When you need a good sign…
True confessions - Because of a rotator cuff injury, I have not held a camera in my hands since early September. The pictures I've been posting recently were either taken with my phone or before September 11th, 2025. I've lived in fear of eye injuries since my teens, knowing I couldn't live my dream of being a professional photographer if something happened to my eye sight. I've worried about the knee issue I've inherited, but that doesn't prevent me from taking pictures, just makes it harder. Oddly, it didn’t occur to me to worry about other types of injuries, so I didn't see this coming.
It's a repetitive motion strain caused by my day job. Taking a break from work to heal has given me the time to start this website & blog. I'm putting steps in right direction of my lifelong dream, spending all my time exploring & taking pictures. I'm so grateful to have this time off for healing, because outside in nature with camera in hand is where my heart lives. Have you ever had that moment, after being away from something you love for so long, returning makes you remember who you are? It’s like taking in big long breath of fresh air and breathing out the memory of who I am. Not fully realizing till that moment that you haven't felt truly like yourself for a long while.
Because I was worried about how my shoulder would handle it's first trip out with full camera bag, I chose someplace familiar, First Landing State Park, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Originally called Seashore State Park, picked by the same unimaginative naming process as Virginia Beach itself. Long before it was a city, it was a resort that didn't need an official name, just “"Let’s go to the Beach.” Similar to the way my parents, who grew up near Philly, said “we're going to the Shore” & everyone knew they meant the Jersey Shore. In 1938, someone said, let's make a park on the seashore & it became Seashore State Park.
In 1997, there was a big push for honoring state history, so it was renamed First Landing State Park after the first landing of the Jamestown settlers in the New World. Before they traveled up the Chesapeake Bay to establish the first successful English colony in North America in 1607. Apparently, if you think about it for about for over 50 years, you can come up with a less generic & more historically significant name for a state park. I guess Virginia Beach & Jersey Shore are too iconic to change, so they are still the same.
Since I grew up in Virginia Beach, I didn't think I needed to do any planning for this hiking trip. I checked my weather app. It said current temp 63 degrees. So I put on shorts sandals, t-shirt & hoodie. I parked, found a trail that seemed familiar & started walking. The first part of the trail was a paved bike trail. I knew at some point it became an unpaved bike trail, from there you could pick from a variety of walking trails. I remembered you could turn right at some point, reach the bay, then circle back following the water and meet back up with the main trail. I did at least stop to take a picture of the sign with trail map on it, just in case I would need it later. Spoiler alert: I did!
Mainly, I was just paying a lot of attention to how my shoulder felt. If it started to ache, I would turn back immediately. Then I was paying attention to the dogs, there were a bunch of lucky dogs going for a walk on this nice warm day. It seemed to take longer to get the unpaved trail than I remembered. Once I got there, it seemed to take quite a while to get to Kingfisher Trail, the right turn that would take me down to the water, but, so far, no pain, no worries. A beautiful sunny day with too many people & dogs to see much wildlife, but I did get a small glimpse of the famous rainbow reflection from an overlook.
The view from the trail of the freshwater bay was exactly how I remembered it, simple, calm & beautiful. I turned right to make sure I was heading in the correct direction. But felt I could stayed all day - sit on the benches, take in every overlook, a leisurely stroll to make this part last. Less people on this trail, so it was pretty quiet. I heard a familiar whooshing sound, but didn't quite place it until I looked up & saw the trees moving, a strong wind coming in. I smiled & enjoyed the feeling, until I actually felt the wind hit me. It was COLD! That was the moment, I decided I couldn't really stay all day. I needed to move faster.
As I was walking at my now faster pace, I was thinking about the weather forecast. It was supposed to be much colder tomorrow, highs in the lower 40's. But I didn't pay attention to when that cold front was supposed to move in, probably should have. But after an abnormally cold winter, I just saw that 60+ high today & headed out to the park. I was also thinking, "I'm not sure I remember this. Am I on the right trail?" It was becoming painfully clear that my shorts & sandals were not the best choice. But I have a fool proof strategy for walking in the cold. Walk faster! I made quick choices when I say the trail wayfaring signs, less than a mile to the park road, seemed like a good option, direct, simple.
I saw the road, but then I stopped in my tracks. To the left, beautiful strong rainbow colors on the pond! So glad I came this way, I stopped long enough to get some pictures. When I got to the road, I looked left, right, left, right again. Yeah, absolutely no idea which way to go. I pulled up the picture of the map I had taken on my phone. Standing still long enough to figure out where I was & which way to go, yeah, completely defeated the "walk faster" plan. I decided the "Bald Cypress" trail through the woods was technically longer, but safer than walking on the road & the trees would hopefully provide enough of a wind break to make it more pleasant.
Didn't need to map to tell me I was heading east. The sun behind me, still just above the trees, but steadily moving towards sunset. I made it almost all the way around the pond & saw the trail head connecting to the bike trail. I decided to turn around to take one last look at the water. Whoa, the setting sun hitting the water at just the right angle, exploded the rainbow colors in the water, Bald Cypress Trail indeed!
Bald Cypress are deciduous trees, but their "leaves" look like needles, so they resemble pine trees. They turn a gorgeous shade of red/orange in the fall and the needle like leaves drop off. They are considered "aquatic" trees, meaning they thrive in deep marshes with the bottom of their trunks completely submerged. The roots grow up out of the water periodically, forming "knees" or stumps popping up in random places. As the bright orange leaves/needles decompose in the water they release an oil that floats to the surface and lingers there. When hit by direct sunlight at the just the right angle, bright rainbow colors appear. It's most prominent in the late fall & winter months. It has a glossy appearance that some mistake for ice. Some people also mistake it for oil or other pollutants, but it's not. It's a completely natural process that happens every year and is not harmful to the environment at all.
Of course, in moments like these, the photographer in me takes over & gives me the ability to overlook any physical discomfort for the sake of the pictures. So my quick trip back to the warm car was interrupted by my desire to stop & get the best shots. When I finally did decide to start heading back to the car again, I took notice of the posted mile marker signs. It was about a mile and a half brisk walk to the warm car. Once I was in the car long enough to start to warm up, I noticed something important, absolutely no pain in my shoulder. Always a doubting Thomas, I decided not to get my hopes up too high, but when I woke up in the morning with no pain! I'm not a doctor, so I can't pronounce myself 100% healed. But it's a really, really positive sign that this injury will not be permanent and my future professional photographer dreams are still alive!
