Travel

Drake Park, Bend, Oregon

Drake Park, Bend, Oregon

Drake Park, Bend, Oregon

Cathy and I took a late 40th anniversary trip to visit our dear friends, Brian and Lisa in Bend, Oregon. I didn’t take any pictures on our flight day. Our first full day we didn’t do too much, dealing with jet lag and such. Lisa took us downtown and we walked on the Deschutes River through Drake Park. We saw a flock of cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). The river is artificially wide and slow here because there is a small hydroelectric dam just below here. The park has really nice trees, mostly ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa), which is the predominant tree in the area, but there are also some quite large spruce trees (Picea species) and a large willow (Salix species).

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National War Correspondents Memorial

National War Correspondents Memorial

National War Correspondents Memorial

We decided to drive up to South Mountain this afternoon. We started out at with a visit to the Washington Monument. It was quite hazy, though, and the view wasn’t much to speak of. Also, the tower was closed, so we couldn’t go up it. From there we went to the three gaps that were the principal sites of fighting in the Battle of South Mountain in mid-September, 1962. They are, from north to south, Turner’s Gap, Fox’s Gap, and Crampton’s Gap.

The National War Correspondents Memorial, shown here, is in Crampton’s Gap in Gathland State Park. It was built in 1896 by Civil War correspondent George Alfred “Gath” Townsend (January 30, 1841 – April 15, 1914), who built a home for himself here in the early 1880s. He also built himself a mausoleum but is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

On our drive we happened to go by the South Mountain Creamery and stopped for ice cream.

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Leverington Cemetery

Leverington Cemetery

Leverington Cemetery

This is Leverington Cemetery. My 7th-great-grandparents—John Wigard Levering (February 2, 1648 – February 2, 1745) and his wife Magdalena Bokers Levering (who died in 1717)—were among the first to be buried here. Their grandson (Septimus, my 5th-great-grandfather) and his wife Mary Thomas Levering are also buried here. John and his brother Gerhard owned about 500 acres between them in what is now called Roxborough although it was at one time called Leverington. While there are no markers for my direct ancestors, I thought it would be interesting to visit, and since we were nearby for a wedding, it seemed like a good opportunity.

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Warrenton, Virginia

Old Town Warrenton, Virginia

Old Town Warrenton, Virginia

Warrenton Mural

Warrenton Mural

We visited a friend in Warrenton, Virginia today, spending most of the afternoon and evening with a larger group of good friends. We walked through downtown Warrenton, visiting a bunch of shops and basically enjoying being together. It was a cool, spring day and Warrenton seems like a nice town. It’s a bit of a hike from Rockville but once we were there we were glad to have gone.

After our walk through town we had a wonderful dinner and celebrated a birthday. After that we played a game called Codenames. Cathy and I aren’t particularly fond of games but we had a good time. I think we would have enjoyed simply talking with our friends more, but we understand that some people really like games of this sort.

We had been invited to spend the night there but wanted to be home Sunday morning so we left about 10:30 and had no trouble getting home in about an hour.

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Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens

Cathy and I went to Brookgreen Gardens today (https://www.brookgreen.org/). We’ve been before, of course, but it’s been six years. We decided to see if we could go on their Creek Excursion but, as luck would have it, it wasn’t operating today because they were being inspected by the Coast Guard. We were able to get to the Lowcountry Center in time to get on the 11:30 Oaks Excursion. We visited a plantation cemetery as well as the sites of some of the plantation buildings, which no longer exist. It was an interesting excursion, although I think I would have enjoyed the creek trip more. Maybe next time.

We wandered around the gardens, which of course is the main thing there. The two shots presented here are more of the trees than of the sculpture and they are quite majestic. I enjoy both the sculpture and the gardens in about equal measure. Although it was hot, I’d say it wasn’t as hot as some years we’ve been. We also went to the Lowcountry Zoo and enjoyed the animals. They have a new exhibit with red wolves (Canis rufus) that only opened in the last week.

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Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Sadly, our trip to Juneau came to an end today and we flew home. I didn’t take many photos from the plane but I did get this reasonably good shot of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as we made our approach to Seattle-Tacoma Airport. I also got a pretty good shot of Racine, Wisconsin, on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

We had an early flight out of Juneau, which meant that even losing four hours to time zones, we got at Dulles at a reasonable hour this evening.

This vacation was the longest we’ve taken in quite a while and was, I’d say, possibly the best two week stretch in many, many years. That is due to a really wonderful combination of great weather in a beautiful place, with very dear friends. We were sad that it had to come to an end.

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Sundews on Dan Moller Trail

<em>Drosera rotundifolia</em>  (Round-leaved Sundew)

Drosera rotundifolia
(Round-leaved Sundew)

<em>Drosera rotundifolia</em>  (Round-leaved Sundew)

Drosera rotundifolia
(Round-leaved Sundew)

Dan Moller Trail Muskeg

Dan Moller Trail Muskeg

Another of my favorite trails in the Juneau area is the Dan Moller Trail on Douglas Island. We went up this with my parents and Albert in 1987 and one of my favorite pictures of my folks was taken from the top of the mountain, looking down on the cabin from above. This was also, I think, the first place we saw sundews in Juneau. There are two main species here and this is Drosera rotundifolia, the round-leaved sundew.

They are surprisingly common and at the same time, almost entirely overlooked. They grow in places that are constantly wet and at the same time sunny (or at least not shady). The slightly dryer parts of muskeg, where it’s almost constantly wet is generally the place. Once you see them, they seem to be everywhere, but until you’ve had them pointed out, they really aren’t very noticeable. The False Outer Point Trail is the other place we saw them. I understand that they are quite common on the Spalding Meadows trail, but we only did that on cross-country skis when the ground was covered with snow, so it wasn’t a good time to see them.

The sundews are not the only thing about the trail that I like. The combination of trees and open, meadow-like muskeg with its abundance and variety of wildflowers and plants is relaxing and beautiful to me. The Labrador tea (Ledum palustris), with its tiny, white flowers, the bog candle orchid (Platanthera dilatata, and many other little flowers are all over. None are terribly flashy but all are lovely in their own way. The usually dark water, the bright greens of the meadows, the darker green of the trees, the blue of the sky (when you are lucky enough to have a blue sky in Juneau), all combine to make a really pretty scene.

We also hiked a few miles on the Treadwell Ditch Trail, which is a relatively easy trail because it follows the contour of the land. It’s pretty, too, although quite different to the Dan Moller Trail, in spite of their very close proximity to one another. We also got a good view of downtown from the early part of that trail.

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Skater’s Cabin

Cathy at Skater's Cabin

Cathy at Skater’s Cabin

It was a fairly wet day today, one of the few rainy days we’ve had in our two weeks in Juneau. We went to church this evening (yes, on Saturday evening) and then Cathy and I drove to Skater’s Cabin on the southwest corner of Mendenhall Lake. Built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, it can be reserved for group use for $10 per hour. It is about 200 yards from the West Glacier trailhead. The West Glacier Trail was one of my favorite hikes when we lived here, although it’s fairly steep in places, including what Brian and I call the Aztec Stairs, climbing about 750 feet in a little over a fifth of a mile of trail (a 63% grade). There are literal steps cut into the rock. I suppose technically that part of the trail is the Mount McGinnis Trail, but it’s all one trail to us.

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False Outer Point

Shaman Island, Juneau, Alaska

Shaman Island, Juneau, Alaska

False Outer Point, Douglas Island, Juneau, Alaska

False Outer Point, Douglas Island, Juneau, Alaska

Today I have a pair of HDR photos, both taken from the beach near False Outer Point on Douglas Island. The first of them is Shaman Island, which we walked to at low tide on Monday. The tide was much further in this evening and you wouldn’t know that you could ever walk to it. In fact, the tide was coming in quickly. This image is two images stitched together using the Hugin Panorama Photo Stitcher and each of the source images for that are HDR images made from three exposures each.

The second photo is looking north northeast at the western side of False Outer Point with Spuhn Island visible to the left of it. The seaweed covered rocks in the foreground were quickly covered by the incoming tide. This is a nice beach to visit and it often very quiet and peaceful. It’s a short hike through the woods on the Rainforest Trail, which is a loop that takes you through some lovely temperate rainforest. In fact, if you happen to go to the Tongass National Forest page on Wikipedia and scroll down to the second photo on the page (which you can also see here), that’s a photo I took on this trail in September 20, 2004.

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Rainforest Walk

Brian, Cathy, and Dogs

Brian, Cathy, and Dogs

Cathy, Brian and I took a walk with the dogs through Switzer Meadow and then on a loop beyond Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School. Most of that later trail is in the woods, some of which is relatively young. The whole area was probably clear cut less than 100 years ago, so there are few if any trees older than that. Some areas seem to be pretty scrubby and one area looked like it was a homeless camp or party spot not too many years ago. It’s hard to tell because wood decomposes very quickly in this wet environment. It’s still a pretty walk for the most part and we enjoyed being out with the dogs.

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Granite Basin Hike

Ebner Falls from Perseverance Trail

Ebner Falls from Perseverance Trail

Cathy and Henry in Front of Granite Cataract

Cathy and Henry in Front of Granite Cataract

Granite Basin

Granite Basin

Lisa, Brian, and Cathy Hiking Down from Granite Basin

Lisa, Brian, and Cathy Hiking Down from Granite Basin

We took a long hike today. It was overcast and threatening rain but we only actually had a little drizzle for part of the hike. We started at the end of Basin Road. There are two branches at the lower end of the Perseverance Trail. The one we took is shorter but steeper. There is a door covering an entrance to the Ebner Adit and a very cool wind was coming out of it. I found that useful when we returned, because I was fairly warm. The first part of the trail is fairly steep and by the time you get to Ebner Falls, the first photo presented here, you’ve climbed 815 feet in about 0.7 miles, an average grade steeper than 1:5, although parts are closer to 1:3. The trail gets a bit easier at that point. You cross Gold Creek a few times and eventually get to the Granite Basin trail.

We passed a work crew on the trail. The near side of Gold Creek has been undermining the trail a bit so they were building gabions and filling them with rocks to stabilize the bank. It looked like hard work. One of them noticed my camera. I was carrying my 150-600mm zoom with the camera on it, mounted on a monopod. I also had two additional lenses, my 100mm macro and the 17-40mm zoom. She asked, “Are you going on a photo shoot?” Laughing to myself, I said “No, just taking pictures of whatever we see.“ She asked if I wanted to take their picture and when I said I would if they wanted, the all got excited. I took a few shots of them and got an email address to send them to. Oh, they also complemented my hat, which they said was ‘sick’ (which I’m pretty sure they meant as a compliment).

About a mile and a half up that trail, you take the left fork to stay beside Gold Creek. Another 0.6 miles or so and the Granite Basin Trail branches off on the left. This starts with five switchbacks and climbs quite steeply. After that the climb is a bit more moderate. We got to a point where there was a large snow drift covering both the trail and the entire value below the trail, with the stream going under it. Eventually we got to the cataracts below Granite Basin and stopped for a few pictures. We continued up into the basin but didn’t really go much further than that.

We had climbed from about 370 feet to about 1,750 over the course of about 4 miles (and then back again, totaling about 8 miles). It’s a beautiful hike and Granite Basin is really pretty. I remember the first time we hiked there the fireweed was in bloom, which was particularly nice. It’s not the easiest hike in the Juneau area but it’s one of my favorites. If you don’t mind a bit of exercise (and possibly crossing a bit of snow if you aren’t late in the summer) then I highly recommend this hike. It’s not a bad idea to bring water and a snack. The weather can be significantly different in Granite Basin from what it is at the start of the trail.

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Cathy, Point Louisa

Cathy, Point Louisa

Cathy, Point Louisa

When you decide to go to Juneau, you are making a tacit agreement to deal with rain. Depending on your source, there are between 180 and 235 days of rain per year in Juneau and there are only about 80 days described as ‘sunny’ per year. With the average high temperature in July, the hottest month, being only 64.1° it’s not the place to go to get a tan. That being said, we arrived late in the day on June 17 and didn’t have any rain the entire first week. Today was the first day we had to walk in the rain if we were going to walk. We drove with Brian, Lisa, and the dogs out to Auke Rec and walked to Point Louisa. The tide was out and this picture of Cathy gives you an idea of what the day was like. Actually, it wasn’t raining hard and we had a really good time being out. The tides in Juneau are pretty significant and where we were standing when this photo was taken will be under quite a few feet of water at high tide. The rocks are covered with barnacles and there are quite a few mussels, although not as many as on the rocks around Shaman Island, where we walked to on the 19th.

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Nugget Falls

Cathy, Lisa, and Brian at Nugget Falls

Cathy, Lisa, and Brian at Nugget Falls

We went to the glacier again today, this time taking the short walk to Nugget Falls. When we lived here, the glacier came to about where we’re standing in this photo. It has receded quite a bit since then, which is a little sad, but glaciers have advanced and receded throughout history. Underneath the glacier are the remains of huge trees, frozen for quite a while, showing that the glacier has been considerably smaller than it is now for many, many years at some point it its history. It will advance again. In the meantime, Juneau may need to stop advertising it as a “drive up glacier.” It’s still quite impressive and worth going to see. One hike I wouldn’t have minded taking is the West Glacier Trail, which is the first real hike I took with Brian after we first met. I’d love to have photographs showing the difference in the glacier in 37 years. Maybe we’ll need to visit at least one more time. I also wouldn’t mind going up East Glacier Trail and Nugget Creek Trail. It’s more wooded but very pretty. We never went up that as far as Nugget Glacier, which would also be nice to do, some day. There are more trails in and around Juneau than can be hiked in two weeks, though. You have to pick and choose.

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On Mount Roberts

Henry, Cathy, and the Dogs at Father Brown's Cross, Mt. Roberts

Henry, Cathy, and the Dogs at Father Brown’s Cross, Mt. Roberts

Cathy on Mount Roberts

Cathy on Mount Roberts

Cathy, Brian, two dogs, and I hiked up Mt. Roberts today. We started from the trailhead on Basin Road (elevation about 280 feet above sea level). The trail goes up pretty steeply but we’ve done it before, so there were no surprises. A few people passed us when we stopped to rest at a log bench but we passed a few others, so we were not the slowest hikers out there.

We made it past the upper station of Goldbelt Tram at about 1,800 feet elevation. We continued up to Father Brown’s Cross, know to Cathy’s family at Muriel’s Cross. Father Brown put up the original cross in 1908 but it has been replaced many times over the years and a bunch of these times were by Cathy’s cousins, who happened to own a lumber yard and hardware store, putting them in a good position to do that. Muriel, Cathy’s aunt, was the matriarch of that branch of the family so they refer to it as Muriel’s Cross.

Brian took the first of these photos. Then he and the dogs headed down, running back down the way we came up. He had to pick up Lisa, who had been working. Cathy and I continued higher up and I took quite a few wildflower photos as well as a nice panorama of Mounts Juneau and Roberts.

We took the tram down. They make that harder than they used to do. You must have a receipt from the restaurant or the gift shop for at least $20. But they don’t have it well advertised, so we waited in line and then had to get out of line and wait again. There really isn’t anything we wanted from the gift shop, but they don’t give you the option of simply paying them $20, which seems kind of stupid. My advice would be to look for a receipt left behind by someone who already had a round trip ticket.

The sky was cloudy when we headed up but it got clearer as we went up. I should have worn a short sleeve shirt and was quite warm in flannel. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed ourselves. This is one of our favorite hikes, even though it’s steep and it is one of the more crowded trails, especially above the tram. It’s worth it, especially when the sky is clear. The view is wonderful.

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Ampersandwich

Ampersandwich

Ampersandwich

After yesterday’s wedding and a good night’s sleep, we headed back towards the airport this morning. Our flight was not until mid-afternoon, however, so we had a bit of time to do some things. We went to the Bass Pro Shop just off of Interstate 20, east of Birmingham because Dorothy had asked for a Carhart jacket for Christmas. After driving into downtown Birmingham, we started to look for a place to have lunch. We got ourselves relatively near the airport and then Dorothy found this place, called Ampersandwich at 4124 3rd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35222. If you’re looking for a good sandwich from friendly folks, this is a good choice and if we ever find ourselves in the neighborhood again, we’d revisit them. Tell them Henry sent you. It won’t get you any better service. There’s no chance they’ll know who I am. But it might be a good for a laugh.

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Noccalula Falls

Noccalula Falls, Gadsden, Alabama

Noccalula Falls, Gadsden, Alabama

After flying to Birmingham, Alabama yesterday and then driving to Gadsden, we had a good night’s sleep and then went out for the morning, doing a little sightseeing before this afternoon’s wedding. We found our way to Noccalula Falls Park. Most of the photographs you see of the falls are taken during a time of year with more water in Black Creek and are much more impressive. Nevertheless, it’s a very pretty place. From the path along the south side of the creek you can see the campground in the north side. We didn’t stay too long, because at that point we needed to get back to the hotel and get dressed for the wedding.

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Sandy Spring Meeting House and Cemetery

Sandy Spring Meeting House and Cemetery

Sandy Spring Meeting House and Cemetery

It was a busy day today, starting off with us heading out to Rocklands to meet Dorothy and help her move a pile of mulch. I gave Dorothy a brief lesson in driving the tractor and using that certainly sped up the job. She did well, shifting gears without too much trouble. I do have a few photos of Dorothy driving the tractor but she’s not always anxious to have her photo posted, so I’ve skipped that for today.

Later in the day, Cathy and I went to see her mom. Unfortunately we got there just as they were all sitting down to dinner. Because of the Covid-inspired visitation rules, we were not allowed to see her. I don’t know if they ever plan to loosen the restrictions or if they prefer the near total lock-down. It’s certainly annoying to the family and friends of their residents. I suspect the question is whether it is easier on the facility administration.

In any case, we drove a little ways to the Sandy Spring Meeting House Cemetery and walked around that for a while. One of the grave markers is for Benjamin Hallowell (August 17, 1799 – September 7, 1877). He was, among other things, the first president of the Maryland Agricultural College, established in 1859. The school was renamed Maryland State College in 1916 and in 1920 it became the University of Maryland’s undergraduate campus.

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Changeable Weather at Ocean Isle

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

We arrived at Ocean Isle Beach yesterday, after a relatively smooth and uneventful drive. We even managed to get to Richmond in two hours, which on a “beach Saturday” is something to be pleased and amazed at. Because I’m no longer forcing myself to take a photo a day, I didn’t bother with any yesterday, although we did go out on the beach. It was actually nice to be able to enjoy the beach without having to worry about that.

Beach weather can be changeable and the two photos I have here illustrate that. This first one, looking east, was taken at 4:06 PM.

Storm Clouds, Ocean Isle Beach

Storm Clouds, Ocean Isle Beach

The second photo, looking west, was taken twenty minutes later at 4:26 PM. Of course the clouds to the west were already starting to show up when I took the earlier photo but they were moving to the south at a pretty good pace. In the distance in this photo, just beyond the high rise at the end of the island, it’s already raining. As the clouds moved out and covered more of the island, most people moved back inside. Some, like me, stayed out to watch the clouds until the rain started coming down. At that point, there were lightning strikes within a mile, so it seemed like a good idea to be off the beach.

It rained very hard for a while. When it had passed, Cathy, Dorothy and I walked east to the pier and back, enjoying a quite spectacular sunset.

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Veterans Memorial Bridge, Columbia, Pennsylvania

Veterans Memorial Bridge, Columbia, Pennsylvania

Veterans Memorial Bridge, Columbia, Pennsylvania

I’ve posted a photo of this bridge before, when we stopped for breakfast at Coffee and Cream on the way home from Lancaster in January (see: Monday, January 3, 2022). We liked this little place so decided to have breakfast here again on our way home from Lititz. I actually fixed myself breakfast before we left the AirBnB and we both had coffee there, so it was as much about stopping at a familiar place as anything else. Being here in June is a little different from January. There were more people about and some small boats out on the river, as well as the greenery on both banks.

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Our AirBnB Outside Lititz

Our AirBnB Outside Lititz

Our AirBnB Outside Lititz

After work yesterday Cathy and I drove up to the AirBnB that Susie had found for us outside Lititz, Pennsylvania. We were all coming for Jon and Carly’s wedding this afternoon and (not terribly surprisingly) many hotels were mostly books up this time of year. This place was a real treat, though. It’s a short drive from downtown Lititz, very quiet and comfortable. We got in at about 8:00 PM last night and this is the view from the porch this morning. What a lovely place for a long weekend. Of course having such good friends for housemates made it all the better.

