kept getting worse. If you are adventuring by wheelchair or stroller, please turn around by mile three. It will save you quite a headache and keep your equipment from getting damaged. As we progressed, hubs started picking up Forrest and his stroller together to navigate the rooted terrain. I walked ahead and called left or right depending on the obstacle. In some instances, when Pawpa was pushing Forrest, they went a longer way around the trees through the brush just because it was safer. Once, we realized only a mile to go, the trail disappeared. It was there, somewhat cleared but not easy to “walk”. Lots of stumps, and obstacles were in the way of the path. At this point, it is not at all handicaps accessible.

As much as we loved being able to enjoy New Years, we give this trail only a one paw. It is stroller and wheelchair accessible up until mile three. It does have several other options that looked promising. There were too many obstacles for us to safely come back with him in his stroller. Next trip, here, will be backpack only!

Once back in the parking lot, we decided to eat our picnic in the truck on the way to our next adventure. Kiddos munched on carrots and broccoli, while we drove the 15 minutes. Buckroe Beach in Hampton is beautiful and inclusive! The parking lot is right at the entrance to the beach. Forrest was more than happy to get in his wheelchair and stroll the beach. It was the first time him and Laveena have ever been to the beach, so it was a real treat seeing their excitement. Rather chilly and windy, we cut our trip a little short. Four Paws here! Easy parking, and easy to walk or roll to the beach. Plus, there’s a boardwalk! Beautiful way to begin our adventures for 2024!

Cheers to the next adventure!