Saturday, June 6, 2026 was a perfect day to visit the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Warm sun, good vibes and a buzzing crowd provided the ambience for our party of about 50 families and friends from our Richmond-area church.
A large canopy and platters of food were ready to keep the good energy up for days, along with games and close friends.
I'm the journalist in the group. My role was to document the event. When I was not taking photos, I was playing beach soccer with kids only a little older than my six-year-old son. Apparently, there was an art to running or dribbling on beach sand. But it still was good exercise for me.
The bubble of our fun day burst when our friends, Tos and Bukola Ogunade, lost an expensive diamond ring in the ocean.
Earlier in the day, I saw a man walking down the beach with his metal detector, sweeping for treasure. I had no premonition of how important this man, James Whitfield, was going to be to our panicked, then ecstatic, church party.
We will be back in Virginia Beach, a little wiser.