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BWI Airport

Arrivals and Departures

Arrivals and Departures

Dorothy flew home from New Orleans this evening and I picked her up at the airport. Whenever I pick someone up at the airport, I generally try to get there a little early so I’m waiting for them rather than them waiting for me. Unfortunately, although I got there about 20 minutes early, so did Dorothy’s flight. So, she texted me as I was parking and I didn’t notice and then I went in to wait for her. But she assumed I’d pick her up at the curb and we waited for each other. We figured it out eventually.

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Veterans Memorial Bridge

Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River, Columbia, Pennsylvania

Many of the places in Lancaster we might have gone to for breakfast this morning are closed on Monday, so we widened our search and came across a place called Coffee and Cream on the east bank of the Susquehanna River in Columbia. It was a good choice and if you’re ever in need of breakfast or just coffee, I recommend it. We even chatted briefly with the owner, who was very nice. After we ate, we drove down to the river, where I took this and a few other photos of the Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna. It’s probably prettier without the overcast, of course. We drove home into a snow storm but had no real problems getting home.

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Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Cathy, Reading Over a Man’s Shoulder

A young friend of ours scheduled her wedding on January 2 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We made plans to go, of course, and were prepared to take Covid tests before going in to the wedding. Sadly, both the groom and a number of family members all tested positive for Covid. The wedding went on but they were forced to make it a very small, private wedding. Nevertheless, we had planned a day off from work (tomorrow) and we had a hotel reservation, so we drove up to Lancaster for a short get away. This is a sculpture by J. Seward Jonhson in Steinman Park, on W. King Street (Lincoln Highway) in down town Lancaster.

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Gettysburg Battlefield

Gettysburg Battlefield, from Little Round Top

Gettysburg Battlefield, from Little Round Top

As mentioned in Sunday’s post, David, Darius, and Maggie drove up from New Mexico, arriving late Saturday evening. Cathy and I took the day off today and went up to Pennsylvania. David and Darius went to the Gettysburg Battlefield on their own. Cathy, Dorothy, Maggie, and I went to the farm first and put up some more screen on the porch. It’s two thirds done. I also took some measurements for replacement stair stringers for the front porch. A couple of them are well on their way to falling apart. After over 40 years exposed to the weather, I guess it’s no surprise. From there we went to Gettysburg. We started with the Pennsylvania monument, where the girls’ ancestor’s regiment is listed. Then to Devil’s Den followed by Little Round Top, where this photograph was taken. Then to Culp’s Hill, again, where the family was apparently represented in the actual battle. It was a beautiful day, very windy and cool, but quite lovely.

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Rehoboth Beach

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Cathy and I drove out to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware today. It was a nice drive on a fine, fall day. We were going to spend time with our friend, Maureen and her family after the loss of their mother. The funeral will be tomorrow. After we checked into out hotel we took a fairly quick drive to the beach, because it would be a shame to drive that far and not at least see the ocean. We were dressed in our nice clothes for the viewing but we walked out onto the sand and touched the water. Then I took a handful of photos and we were done.

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Loy’s Station Covered Bridge

Loy's Station Covered Bridge

Loy’s Station Covered Bridge

Cathy and I met Dorothy and two of her friends in Pennsylvania today and began the process of replacing the screen on the cabin’s porch. As we were leaving we discovered we had a flat tire. I changed the tire but snapped off one of the lug studs when taking off the old tire (cross threaded lug nut). As with most cars, ours is equipped with one of the stupid, little doughnut type tires designed to save car companies money at the expense of the customer. Consequently, I didn’t want to drive the whole way home on the highway and it took us considerably longer to get home. On the other hand, we did get to drive through this covered bridge. It’s on Old Frederick Road at Loy’s Station crossing Owens Creek in Rocky Ridge, Maryland. It was first built around 1880 and although it’s been modified and rebuilt, the timbers are original.

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Milford Pumpkin Festival, The Pumpkin Is Lit

Milford Pumpkin Festival, The Pumpkin Is Lit

Milford Pumpkin Festival, The Pumpkin Is Lit

We were heading back from Mount Major this afternoon and Dorothy said we should go to Milford, a quintessential American town. Her friend Megan grew up there and she said it would be a good place to find a nice restaurant for dinner. What none of us knew was that their annual Pumpkin Festival was this weekend. So, roads were blocked and we couldn’t get to the Oval (their triangular town square). Cathy found an article online about it suggesting going to the middle school and taking the shuttle bus, which we did. Not only were we fortunate enough to run into Megan, Jackson, and her parents, but we got to see and experience the lighting of the pumpkin in the upper window of the town hall. What an evening.

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Mount Major, New Hampshire

Mount Major, New Hampshire

Mount Major, New Hampshire

Yesterday’s outing was to a flat location (Plum Island) so we went to the other extreme today. After breakfast we drove up to Mount Major, overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee. The parking lot was full and overflowing but we were fortunate enough to get there just as someone was pulling out so we got a good parking spot. We went up by the Mt. Major Main Trail (1.4 miles, blue blazes) and then down the Boulder Loop trail (1.5 miles, yellow blazes). It’s a fairly steep climb but we managed it without too much trouble. It was certainly worth the effort. The woods below us were not yet at the peak of their fall color. Nevertheless, the view was terrific. I took a 13 shot panorama looking over the lake, which turned out pretty well. We also took a few of the two of us, including this one (with the camera sitting right down on the rocks).

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Coy Pond, Gordon College

Coy Pond, Gordon College

Coy Pond, Gordon College

After driving up to New Hampshire yesterday, we spent most of today at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts. There was an event there we wanted to attend and we had a really nice time visiting with family friends (even though it’s been years for Cathy and I’ve never actually met most of them). After the event, which included a chapel service and lunch, we had a little time before we were meeting other friends for dinner. So, we stopped at Gordon College and walked around Coy Pond. The fall color is not quite at peak yet, but it’s coming and it was already beautiful. Also, we weren’t at home, which was nice. After a lovely dinner with Rob and Iris, we drove back up to our hotel in New Hampshire, looking forward to three days of doing nothing in particular.

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Cathy and Jean at Scott’s Run Falls

Cathy and Jean at Scott's Run Falls

Cathy and Jean at Scott’s Run Falls

We met up with Jean today for a walk. I found a new place that we’ve drive by without noticing up until now. It’s just into Virginia and right off the Capitol Beltway on Georgetown Pike. The hike was pleasant, although there’s a significant climb both ways down to the river. This waterfall is where Scott’s Run empties into the Potomac River. We also walked a little way down the river before retracing our steps back to the parking area. It’s a nice, quiet place and we really enjoyed it. Of course, that may have been the company, as much as the location. It’s always good to be with Jean.

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Theodore Roosevelt Island

Bob, Dorothy, Maureen, Cathy, and Henry at Teddy Roosevelt Monument

Bob, Dorothy, Maureen, Cathy, and Henry at Teddy Roosevelt Monument

Cathy and I have not had Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a holiday for many years. The company where we work has decided that starting this year, we will be honoring the day and so, for the first time in many years, we were off work for that today. We wanted to do something outdoors and talked through a lot of options. Then Dorothy suggested we go to “the island with the box with the hand sticking out of the top.” When I was young, we went to this island in our little jon boat (there was no bridge or causeway in the mid 1960s). In the center of the island was a huge wooden box with a brass hand sticking out of the top of it. We know the proper name for the island, of course, but we still refer to it, and now Dorothy does, too, in this somewhat more colorful manner. Our friends Bob and Maureen joined us for the outing and we had a lovely time on a lovely day.

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Dulles International Airport

Dulles International Airport

Dulles International Airport

Dorothy left Juneau yesterday and arrived here a few minutes before 6:00 AM this morning. I got to Dulles a few minutes early and had time to take some pictures of the lighting of the main terminal building. I assume this is for the holidays but I don’t actually know for certain. Whatever the reason, it was really nice. It was rainy this morning, possibly to help Dorothy feel more comfortable being here, as this is what she’s gotten used to in Juneau. Needless to say, it’s great to have her home and we’re looking forward to having here here for a while.

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Harrison Island from Ball’s Bluff

Harrison Island from Ball's Bluff

Harrison Island from Ball’s Bluff

It was a cool but pleasant day and Cathy and I decided we needed an outing. We drove through Poolesville and crossed the Potomac River on White’s Ferry. From there we drove the short distance to Ball’s Bluff Battlefield. The battle fought here in October, 1961 is not one of the really well known engagements of the war and compared to the likes of Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Antietam, or Shiloh but it was significant nonetheless. Among other things, it marks the only sitting United States senator (Colonel Edward Baker of Oregon) to be killed in action. This photo was taken from below the bluffs. It was a quiet, peaceful place but would have been a really bad place to get caught with your back to the drop of the bluffs.

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Hogback Mountain

Hogback Mountain, Skyline Drive

Hogback Mountain, Skyline Drive

We had a really nice outing today. As mentioned in Friday’s post, our friend Jan is in town and we drove with her, Rob, and Vicky out to Front Royal and onto the Skyline Drive. It was overcast when we left home and we even had a spattering of rain on the way out but after stopping for breakfast at the Marshall Diner, it cleared up and by the time we were on Skyline Drive, it was sunny and the sky was a beautiful, crisp blue. It was fairly breezy and chilly but we enjoyed the views from various overlooks and then walked a bit on the Appalachian Trail, which is where this photo was taken, near Hogback Mountain, a peak of about 3,460 feet (with a communications tower on top).

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Sunrise North of Seattle

Sunrise North of Seattle

Sunrise North of Seattle

Our ten day journey to Alaska, like all good things, came to an end today. We were very sad to be leaving and of course were not very excited about getting up at 3:00 AM to get to the airport for our 5:00 AM flight, but it meant we’d get home during the day instead of the middle of the night. We had a great time and would happily have stayed for another week or even two. Of course not having to go to work is part of it. Anywhere on vacation is generally better than anywhere else with work. The weather was about what we expected, cool and damp, but we came prepared (and Dorothy gave me a really nice rain hat as an early birthday present). That meant we got out regardless of the weather and enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.

Sunrise North of Seattle

Sunrise North of Seattle

The trip home was relatively uneventful, which is sort of what you want when flying. There’s not much better than a sunrise or sunset from the air and we got a pretty good one as we headed south to Seattle, on the left side of the plane. Someone who knows the area might be able to recognize the coast line seen through the clouds in this first photo. The second, taken about ten minutes after the first, is possibly Mount Baker, but again, I don’t really know the area, so I’d be happy to be corrected. Much of the country from eastern Washington until we neared Maryland was covered with clouds, so there wasn’t much to see. We did recognize some landmarks as we made our descent into Dulles. And thus ends Alaska Trip, 2019.

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Brian, Lisa, Nathaniel, and Us

Brian, Lisa, Nathaniel, Cathy, Henry, and Dorothy

Brian, Lisa, Nathaniel, Cathy, Henry, and Dorothy

It’s our last evening in Juneau and we went out to dinner with our good friends Brian and Lisa and their son Nathaniel. This photo was taken by Nathaniel’s girlfriend, Alex and it’s nice to have a picture with all of us in it. We were sad to be leaving and could easily have been happy staying another week or even two. We’ve know Brian and Lisa since early 1986 and Dorothy’s been living with them since she arrived in mid July. I’d say it’s been very good for her to be here, although not without its struggles. But as a wise man once said, “Life is pain, highness. Anyone who tells you different is trying to sell you something.”

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Tongass National Forest

Tongass National Forest

Tongass National Forest

One of my favorite hikes around Juneau is on the western extremity of Douglas Island. back in the 1980s there was a trail through woods, across muskeg, and to the shore. There is now a much shorter loop trail called the Rain Forest Trail that we took today. While I like the longer, older trail better, we didn’t have a huge amount of time to spend and it was also fairly wet as we drove out, with rain softly falling. You shouldn’t get the impression that the shorter trail isn’t very nice, because it’s actually wonderful. I took quite a few photos both in the woods and on the shore. This one is of a small pond just into the woods as we headed back on the southern part of the loop. The light in the woods is quite difficult, with fairly low light levels along with a very bright sky showing through. I’m pretty pleased with how this one turned out.

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Fourth Street Stairs

Fourth Street Stairs

Fourth Street Stairs

When we first lived in Juneau, back in 1985 and 86, we rented the downstairs of the pale blue Quonset hut seen in the upper left of this photo. Our address was on Fourth Street but the street ended at Harris Street, almost two blocks away. To get to and from her job in the Goldstein Building, Cathy would walk down the long flight of stairs from above our house to Fourth and Harris. I don’t remember for sure how many steps there are, but my remembrance is that it’s 174 or so. Quite a few, anyway. In this photo you can see a person near the top of the stairs wearing a bright, red jacket.

We moved from the Quonset to an apartment on Douglas Island after a year or so and lived there the rest of our time in Juneau. Living in downtown Juneau certainly had its advantages, but it was also nice to have a few more windows as we did in the apartment. I’m not sure where I’d want to live if we moved back to Juneau. Land is at something of a premium, with usable land squeezed between the shore and the mountains and with so much given to National Forest. But I think I’d be inclined to be outside downtown at this point, just for the sake of having a bit more of a yard and garden.

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Granite Creek

Granite Creek

Granite Creek

In addition to our visit to the Shrine this morning, Cathy, Dorothy, and I took our longest walk of the trip with Brian, Lisa, and their two dogs. We drove out Basin Road and went up Perseverance Trail and then a ways up Granite Creek Trail towards Granite Basis. I don’t know exactly how far we walked but it was at least three miles each way, possibly a little more. The Perseverance Trail goes up hill pretty significantly in places but it’s an easy trail to walk on. The view of Ebner Falls was nice, even in the light rain that was coming down. We turned off onto the much smaller Granite Creek Trail that zig-zags up a steep hill before becoming more gradual after that. We didn’t go too far up that and this photo was taken somewhere near where we turned around. It was after 5:00 PM and it was going to be dark before we got back. In fact, it was quite dark as we made our way past Ebner Falls and the rest of the way down, particularly those places under trees. But we didn’t lose anyone and had a really nice time.

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Shrine of Saint Thérèse

Shrine of Saint Thérèse

Shrine of Saint Thérèse

We went out to the Shrine of Saint Thérèse this morning and enjoyed a very pleasant walk onto the island (well, it was an island but is now connected by a causeway), into the chapel, and along a path on the shore (from which this photo was taken). It was cool and when we got there it looked like rain. Nevertheless, it didn’t actually come down and by the time we walked down the shore, there was some blue in the sky. If we see anyone else on any of our walks around Juneau, we like to joke that the place is getting overrun with tourists. Of course we’re tourists this time, and it’s only a joke anyway. There may have been a few other people at the Shrine the same time we were there but we hardly saw each other.

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The Empty Chair

The Empty Chair

The Empty Chair

In May, 1942, the valedictorian at Juneau High School, John Tanaka, was absent because he and others of Japanses ancestry had been forcibly removed and incarcertated in government internment camps a month earlier. The graduating class left an empty chair in his honor at their graduation, honoring John and the other Japanese Americans. John’s younger brother, Bill, was in my mother-in-law’s class and naturally she remembers this incident. The Empty Chair Memorial is in Capital School Park between 5th and 6th Streets and Franklin and Seward.

Today was the rainiest day of our trip. While Dorothy was at work, Cathy and I spent the morning in the State Museum and Library, which I highly recommend. We also drove around downtown a bit with Dorothy after she got off work. That’s when this photo was taken. You can also get an idea from this photo of the steepness of some of upper Franklin Street.

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Cathy, Henry, and the Dogs

Cathy, Henry, and the Dogs

Cathy, Henry, and the Dogs

This photo wasn’t taken by me, but I’ve already posted two photos from today that I did take, so I think I can get away with it. I don’t appear in many photographs and for the most part, that’s my preference. Nevertheless, I’m trying to learn that if I want to expect others to let me take their picture, I need to be willing to return the favor. Dorothy took this with my camera and while I don’t think it’s a particularly good photo of me, it’s at least evidence that I was there. Nugget falls is larger than it looks in this photo. The reality is that we’re quite a ways from it. If we walked so that we were right below it, you’d see how high it really is. I have a few photos like that, but this isn’t one of them, so you’ll just have to trust me, or better yet, go visit it for yourself.

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Cathy at the Mendenhall

Cathy at the Mendenhall

Cathy at the Mendenhall

We have a very fond and somewhat funny memory from the winter of 1986-87. It was on a relatively mild day in February when Cathy, Brian, Lisa, and I drove out to the glacier. There was eight to ten inches of snow on the ice on Mendenhall Lake and there were kids sledding on the hills of glacial moraine. Brian, Lisa, and Cathy walked out into the snow on the ice wearing boots and their bathing suits. They took off the boots and settled on a blanket laid on the snow (which naturally sank into the snow when they sat down. I took a handful of photographs of them, pretending it was a lovely day. Actually, for February in Juneau, clear skies make it a lovely day, regardless of the temperature. Anyway, here’s Cathy, 32 years later, in front of the Mendenhall, although she was dressed more warmly today than she was on that day in February.

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Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier

We went to the glacier today. In Juneau, that’s short hand for the Mendenhall, since it’s the one you can basically drive to. When we lived here in the late 1980s the face of the glacier was just a little past Nugget Falls, on the right in this photo. When my mother-in-law lived in Juneau, the face of the glacier was considerably further out into the valley. Like most (but notably not all) glaciers since the last little ice age, roughly between 1300 and the mid to late 1800s, it is receding. It’s still pretty and the clouds separated long enough for us to see some of the mountains around it, at least briefly, although you can’t really see them well in this photo.

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Treadwell

Treadwell Beach

Treadwell Beach

In 1898, Cathy’s great grandfather traveled from the iron mines of Michigan’s northern pinensula to the gold mines of Juneau. Specifically, he worked in the Mexican Mine in Treadwell on Douglas Island, across the Gastineau Channel. In 1917 the mine flooded and all work ceased. This photo was taken from near the cave-in site, which is on the extreme right although it’s not really visible. As you can see, it was more overcast than the previous two days, which were pretty nice. We couldn’t see the top of Mount Roberts across the channel. Nevertheless, it was good to get out and to walk where Cathy’s ancestors had walked (although we’ve been there before, of course). The Treadwell Mine’s office building, which was in pretty rough shape when we lived in Juneau, has been cleaned, painted, and given a new roof.

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Airport Flats

Airport Flats

Airport Flats

As mentioned in my earlier post for today, it was a busy day. In the afternoon we went for a walk with Brian and Lisa around the airport. It’s a pretty place and it’s not like the busy airports we’re used to from the DC area with planes taking off and landing one after the next all day. It’s a relatively quiet place except for the occasional plane and we had a nice time outdoors. If you need a reason to go to Juneau, here’s one. It’s beautiful regardless of the weather. The clouds were high enough today that we could see the mountains pretty well. We didn’t have a clear day the entire ten days we were there but if you need clear skies to enjoy a place, then maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. The airport walk is an easy one, with virtually no hills to deal with. Very nice for a mid-afternoon walk. Highly recommended.

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Rainbow Over Mendenhall

Rainbow Over Mendenhall

Rainbow Over Mendenhall

As mentioned in my previous post, it started raining as we returned to our car at the Eagle River trail near the Boy Scout Camp. It rained fairly hard but as we approached the Mendenhall River the sun came out and there was a rainbow to our left. We stopped at Brotherhood Bridge, where there’s a pretty decent view of the glacier and we had it framed by the rainbow. Rainbows can be tricky to photograph because the colors are fairly faint relative to other things in the photograph. Slight underexposure can help but that tends to make the rest of the shot dark. Anyway, This one turned out pretty well. At a different time of year, this photo would benefit from fireweed in the foreground, but the autumnal colors aren’t bad, either.

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Muskeg

Muskeg, Boy Scout Trail, Juneau

Muskeg, Boy Scout Trail, Juneau

Near the confluence of the Eagle and Herbert Rivers, about 26 miles from downtown Juneau, there is the Eagle River Scout Camp. A trail leads from there along the south bank of the Eagle River to the open waters of Favorite Channel and Lincoln and Shelter Islands. Cathy, Dorothy, and I took the dogs and had a nice walk through the woods, along the river, and along the sandy shore. This photo was taken near the beginning of the walk in an open area in the woods.

A muskeg is “a nutrient-poor peatland characterized by acidic, saturated peat, and scattered or clumped, stunted conifer trees set in a matrix of sphagnum mosses and ericaceous shrubs.” I personally find them to be beautiful, although it’s not something you want to walk through if you can get around it. I particularly enjoyed the fall color as seen in this photograph as well as the reflections on the pool in the foreground. The sky was particularly overcast today and we only had glimpses of the mountains that would otherwise be in the distance. The overcast tends to heighten the colors, though, so that’s a plus. And the rain was barely noticeable until just before we got back to the car.

