Archaeology Weekend

We're on a weekend overnight trip. Old St. Mary's City, Maryland (located here) is having a Tidewater Archaeology Weekend, and Sarah, who wants to be an archaeologist, thought it would be fun. Unfortunately today was around 90, so digging in dirt has its disadvantages. It was quite hot, I was the only one who bothered to pack a hat, and so not only did we cut the digging short but I spent $22 each for hats for Tam and Sarah. We retreated to the hotel we're staying at in Lexington Park, Md (next to Patuxent River Naval Air Station, nearest place with hotels near St. Mary's City) to cool down. Tomorrow we go back to tour the archaeology labs (the tours were booked for today but we got in on tomorrow's) and if the weather's not so hot maybe we'll do some more. Mainly Sarah found a few pieces of coal in the dirt she sifted.

This area of southern Maryland along the lower Patuxent and the Bay is the earliest-settled part of Maryland and is close enough to home to get down here quickly. Besides Pax River, which has a small naval aviation museum, there's Solomon's Island, where there's a marine science center Sarah likes (and ice cream on the boardwalk), Point Lookout (where the Potomac meets the bay: site of a Civil War prison (Union prison, for Confederate prisoners) and today of a state park with beaches.) The Civil War Buffs among you may recall the lines from "I'm a Good Ole Rebel:"

I followed Ole Marse Robert
For Four Years Nigh About
Got wounded in three places
And starved at P'int Lookout...

Today would have been more successful, though, without the heat and with hats. Meanwhile Sarah got in some good pool time -- she's getting more confident about swimming, though she still wants a tube or a life vest while paddling around.

A few pictures at Flickr; hopefully we'll get more tomorrow.