Tag Archives: cell phone photography

The Ultimate in Social Distancing

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One weekend this past March, while we were all still adjusting to the “new normal” of CoVid19, it was warm enough to ride.

 We decided that time on the motorcycle was the ultimate way to be socially distant.

Typically we ride 100 miles or so before stopping for lunch at a local pub.  In light of the times, we all packed our lunch and enjoyed each other’s company from a distance at a roadside picnic area.

Then we headed back out on the beautiful back roads of Southwest Virginia.  See those splat marks on the windsheild?

I guess it was the warm weather that had so many bugs out and about.

We rode through several rural counties, along too many back roads to count, and the wind in our faces helped us to put aside the worries of the day.

I can’t wait for more rides like this one!

Peace! and Stay Well, my friends

Sideling Hill

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What? Is this an actual post from LB?  Yes indeed it is!

I’m still struggling to balance work / civic commitments / some fun and blogging, and while I’ve continued to contribute to Monochromia each week, I’ve clearly not done so well here.  I’ll make it back, I swear!!

This post links to my contribution to Monochromia this week.

I took a 1200 mile motorcycle ride last week, my annual solo trip, and had the joy of riding through this gap. The Sideling Hill Road Cut on Interstate 68 and US 40 in Western Maryland, is a 340 foot deep notch excavated from the ridge of Sideling Hill.  It is notable as an impressive man-made mountain pass, visible from miles away, and is considered to be one of the best rock exposures in Maryland and the entire northeastern United States.

The image on Monochromia is of the bridge that runs over the highway.

This last image shows the cut in the mountain from many miles away.

Be back soon (I hope!)

2018: Here We Go!

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Hello from Southwest Virginia!  And a belated Happy New Year to all of you!

2018 is starting out much like the last few months of 2017 ended:  full of travel.  We are just 8 days in and I’ve already spent both weekends on the road, including New Years Eve in Washington DC and Alexandria, Virginia.

Despite the subfreezing temperatures, we spent several hours of the weekend out of doors.  We visited National Harbor, a multi-use waterfront development on the Potomac River in Maryland.  With temperatures hovering around 20 degrees during the day, we did not take the opportunity to ride the Capital Wheel, but it made for a great photo subject.

It was a beautiful evening!

Someday, in warmer weather, we’ll come back for a ride,

Later that night, we went to the National Mall to see the National Christmas Tree and the 57 trees that surround it, one representing each US State and Territory.  With the wind whipping about, it felt colder than 17 degrees and these next images were taken with my cell phone, held by my shaking, freezing cold hands.

The National Tree

The Virginia Tree with the Washington Monument in the background.

Selfies are a challenge when one of you is 6’4 and one of you is 5’0.

On NYE, we counted down to midnight on the Alexandria, Virginia waterfront.   The subfreezing temps kept some folks at home, but the atmosphere was festive and there were still hundreds to celebrate with.

(More cellphone photography)

Check out that frozen water!

Happy New Year!

Unlike 2017, the beginning of this year is filled with hope.

Last year: devastation.  This year: motivation to continue the resistance!

 I am ready!

Birthday at The Winery

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What better way to celebrate my mother’s birthday than at the Williamsburg Winery.

My parents live in Williamsburg, Virginia, a place that many people visit for the shopping.

I visit for family.  And history.  And the food and wine, of course.

We started with a visit to the tasting room where Calvin, the young but knowledgeable wine steward, not only introduced the wines but offered the history behind the labels and names.

This bottle of Acte 12 of 1619 was named after the Act that was passed by the 1619 House of Burgesses requiring all male households in Virginia to grow ten vines of the imported vinifera grapes from Europe.

How’s that for encouraging the growth of the wine industry in the new country?

How fortunate am I to have such incredible parents?

Once done with our tasting, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Gabriel Archer Tavern.

Gabriel Archer was one of the first settlers to set foot on land near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in late April 1607, moving on to Jamestown in August that same year.

We were having so much fun that I barely pulled out the camera, and the images in this post are a mix of camera and phone.

I wish I’d had more time to shoot the scene,

but really, I was just glad to have been able to spend the day with my parents and celebrate my mother.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Finding Merry

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To my WP friends the world over, those who celebrate and those who do not, know that you have enriched my life. May the blessings of health, contentment, and peace be yours.