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Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens

From Los Angeles we flew up the coast and had a nice view of Lake Tahoe. We also had a nice view of Yosemite Valley from the west and I was able to make out some of the most notable features, including Half Dome, Cathedral Rocks, and El Capitan. I only had my wide angle lens so the pictures I got were not very good, although I can identify landmarks pretty well. A little further on we passed Mounts Hood, Adams, St. Helens, and Rainier. At this point I had retrieved my 100mm lens was able to get some nice pictures such as this one of Mount St. Helens in Washington. You can clearly see the hole in the top from when it blew its lid in 1980, an event that I remember vividly from the news reports of the time (but thankfully didn’t experience anywhere near first hand).

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On The Road (Metaphorically Speaking)

Cathy at LAX

Cathy at LAX

Cathy and I began a ten day trip today, getting up at 3:40, driving to the commuter parking lot on Georgia Avenue and catching the 4:21 bus to BWI airport. That was the beginning of a 23 hour journey spanning four time zones. Our first flight left BWI at 7:00 AM EDT and arrived in Los Angeles at 9:45 PDT. Add three hours to that for the time zone change and we were in the air about 5 hours and 45 minutes. We had an equally long layover in LAX, not leaving until 2:40 for Seattle. We walked nearly two miles from terminal 6 through tunnels under terminal 5 and then up and through terminal 4 to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (a.k.a., Terminal B), walking the length of that (and back). That wore us out but also passed a good bit of time.

This photo, taken from Terminal 6, is of Cathy resting her ankle briefly with a view of “The Theme Building” in the background. We had lunch and then went to our terminal ahead of boarding. You know how in airports there are often announcements where a person is named, but it’s never you so you don’t pay attention? While we were waiting for our flight, the woman on the PA called my name and asked me to come to the service desk. Needless to say, I was surprised. I was even more surprised when I went to the counter and she handed me my driver’s license. It had been in my pocket and apparently fell out. The amazing thing is that not only was it found but someone went to the trouble to find out where my next flight was leaving from and get it there. I didn’t know it was even lost until it was returned. I was more than a little grateful.

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Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Cathy and I were able to get away for two nights and a day and we drove up to Harpers Ferry. From our hotel we walked into town today and enjoyed the scenery. It was in the low 90s and very humid so we were glad to take a break in the visitor center and museum in town (which was air conditioned) and then stop for lunch part way up High Street in an air conditioned place. We continued up the hill and I took this picture looking east over the cemetery towards the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah Rivers. This was taken while sitting on a bench and catching my breath after the walk up the hill.

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Green Swamp

Green Swamp

Green Swamp

I’ve gone to the Green Swamp a few times during our weeks at the beach. Sometimes with a largish group and sometimes just a few others. I went by myself today and had a nice time. I planned not to go too far, with the primary goal of getting some pictures. I got some nice shots of Venus fly traps (Dionaea muscipula) and sundews (Drosera sp.). It was fairly dry and many of the pitcher plants (the purple Sarracenia purpurea And the yellow Sarracenia flava) were a little the worse for that. Still, I got some pictures. I also got a good shot of a palamedes swallowtail (Papilio palamedes (. But this is my favorite photo from the trip, showing the long leaf pines (Pinus palustris).

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Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset, Ocean Isle Beach

We had a pretty sunset this evening. there was not a huge amount of color but on the horizon it was very nice and I thought it looked especially good through the dune grass growing between our cottage and the beach. We had a nice day with a very calm ocean for swimming. I’m a fan of body surfing and although it was quite calm, there were occasional waves that were good for riding. Cathy prefers using a boogie board, which is fine, but I like the feel of the water.

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Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

We spent the better part of the day driving to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina today. We were delayed a little by a flat tire and the time it took to get that replaced but better to have it happen near home that when we were traveling 70 MPH on the highway. Traffic between the Occoquan River Bridge and Fredericksburg was as bad as ever. Actually, worse. Generally the GPS says “Fastest route despite delays” but today it not only told us to get off of 95 onto US 1, it twice took us off of Route 1 onto smaller streets. I’m not entirely sure that saved us any time and the delay added about two hours to the drive, but we did finally make it to the beach and were able to relax a bit. As you can see, we arrived to fine weather and a calm Atlantic Ocean.

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Wedding Weekend

Dorothy with Loaded Van

Dorothy with Loaded Van

Our good friend Maria is getting married tomorrow and we drove to southern Virginia this afternoon. We offered to transport a few things so we stopped in northern Virginia to pick up two corn hole games, a croquet set, four trash cans, and 14 plants, plus a few other odds and ends. We had hoped to have my mom’s Toyota minivan but alternator trouble meant we went in the Mercury Villager, instead, which is a bit smaller. We managed to get everything in, although Dorothy had a mandevilla on the end of the back seat with her.

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George Washington Bridge

George Washington Bridge

George Washington Bridge

We drove home from Massachusetts today. Nine and a half hours isn’t a bad amount of time for the 475 mile trip, but with only two stops, it really shouldn’t have taken so long. We had to detour twice to get around significant problems, once near Sturbridge, in Massachusetts and then at the 95, 295, 495 interchange on the western shore of the Delaware River, after crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge. There was no getting around the traffic getting onto the George Washington Bridge, crossing the Hudson. The stop and go traffic, however, gave me the opportunity to take a few photos as we got onto and crossed the bridge.

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DCA Taxi Stand

DCA Taxi Stand

DCA Taxi Stand

Cathy and I went to DCA (also known as Reagan National Airport) early this evening to pick up her cousin and his wife, flying in from the northwest. Traffic was its usual horrendous self. There was an accident on the inner loop with all but one lane blocked by fire trucks and police. That slowed us considerably on the outer loop but boded even worse for our homeward journey. While at the airport I took a very few pictures but they include this one of a taxi stand waiting above Terminal B. I wonder how much change there has been in the taxi business here due to app-based ride-finding services like Lyft and Uber. My guess would be that it’s made a substantial difference but I really don’t know and don’t use either taxis or Lyft/Uber enough to have any feel for the difference in price or level of service.

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BWI Airport

BWI Airport

BWI Airport

Dorothy flew up to Boston on Saturday to go to a wedding on Sunday. She had a busy but fun time visiting with friends and being, in her words, an emotional support animal. She flew home today and we picked her up at BWI at about a quarter past eleven. I took my camera with me because I hadn’t taken any other pictures today. This was taken from the top deck of the parking garage, looking towards the northeast end of the terminal building (Concourse E). I took a few inside, as well and none of them were really anything to write home about, but as I have to post one, here you are.

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Turkeys in a Cemetery

Turkeys in a Cemetery

Turkeys in a Cemetery

As we left our AirBnB this morning, heading for home, we passed this little cemetery and saw a flock of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) among the grave markers. We stopped and took some time to walk around the cemetery a little and enjoy the quiet, as well as the birds. As I walked across the top of the cemetery, they moved slowly towards and then through an opening in the fence behind them. We used to see turkeys a lot more often than we do now. In Pennsylvania we would see them somewhat regularly and also ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus, the common pheasant of Asia, introduced into North America in the late 18th century). We almost never see them any more, so this was a treat for us.

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Tappan Zee Bridge

Tappan Zee Bridge

Tappan Zee Bridge

We drove up to Massachusetts today to see Dorothy for Homecoming weekend. We were there at Homecoming weekend her freshman year although we didn’t actually go to any of the scheduled events. She was just getting used to being away at college and wanted to show us some of the places she had discovered and to introduce us to some of her new friends. As a senior, this year is quite different. We still don’t have plans to attend a lot of the scheduled events, but we’ll do a few. Some of the friends are the same and there are a plenty of new friends.

Anyway, I prefer to take the slightly longer (by about 14 miles) route up the Garden State Parkway and across the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Merritt Parkway rather than taking the George Washington Bridge and sticking to Interstate 95 across New York and Connecticut. When we drove up in August of 2015 they were building the piers for the new bridge. Now we’re driving across the new bridge and you can just see a part of the old bridge on the right. This new bridge is officially named after former New York Governor Mario Cuomo but I think its name will always be the Tappan Zee Bridge, to me.

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China Clipper Model, BWI Airport

China Clipper Model, BWI Airport

China Clipper Model, BWI Airport

I drove out to BWI Airport this morning to pick up Margaret, who returned today from Chicago. I had a little time after I parked so I walked to the international terminal at the end of the building. I’m not sure why but the area was practically deserted. I took a few pictures of this model of The China Clipper (NC14716). The original was built for Pan American Airways by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland. Per Wikipedia, “In 1961, the Martin Company merged with American-Marietta Corporation, a large sand and gravel mining company, forming Martin Marietta Corporation. In 1995, Martin Marietta merged with aerospace giant Lockheed to form the Lockheed Martin Corporation.” The China Clipper flew the first commercial transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila in 1935. It was lost in a crash on January 8, 1945 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

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Ocean Isle Water Tower at Sunset

Ocean Isle Water Tower at Sunset

Ocean Isle Water Tower at Sunset

We were preparing to go to the Whites’ house, just a little way down the beach, when the sun was setting. There were a couple guys working on the top of the water tower near where we were staying and as the clouds were moving past, there were occasional flashes of lightning and distant thunder. None of is was closer than three or four miles but if it were me up there it would have made me a bit nervous. Anyway, I took some pictures of the water tower with the sunset color in the clouds behind it. It was pretty impressive. Of course, if I had gotten a picture of lightning striking the tower it would have been both amazing and tragic. Fortunately for those guys, it didn’t happen.

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Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the family reunion we went to was on our way to a week at the beach. Work has been pretty crazy lately. On the one hand, I really need to be there to get some things done. On the other hand, I really needed this break and I’m looking forward to not really thinking about work all week. This is the view from the deck half way to the beach from the cottage where we’re staying. It’s an older house, smaller than most, but adequate to our needs. This picture was taken around high tide and it’s a rainy morning so not a lot of activity on the beach. As the tide went out and the sun started to shine, the beach filled with people (as you would expect).

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Dorothy and Abba

Dorothy and Abba

Dorothy and Abba

We drove up to Canterbury Shaker Village today to see Dorothy’s cousin Abba. She has been there all week in their first resident artists program. The program was a success and they plan to repeat it regularly. Abba was chosen as one of only five artists (and one of two painters). We enjoyed seeing her work as well as wandering around the historic, Shaker buildings. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place, only occasionally disrupted by the sounds of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway just over a mile to the east (if you go on a non-race day, you won’t have that issue). We wandered around the gardens and down to the ponds on the eastern part of the property.

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Annisquam Lighthouse

Annisquam Lighthouse

Annisquam Lighthouse

Dorothy came out and we had breakfast together in Gloucester this morning. Then we spent a little time on the waterfront, enjoying the same flowers I mentioned two days ago. After that we drove around Cape Ann, ending up at a little private beach south of Annisquam Lighthouse, pictured here. We got permission to hang out there for a little while and enjoyed the cooler weather after yesterday’s sweltering heat. Cathy and Dorothy went for a swim and I sat in the shade of a few white oak trees.

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Plum Island Salt Marsh

Plum Island Salt Marsh

Plum Island Salt Marsh

When planning our trip to Massachusetts, both Dorothy and I included a visit to Plum Island on our list of things to do. Except for the two ends of this barrier island it comprises the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge with the southern tip of the island being the Sandy Point State Reservation. It’s a beautiful place and even with a few sections closed because of nesting plovers, there’s plenty to see. We enjoyed being outdoors in such a wide open space. We also enjoyed watching storm clouds rolling in. It was quite warm today, well up into the mid-90s and there were a few places where the breeze didn’t reach us as we walked. It was stifling in those spots but then we’d get to where there was a nice breeze coming off the bay. As we were leaving, the rain got to us and it came down quite hard. The temperature dropped to near 70&xb0;F.

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Foggy Harbor

Foggy Harbor, Marblehead, Massachusetts

Foggy Harbor, Marblehead, Massachusetts

We had a busy day today. Dorothy drove out to Gloucester and we went to breakfast together. Dorothy had to work later and Cathy and I enjoyed the waterfront back in Gloucester. They have some really lovely flowers planed on Western Avenue (where the fisherman memorial is). We really enjoyed the colors and the variety. After she got off work, Dorothy, Jonathan, Cathy, and I went for a walk at Strawberry Hill out to Smith Island. Then after dinner we dropped Jonathan off in Beverly and drove down to Fort Sewall in Marblehead. It was quite foggy and this picture was taken there just after 8:00 PM. All in all, a good day.

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Great Falls, Maryland

Great Falls, Maryland

Great Falls, Maryland

It was cool today (some said cold, but my scale is a little different to some). It was beautiful out, in any case. The sky was a deep blue and it was a perfect day to go to Great Falls and the C&O Canal. We walked out to the overlook, stopping along the way to enjoy some wildflowers in bloom. We saw lots of yellow adder’s tongue (Erythronium americanum, also known as yellow trout lily), although we only saw one or two flowers and they were not completely open yet. We saw some cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) which I recognized but couldn’t name without looking up. We saw lots of spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), varying in color from pure white to fairly deep pink. After returning to the tow path, we found a few areas with lots and lots of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica). That was a particular treat and really made it feel more spring-like.

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U. S. National Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia

U. S. National Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia

U. S. National Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia

Yesterday evening, after our 3.5 mile walk on the battlefield of the Third Battle of Winchester, we visited the National Cemetery in downtown Winchester. We went there again this morning because Cathy had remembered the name of another man in Henry’s (Cathy’s great, great grandfather) division. One marker was for a man in his company and who died of wounds received the same day Henry died. Henry’s remains were never identified so we assume his is one of the graves marked, like the one in the lower right of this photograph, “Unknown U. S. Soldier”. For all we know, this is his grave (unlikely, but possible).

The large column on the left memorializes Brigadier General David A. Russell. He commanded a brigade of the 6th Army Corps in which Henry served. Gen. Russell died the same day as Henry, September 19, 1864 at the Third Battle of Winchester.

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Middle Field, Third Battle of Winchester

Cathy at Middle Field, Third Battle of Winchester

Cathy at Middle Field, Third Battle of Winchester

As mentioned yesterday, we are visiting Winchester, Virginia this weekend to do a little family history work. This time it doesn’t involve library work. Mostly we wanted to visit the battlefields of the Second and Third Battles of Winchester. Cathy’s great, great grandfather was taken prisoner on June 15, 1863 during the second battle. He spent some little while on Belle Isle in Richmond before being paroled. Today we were able to find the road he and his fellow soldiers were on when they ran into the main body of the Confederate Army.

After that we had a late lunch and then moved on to the battlefield for the Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon Creek. This avenue of trees, which would not have been there in 1864, runs through the middle of what is known as the Middle Field where some of the heaviest fighting took place. Cathy’s ancestor was, with the rest of his Pennsylvania Volunteer regiment, fighting in General Wright’s Sixth Corps in General Ricketts’s division. They were along the Berryville Road (now Virginia route 7) about a mile to the south of this point and what is now the site of the Winchester Gateway shopping center. We don’t know when or where in the course of the battle he was killed but sometime that day he died. He is, presumably, in one of the graves marked ‘Unknown Soldier’ in the National Cemetery in Winchester.

Here is a short description taken from CivilWar.org:

On September 19th [1864], Sheridan advanced toward Winchester along the Berryville Pike with Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright’s Sixth Corps and Brig. Gen. William Emory’s Nineteenth Corps, crossing Opequon Creek east of town. The Union advance was delayed long enough for Early to concentrate his forces to meet the main assault, which continued for several hours. Casualties were very heavy.

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Souvenir from Republic, Michigan

Souvenir from Republic, Michigan

Souvenir from Republic, Michigan

Cathy’s great grandfather (Grant) was born in eastern Pennsylvania during the Civil War. He grew up in the coal mining regions of Pennsylvania before moving to Republic, Michigan late in the 19th century. He and his wife and children lived there and he was employed in the iron mines. Shortly before the turn of the century, Grant left Michigan for Alaska, where he worked at the Alaska Mexican Mine in Treadwell. This was his third mining phase, having mined coal in Pennsylvania, iron in Michigan, and now gold in Alaska. This small pitcher is a souvenir from Republic, Michigan and was given to Cathy by her aunt.

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Monocacy Aqueduct

Monocacy Aqueduct

Monocacy Aqueduct

We decided to have our Thanksgiving on Friday this year and that meant that today we had nothing specific to do. I thought we might go to Tridelphia Reservoir and Brighton Dam Recreation Park but when we got there, the parking lot was blocked off and the reservoir was mostly drained. I assume they are doing some sort of maintenance work on the dam. Anyway, there was nothing for it but to go somewhere else. I decided to drive to the Monocacy Aqueduct where the Monocacy River goes under the C&O Canal and then meets the Potomac River. It was an absolutely beautiful day and there were very few people about, so we had a really nice time.

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Oakley Cabin

Oakley Cabin

Oakley Cabin

It was a beautiful if somewhat chilly day (but not unseasonably chilly) and I wanted to get outdoors for at least a little while. I went for a drive, first stopping to take some pictures in the neighborhood of trees still holding onto their leaves. Oaks are like that. Then I drove up Georgia Avenue through Olney and Brookeville and turned left onto Brookeville Road. I stopped to take a few pictures of the Oakley Cabin. This cabin is one of three that once stood here in what “was once the center of an African American roadside community from emancipation into the early 20th century. The dwelling, inhabited until 1976, is now operated as a living history museum by M-NCPPC, Department of Parks, Montgomery County.”

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Round Trip to Boston

Delaware Memorial Bridge

Delaware Memorial Bridge

I made a round trip to Boston today, taking Dorothy to school. She’s keeping the car with her but understandably didn’t want to do that long drive by herself. So I went with her and then flew home late in the evening. The drive itself was relatively uneventful. We were on the road by 6:30 and crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge before 8:30. Traffic was slow getting onto the George Washington Bridge as I suspect it is except for in the middle of the night (and possibly even then). Traffic remained heavy across the upper part of Manhattan Island and then off and on through the Bronx and most of the way across southern Connecticut, especially around New Haven and New London. We stopped for a long lunch in Mystic, just before getting to Rhode Island. Arriving in Boston after 4:00 PM on Friday, it was no surprise that we got into very slow traffic in the parking lots that pass for tunnels but we needed to get to Logan Airport and there are only so many ways to get there. My flight wasn’t until just before 9:00 PM, so we were not really in any rush.

Dorothy continued on to school from there and I got home without incident. That is, unless you count the mouse that was running around the departure lounge. I didn’t know about it until a lady screamed and jumped up onto the chairs.

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Mostly Empty Beach

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

The beach was mostly empty this morning. This picture was taken at about 9:00 AM when the beach is usually beginning to get fairly crowded but the drizzle this morning kept most people indoors. It cleared up quite a bit later on and more people were out but nothing like the last few days. It was also much more humid than its been, although it was still quite cool. It was our last full day at the beach and it was fairly restful without not a lot happening. We did manage to finish a pretty tricky puzzle before the end of the day and we were all pretty pleased with that. Three puzzles over the course of six days, one of which was finished in a single day. The house we were in didn’t really have a good table for puzzles other than the dining table, which was somewhat inconvenient. But we managed.

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Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

Just an average day at the beach. As I mentioned in a previous post, the weather this week was quite mild. Yesterday it was actually cool enough that you wanted to stay mostly underwater when you were out. I like to float on my back when the water is calm, as it was all week, but when I did my toes got cold. Today was a bit warmer but still not hot. Today also brought a few larger swells in addition to the small waves that broke too far in for us to ride. So, today was the best wave-riding day of the week. This picture was taken just before 1:00 PM and it shows the beach at about its most crowded (well, at high tide it was more crowded because everyone had to move up, but about the same number of people). This picture was taken from about the same place as the sunrise picture from yesterday and looking in roughly the same direction.

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Brookgreen Gardens and Lowcountry Zoo

Live Oak (<em>Quercus virginiana</em>)

Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)

A bunch of us went to Brookgreen Gardens today. Seth, Iris, and Tsai-Hong stayed until about 1:00 before moving on to the lowcountry zoon and then headed back to the beach. Cathy, Dorothy, Jonathan, Dot, and I had lunch and then did a bit more walking in the gardens before hitting the zoo. I took a lot of pictures of sculpture and a few of dragonflies and grasshoppers (the huge eastern lubber grasshopper, Romalea microptera). I really enjoy both the sculpture and the setting. It was hot today but not really hot by South Carolina in August standards. In the shade it was actually pretty pleasant. This first picture is of my favorite tree at Brookgreen gardens. It is in the corner of the Palmetto Garden and really is part of the Live Oak Allée that’s just across the wall. I think it’s magnificent.

