This gorgeous meadow is in a place called Deerfield, Virginia. I’d never been here before and I was taken aback by the beauty. I cannot wait to return on the bike.
I’ve returned from a three day trip, for business and pleasure, to four different localities around Virginia. Visits with my parents, and with friends, were wonderful, and the day long meeting, productive.
I look forward to popping over to your place for a visit later in the week.
As you view these images, I am off to see my parents for some Mother’s Day / Father’s Day celebrating.
Following that, I’ll participate in a Saturday Board Meeting for the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners.
Then I’ll get to spend the evening with a long time friend and fellow photographer.
And hopefully, all of that work and play will be followed by a belated birthday celebration with my sister.
These images were taken during an evening with friends last week. Life, and all it’s gifts and challenges, has prevented this group of women from gathering lately. On Friday, we finally got to sit around the fire, enjoy delicious food and drink, and the company of folks who know you well and love you despite your, shall we call them, less attractive, traits.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone! I’ll catch up with you when I get back.
On our last full day of fun in Sarasota, we were able to take another long walk on the beach,
followed by opportunities to explore some of the downtown architecture, Farmer’s Market, restaurants, and street activity.
We also visited the Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy, where “part of the mission is to collect and preserve work of artistic and whimsical importance. Our collection is bright and colorful. The artwork will lift your spirits and, hopefully, inspire creative expression”. It was a bright, sunny day, and these images do not do justice to the colorful, metal works.
Take my word for it, our spirits were definitely lifted!
Before I knew it, the time had come to fly home. What an incredible 3 days! I’m grateful to have friends who value this tradition as much as I do!
Thanks for coming along with me on the adventure!
For the past 3 years, I’ve had the good fortune to travel to Florida in March. The snow and cold temperatures are left behind, and I am greeted by springtime on the gulf coast. Tons of color, cooling breezes, gorgeous horizons, and dear friends. The trip is never long enough, but 3 full days offers a welcome break from the routine.
I’m even getting comfortable with flying. Yes, as odd as it seems, the woman who rides a motorcycle has a tendency to be a bit nervous on a plane.
The first day in Florida found us enjoying delicious food at Columbia Restaurant, followed by a bit of shopping and walking.
The next morning, after coffee, yogurt, and fresh fruit by the pool (aka hot tub), we were walking Lido Beach.
The camera was rarely out of my hand!!
And thank goodness for that!
This little guy was hunkered down in a footprint.
And this guy seemed to be saying “what are you looking at?”
After a couple hours of walking, it was time to find lunch and to explore some local history.
Next Post: Spanish Point
Three years with WordPress is nothing to sneeze at!
And what is the origin of that term, anyway? According to the Word Detective, “To sneeze at” something or someone is a colloquial usage, first appearing in the early 19th century, to mean that the thing under consideration (Three years with WordPress) may appear modest or trivial but is actually at least somewhat important or impressive.
Impressive or not, three years with WP has had a tremendous impact on my life. I’ll not tie you down with statistics, but instead offer thanks to all of you for being here with me. Whether you regularly comment, or more randomly “like”, I’m grateful for all of you. You’ve encouraged my growth as a photographer (Joe has even provided phone and text consults), have followed me on my motorcycle journeys, supported me after my wreck, contributed to my campaign, created beautiful gifts for me, and have spent time with me in Virginia.
You’ve become my friends, and my life is richer for all that you share.
Your photos and drawings, your stories and poems, your creativity and crafts, and your life lessons learned.
My sincere thanks.
See ya on down the road!
We’ve all said it, and many of you have as well.
WordPress Blogging has become so much more than we ever thought it would be. What started out as travel diary, forum for writing, sharing of photography, enlightenment about art, gardening, or crafting, or keeping up with family has become a community of international friends.
Over the last several days, 8 WP bloggers from 3 countries and 2 states, have met in various locations to continue in person, the relationships that have been forged through the world of blogging.
