Fossil hunting

Yesterday the kids and I took a small day trip out to Calvert Cliffs State Park in Maryland with friends. It was about an hour and a half drive. When we got there we had to hike 1.8 miles through this forested swamp area in order to reach the beach. Thank heavens for the jogging stroller! It was crazy humid along that trail.

Helpful sign to help us identify fossils and shark teeth.

Picnic lunch at the end of the trail before our beach combing.

Roped off section near the cliffs. Apparently these cliffs have all kinds of fossils and exposed megaladon shark teeth exposed in them from billions of years ago. Pieces of the cliff and the fossils fall away into the ocean and then wash up along the beaches. So we all brought along shovels and sifters to look through the sand. It was actually pretty fun to hunt for these ancient souvenirs. A few shark teeth were found and a bunch of fossilized rock and shell. 

We avoided swimsuits due to the jellyfish. We saw a handful of them, but were able to stay clear. We spent most of our time up to our knees. The waves here were very gentle. If not for those darn summer jellyfish this would have been a great swimming area.