Black-crowned Night-Heron (<em>Nycticorax nycticorax</em>)

Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Of course we also went to the lowcountry zoo where we saw black-crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) as well as a few egrets and an ibis. The otters were very active and we enjoyed watching them swim around for a while. It was actually feeding time at the alligator pond but the alligator we saw must be well fed because he was pretty blasé about the whole thing.

After leaving Brookgreen, we drove to Murrill’s Inlet for an early dinner at Nance’s. Dorothy, Jonathan, and I shared a half bushel of steamed oysters while mom had soft-shell crab and Cathy had a crab cake.

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Stephen, Kai, and the Beach

Stephen, Kai, and the Beach

Stephen, Kai, and the Beach

Most kids love the beach. Of course, kids under a certain age are generally not really up on the joys of playing in the surf or digging in the sand. Kai is only seven months old and he isn’t really well versed in the joys of childhood yet. Or, perhaps I should say the joys of his childhood are, at this point, fairly simple. He went out onto the beach (okay, he was taken out onto the beach) this afternoon and was dressed for the sun. The goggles were a bit much and they came off fairly quickly but I think they suit him. He sat on the sand with his feet in a hole with a little water in it and wasn’t entirely displeased. He didn’t particularly like being splashed, although there was no real danger of him getting into any trouble. It won’t be long until he’s mobile and then the fun begins for his parents. “Wait, he was here a second ago, where did he go?”

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Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

Cathy, Dorothy, Jonathan, and I drove to the east end of the island today, stopping first at Ferry Landing Park on the north (inland) side of the island. This is the site of the original ferry crossing to Ocean Isle Beach which operated from 1950 until 1959 when a swing bridge was built. At the park there is a small pier where a few people were fishing and some girls were setting up lines to do some crabbing. We went from there to the spit at the far east end of the island to Shallotte Inlet. It was quite warm and I’m afraid I got a little sunburn on my face and the back of my neck. This is looking north from the beach onto the island with a Carolina blue sky and scattered clouds.

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Delaware Memorial Bridge

Delaware Memorial Bridge

Delaware Memorial Bridge

I covered a few miles today but ended up where I started. Cathy and I left the house at about 5:30 and drove to the airport. From there I flew to Boston, where I was picked up by Dorothy. Then we drove home. It’s about 460 miles by the route we took and the round-trip took me 12.5 hours including two hours waiting for my 56 minute (and $40!) flight. We crossed a couple large bridges, the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan to New Jersey and then the Delaware Memorial from New Jersey into Delaware. Dorothy was driving for most of the New Jersey portion of the trip and I was able to take a few pictures of the Delaware Memorial Bridge as we crossed it.

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Afghan Doll

Afghan Doll

Afghan Doll

We went to a presentation by a woman named Ariane from an organization that does work with some of the very poorest people in two areas in Afghanistan. Their work includes education, recreation, providing meals, and vocational training including such skills as sewing and baking. They are teaching sign language to deaf children, as well as ordinary school subjects. Cathy’s mom organized the event and had a combination of Afghan and French themed refreshments at the back of the room. She also brought in a few of her Afghan dolls and had them on display. On the tag attached to this one it says,

This is the national dress of the women of Afghanistan. The bodice is embroidered in many colors and sometimes includes colored stones, bangles, or small mirrors, depending on the area from which it comes. This costume has never been covered by the chadri.

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Caving Expedition (Day Two)

Seth, Stephen, Carmela, George, and Ralph in the Slab Room

Seth, Stephen, Carmela, George, and Ralph in the Slab Room

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, we drove to West Virginia and spent the night at the PSC Field House in the North Form Mountain area. We got a reasonable night’s sleep and after a hearty breakfast, six of us headed off the Hamilton Cave. Ralph and Stephen are both experienced cavers but the rest of us were beginners. We’ve all been in the big, commercial caverns like Luray or Carlsbad (although I’d really like to see Carl’s Good cavern!). I’ve been in a reasonable number of caves in the USA, France, England, Greece, and Slovakia (although it was Czechoslovakia at the time). But this was the first time in a cave such as this. Hamilton cave has a pretty good maze of passages and I’m certainly glad we had two people who knew their way around.

Seth in Hamilton Cave

Seth in Hamilton Cave

After checking in at The Register, we made our way to our first goal, the Slab Room. This is named for the large slab of rock that fell in the distant past (well, probably recent in geologic terms, but it was more than a few years ago). Getting here involved passages where we had to crawl on all fours and a couple stretches where I had to take off my small day pack and push it in front of me while I slithered along on my front in what I know as an army crawl. You know the one, where you are lying prone and you pull yourself along with your elbow and push with your knees. It can be fairly tiring, especially for someone carrying extra weight and with not-terribly-strong arms. But we all made it through. There were other places where we could walk upright and they were very welcome, I can tell you.

There was an even tighter spot than those the required an army crawl. There is one place where the passage gets fairly narrow between two smooth, nearly vertical rocks. They are closest together at just the wrong height from the ground for someone about my height and with a larger than necessary midsection. If you know what i mean.

Self Portrait, Hamilton Cave

Self Portrait, Hamilton Cave

It was not quite Winnie-the-Pooh in Rabbit’s Hole but it was tight. Fortunately they didn’t hang dish towels on my legs. Getting through that required getting up on my toes so my largest part was a little higher than the tightest part, and then getting a bit of a push from Stephen. The second picture here is further into the cave than that tightish bit. It shows Seth sitting in a fairly large room as the others made their way up behind him. The last picture was actually taken between the other two. I don’t often take selfies but I thought in this case I would. So, that’s me in my caving gear. Looks as though I’ve been crawling in the dirt, doesn’t it?

As you can probably guess by the fact that I’m posting this, I made it out. We all had a good time and were certainly glad we went. I will confess to being glad to see the sunlight again and to be able to stand up without worrying about hitting my head on a rock.

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Caving Expedition (Day One)

View From PSC Field House

View From PSC Field House

Today was day one of our two-day, family caving expedition. The eight of us met up at Ralph’s and drove to south of Petersburg, West Virginia. We arrived before sunset at the PSC field house and got settled in. It’s not exactly four star luxury but then, we were not expecting it to be (it’s actually pretty nice, really). This is the view back down the road we came up. It’s certainly a good idea to have four wheel drive and reasonable clearance on that, especially the place where it crosses the creek. After a horrendously rainy morning, the drive was quite nice and we arrived to a beautiful, cool, breezy evening.

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Singing Beach and Lobster Cove

Cathy and Dorothy on Singing Beach

Cathy and Dorothy on Singing Beach

After our morning outing to Essex, we returned to Gordon and picked up Dorothy after her last class. It had been wet all morning but not it was raining lightly and the fog was a bit more dense (or the clouds were closer to the ground, which I guess comes to the same thing). From the school we went to Singing Beach. If you think a beach is only beautiful on a sunny day, then either you’ve never been there on a day like this or we’ll have to agree to disagree. I had to keep my camera in the lee of my body to keep it reasonably dry but I took quite a few pictures, including this one of Cathy and Dorothy walking away into the mist.

Lobster Cove

Lobster Cove

From Singing Beach we went to Lobster Cove, a quiet little place with no provision for parking but again, beautiful in the mist. This panorama was made from six shots taken with my 100mm lens, vertically oriented. Lobster Cove is a quiet little place and there are houses on both sides but especially on a day like this, it’s a peaceful retreat from the world. Every now and then larger waves would hit the opening at just the right angle to roll in to the beach and there were sea birds about but otherwise, it was just the noise of the wind and the distant sound of waves on rocks further out.

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Near Essex, Mass.

Near Essex, Mass.

Near Essex, Mass.

Dorothy was in class again today so Cathy and I were on our own. We had breakfast in a little place in Manchester by the Sea and then drove up towards Essex. We wanted to be outdoors and I thought some of the tidal marshes in the area would be pretty. As it turns out, we got there at just about high tide for one of the highest tides of the year. Also, it was overcast and a bit foggy, which gave the whole scene an eerie, surreal quality. We had a lovely chat with a local homeowner who was out with her dog and then enjoyed the view.

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Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Dorothy had classes most of today so Cathy and I drove down to Providence in the afternoon to visit Abba. We went to Conimicut Point Park on the Providence River and then parked above Prospect Terrace on College Hill. This panorama was taken from there. I was preoccupied with finding my way, which included a number of false starts because a couple roads were closed for utility work. The west side of College Hill is quite steep and getting to the top of a hill like that only to find you can’t get through is a little disconcerting. I’m going to use that as an excuse for locking my keys in the car. We didn’t realize I had done that until after dinner when we returned to the car, only to find that I didn’t have my keys. Normally, Cathy would have had one but this is the car that Dorothy has at school so she had the other key. Thank goodness for AAA. It was a nice visit and a good day, otherwise.

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Blue Crab Sculpture

Blue Crab Sculpture, BWI Airport

Blue Crab Sculpture, BWI Airport

I went to BWI airport this afternoon to pick up Maggie, who was coming for a short visit during her spring break. As usual when I go to BWI, I bring my camera. It isn’t the most photogenic airport you’ll come across but it has some interesting spots. Of course most of the time I spend there is waiting around the baggage carousels, which is about the least interesting part of the whole place. Coming across the westernmost sky bridge from the top of the parking garage, which is the end of the terminal that Southwest uses, there is a large, stained glass, Atlantic blue crab sculpture in a case. It’s a bit tricky to get a picture of something like this and having it in a glass case certainly doesn’t help. It is what it is.

Other than that, my visit was fairly uneventful. Maggie arrive, we got her bag, and we left. We did go to G&M to buy crab cakes for those of us who eat such things. I fixed surf and turf for dinner, with two crab cakes and two large, very thick t-bone steaks. I’d say it was a success, at least in part thanks to the Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.

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Apple Orchard

Apple Orchard

Apple Orchard

I’ve already posted two pictures from our brief trip to Pennsylvania today, although both of them were taken in Maryland on the way home. I showed this picture to Dorothy and she agreed that it was worth posting, so here’s the third picture from today. This one was taken before the two church pictures so I’m posting them in the wrong order, but that’s life (“that’s what all the people say”).

We cut our Christmas trees at a place called Shower’s Tree Farm (http://www.showerstreefarm.com/). In addition to a fairly large field of Christmas trees, they have apples, which isn’t surprising in this part of the state (the home of Musselman’s (now part of Knouse Foods) and the National Apple Museum. The trees were all bare but some of them had quite a few apples on the ground around them and that, obviously, is what this picture features.

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Dilapidated Church

Dilapidated Church

Dilapidated Church

As mentioned in the previous post, we went to Pennsylvania to cut Christmas trees today. After a brief (but less brief and more eventful than expected) visit to the farm, we went to a local tree farm to cut a few trees. For quite a few years we’ve gone to a farm in Cashtown, west of Gettysburg. It’s nice to go to the same place year after year but we received word from them that they were not going to be open this season. We don’t know if that’s a permanent closing or if it’s for this year only. In any case, they recommended another farm that’s actually closer, so we went there.

We had lunch at the Ott House in Emmitsburg, as we’ve done for about four years (prior to that we’d go somewhere different every year). Mom had seen a piece in the newspaper about a church that was in bad enough shape that it couldn’t really be repaired but that is old and historic enough that it shouldn’t be torn down. Of course, if it isn’t repaired, it will come down eventually under its own weight. Anyway, we decided to try to find it and (as you’ve probably guessed by now) we did. The sun was behind the church, which made lighting difficult, and again, there were power lines to contend with, but I’m pretty happy with this shot.

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Elias Evangelical Lutheran Church

Elias Evangelical Lutheran Church

Elias Evangelical Lutheran Church

We drove up to Pennsylvania today with some other family members to get Christmas trees. For a while dad was planting trees at the farm every few years and we’d often cut trees from among those but new trees haven’t been planted for at least ten and probably closer to 20 years so all of those are much too big to be of any use. Still, we go there as a sort of tradition, knowing we’ll only stay a short while. Some years we have had snow and a few years there was enough that we had to part at the entrance and then walk in. The last few years have been clear and mild. Today it was cold but there was no snow. There was a thin layer of ice on the pond and it was making the most amazing pinging noise as the sun heated it slightly. At first we were sure it was a bird making that noise but it was the ice.

We cut our trees at a local tree farm and then drove down to Emmitsburg for lunch. I took a little time to take some pictures of Elias Evangelical Lutheran Church on North Avenue, a block from Main Street, where we parked. The trick here was to get a picture without telephone and power lines crossing in front of the church.

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Some Serious Loafing

Huge Loaves of Bread, Rockland Bakery

Huge Loaves of Bread, Rockland Bakery

When we drive to or from the Boston area we often stop at the Rockland Bakery in Nanuet, New York for a bit of bread. Because we’re driving most of the day and it’s not a good idea to take pictures while driving, this is one of my few opportunities to take pictures on those days (I guess I could take pictures at a service area, but somehow…). In the past I’ve tried to come up with bread-themed jokes to go along with my picture (e.g., Home For The Challahdays). Today I’ll just feature a picture of some huge loaves of bread. I have to assume these are a special order item, being too long even for the shelf trolley they’re on. We settled for soft pretzels (which were just coming out of the oven) and a couple rolls. It’s a fascinating place and worth a visit, even if you don’t buy bread (but we always do, of course).

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Brookgreen Gardens

Live Oak Allee, Brookgreen Gardens

Live Oak Allee, Brookgreen Gardens

Cathy, mom, and I went to Brookgreen Gardens today, driving the 75 minutes from Ocean Isle Beach and getting there at about 10:00. I’ve got three past posts with pictures from Brookgreen on the blog, two in 2013 and one in 2012 (Brookgreen Gardens, Thursday, August 02, 2012, Brookgreen Gardens, Thursday, August 01, 2013, and Brookgreen Critters, Thursday, August 01, 2013). Between the gardens, a lunch in the restaurant, and a visit to the small zoo, we spent about five hours there. Not long enough to see everything but it was a great visit. It was hot and very humid but not as swelteringly hot as it’s been some years. I took nearly 400 photographs today and I’ve got three to show you. This year I decided not to include any of the wonderful art work, there are simply too many nice sculptures from which to choose.

Carolina Anole (<em>Anolis carolinensis</em>)

Carolina Anole (Anolis carolinensis)

The first picture is of the Live Oak Allee, which forms the center of the garden leading up to the former location of the house. These trees are said to be over 300 years old and I have no reason to doubt that, as they are quite large. The branches are covered with resurrection ferns and there is the ubiquitous Spanish moss all over. Under them are beds filled with Caladiums. This image is an HDR image made from three different exposures and I liked the muted colors in this nearly monochrome image. I have mixed feelings about HDR images but I have to admit, they produce some extraordinary results. My camera has an autobracketing feature that lets me take three images in quick succession with three different exposures (and I can control the amount of difference between them). Sometimes I would prefer five images, but maybe that wouldn’t really help much. I usually take them without the benefit of a tripod and I’m sure they would turn out better if I didn’t have to hand hold them.

Wet Wings

Wet Wings

The second image is a Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) posing on bright red Coleus leaves. I found the contrast between the green of the lizard and the red of the leaves to be wonderful. We saw quite a few of these little lizards as well as huge eastern lubber grasshoppers (Romalea microptera). In the zoo we saw black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax, including one which caught an anole), white ibis (Eudocimus albus), American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and in both areas, lots of dragonflies. That brings us to the final picture, a dragonfly with water droplets on its wings. I think the tiny droplets have a jewel-like quality, although this isn’t one of the jewelwings (genus Calopteryx).

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Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

It’s our fourth morning at the beach and we had our first sunrise worth my walking down to the beach to get pictures. I was afraid my lens would fog up when I went outside but it was actually cool out, about 68°F, so I had no problems. I took a bunch of pictures looking to the east and the rising sun. Then I turned around to find two ends of a rainbow, one over the ocean to the south and the other over the land. I got pictures of those, as well. What a beautiful morning.

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Trouble Brewing

Trouble Brewing

Trouble Brewing

This is sort of a running gag with us. Every year we see these signs and chuckle. The title is from a class of Far Side comics by Gary Larson. He would put two things side by side that will inevitably lead to some sort of conflict and then caption it “Trouble Brewing.” For example, “Crutchfield’s Crocodile Farm” and “Anderson’s Sky Diving School” or “Falconers Club Meet Here and “12th Annual Tea Cup Poodle Fancier’s Picnic.” To us, these two signs are similar. Of course, there is a reasonable explanation. The road where this is found is a divided highway and the One-Way sign only applies to the southbound lanes while the Hurricane Evacuation Route sign applies more generally. Still, having them right next to each other pointing in opposite directions is classic.

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Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

We arrived at Ocean Isle Beach at about 11:15 last night. We stopped for our family reunion and were there for a much-too-short three and a half hours. After that we had an uneventful drive the rest of the way down. We unpacked, made a quick trip to the supermarket for some groceries, and then went to bed, tired but happy to be here. This is what greeted us when we woke up this morning. Sea oats (Uniola paniculata) growing on the dunes with the waves crashing beyond. Naturally there were more people on the beach a little later in the day, but each morning I enjoy looking out at the mostly deserted beach with waves coming in, never stopping, as they have done for centuries.

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Battleground National Cemetery

Battleground National Cemetery

Battleground National Cemetery

Because our church meets at 4:00 p.m. we don’t have anything planned in the morning. This morning we went to church at Grace Meridian Hill at the corner of Monroe and 13th Streets N.W. in the District. On the way home we stopped at Battleground National Cemetery on Georgia Avenue (which is also US 29) between Van Buren Street and Whittier Place. It was established shortly after the Battle of Fort Stevens, in the summer of 1864 and is one of the United State’s smallest national cemeteries with the graves of 41 Union soldiers who died in the the Battle of Fort Stevens (there were a total of over 900 killed or wounded in the battle from both sides).

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Union Pacific #4012

Union Pacific #4012

Union Pacific #4012

We spent today in Scranton, seeing the house where Cathy’s great, great, uncle lived and the church where his family were members. We also found family graves in two cemeteries. The highlight for Cathy, I think, was finding the death certificate (on microfilm) of her great, great grandmother in the Albright Memorial Library, which is a pretty amazing building.

After that we went to the Steamtown National Historic Site, where we enjoyed looking at old locomotives and other train cars. This is the Union Pacific’s locomotive #4012, a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, among the largest and most powerful steam locomotives in the world. It is 132 feet, 10 inches long and with a loaded tender weights 1,189,500 pounds, yet it was capable of reaching speeds of over eighty miles per hour.

If you or your kids like trains, you could do worse than spending a half day at this place. Lots of nice equipment in the remaining portions of an old roundhouse. Recommended.

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The Eastburger

The Eastburger

The Eastburger

I’ve already posted a picture from today (two, actually) but I thought I’d post one more. We had a fairly long day of sitting in offices and then driving around, we saw some interesting things, and while at the Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm we got a call from Dorothy saying she was fine, in spite of what was going on in the city where she is living. We sent text messages back and forth until fairly late (which for her became fairly early the next morning). With all the running around, we never managed to stop for lunch.

So, in the evening, after the Historical Farm and a short stop back at our hotel, we went to the Trackside Station Grill & Bar in East Stroudsburg for dinner. I was pretty hungry and decided to go all out. I ordered the Eastburger, which is described on their menu as “Two 8oz Black Angus burgers, grilled cheese sandwich center, layers of lettuce, tomato, & beer battered onion rings, on a pretzel bun, served with house made honey mustard.” You had me at a pound of ground beef with a grilled cheese sandwich center.

To answer the obvious question, yes, I cleaned my plate.

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Family History Safari

Gilbert Cemetery - Thyme For Remembrance

Gilbert Cemetery – Thyme For Remembrance

As I mentioned in my last post, we went on what we decided to call (half jokingly) a ‘Family History Safari’ in northeastern Pennsylvania. Yesterday we drove up to Stroudsburg and visited the Delaware Water Gap. We enjoyed a quiet drive up the Old Mine Road through Worthington State Forest, on the New Jersey side of the river. Anyone who tells you New Jersey doesn’t have anything worth visiting has never been here. It was lovely, quiet, and peaceful. This morning we started with a visit to the courthouse to see if we could find any records about Cathy’s ancestors. We were sent to the archives but the archivist was out. After waiting a little while, we went to the local Historical Society office in the Stroud Mansion. Guess where the archivist happened to be? Yes, that’s right.