Laurie, Boomdee, Pauline, Alys, and Julia in Old Town Alexandria.
We marveled that while most of us had never met each other, we talked and laughed as if we’d known each other for years.
Which, of course, we had.
Laurie, Stacy, Boomdee, Alys, Lisa, Pauline, and Patty in Georgetown
What might have seemed unusual to friends and family (“you’re letting someone you’ve never met stay in your home?”), to us seemed natural. No doubts.
Our days have been full of laughter, many hugs, lots of delicious food and the sharing of stories.
Pauline, Shelley, Boomdee, Alys
We’re still in the middle of this amazing gathering of friends, but I wanted to share the joy, because of course, there are so many of you out there that I would love to meet!
Let’s get to planning. I promise it is worth the effort!
We’ve got another couple days here in Radford before I put Boomdee, Kelly, and Pauline on the train back to DC. Until the, we’ll fill every single moment with the joy of being together.
And now, while the others get a bit more rest, I’m off to work on the campaign for a couple hours.
It was lovely to visit many of your blogs this evening, which kept me from doing much work on the photos from my recent trip to Florida.
There’s always tomorrow, right? G’Night Ya’ll!
Yep. It’s pretty much about the campaign. I’m still caring for women every day, and like many of you, I’m still managing the tasks of an already full life. The campaign, however, dominates my life.
Never fear, though!
I’m traveling this weekend and look forward to sharing the adventure!
Even better, the temps are coming up and I’ll be on the bike as soon as my boots are back from the shop!
I simply cannot wait!!
My visit to Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina, was all too brief, yet a vigorous walk the evening that I arrived and another the next morning gave me an introduction to this city of just under 800,000. I dropped my bag in my room, grabbed my camera, and headed towards the door of the hotel.
It was early in February, and while the northeast was getting hammered with snow, Virginia and North Carolina were experiencing a clear 50 degree weekend.
Il Grando Disco (The Grand Disc) is a coin-shaped piece of art that sits at Bank of America Plaza on Tryon Street. The piece is a large, bronze wheel with dark edges and designs etched throughout. Created specifically for the space by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, Il Grande Disco was installed on October 2, 1974 (http://charlotte.about.com)
Across the intersection is a far more traditional installation.
My friend Tim pointed out that for a brief moment, the sounds of the traffic were drowned out by this fountain.
In the previous post I shared two images of the fence that surrounds the First Presbyterian Church. Built in 1857, the church is a one-story, Gothic Revival style stuccoed brick building. The evening light was waning by the time I got there, so I’ve processed these two images differently, although they were taken just moments apart.
The power line remains in this photo, because it is a more accurate portrayal of the street scene.
The next morning, with my visit drawing to an end, I took a walk in search of coffee and breakfast.
The morning sun cast a bright light on this fountain and also of the homeless man still sleeping.
The Mariachi crepe at Hazelnuts Creperie, was filled with egg, black beans, bacon, tomato, mozzarella, onion, avocado & jalapeño cream. Oh my gosh YUM!
The only other time I’d been to Charlotte, other than for runs to the airport, was to see my beloved Hokies play football, and I didn’t see much more than the stadium. I’ll definitely return for more explorations soon!
A quick trip to Charlotte, NC offered me a chance to have a mini 12 hour vacation. The day was beautiful for driving (I very much regretted not riding the bike) and I met friends in Uptown.
How wonderful it was to walk and wander, to point and shoot, to breathe and relax.
As an aside: I wondered why the residents of Charlotte call it Uptown and learned that this is a common question, one that Brad Panovich, Chief Meteorologist a WCNC-NBC TV answered in this blog post.
While I have many photos to work through and share, I loved the contrast between these two. Without a tripod, I took one with, and one without, flash. The mood changed dramatically in comparison, and the second begged to be converted to monochrome.
The first evokes a lovely evening stroll …
while the second encourages you to turn around and head home.
Oh the joy of photography!
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 