Merwinsburgh Hotel

Merwinsburgh Hotel

Cathy spent a while looking through old newspapers and I found some information on Pennsylvania’s 67th Regiment, in which her great, great, grandfather served. From there we drove to the little village of Gilbert, which you can literally miss by blinking (we did!). There we walked around the local cemetery and saw the church in which her great grandfather was baptized. We drove north from there to the old Merwinsburgh Hotel, where her great, great, uncle lived and worked for a time. Nothing earth shattering in terms of discoveries but a nice day.

We finished the day by spending about an hour and a half at the Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm, which was nice. While we were there I got a phone call from Dorothy saying she was fine. She wanted to let us know, so that when we saw the news we wouldn’t worry so much. We hadn’t been listening to the news so we didn’t know what was up, but shortly after that we started getting messages from friends asking if she was alright. She was.

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Delaware Water Gap

Delaware Water Gap

Delaware Water Gap

As I’ll illustrate tomorrow and the next day, Cathy and I went on a little ‘family history safari’ (Cathy’s words). She has ancestors and various relations who lived in the Stroudsburg and Scranton areas of northeastern Pennsylvania. She had some places she wanted to visit, including a few cemeteries, and so we took a couple days off work and this morning we headed up to Stroudsburg. We decided to do a little sightseeing, as well, so today we drove to the Delaware Water Gap, just a few minutes outside Stroudsburg. This is where the Delaware River cuts through the Appalachian Mountains and it’s a pretty spot on the river, if you ignore the roar of traffic from Interstate 80, that also takes this path (and I can’t say that I blame the highway folks from doing that, it makes a lot of sense). This picture was taken from the New Jersey side of the river, looking downstream with Pennsylvania on the far bank.

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United States Botanic Garden

United States Botanic Garden

United States Botanic Garden

With David, Maggie, and Laura in town for a few days, we had one day to do a significant outing and because Laura was only going to be here through this afternoon, that meant it would be today. We started off at the National Arboretum, where we enjoyed the capital columns, the bonsai and Penjing collection, the herb garden, and the Morrison shade garden.

From there, we drove downtown to the United States Botanic Garden, located at the east end of Maryland Avenue just below the US Capitol building. This is easily one of my favorite places in Washington. The Institute’s garden was established by Congress in 1820 and it moved to its present location in 1933. The Garden includes the conservatory, the National Garden, and Bartholdi Park. This is a view of the capital building from the garden in front of the conservatory.

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Reagan National Airport

Reagan National Airport

Reagan National Airport

We don’t have any particularly big or exciting travel plans for the summer but we do have a few things going on. The first of them is a visit from Cathy’s brother and two of her nieces (her sister’s daughters). David and Maggie left yesterday and are driving here, arriving late this evening. Laura was flying and was coming into Reagan National Airport (DCA) at about ten minutes till eleven. Cathy and I drove to National to pick her up.

When traffic is bad (which is not all that uncommon) then National is a real pain to get into. When traffic is normal or light (which, truth be told, is most of the time) it’s actually quite a nice airport to deal with. While Terminal A, which is the original terminal, is somewhat small and cramped, Terminals B and C are quite large and airy. This is the central terminal of this refurbished airport, and has a high, vaulted ceiling, shown here behind a large American flag, from the far south end of the terminal, where we met Laura. We’ve been looking forward to this visit and it’s finally here.

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Leaving On A Jet Plane

Dulles International Airport

Dulles International Airport

Once again I’m late posting this (posting on Saturday, June 11) but the photo was taken on Monday, June 6. Cathy and I took the day off work today and the day was basically dedicated to getting Dorothy to the airport and on her way. We left home at about 11:30 and had no trouble getting to the airport. The airport in general was not crowded and the line at the Aeroflot counter in particular was not long so we didn’t have to wait more than about 15 minutes to check her one bag. We had plenty of time before her flight and as usual, I looked around for interesting views of Dulles.

Cathy, Dorothy, and Henry

Cathy, Dorothy, and Henry

The signs for the security entrance to the gates said there was only a ten minute wait so we sat and chatted a little while before Dorothy headed off for the first leg of her four leg journey to Turkey. Her first flight was by far the longest, going over the north Atlantic (and directly over Iceland) to Moscow. That’s a new country for Dorothy and she was happy to be able to add it to her list. After sitting with her a little while, we saw her off to the secured area of the airport and were home for a while before she boarded an Airbus 330-300 and her adventure began.

Oh, and FYI, I only took two-thirds of the second of these pictures. Cathy took the picture of me that has been edited into the one I took of Cathy and Dorothy.

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Madison Avenue Bridge, Merritt Parkway, Connecticut

Madison Avenue Bridge, Merritt Parkway, Connecticut

Madison Avenue Bridge, Merritt Parkway, Connecticut

As mentioned yesterday, we drove up to get Dorothy from school. Today we brought here home. Actually, for the first 225 miles, she brought us home (i.e., she was driving). That freed me up to take a few pictures. We like the Merritt Parkway pretty well although there usually seems to be at least one stretch each way where traffic slows for repairs or an accident. The 69 original bridges on the 37 mile parkway (42 bridges cross over and the parkway crosses on another 39) were designed by George L. Dunkelberger and built between 1934 and 1940. Each bridge is different. Currently many of them are in serious need of repair and a few are encased in wood to protect motorists from falling debris.

The bridge pictured here is one of my two favorites and carries Madison Avenue in Trumbull, Connecticut. It is located between exits 47 and 48 near milepost 30, at 41° 13′ 54.5″ N, 73° 13′ 55.4″ W.

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Reagan National’s Vaulted Ceiling

Reagan National Airport's Vaulted Ceiling

Reagan National Airport’s Vaulted Ceiling

I’ve posted a similar picture before but this is all I really have for today.

Cathy and Dorothy spent much of the day in the country while I was at work. Then in the evening we drove to Reagan National Airport (DCA) to see her off. She’s returning to school after a four-day weekend for Easter. In a little over six weeks her first year in college will be over and we’ll have her home again for a few weeks before she’s off again for the summer. It was really nice having her here these last few days, even if they were too short.

As to the airport itself, we are blessed by having three very nice airports in our area (BWI, IAD, and DCA), all about the same distance from home. It means we’re much more likely to be able to find a direct flight to wherever we’re going. They all have their pluses and minuses but I’d say BWI is probably my favorite. Still, National and Dulles are pretty nice, too, and this spacious terminal is much better than the National Airport as it was when I was growing up.

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Another Museum Outing

Cathy and Dot in 'Shindig' by Patrick Dougherty

Cathy and Dot in Shindig by Patrick Dougherty

On our Annual Museum Outing (Tuesday, December 29, 2015), Dorothy, Karlee, and I visited the newly reopened Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and I posted quite a few pictures from that outing. Cathy was quite busy at work, as she usually is before and for a while after year-end. Because of that she was not able to join us for that trip. Today Cathy and I braved the cold February weather and along with my mom (Dot) we went to the Renwick. I’ve picked some pictures that I hope are enough different to those I posted last time. But of course they will be similar.

It the first picture, Cathy and Dot are posing in Shindig by Patrick Dougherty, who weaves “enormous pods that offer discovery and sanctuary to visitors“ with “willow osiers and saplings.”

Detail of 'Plexus A1' by Gabriel Dawe

Detail of Plexus A1 by Gabriel Dawe

Our favorite room is the second one, which features an installation called Plexus A1 by Gabriel Dawe. It is made from hundreds of thin, colored threads stretched between hooks on the floor and on the ceiling. In addition to the beautifly rainbow colors, we found the interference patterns of the threads quite lovely. here the red threads in the foreground come together and let the yellow and green show through more clearly in a narrow band that moves up and down as you move along. For anyone interested, from each hook, there appear to be 24 threads running up to the ceiling (or 12 loops over the hook). This took a little time and probably a serious amount of patience.

'In the Midnight Garden' by Jennifer Angus

In the Midnight Garden by Jennifer Angus

My second favorite room, although not to everyone’s liking, is In the Midnight Garden by Jennifer Angus. Otherwise known as “the bug room.” My photo last time was a detail of a skull, made up predominately of electric blue beetles from New Guneau (from the genus Eupholus for which you should do a Google image search, seriously). This time, I’m giving you a more overall view of the room, so you can see all the patterns the artist, who is a textile artist (along with being into bugs).

National Gallery of Art Rotunda

National Gallery of Art Rotunda

We saw all the exhibits, of course, and I took over 200 pictures, so this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. From the Renwick we went to the National Gallery of Art because we wanted to see an exhibit called “Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World.” If you have the slightest interest in Greek history, in sculpture, or art in general, I highly recommend this exhibit, which will be at the National Gallery through March 20 (so go soon).

I think my favorites in the collection are a Medallion with Athena and Medusa, 200 – 150 BC, from the Archaeological Museum, in Thessaloniki; a Portrait of a Man, c. 100 BC from the National Archaeological Museum, in Athens; and the Portrait of a Poet (“Arundel Head”), c. 200 – 1 BC; from the British Museum, London. Don’t be tempted to look for pictures and leave it at that. They are much more beautiful in person.

As is usual for these special exhibits, photography is not allowed, so I don’t have a picture to show you. Instead you will have to settle for another picture of the gallery’s rotunda.

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Annual Museum Outing

Four Dancers by Edgar Degas, with help from Dorothy and Karlee

Four Dancers by Edgar Degas, with help from Dorothy and Karlee

Dorothy and Karlee met in fourth grade and had only that one year together at the same school. Half way through that year, though, I took the two girls downtown and we went ice skating at the National Gallery of Art Ice Rink and then went to the gallery itself. I took the picture to the right, which is Four Dancers, by Edgar Degas, and modified it a little, replacing two of Degas’ dancers with two of my favorites. That was December 27, 2005. It seems like yesterday.

Dorothy and Karlee at the White House

Dorothy and Karlee at the White House

The girls have grown up in the ten years since then and despite being at different schools starting the next year and being in different states a few years later, we have managed to keep in touch and (I’m happy to say) Dorothy and Karlee remain very good friends. This is in part through two annual trips that have become quite a tradition. Starting that next summer, Karlee came with us to the beach. She’s been with us at the beach every year we’ve gone (we didn’t go in 2007 or 2009) until this year, when she couldn’t make it. Dorothy didn’t come this year, either, so it might have been a bit awkward. We were only there two nights, in any case, coming home early.

Dorothy and Karlee in “Shindig”

Dorothy and Karlee in “Shindig”

The other trip was our annual trip downtown. We didn’t make it every year and Karlee wasn’t with us every year we did go (and once we went to Baltimore, instead of D.C.). Actually, after that first trip in 2005, Karlee didn’t go downtown with us again until 2012. However, she has gone with us every year since then and I was so happy when we asked her if she was up for it this year and she seemed excited to go. In general we drive down and park in what seems an outrageously expensive parking garage. Then we walk. Sometimes we walk a lot.

In 2012 we went to the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, and finally Union Station. You can see some pictures from that in the post titled Union Station, Friday, December 28, 2012.

In 2013 we walked to the Freer Gallery and were particularly impressed with the Peacock Room. Also, they had the Washington Gospels on exhibit. Also known as Codex Washingtonianus, it is the third-oldest Greek parchment manuscript of the Gospels in the world (late 4th–early 5th century). From there we went to the Pension Building (a.k.a. the National Building Museum) and the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery (which share a building just south of the Verizon Center). There are two picture from that trip in the post titled Freer Gallery and Pension Building, Monday, December 30, 2013.

Portion of “Shindig” by Patrick Dougherty

Portion of “Shindig” by Patrick Dougherty

Finally, last year, we went to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, as well as a 1297 copy of Magna Carta, which was about to begin celebrating its 800th anniversary. We also went to the National Gallery of Art and then walked around the U.S. Capitol building to the Library of Congress where, in addition to the magnificent Main Reading Room, we saw another copy of Magna Carta, this time one of the four originals from 1215. Two pictures from that trip are in two separate posts, titled Dorothy and Karlee At The Capitol, Wednesday, December 31, 2014 and Main Reading Room, Library of Congress, Wednesday, December 31, 2014.

“Plexus A1” by Gabriel Dawe

“Plexus A1” by Gabriel Dawe

This year, we went downtown without any real plan as to what we would see. As I took a wrong turn and went under the mall, ending up near the Maine Street Fish Market, we toyed with the idea of driving to Richmond instead, but we were already in D.C. so we stayed. We parked in a garage in the Evening Sun building ($21) and walked to the White House, where the first of this year’s pictures was taken. Actually, we started on the south front and then walked around the Pennsylvania Avenue, where this pictures was taken.

“1.8” by Janet Echelman

“1.8” by Janet Echelman

We backtracked a little on Pennsylvania Avenue to the Renwick Gallery (at 17th and Pennsylvania) where we saw a number of interesting exhibits, some of which are shown in my pictures here. First was Shindig by Patrick Dougherty, who weaves “enormous pods that offer discovery and sanctuary to visitors“ with “willow osiers and saplings.” It was a difficult exhibit to photograph for a number of reasons, including the low light levels, the crowds of people, and of course the shear size of the exhibit. The two pictures here give you some idea. In the second one, you can see that I had to time my photograph between people walking past (and almost made it!).

Following that, in the next room, was a piece called Plexus A1 by Gabriel Dawe. It was a rainbow of color made with thread and light and was quite beautiful. Perhaps not as stunning as a real rainbow but less fleeting and still quite lovely.

“Middle Fork (Cascades)” by John Grade

“Middle Fork (Cascades)” by John Grade

After that there was an exhibit made of index cards stacked into giant pillars like the rock formations found in Bryce National Park (only without the color). I didn’t include a photo of that, but I found it quite compelling (if a little odd). I particularly liked the monochrome aspect of it combined with splashes of color from the people walking in an around the piers. After that we went upstairs to a large room housing 1.8 by Janet Echelman. It was a large net suspended from the ceiling and colored by lights that cycled slowly through a variety of colors. I particularly enjoyed watching people watching the colors change, especially those lying on the floor with their camera phones aimed up at the netting.

“In the Midnight Garden” by Jennifer Angus

“In the Midnight Garden” by Jennifer Angus

From there was Middle Fork (Cascades) by John Grade, a large “tree” lying on its side and suspended from the ceiling by wires. It was hollow and interesting and kind of odd but I liked it well enough. Getting into that room took a little bit of waiting but it was worth it for the room that came after. Well, there was a map of the eastern seaboard with the water represented by pale blue-green marbles, fastened to the floor and walls. That was alright, I guess, but it didn’t really excite me.

There was also a sort of maze-like thing made from black leather strips. Eh.

But I really enjoyed In the Midnight Garden by Jennifer Angus. It was a room with bright pink walls covered with designs made from a wide variety of insects. I really liked that room. The color, the patterns on the wall, the fact that they were bugs and sometime huge bugs, was really nice. Worth the price of admission by itself (of course the exhibit was free!).

Dorothy and Karlee with “Alexander Graham Bell” by Moses Wainer Dykaar

Dorothy and Karlee with “Alexander Graham Bell” by Moses Wainer Dykaar

From the Renwick we walked to the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery and then to the National Gallery of Art. The final picture for today was taken in the Portrait Gallery and is of a very stern Alexander Graham Bell with Dorothy and Karlee trying to imitate his “dad face.”

All in all, we had a great time. We were tired but satisfied with our outing and look forward to doing it again next year (God willing).

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Dorothy at Rocky Islands, Potomac River, Maryland

Dorothy at Rocky Islands, Potomac River, Maryland

Dorothy at Rocky Islands, Potomac River, Maryland

It’s been really nice to have Dorothy home, even if only for a few days. It wasn’t a particularly promising day, weather-wise, today, but Cathy, Dorothy, and I took a chance and went to Great Falls late this morning. We were not alone and it was fairly crowded, at least for late November. Still, we had a great time, walking out to the overlook on Falls Island and then climbing up and over the rocks on Rocky Islands, below the falls. This is from a place we call Sandy Beach, looking towards the north end of Rocky Islands.

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Patapsco River

Patapsco River

Patapsco River

It was a rainy morning and early afternoon today. I had planned to have a photo shoot with Iris and Seth but because of the weather we postponed that until tomorrow. I had also arranged to visit our friend, Julia later in the afternoon. Since that wasn’t necessarily an outdoor activity, we met and planned to have a late lunch. We took a wrong turn, however, and ended up taking a walk along Grist Mill Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park (and having an early dinner, instead). The fall color isn’t completely gone but it is certainly past peak.

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Rockland Bakery

Rockland Bakery

Rockland Bakery

We’ve made the trip to north of Boston twice now. That means four chances to stop at Rockland Bakery in Nanuet, New York. We have taken advantage of that opportunity all four times. It is becoming ‘a thing.’ I posted a picture from our second visit, on the way home from our first time up to school (Sunday, August 23, 2015). If you happen to be heading to or from New England and crossing the Hudson on the Tappan Zee Bridge, the bakery isn’t going to be very far out of your way. It’s worth it for the smell, alone. They, if you buy nothing else, pick up a hot bagel off the conveyor and buy some cream cheese butter to go with it. You won’t regret it, I promise (unless you have celiac disease, I suppose, in which case, maybe not).

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Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light

Earlier in the week, the forecast had been for Hurricane Joaquin to have made landfall and be dumping huge amounts of rain all up the eastern seaboard. As it turned out, the European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) forecast model had the best track and the storm moved north well out to sea. We had a beautiful, if somewhat breeze and mostly cloudy day. We drove up to Portland, Maine with Dorothy and two of her friends. After wandering around in downtown Portland and stopping for donuts (at The Holy Donut) and lunch (Andy’s Old Port Pub), we went to Fort Williams Park and Portland Head Light.

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Wingaersheek Beach

Wingaersheek Beach

Wingaersheek Beach

Dorothy only has one class on Thursdays and it isn’t until the middle of the afternoon. So, we had an outing together this morning. We picked her up from school and drove up to Wingaersheek Beach on the west side of the Annisquam River inlet. It was very windy today, more so even than yesterday, and cool, probably somewhere in the mid 50s. But beautiful for all of that.

We walked out on the sand and around the rocks on the north end of the beach. The tide was pretty far out but had turned and was coming in. From there we drove to Essex and had lunch at Woodman’s, a “quintessential New England clam shack is where, in 1916, ‘Chubby’ Woodman invented the fried clam.”

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Cathy, Fort Sewall, Marblehead, Massachusetts

Cathy, Fort Sewall, Marblehead, Massachusetts

Cathy, Fort Sewall, Marblehead, Massachusetts

Dorothy had classes today until after 3:00 p.m. so we were on our own most of the day. We drove south through Salem to Fort Sewall on Marblehead peninsula. It was sprinkling a little when we got there but it stopped and the sky had blue patches and it was quite lovely most of the time. The wind was up and it was great to hear the waves crashing on the rocks below. We also drove around to Chandler Hovey Park and Lighthouse Point on the other side of the harbor and were there when the rain really came in strongly and we had to rush back to our car.

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Gloucester and Rockport

Gloucester, Massachusetts from Stage Fort Park

Gloucester, Massachusetts from Stage Fort Park

Today was our first full day in Massachusetts. We drove up yesterday, arriving in the early afternoon, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting settled. In the evening we went to the Catacombs service that Dorothy participates in and enjoyed it very much. Because it is a week day, Dorothy had classes today. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are her busy days with three classes ending at about 3:00 p.m. Cathy and I drove to Gloucester this morning and wandered around the downtown area. We might have visited the Cape Ann Museum but it’s closed on Mondays.

Motif No. 1, Rockport, Massachusetts

Motif No. 1, Rockport, Massachusetts

We went south west of town to Stage Fort Park. The park is the historic site of Gloucester’s first settlers in 1623. We we climbed onto the huge rock that is the most obvious feature of the park, after reading the plaque embedded in it’s front. The first picture posted here is from the top of that, looking down over Half Moon Beach and the old fortifications.

We picked up Dorothy after her afternoon class and then drove back out through Gloucester to Rockport, northeast of Gloucester. We first went to the harbor and took in ‘Motif No. 1’ on Bradley Wharf. It is a “replica of a former fishing shack well known to students of art and art history as ‘the most often-painted building in America.’” I guess I see why it’s so often painted, but these things tend not to live up to their names. It was first called Motif No. 1 by the American painter Lester Hornby (1882–1956).

Hermit Crab

Hermit Crab

From the harbor we drove to the old burying ground on Beach Street. According to the nearby historical marker, the plot was given by the first settler, Richard Tarr, who was buried here in 1732. Cathy is a big fan of old cemeteries. We also walked out onto Front Beach. As the tide was out, we could walk a good way out, looking for shells and things among the rocks on the west end of the beach. Dorothy found this hermit crab, which I was able to photograph on a seaweed covered rock.

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Reagan National Airport

Terminal B, Reagan National Airport

Terminal B, Reagan National Airport

Dorothy flew home this evening for the service tomorrow and we picked her up at Reagan National Airport. It’s been redone since the old days when it was a dark and cramped space. Terminal B is large, airy, and quite pretty. During the day, it’s quite bright, but of course, less so at night. Dorothy’s flight was delayed so we had a bit of time to kill I took some pictures showing the high, vaulted ceiling and the tall, glass wall facing the runway.

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Rockland Bakery

Rockland Bakery, Nanuet, NY

Rockland Bakery, Nanuet, NY

We drove home from Gordon College today, a drive of about 465 miles. Just under half way (in terms of miles, if not hours) is Nanuet, New York, home of Rockland Bakery. It’s just west of the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River. We figured fresh bagels and cream cheese would make a nice lunch and it’s hard to get them much fresher than when they are coming out of the oven onto a conveyor belt as you watch. In this picture are large rolls, also still hot from the oven, with a crunchy crust and soft crumb. It was mesmerizing to watch (and I took a short video, as well!). Behind me as I took this photo was rack upon rack of breads, muffins, and pastries of every description. If you happen to be in the area, you could make worse decisions than stopping here for a bag of bread. (http://www.RocklandBakery.com/)

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Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial

Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial

Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial

Today was officially move-in day for incoming freshmen at Gordon College but because she returned from La Vida (the school sponsored camping trip) last night, she was able to move in then. That gave us some free time while the other freshmen were moving in. We went to Manchester-by-the-Sea and had a late breakfast at the Beach Street Cafe. Then we drove out to Gloucester and saw the Fisherman’s Memorial. It started to rain while we were there. We drove around a little more but mostly stayed in the car.

After that, we met some friends for lunch. We spent a little time in Dorothy’s dorm room while she unpacked and got settled in a little bit. In the evening, there were orientation events, some for Dorothy, some for us, and some together.

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Bojangles

Bojangles

Bojangles

Let me start by apologizing for this blatant advertisement of a fast food chain. Those of you who enjoy fine dining may be aghast that we would even be close enough to a Bojangles to get a picture like this. We left the beach this morning in something of a hurry and it wasn’t a very good day for photography. By 3:00 p.m., near Petersburg, Virginia, we were a bit peckish. The truth is, we like biscuits. I’m not sure I would trust anyone who did not like biscuits. They are not particularly good for you, especially if you need to lose weight (or if you don’t want to gain weight). But there is no denying that they taste good. Especially with country ham or sausage and egg. So we stopped.

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Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

Sunrise, Ocean Isle Beach

We’ve had some pretty spectacular sunrises at Ocean Isle Beach in past years. For instance, on July 31 of last year. The sunrises this year didn’t really rank up there but we only had two of them. Perhaps later in the week they were better. Nevertheless, I was up before sunrise (which was at 6:21 this morning) so I figured I should go out and take some pictures. This one turned out reasonably well. The clouds off to the right were pretty dramatic, at least.

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Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

It was ten days ago as I’m writing this, but we spent a fairly short week at Ocean Isle Beach starting today. The drive down was about as bad as it has ever been, with horrible traffic past Fredericksburg and then again approaching the Richmond bypass. Just before the bridge over the James on the bypass, the Virginia Department of Transportation had decided to close all but one lane. They were not actually doing anything, but they made a significant impact on traffic. There was another backup south of Wilmington, but we went around that.

Anyway, we made it to the beach and things are a bit more relaxed already. Cathy and I took a walk toward the pier early this evening and I took this picture, among others. I love watching the waves wash up onto the sand and then disappear again, leaving colors behind them, which then fade as the sand absorbs the last of the water.

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Caesalpinia gilliesii (Yellow Bird of Paradise)

Caesalpinia gilliesii (Yellow Bird of Paradise)

Caesalpinia gilliesii (Yellow Bird of Paradise)

It was our last day in Albuquerque and we were sad to be leaving. I took a few pictures of Bert and Jane’s front yard while the others visited. Robert has done a nice job of xeriscaping the front yard and has three things that I photographed and identified. First, there are small, yellow chocolate flowers (Berlandiera lyrata), a member of the Compositae (or Asteraceae) family. There is also a red yucca, or more properly redflower false yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora, which is quite nice and actually seems to be quite hardy and might be worth finding for our yard, possibly in a container. Finally, there is the plant pictured here, the yellow bird of paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii), which is a legume (family Fabaceae), not anything like the regular bird of paradise, which are in teh genus Strelitzia. It’s quite pretty, anyway.

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Albuquerque Botanical Garden

Sedum Flowers

Sedum Flowers

David was going to pick up his and Cathy’s mom later this morning so Cathy and I had a little free time. We drove to the botanic garden, which is part, along with the zoo, aquarium, and Tingley Beach, of the Albuquerque Biopark. It is a relatively green and lush oasis in the high New Mexico desert, close to the Rio Grande and near the heart of the city. We enjoyed pretty much each of the various gardens and the two conservatories. One of the two conservatories is dedicated to Mediterranean plants and is very lush and wet. One thing they have a lot of there are sedums, of which Cathy is very fond. I particularly like them in bloom and this first photo is of a couple sedum flowers.

Cathy at the Albuquerque Botanical Garden

Cathy at the Albuquerque Botanical Garden

Cathy posed next to a large container of sedum and fern (the sedum is the brownish colored plant). We enjoyed the well established portion of the rose garden. There is a new section that looks like it was only completed this spring and the plants are still quite small but should be very nice in a year or two. The Japanese garden is lovely, although the local, southwest plants predominated, the feel was still appropriate for the name. Wood ducks and a black-crowned night heron were a nice addition.

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

We walked out to the farthest garden area of the park, past Heritage Farm to the Cottonwood Gallery. This is a more natural setting with all native and naturalized plants, predominated by the local cottonwood tree. They were shedding their seeds, which are attached to cottony hairs, giving the trees their common name, and covering the ground with a cottony fur. We saw a cottontail rabbit, as well, and lots of dragon- and damselflies, including this blue damselfly.

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Sunset, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sunset, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sunset, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Pretty much everywhere has sunsets. Same sun, even. Some places the atmospheric conditions are generally more conducive to pretty sunsets than others, but they can be fine wherever you are, if you are fortunate. We had a lovely sunset after dinner this evening after a rainbow before dinner. This is looking southeast, actually, which generally isn’t the direction for the best sunset pictures, but when you are in a town or city, sometimes you don’t have an uninterrupted view to the west and you have to make do. This will do, I think.

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View From Sandia Crest

View From Sandia Crest

View From Sandia Crest

Cathy and I had some free time this afternoon, along with a rental car. It was quite warm in downtown Albuquerque so I thought a quick drive up to Sandia Peak would be nice. It was considerably cooler at 10,678 ft (3,255 m) but we sure felt the altitude. It was quite hazy, particularly to the west, looking out over the city, but to the south a little less so and I got this photograph, which I think is pretty nice. You can just see the edge of Albuquerque to the right of center. We also enjoyed the wildflowers on the mountain: Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), Star Solomon Seal (Maianthemum stellatum), Scarlet Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Rocky Mountain iris (Iris missouriensis), and more. There was even a wild (or feral, perhaps) clematis.

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Immiscible Polarity, Harwood Art Center

Immiscible Polarity, Harwood Art Center

Immiscible Polarity, Harwood Art Center

As mentioned yesterday, we took an unplanned trip to Albuquerque. We were picked up by Cathy’s brother this morning and on the way back to where he lives, we stopped to see his most recent installation. The building is the Harwood Art Center, an outreach program of Escuela del Sol Montessori. The installation is made from old fences. You cannot quite see it in this picture but just out of the frame on the left, the fence comes up out of the ground and grows to a full size fence before reaching the gate and then the building, where it sort of takes off and explodes. Artists: David Cudney, Lance McGoldrick, Christopher Blaz, and Joel Davis.

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Travelling to Albuquerque

Planes, BWI Airport

Planes, BWI Airport

We took a fairly sudden trip to Albuquerque today, having bought the tickets yesterday. Travel days are often difficult in terms of getting photographs, because so much of the time is spent either driving or tucked away in a metal can hurtling through the air. I did manage to get a few pictures in the airport, including this one of some planes at BWI airport. As I write this, we are home again, but the next few photographs in my daily blog will be from New Mexico. By the way, in case anyone cares, I think US Airways / American Airlines is pretty pathetic in terms of customer service. If you can fly with anyone else, I recommend it. The individuals are nice. It’s not that. It’s the policies that they have to follow. Stupid.

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Richmond at Sunset

Richmond at Sunset

Richmond at Sunset

Cathy and I went down to Richmond for Dorothy’s graduation from her intern program today. In the evening, after a brief encounter with the historic Ebenezer (inside joke), we went to Brown’s Island and enjoyed the view of the James River. We saw egrets, herons, and quite a few ospreys, both flying and sitting on nests.

After that we had a pretty good dinner of barbecue at Alamo BBQ. As we finished eating the sun was sinking in the west and the sky was lighting up. We walked up into Jefferson Park where we had a pretty good view of the sunset over Richmond.

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Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan

The wedding we were here for wasn’t until 4:00 p.m. so we had the morning and early afternoon to wander a bit more. We started off with bagels at a little place on Elizabeth Street and then walked over to Broadway and down a ways on that before heading back into Chinatown, where we bought a late morning snack of dumplings and pancake at Prosperity Dumpling. It’s hard to beat four pork dumplings for a dollar.

We walked out onto the Manhattan Bridge and I took this picture of the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan from there. It was a beautiful day, clear and pleasant, probably in the upper 70s (although I didn’t check).

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Manhattan

Little Italy and the Empire State Building

Little Italy and the Empire State Building

I’ve already posted the second of these pictures on Facebook but wanted to get them here on the blog as well, and send them to Instagram. We drove up to Manhattan Friday morning for a wedding tomorrow (stay tuned for a picture of the bride and groom for tomorrow’s picture). We got here at about 1:30 and after getting settled into our hotel room we walked around a bit. Then, after another break, we headed out to find a place for dinner. We decided on Italian and since we were on the edge of Little Italy, we thought that would be a good choice. As it happens, a bunch of the streets in Little Italy are closed to all but pedestrian traffic on weekends throughout the summer, starting today. This is the view north on Mulberry Street with the Empire State Building in the distance. As you can see, the place was hopping. We got a table at the early end of dinner time, which was nice because we hadn’t had lunch. Not the cheapest place in the world but pretty good food.

Williamsburg Bridge at Sunset

Williamsburg Bridge at Sunset

After dinner we walked north a little bit and then east, heading out onto the Williamsburg Bridge. Traffic into town was pretty backed up but of course we were on foot, so that didn’t make any difference. There was a fair amount of bicycle traffic heading towards Brooklyn. The sun was setting in the west and it’s a bit tricky to get a picture of the bridge because of the fence and girders to keep people from climbing up onto the bridge. Past the bridge tower I was able to look up and see the tower.

This picture turned out quite well, I think. Both pictures for this post were actually three exposures taken in rapid succession and three different shutter speeds (one under exposed, one as metered, and the last over exposed). Then, I have software that combines the three into a single image, allowing a much greater amount of dynamic range, which is why the process is called High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography.

To get really good pictures of a place you normally need to be there for an extended period, but I think I managed to get two pretty reasonable pictures today, which makes me pretty happy.

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Men’s Camping Trip, Day 2

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, I went camping with some of the guys from church. When Ben (our pastor) suggested a camping trip, I mentioned that our family owns some property in Pennsylvania and it might be a good place to go. While talking about the place, I mentioned something about my niece planning to have her wedding there next year and that there was some work that needed to be done. He thought it would be great to have the guys do a bit of bush whacking. We cleared the brush growing on the inside slope of the dam around the pond as far as the overflow pipe (about half way around).

Bee Fly on Bluet

Bee Fly on Bluet

I didn’t work as hard as some of the younger guys (or as hard as the one guy there who is older than me, for that matter). Mostly I dragged the cut brush down the dam and into the woods. I also took a few breaks to take pictures, both of the guys working and of the flowers growing on the dam. While I was photographing the bluets in the first picture here, a small insect came to visit them. At first I thought it was something related to the sphinx moths but after doing a little searching I believe instead that it is a bee fly (Family Bombyliidae). Anyway, pretty neat.

Your Host

Your Host

After the work on the dam, cutting brush including trees with trunks up to about three inches in diameter, we did a bit of shooting. We had in our number a former county police officer as well as a few gun enthusiasts. We had a gun safety talk and then we shot the heck out of a few targets. I’m happy to say that no one was hurt, although the ground behind the targets was a bit torn up. The photo I have posted here of yours truly was taken by Joel, one of my fellow campers (thanks, Joel!). Yes, that’s one of the hated (and also much loved) AR-15s you hear so much about. I found it to be quite easily handled, much lighter and less kick than my .35 Remington, which has a significantly larger cartridge. In addition to the rifle, I also fired three handguns, a Glock .40 caliber a Glock 9mm and a Ruger .22 long. I quite enjoyed myself. Our neighbors (about a half mile away) came to see what the fuss was all about, but once they saw it was nothing untoward and it was me, not some local kids, they left us in peace (or whatever, but this clearly isn’t Maryland).

Rib Roast, Cooked on a Spit

Rib Roast, Cooked on a Spit

While the shooting was going on, there was some serious meat being cooked over the fire. David had brought two boneless rib roasts, which he put on a spit and wrapped with bacon. They cooked for about two hours and where between medium rare and medium when they were taken off. I have to say that while there are not many pieces of meat that I don’t enjoy, a good piece of rib cooked over an open fire is about as good as it gets. This meat was about as close to perfection as you are likely to find.

Ethan's Fish Story

Ethan’s Fish Story

When the shooting, with its significant noise, was finished and our delicious lunch was consumed, some folks packed up for the day and headed home. It was early enough, though, and Andy and his son wanted to do a little more fishing. So, those who were still there spent a much quieter hour or so pulling bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) out of the pond. I think their chances of catching bass would have been increased with spinners rather than worms but I don’t think it made much difference to Ethan. What he caught was much less important than that he caught something. We weren’t catching breakfast, so the fact that everything was too small to eat didn’t matter. Also, the guns and their noise had made him a little nervous but the time we spent fishing in the quiet, afternoon sun was just the thing to help him relax again. I have to admit that even though I enjoyed the shooting and would do it again, I’m more likely to head out with a rod and reel for some solitude.

All in all, it was a great time. I haven’t known any of these guys for more than about five months and this weekend helped me to get to know them and them me. We need to do this again.

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Men’s Camping Trip

Ben, Ben, and Marc

Ben, Ben, and Marc

Some of the men from Cross Community Church went camping, up at my family’s place in Pennsylvania. We had a nice time around the fire on Friday night after a great dinner of burgers and hot dogs. Of the ten people there that evening, there were four Bens (although one of them goes by Will). Two of them are in this picture, Ben and Ben on the left, with Marc on the right. We stayed up talking until about midnight. What a way to spend a cool, spring Friday evening. It doesn’t get much better.

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Mosaic, American Visionary Art Museum

Mosaic, American Visionary Art Museum

Mosaic, American Visionary Art Museum

We happened to be up in Baltimore today. Thankfully we were there either before the riots started or were in a different part of the city. We had been downtown before 9:00 a.m. and then headed over to Federal Hill. We walked around a bit and enjoyed the art around the American Visionary Art Museum. This is a portion of the glass mosaic on the south side of the building.

From there we went out to Fort McHenry. It was a little cool and windy today but nice and we enjoyed being outdoors. From Fort McHenry we went to Elkridge and had tacos from the R&R Taqueria—a little place in a gas station that makes righteous tacos. Certainly a better day that if we had been caught up in the mayhem that went down in the city.

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Gallery Edit

Gallery Edit

Gallery Edit

A third photo from today and I’ll call it quits. After wandering around Carytown for a while, we returned to Gallery Edit and the Hillside offices. James was there sitting in the front of the gallery playing the guitar. Dorothy, Kendra, and Michaela joined him there and I took some pictures. I really liked the quality of the light from the afternoon sun pouring into the big window. I also took a few more pictures of Dorothy’s art work, which should be up through the end of the month or so. If you happen to be in Richmond, give her a call and stop in to see it.

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Sub Rosa Bakery

Margaret, Dorothy, Kendra, and Michaela

Margaret, Dorothy, Kendra, and Michaela

We had an early lunch this morning (or was it a very late breakfast?). We had planned to go to The Roosevelt on Church Hill. We met our friends, Rob and Susie there but it isn’t open Saturday morning. So, we found another place, called the Sub Rosa Bakery, which is just across the street. It’s a fairly small place but they were very accommodating of our large group. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend Sub Rosa. Here we have four of our group of nine. Margaret, Dorothy, Kendra, and Michaela.

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Gas Under $2.00

Gasoline, $1.959 per Gallon

Gasoline, $1.959 per Gallon

When we took Dorothy back to Richmond on January 4 I paid $1.979 per gallon for gas in Fredericksburg. But that’s Virginia. Perhaps it’s at least partly a case of supply and demand but it seems that here in Maryland everything possible is done to keep prices of everything as high as possible. If I were more cynical I might suspect that Maryland (and Montgomery County) governments are trying to keep out the hoi polloi (a.k.a. riffraff). If so, they are certainly going about it the right way. I don’t really think it’s a conscious effort but so many decisions have that effect that it’s hard not to think it’s at least a little bit planned. At the very least it’s clear they simply don’t care.

Anyway, today I paid $1.959 for regular in Maryland. I don’t know that I ever expected the price to be that low here again. I’ll be driving to Richmond again before too long and I look forward to how low it might be there, but I could get used to this. Gasoline prices like this are like a tax rebate and the certainly benefit the lower end of the income scale more than the upper.

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Flintstone, Maryland

Flintstone, Maryland

Flintstone, Maryland

I went on a little road trip this afternoon with Sokho. After church we drove up to Flintstone and from there just across the state line into Pennsylvania. The purpose was for Sokho to see the place we went last year on our youth retreat and where we are scheduled to go again this year. There was a bit of snow on the ground but we didn’t have any trouble getting up the hill. This photo was taken from the meeting room, looking southeast towards Flintstone.

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Main Reading Room, Library of Congress

Main Reading Room, Library of Congress

Main Reading Room, Library of Congress

Here’s a second photo from the day Dorothy, Karlee, and I spent in D.C. After the National Archives and the National Gallery of Art we walked around the south end of the U.S. Capitol building to the Library of Congress. So many of the governmental buildings in Washington are built in earlier neoclassical style, the Library of Congress stands out as something a bit different. The main (Thomas Jefferson) building was constructed in the Beaux Arts style, a later form of neoclassicism, from July 8, 1888, to May 15, 1894.

The Library of Congress was another place Dorothy had never been and I think she was glad we went today. The main reading room is under the dome at the center of the building and it is quite impressive. Access to the interior of the room is restricted to those doing research, with the exception of a viewing area up a flight of steps on the west side of the room. That is where this photograph was taken and it does a pretty good job of showing you the extent of the room. Somewhat surprisingly, after seeing a copy of Magna Carta from 1297 in the National Archives, we saw a second, one of the four originals from 1215, in the Library of Congress. It is here in celebration of its 800th anniversary in 2015.

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Dorothy and Karlee At The Capitol

Dorothy and Karlee At The U.S. Capitol

Dorothy and Karlee At The U.S. Capitol

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, Karlee came over and today I took Dorothy and her downtown for our annual museum trip. We parked near the National Archives and because neither of them had been there before, we went in (after a brief stop for coffee). In addition to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, we saw a copy of Magna Carta from 1297.

From the Archives we went to the National Gallery of Art, one of my favorite places in Washington. We enjoyed sculpture and paintings from various periods and of various styles, stopping for a while in the rotunda, which Dorothy describes as her favorite room in the United States. It somehow manages to be grand and at the same time human-sized.

We left the art museum and headed around the U.S. Capitol building, stopping for this picture of Dorothy and Karlee in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool and the Capitol Building, the dome of which is being renovated through the end of 2015 (and into the next on the interior).

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Virginia Aviation Museum

1936 Vultee V-1AD Special

1936 Vultee V-1AD Special

I drove to Virginia to pick up Dorothy for Thanksgiving this afternoon. I left a bit early because I knew that traffic was going to be a problem. I also knew that she would not be ready to leave until about 5:30, so I was going to have to find something to occupy my time until she was ready. I decided to stop by the Virginia Aviation Museum at the Richmond International Airport.

My post for Sunday, February 16, 2014 was of an SR-71 Blackbird, on loan to the museum from the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. I thought it might be nice to see what else they have and it’s a nice little collection. This plane, a 1936 Vultee V-1AD Special, was custom-built in 1936 for William Randolph Hearst, Sr. and is the only known surviving V-1AD in the world.

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Perly’s, Richmond

Dorothy, Katy, and Cathy at Perly's

Dorothy, Katy, and Cathy at Perly’s

For lunch on Sunday we went to a little place called Perly’s, on Grace Street. It’s a restaurant and deli that’s been a Richmond landmark for more than 50 years. In September, 2013 it closed, but then reopened September 2, 2014, the same day that we took Dorothy down to Richmond for her internship year. The new owners reworked the menu, but it’s still a comfort food type place. We had a table in the back, which was fine with us, and both the service and the food were terrific. This is Dorothy, Katy, and Cathy waiting for our table (which took less than 5 minutes).

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Drink Coca-Cola In Bottles

Coca-Cola Advert

Coca-Cola Advert

Big day today. We drove Dorothy to her new home for the next nine months or so, dropping her off in Richmond. All went well and we had no trouble with traffic except the last few miles, because it was morning rush hour by the time we arrived. Dorothy got settled into her new room, we met a few of her apartment mates, and we ran a few errands. Many of the old brick buildings have ghosts of painted signs on them but I noticed this one that’s not quite dead yet.

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Green Swamp

Rhexia virginica (Meadow Beauty)

Rhexia virginica (Meadow Beauty)

I have a largish collection of pictures to post for today but I’m putting them in a single post, because they were all taken at the same place. When we were at the beach few years ago we went to the Green Swamp, north of Supply, North Carolina, because of an article I happened to see in Smithsonian magazine. The article was about Venus flytraps and this is one of the places to which they are native. We had a mostly good experience on that first visit, although we learned a few important lessons, not the least of which is that there are significant biting insects there. Hey, it’s a swamp, it’s going to have bugs.

Dionaea muscipula (Venus Flytrap)

Dionaea muscipula (Venus Flytrap)

Mostly we go for the plant life. The main attraction is the collection of carnivorous plants, including but no limited to the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). My first picture above is a meadow beauty (Rhexia virginica) and they are scattered around the swamp, particularly the first areas you walk through when leaving the small parking area on NC 211. After walking on a boardwalk through the first pocosin, a heavily wooded wetland area, into the next area of (higher and dryer) long-leaf pine savanna, there are Venus flytraps. The are a little hard to find until you’re found a couple and really know what to look for. Then you start to see them everywhere.

Mosquito (Ochlerotatus atlanticus)

Mosquito (Ochlerotatus atlanticus)

Back to the biting insects a bit. Many of the pitcher plants have a green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) living on or around them. Because the plants attract insects, it’s a particularly good place for a spider to live, especially one that doesn’t spin a web and hunts for insects “the old fashioned way.” This is the top of a pitcher plant, there is a piece of leaf called an operculum which acts as a hood to the pitcher. Apparently there isn’t a lynx spider on this one, or this mosquito would probably not have lasted so long. Usually I don’t let mosquitoes hang around without being swatted but this one posed for me very nicely. As long as it didn’t land on me, I decided I would let it live. (UPDATE—2014/08/14: This has been identified as a male Ochlerotatus atlanticus. I know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath to learn that.)

Peucetia viridans (Green Lynx Spider)

Peucetia viridans (Green Lynx Spider)

I did see lynx spiders, though. Both on pitcher plants and on this thistle bud. I like this picture for it’s color and simplicity. These spiders are quite ferocious looking up close, with spines all over their legs and their bright green color, which makes them a bit difficult to see sometimes, as they blend in with their leafy surroundings.

When I got my camera set up, this one moved around to the far side of the thistle bud. I few gentle movements with my finger convinced her to move around to the camera side, however. I did take a few closer pictures that show more detail of the spider but I thought I’d go with this longer view, showing the whole flower. We also saw them on pitcher plants and I took some pictures of that, as well, but they didn’t turn out as nicely as this one, I think.

Long-leaf Pine Savanna

Long-leaf Pine Savanna

Here’s a wide angle view of the long-leaf pine savanna we were walking through. In this area are the eponymous long-leaf pines, of course. The most common plant is grass and since we came early this year, it was still quite wet with dew. Our pant legs were soaked long before we got this far into the swamp. You cannot really see them well in this picture but the yellow pitcher plants are scattered through the grass, reaching up through it. The smaller purple pitcher plants are harder to find, because they only grow about six inches tall, at most. Their flower stalk is usually the first thing you see, being much taller than the pitchers.

Drosera intermedia (Spoonleaf Sundew)

Drosera intermedia (Spoonleaf Sundew)

On the way out of the swamp we stopped by the pond near the parking area to take pictures of pitcher plants. They grow in the very wet area right on the edge of the pond. They may grow in other areas of the swamp but this is the only place we’ve seen them. They are quite small and it really helps to know what you’re looking for. The leaves of this spoonleaf sundew (Drosera intermedia) are only about 5mm across and the whole plant not much more than 4cm. They have very small, white flower, as well, but I didn’t get any pictures of them this year.

Pachydiplax longipennis (Blue Dasher)

Pachydiplax longipennis (Blue Dasher)

While I was taking pictures of the sundew, the others were enjoying a blue dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) who kept landing on the same twig, making it fairly easy to get close enough for a good picture. After they all had their pictures, they let me have a turn and I got this one, which I like pretty well.

So, another trip to the Green Swamp of North Carolina. If you go, try to pick a cool day and go early, before the sun gets too hot (we were done by 9:30 and it was starting to heat up by then). Put on a lot of deet-based bug repellent and be ready to swat those that ignore it. I prefer long trousers and sleeves, even though it’s hot, because of the bug protection. But be sure to bring a camera, because there’s lots to see.

Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants, Travel | 1 Comment

Logan Square Fountain

Logan Square Fountain

Logan Square Fountain

We had a longish day today, enjoying ourselves with the kids at camp this morning and then working for a few hours at a thrift store warehouse. In the evening we went to the Logan Square area. Do you know Logan Square? It’s the circle about half way between the Museum of Art and City Hall. Or it looks like a circle, but it’s a circle in a square. Anyway, that’s not really important now.

We had made some extra bagged meals and we were there to share them with people. There was a Shakespeare production of some sort being performed behind the Shakespeare Memorial (which seems like a good place for it). Across the street, around the fountain and in the park between the fountain and the Franklin Institute there were various people on benches. We divided up into groups. Katie, Shelly, and I chatted a while with one woman who had just gotten a phone call from her son saying he was on his way home from Afghanistan. She was pretty happy about that.

We also talked with a man named John. He was just a little younger than myself but was much more fit. He had been doing handsprings earlier, just to keep limber. We talked about the struggles of being homeless, not knowing if it was going to rain, and about young people who wouldn’t just let him be. We shared some food with him and a few others before the evening got too far along. I did pause early on for a few pictures of the fountain, which I think turned out pretty well, considering I didn’t have a tripod.

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Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

I alluded to this in yesterday’s post, with the pictures of cookies that Cathy made. Today, I drove a van to Philadelphia. Along with another adult leader (Hannah), I had eight members of our high school youth team from church (Anna, Barry, Dorothy, Nate, Sara, Shelly, and Suzy). We were there for a week, working with an organization called Center for Student Missions. On the first night, after dinner at an Indian restaurant, we toured the city, not so much looking at the historic landmarks, but focusing on the needs of Philadelphia. We ended on a hill overlooking the city and I took this picture (handheld ISO 6400, 1/50 sec. f/3.5).

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Maymont Park

Maymont Mansion

Maymont Mansion

Japanese Garden

Japanese Garden

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

I thought I’d post a second set of picture for today in addition to those I posted from downtown Richmond. After we walked around a little downtown, we drove out to Maymont. From Wikipedia:

Maymont is a 100 acre Victorian estate and public park in Richmond, Virginia. It contains Maymont Mansion, now a historic house museum, an arboretum, formal gardens, a carriage collection, native wildlife exhibits, a nature center, and Children’s Farm.

In 1893, Major James H. Dooley, a wealthy Richmond lawyer and philanthropist, and his wife, Sallie, completed their elaborate Gilded Age estate on a site high above the James River. According to their wishes, after their deaths Maymont was left to the people of Richmond. Over the next 75 years, additional attractions were added.

The first picture here is the mansion, up on the bluff overlooking the James River (as mentioned in Wikipedia). It really is beautifully situated and it’s a remarkably nice park. Many of the attractions are closed on Mondays, so we were not able to go into the mansion, for instance, but the grounds are open daily and that was enough for us.

We started by walking down past most of the animal exhibits to the Japanese garden. While this can’t be the best time of year to see the garden, we really enjoyed it and would recommend it highly. The only thing to keep in mind is that if you visit in the summer, when it is quite hot, getting from the Japanese garden back to the parking area is going to be a lot more tiring. There is a tram that runs, which would take care of that, but again, not on Mondays.

The other three pictures are of birds (obviously). The first two are in aviaries, the third was a wild mallard on one of the ponds in the Japanese garden. I also enjoyed the collection of trees on the property, including quite a few very large Lebanon cedars (Cedrus libani) and some pretty impressive bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). My favorite two tress, however, were a golden Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Tetragona Aurea’) and a very large incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens). I have three of the later planted along the fence in my back yard and it was nice to see such a big version of what they can become.

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Richmond Of The Past

Richmond Dairy Co.

Richmond Dairy Co.

We spent a little while this morning in downtown Richmond. Yesterday, as we were driving through town on the way to the James River, Cathy noticed a building down a side street that looked like it had a milk bottle on the corner. Not an actual glass bottle, of course, but the building was built to look like there was a giant milk bottle at each corner. Last night I did a little searching on Google maps and found it, so I’d know where to go today. This morning we went back and found it.

It turns out to have been the Richmond Dairy Company at one time and there are milk bottles on all four corners. This bottle, on the south corner, is the only one that it labeled and it’s the largest of the three (I’m not sure if there ever was one on the fourth corner, but I assume so). The building has been converted to apartments and added on to, which explains the missing fourth bottle. I’m glad they had the sense to keep the other three milk bottles, though.

Steamer Co. No 5 (Now Gallery 5)

Steamer Co. No. 5 (Now Gallery 5)

Jefferson Saloon, Jos. Carnicelli, Prop

Jefferson Saloon, Jos. Carnicelli, Prop

We walked around a few blocks and I took a few more pictures. On the left is Gallery 5, formerly Steamer Co. No. 5. On the right is a ghost sign for the Jefferson Saloon, purveyors of whiskey, wine, liquor, and cigars.

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Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center

Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center

Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center

Cathy and I took a little outing today, driving across the bay bridge and onto the eastern shore. Just east of Kent Narrows and south of US 50 is the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC). It’s a small, private, wildlife preserve and education organization. Back in 2004 I went there with Brady and Albert for a day-long course on raptors. Two hawk and one owl picture from that day are among my favorites at HartleyPhoto. The CBEC owns approximately 510 acres of land and it’s a good place to see bay wildlife. Of course, the middle of January isn’t necessarily the best time of year for that but it was quiet and pretty and we only saw a few other people. Of course, it was about 26°F (-3°C) and the wind was 15 to 20 mph, so it was a bit chilly. For those of you thinking the question, the answer is yes, I did wear a jacket. On the Marshy Creek Trail as we neared the lake, there were some wet areas that provided great reflections and that’s what I posted for today’s picture. After that, and a brief stop on Kent Island, we went into Annapolis for a hot meal at Chick and Ruth’s Delly.

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Beetling Off To Boston

Dorothy at BWI

Dorothy at BWI

Dorothy left for Boston this evening. Well, technically she left for Wenham, northeast of Boston, but her flight was to Boston’s Logan Airport. She has an interview at Gordon College scheduled for tomorrow, as well as plans to sit in on one or two classes. Of course, I’m posting this on Sunday and she left on Thursday, so tomorrow was the day before yesterday, as I write this. The interview went well and she enjoyed the classes. We don’t know if this is where she’ll end up, but she could do worse. Here’s a picture of Dorothy at BWI before her first airline flight with no one else that she knows. She’s flown without us a few times and once with her friend’s brother on the same plane, but this time, she’s really solo. All went well, I’m happy to report.

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Returning From England

Katie, Ellen, Hannah, and Dorothy

Katie, Ellen, Hannah, and Dorothy

Stuart, Donna, and Cathy

Stuart, Donna, and Cathy

As vacations always do, our time in England had drawn to an end. I think we were all ready to be home again but had enjoyed ourselves immensely. For all but Cathy and me, this was everyone’s first trip to England, so everything was new. Cathy and I got to see a lot of things we hadn’t seen before and were happy to revisit those few places we had been. The weather was wonderful and even our rainy day in the Lake District was fun, ranking pretty high in everyone’s reckoning, I think.

On Monday, August 19 we checked out of the hotel and made our way to Terminal 3 at London’s Heathrow Airport. We got checked in, made our way through the frontal assault of the duty free zone (although free samples of whisky was something I don’t see very often), and got to our gate. The flight home was less uncomfortable than on the way, mostly because I was on an aisle this time. Because it was a daytime flight none of us really bothered to try to sleep. It’s a little weird being on a plane for over 8 hours but you arrive only three and a half hours after you left.

Since there were no real sights to be seen today, I leave you with two pictures of the seven people who spent these last two weeks with me. Thanks for your patience when I made a wrong turn or got us turned around. I’d travel with you all again any time (especially Cathy and Dorothy, of course).

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England: Day 13, Cambridge

Our Old House in Cambridge

Our Old House in Cambridge

I labeled this post Cambridge but really it was a driving day rather than a sightseeing day. We stopped for lunch with friends on the way down the A1, which was a great treat. I should mention that today was our 29th anniversary and we considered that visit with friends and a nice meal a good way to celebrate. Thanks, Teresa and David, and God bless you.

Then we stopped briefly in Cambridge so Dorothy could see the house I lived in during our year there, during the school year of 1971-72. The house has changed a bit. The portion with the eaves part way up is a new addition and the first window to the right of that is where the door used to be. Otherwise, the street looks very much as it did. The butcher shop is still there and they seem to have added fruit and vegetables to their wares.

We tried to drive through Cambridge but if you’ve done that recently, you know it’s not a winning proposition. You really need to park and walk but we didn’t have the time for that. The four of us in our car got a glimpse of King’s College Chapel but only because we know were and when to look. We headed back onto the highway and down to London, checking into the hotel at the airport and returning our cars.

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England: Day 12, The Lake District

St. Michael and All Angels, Torpenhow

St. Michael and All Angels, Torpenhow

Moss Force seen from Newlands Hause

Moss Force seen from Newlands Hause

Afternoon Tea in Keswick

Afternoon Tea in Keswick

The View from Watendlath

The View from Watendlath

Each day of our trip to England had a character all its own and today was no exception. Mostly the character was determined by what we saw and that was true on day 12 but the weather played a bigger part today than it had on any other. It had rained a few times but it never really affected our plans, until today. It was raining when we got up and it continued to rain throughout the day.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, some days you see things that you want to see and other days you see things someone else wants to see. Today, our first stop was totally for me and I’m grateful that the others were willing to see it with me. My great, great, great grandfather, William Hartley, (born 1778) lived in the little town of Torpenhow for at least part of his life. We visited the church of Torpenhow, called St. Michael and All Angels. It’s a pretty little church with portions (notably the semi-circular arch on the right in this picture) dating to the early 12th century.

Our original plan had been to go for a bit of a tramp in the Lake District. The rain continued to come down, however, and that wasn’t going to happen. From Torpenhow we drove to Buttermere, a pretty, little lake in a pretty, little valley. We made our way to the car park where we would have started our hike, stopping a couple times to enjoy the view. We could barely see across the lake and couldn’t see the top of the hill we had talked about climbing. We turned back and headed through Newlands Hause, north of the town of Buttermere stopping briefly at the pass. Only the nutty Hartleys got out to get “a better view.” You can just make out the waves of rain, lashing from right to left across this photo of Moss Force.

We went to Keswick, which was a bit crowded with people who, like us, were brought in out of the rain. Still, we found parking spaces and took this opportunity to enjoy a proper afternoon tea. It’s something you want to do when you visit England but the timing hadn’t worked out up until now. It was also a nice thing to do on a rainy, windy day. Bryson’s Tea Room turned out to be the ideal place, as well. We ordered “tea for two” times four (since there were eight of us) and were happy to have warm tea, savory sandwiches, rich, creamy sweets, and (as much as anything) a comfortable place out of the rain.

After our yummy meal, we wandered around the shops in Keswick for a while. It was still raining but we decided to visit one more Lake District beauty spot before heading back to our hotel. We drove up the narrow road on the east side of Derwent Water to the hidden vale of Watendlath, with its beautiful little tarn and rushing beck (which was seriously rushing today) passing under a stone packhorse bridge. It was still coming down pretty steadily but I think everyone was happy to have visited and seen what view could be seen, which made up for in beauty what was lost in distance.

All in all, it was very little like what had been planned but everyone agreed that it had been a good day.

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England: Day 11, Edinburgh

The Essence of Scotland

The Essence of Scotland

This post is titled “England: Day 11, Edinburgh” but we were actually in Scotland. We drove from our hotel in Gretna down to Carlisle, where we caught the train to Edinburgh for the day. Opinions of the day were mixed. Personally, besides the necessary driving days, this was my least favorite day of the entire trip. From my perspective, going to Edinburgh during the festival is a good idea only if you aren’t interested in seeing Edinburgh. First, the streets, the castle, and the entire place is jammed with people. I’m talking “make London seem quite” full of people. Second, you cannot see the castle from the Royal Mile and you cannot see the Royal Mile from the castle. They put up a temporary (but still very substantial) stadium around the esplanade below the castle and that’s all you really see. There are good people watching opportunities, evidenced by this photograph of your typical Scottish accordionist (playing Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, by the Beatles), but you don’t need to go all the way to Scotland to see interesting people. So, this is one day I would have rather been doing something else. Still, when you travel with others, you see a mix of things. One day you see something you want to see, other days you see something someone else wants to see. And I wouldn’t have been with a different group of people anywhere else for anything.

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England: Day 10, Hadrian’s Wall

Hadrian's Wall and Crag Lough

Hadrian’s Wall and Crag Lough

Milecastle 39 on Hadrian's Wall

Milecastle 39 on Hadrian’s Wall

Sycamore Gap, Hadrian's Wall

Sycamore Gap, Hadrian’s Wall

I’ve tried to confine myself to one picture per day or at most, one picture per major sight. Not only have I already posted a photo from the morning of day 10 (Caerlaverock Castle), I’m posting three from this location (Hadrian’s Wall). I cannot speak for anyone by myself but this was one of the high points of our trip, as far as I’m concerned. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, windy and cool. The greens were greener than they had been and we were away from the sounds of the city or even town life that had pretty much dominated our trip to this point.

Hadrian’s Wall, as you may know, was built starting in AD 122, during the rule of the Roman emperor Hadrian. It is 73 miles in length, running across northern England as a defense against the northern tribes (the Gaels and Picts).

It many places there isn’t much to see along the wall. I selected this section because I thought it would be pretty even if there had been no wall there to follow. I think that turned out to be true, although the wall did add to the ambiance. The first picture shown here is the scarp on which the wall runs. It runs from the Steel Rigg car park to Crag Lough, visible on the left. The wall runs just above the cliff and most not have needed to be very high for most of this stretch. If I were planning an attack, I think I’d have come at it somewhere else.

The second picture is of the wall as it descends from the heights to the ruins of Milecastle 39 in a gap in the scarp. The wall has forts spaced roughly a mile apart. The Roman mile (mille passuum, “a thousand paces”) is estimated to be 4,851 feet, about 0.91 statute miles.

The next gap along the way is called Sycamore Gap because of the lone Sycamore Maple tree (Acer pseudoplatanus) growing there. It’s a pretty spot and the sound of the wind blowing through the tree was a bit magical.

The changing light as the clouds raced across the sky, the dramatic cliffs to our north, the sheep peacefully grazing on the rich, green grass, all contributed to a wonderful afternoon.

Our walk took longer than expected (actually, pretty much everything we did the entire two weeks took longer than expected). That meant we missed having an afternoon tea where we had hoped to have it. We did have a nice lunch earlier at the Milecastle Inn, though. Between the castle in the morning and Hadrian’s Wall and a country hike in the afternoon, this was my favorite day of the trip.

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England: Day 10, Caerlaverock Castle

Caerlaverock Castle

Caerlaverock Castle

As boys living in England, we loved castles. We loved exploring them and would pretend we were living in the middle ages. We designed castles of our own, as well. This is one of the castles we visited so many years ago. It’s actually changed a little, with some repairs having been made allowing access to more of the living area of the castle. It’s hard to tell from this photograph but the castle is triangular in shape.

Our first morning in Scotland started out raining. We decided we should go to the castle anyway, since we only have three days in the north. As it turned out, the rain stopped while we were on the way to the castle and it cleared up quite a bit later in the day. The rain contributed to the castle not having many visitors in the morning, which was an added bonus.

We walked around the Tower of London and we’ll see another castle tomorrow but this was our only “proper” ruined castle for the trip and I think everyone was glad we paid it a visit. I’ll put up another post with our other sightseeing visit for the day.

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England: Day 9, Heading North

The Gretna Inn

The Gretna Inn

Day nine of our England vacation was a travel day and in consequence we didn’t really see much worth photographing. Although 300 miles (or a little less) isn’t a terribly long day of driving, we had pretty heavy traffic about three quarters of the way. We made pretty good time, stopping only once.

After five nights in our hotel in South Marston, we spent the next four in a Days Inn at a service area on the highway. Again, it isn’t a destination so much as a base from which we’ll take day trips.

We had dinner at The Gretna Inn, a relatively new building made to look old. Usually you can tell by the hight and regularity of the ceilings, which are much lower and never very level in the older buildings. The doors are smaller, as well.

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England: Day 8, Bath

Roman Baths and Bath Abbey

Roman Baths and Bath Abbey

Today we only had one destination but like Blenheim, there was a lot to see there. We took the train from Swindon to Bath since parking was going to be an issue. When we arrived we decided to take the bus tour which is actually two separate but related bus tours. There is one that goes through town and another that goes out of town. Both were useful in terms of giving us some of the history of the city but neither were particularly good in terms of actually seeing things. I think I’d give them a miss if I came again. If the bus that goes out of town stopped in a few places with good views of the city, then I’d recommend it but you only get a few momentary glimpses, which don’t really justify the time it takes.

There are three main sights we wanted to see in Bath and we started with the oldest — the Roman baths. The water isn’t particularly warm, as hot springs go, I guess that if it’s the only hot spring in England, you have to make do with what you have. If you visit, be prepared to spend a good while there, especially if you listen to the audio guides included in the price of admission (which most of our group did).

After our visit to the baths we figured we should get something to eat. We decided that since there wasn’t a long wait, we’d give the Sally Lunn Bun a try in what is claimed to be the oldest house in Bath, Sally Lunn’s House, c. 1482. The food was quite good, although I cannot say I’ve never had better. Topped with butter, cinnamon and clotted cream, it wasn’t the bun that made the difference, in any case. I think it would have tasted good on a hard crust. Still,

The picture shown here includes the baths as well as our second destination, Bath Abbey. It isn’t the biggest church but it felt more like a church than the others we’ve visited. It was, unfortunately, too late for us to climb the tower, which would have been great, so another reason to return.

Our final, dual destination was the Circus and the Royal Crescent, Georgian town houses on a circle and an arc, respectively. They are somewhat hard to photograph, but I did my best. When we had seen those, we walked back to the train station and caught the train back to Swindon. Actually, our train was canceled and they sent us to Bristol, in the opposite direction, where we caught what turned out to be the next train through Bath, so if we had stayed there, we would have been fine, but this gave us something to do.

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England: Day 7, Four Sites Today

Uffington White Horse

Uffington White Horse

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral

Stonehenge

Stonehenge

Avebury Stone Circle

Avebury Stone Circle

After visiting only one place yesterday, we had a somewhat busier day today. We had four sites to visit today, somewhat spread around the countryside over a round-trip course of a little over a hundred miles.

It was a absolutely lovely day, cool and bright. We started by taking a short drive of about 10 miles to the Uffington White Horse. It is a prehistoric, highly stylized figure of a horse, formed from trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The problem is that as you get closer to it, you don’t see it from the proper angle and it looks less and less like a horse. This is the best picture I could get and you can just make out the horse. I think it needs to be seen from the air to really see it properly. It’s possible that it can be seen well from Dragon Hill, a natural chalk hill with an artificial flat top set below the horse. The hind legs are to the left, forelegs to the right, and the head is not quite visible above them on the far right. There are pictures of it from the air on Wikimedia Commons.

From there we drove south to Salisbury, about 45 miles. We found parking and walked to the cathedral, which is quite lovely (and pretty big). There is a wonderful painting of the cathedral by John Constable from about 1825 and I would have liked to have walked in the Bishop’s Grounds to the south of the cathedral, which is where he painted it from, but we had more to see today and you cannot do everything. The light was a bit tricky today, as it’s been most days, with very bright skies and sometimes shady subjects because of the clouds. This photo is what is known as an high dynamic range (HDR) photograph, made by combining three different exposures of the same image.

Before leaving Salisbury we had a nice lunch in a place called The Boston Tea Party. It is housed in the Old George Inn which apparently dates back to 1314 and in the courtyard of which William Shakespeare is said to have performed one of his plays. In England’s version of “George Washington Slept Here,” Oliver Cromwell slept here on his way to join the army, Samuel Pepys wrote about the Inn in his diary after a stay and both H. G. Wells and Charles Dickens made mentioned of it in their writings.

We drove north to Stonehenge. It hasn’t changed much in the 42 years since I was here last, although the arrangement for seeing it are a bit different. There is a small car park but that is totally inadequate for the number of visitors and a large section of the neighboring field has been turned into an extended parking area. You are not permitted to walk amid the monument itself but are restricted to a circular walk around it. In fact, you get reasonably close on one side and if it were not for the restrictions there is no way you could possibly take a picture like this, with no people showing. This was nine photographs, stitched together to make a single image. They were timed so that I had no people in the background (with a couple exceptions, which were edited out). I think it’s turned out rather well.

Our final historical stop of the day was Avebury Stone Circle, in the small village of Avebury. It was evening by the time we got there and we were not able to spend as much time as I would have liked but I enjoyed it quite a bit. The evening light was lovely. The stones in this photograph are not the largest but they form part of the northwest quadrant of a large circle of stones. We walked around this quadrant and into the northeast. It covers quite a bit more ground than Stonehenge and you can walk right up to the stones.

Rather than eat in the pub at Avebury, which had the wrong vibe for us, we headed towards “home” and stopped at The Barbury Inn in a town called Broad Hinton. We had a very friendly reception there and the food was as good as we had anywhere in the two weeks we were here.

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England: Day 6, Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace

After our country jaunt yesterday, we decided we were up for crowds again. We spent the entire day at Blenheim Palace. This largish house, built between 1705 and 1722 as the home of the Dukes of Marlborough, is the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. I don’t really see how you could call it anything else.

If you’ve seen Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 production of Hamlet (and if you haven’t, you should), then you may recognize it as Hamlet’s castle. I won’t go on about all we did today because we basically saw the house and the gardens. It’s a big place with a park landscaped by “Capability” Brown starting in 1764. The lake was created by damming the River Glyme and certainly looks natural, although it is not.

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England: Day 5, Tintern and Bibury

Tintern Abbey, Wales

Tintern Abbey, Wales

Arlington Row, Bibury, in the Cotswolds

Arlington Row, Bibury, in the Cotswolds

We had spent three nights in London and then moved to our second hotel. The hotel was very nice and it turned out to be ideal for the day trips we would take from it, but whenever we mentioned where we were staying, the person we were talking to would apologize for the town. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with Swindon but it I get that it isn’t exactly a prime tourist destination. Still, it’s conveniently located.

Our first day trip from there started with a visit to the ruins of Tintern Abbey, just across the Wye River into Wales. The abbey was founded in 1131. Most of the existing structure was built in the late 13th century and the abbey was abandoned in 1536 upon the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the orders of King Henry VIII (not our favorite Henry). It’s in a lovely site and well worth the visit, especially if you’ve been in cities for four days beforehand. It was a wonderfully beautiful, cool, English day with bright sunshine competing with cloudy shade off and on. The color of the light in the ruins was ever-changing and lovely.

From Tintern we drove north through the Forest of Dean, over to Gloucester, down to Cirencester, and then east to the little village of Bibury, in the Cotswold hills. The Cotswolds are known for the honey-coloured stone buildings and Bibury is a particularly popular example of a Cotswold village. I was a bit worried about finding parking spaces for our two cars but we were blessed to find two, next to each other, right in the center of town.

We enjoyed walking in the late afternoon along Arlington Row and up Awkward Hill (I’d really love to live somewhere named Awkward Hill). We walked a short way on a public footpath to the edge of town and then back by a different route. We all enjoyed being outdoors and in the country instead of in London or even Oxford. We all agreed that we’d go back and spend more time in the Cotswolds, if we had the chance.

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England: Day 4, Oxford

The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford University

The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford University

After our third night in London we picked up two rental cars and headed out of town. If you’ve never driven in England, it’s a bit hair raising at first (and possibly at second, as well). First and most obvious is that they drive on the left. Second, shifting with your left hand takes some getting used to. Third, many roads are quite narrow. That’s true both in London, where the narrowness is often because of parked cars, and in the countryside, where the roads are between two banks or walls. Anyway, it takes some getting used to. Fortunately, we found English drivers to be much more courteous than American drivers, at least American drivers where we live.

We headed out of London toward Oxford, parked in a Park and Ride lot and took the bus into town. Parking in Oxford might have been possible but this removed the hassle. By the time we got there (including a bit more walking that we expected, because I had us get off the bus too soon) it was time for lunch. The Turf Tavern had been recommended to us and we found it to be a very friendly and comfortable place. We enjoyed a quiet meal out on the terrace. The burgers were cooked “well done” but were otherwise good.

We walked around town, stopping at a largish bookstore, going into the courtyard of the Bodleian Library, etc. We walked north to St. John’s College, where my great Uncle Ralph earned a B.A. degree in 1912 and a B.Sc. degree in 1913. My grandfather (Uncle Ralph’s older brother) was there from 1907 until 1910 and I had assumed he went to the same school but it turns out he went to Exeter. Since I didn’t find that out until we were home, we didn’t make a special visit, but I did get a picture of the Exeter Chapel from the tower of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin.

Some of our group went to visit New College, while the rest of us went up the church tower. It gave a good view and was well worth the small fee and tight stairs. Dorothy was a bit put out by the close quarters both getting up and at the top but she was glad she went up.

We took the bus back to where we had parked our cars and then drove the 30 miles or so to our hotel. The hotel was quite nice but I would recommend eating elsewhere if you have the chance.

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England: Day 3, London

The Tower of London

The Tower of London

On our third and final day in London we got out a bit earlier. We had breakfast at a bakery around the corner from our hotel and then caught a bus to near Harrods department store. We spent about an hour wandering around the store.

From there we took a bus to Victoria Station and then walked past Westminster Cathedral to Westminster Abbey. The line to get in the Abbey was fairly long (did I mention that August isn’t the best time to visit London?) but there was nothing for it but to join the queue and wait.

It was pretty crowded inside, as well. No photography is allowed in the abbey, which is probably just as well, when you consider how slowly people were moving without taking pictures. Most of our group listened to the audio guides but Dorothy and I satisfied ourselves with reading the monuments themselves. While I’m certainly glad we went, I’m not as thrilled with Westminster Abbey as I am with some other churches I’ve visited. It’s more a shrine to fallen men than a place to worship the God whom they ostensibly served.

After lunch in the new Cellarium cafe, which opened last year, we walked across Westminster Bridge and caught a bus to near Tower Bridge. We enjoyed the view of the bridge and the Tower of London across the river from Potter’s Fields Park. We walked across the bridge and then around the Tower, which was closed by this time.

We took a bus back to the west, passing St. Paul’s Cathedral, which we didn’t have time to see on this trip. I’ve been in but I’d love to go there again. I’m a fan of big domes. We had dinner near Covent Garden and the returned to our hotel, again via Trafalgar Square. Buying Oyster cards before leaving home turned out to be a good idea. We certainly got our money’s worth out of them.

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England: Day 2, London

Big Ben and Westminster Abbey

Big Ben and Westminster Abbey

We got off to a late start this morning because everyone was so tired. We left the hotel at about 11:30, had breakfast and then caught a bus to near the British Museum. That was high on everyone’s “I really want to go there” list. It was absolutely jammed with people and it would be nice to visit again sometime other than August, but we were all still glad we went. We were there for about four hours (except I left to have a cup of coffee with a friend who was nice enough to meet me for an hour or so).

From the British Museum we took the bus to Westminster. We decided we were hungry enough that we’d like to have dinner. We ate at The Red Lion, opposite Downing Street and enjoyed a relatively quiet meal away from the crowds (somewhat surprisingly, but I guess it was a bit early for dinner for most people). After dinner we walked to Westminster Abbey but by this point is was closed. Considering how long it takes to go through, it was just as well. We had tickets for the London Eye so we walked across Westminster Bridge and got on without spending more than 15 minutes in line. It’s a nice ride providing a great view of the city and I highly recommend it.

We crossed the river again on the Hungerford Bridge, which is actually a pair of walking bridges on either side of the rail bridge that leads into Charing Cross Rail Station. We made our way to Trafalgar Square and took the requisite pictures of the girls climbing on the lions around Nelson’s Column. We took the bus back to our hotel but went to Gelato Mio a few blocks away for a nice dessert before heading to bed.

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England: Day 1, London

The Blues and Royals riding under Wellington Arch.

The Blues and Royals riding under Wellington Arch.

I took about 4,400 photos during our two weeks in England* and there is no way I’m going to give you a full accounting of them here. I’m too far behind as it is, for one thing. So, I’m going to post one or possibly two photos from each day and tell you a little of what else we saw that day. If you know me on Facebook, then you’ll have already seen more than enough but you might learn a thing or two about our trip here in any case. If we are not connected on Facebook drop me a line and I’ll give you a link to my best-of gallery on my private site.

Our first day in England was not a full day because it’s the day we arrived. Once we were finished at the airport we took the tube to Paddington Railway Station and checked our luggage there. We walked from there south to Hyde Park. We made our way south south east towards Buckingham Palace and as we got to Wellington Arch, just outside Hyde Park, a detachment of riders from the Blues and Royals rode through the arch, right next to us.

We continued towards the Palace and I noticed that there were a lot of people that way. We had specifically planned not to try to see the changing of the guards. It’s fun to see but it’s a lot of work and a lot of standing about in dense crowds to see it, so we figured we’d give it a miss this time. As it turns out, we got there just as it was finishing up. My internal clock said it was much later than that, but it was just before noon.

From Buck House we walked up St. James Park, taking a break to sit in the shade and rest a bit. Everyone was pretty sleepy and worn out, since at this point we’d been about 27 hours without sleep. We made our way to Trafalgar Square and then on to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where we had lunch in the cafe in the crypt. The food isn’t very fancy but at that point, filling was more what we were looking for. We also had pretty much unlimited access to water and toilets, two essentials when traveling.

After our lunch, we caught a bus back to Paddington Station, got our bags, and took another bus to our hotel, which was near Notting Hill Gate, just to the northwest of Kensington Gardens. We took naps before going out later for dinner and then came back and called it a day.

* Actually, there were only eleven days when we were seeing sights and on which I took most of my 4,422 photographs. Day 9 we drove from the southwest to the north, day 13 we drove back to London, and day 14 we left. I took 19, 49, and 31 images on those days, respectively and averaged 393 per day on the other eleven days.

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Leaving for England

On-board Miss Sunshine, our Airbus 330-300

On-board Miss Sunshine, our Airbus 330-300

As many of you know, we went to England for two weeks this summer. Since I’m posting these after we got back, I can say with some confidence that we had a wonderful time, saw some amazing sights, and are very glad we went. We traveled with another family, Stuart and Donna and their three beautiful daughters, Hannah, Ellen, and Katie.

If it had been possible to go any time other than the month of August that would have been nice but it simply wasn’t going to happen any other time. Still, we had fabulous weather for most of the trip (and the rainy day was pretty awesome, as well). Many places we went were crowded but we managed to squeeze a wide variety of things into a relatively short time and had a good time doing it.

This trip was a long time coming. The idea for it actually came up more than a year ago and we even talked about going last summer but with the Olympics, that didn’t seem like a good idea. Last fall, though, we started talking in earnest and early this year we began making firm plans, buying tickets, booking rooms in hotels, and renting two cars for most of the time (but not London).

The date of departure finally arrived. This is one of only a few pictures I took as we left on Miss Sunshine, a Virgin Atlantic Airbus. Don’t worry, I took a few more pictures once we got there.

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Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

I went on a field trip with Dorothy’s class today, visiting Ford’s Theatre and the Lincoln Memorial. The class posed for a group picture as we left Lincoln.

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Cabela’s

Cabela's

Cabela’s

We stopped in Cabela’s in Wheeling on the way home from Cincinnati. It’s part sporting goods store, part natural history museum, filled with stuffed animals of every description.

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BWI Airport

BWI Airport

BWI Airport

Well, Dot and Donna returned from three and a half weeks in southern Africa this evening. What a wonderful trip they had. I had to satisfy myself with pictures of blurred people at BWI Airport.

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BWI Airport

BWI Airport

BWI Airport

It’s not exactly an Eero Saarinen but I’ve always liked BWI airport. Also, dropping people off there is a good excuse to stop take a short detour to G&M to buy some of the best crab cakes anywhere. They aren’t particularly cheap but at a half pound each and almost all crab meat, they’re worth it.

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Hot Dog Bun People

Hot Dog Bun People

Hot Dog Bun People

OK, this is a little obscure. On the way to the beach back on July 30, while waiting in traffic on I95 south of Woodbridge, Virginia, we noticed an SUV with two bins and two coolers on the back. In one bin were games and in the other were lots of hot dog buns and a couple (clear) containers of Fruit Loops. They were going faster than we were so naturally we lost track of them.

About 220 miles further along on our trip, we stopped, as we always do, for barbecue at Parkers in Wilson, North Carolina. I dropped mom off and went to park in the only shady spot in the parking lot and guess who was right next to us? The Hot Dog Bun People. I even took a picture showing the back of their car.

Fast forward to today, seven days later. We’re driving west on I-40 out of Wilmington, North Carolina. We are about a hundred miles from Parkers, heading back home. The girls are quiet in the back seat, zoning out, when all of a sudden Dorothy had some sort of seizure. I actually saw the van about the time she did but the rest of the car had no idea what was going on. She was pointing out the window and babbling incoherently in a loud (very) voice.

As you can see from the picture (which matches the picture from last Saturday exactly except one cooler and one bin are gone) we had just been overtaken by… The Hot Dog Bun People.

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Beach Umbrella

Beach Umbrella

Beach Umbrella

This is a beach umbrella reflected in a thin film of water on the sand. I like it as an abstract image.

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Ocean Isle Pier

Ocean Isle Pier

Ocean Isle Pier

It’s been pretty hot but this is the beach. I like this nearly monochromatic image of the ocean and the pier to the east of our house.

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Horseshoe Falls

Horseshoe Falls

Horseshoe Falls

On the way home from Toronto we stopped at Niagara Falls. It’s right on the way and we figured it would be worth the time. We paid to go on the “Journey Behind the Falls” tour (which is really just access, not a tour). For anyone interested, the actual “behind the falls” portion is fairly anti-climactic. The observation deck right beside the falls, however, may be worth the price by itself. Plan to be wet by the time you are done, though, unless there is no wind at all. I had my camera in a plastic bag and pulled it out for a couple shots, of which I think this is the best. There are similar viewing areas on the US side and it would be interesting to compare them to this.

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Gooderham Building

Gooderham Building

Gooderham Building

Located between Wellington and Front Streets at Church Street in Toronto, the Gooderham Building, completed in 1892, is a good example of a flatiron building, similar to its more famous cousin, the Fuller Building in New York City. I had to edit this picture a bit to take out a half dozen pesky girls standing in the foreground, but I don’t think that’s too noticeable unless you look closely. I couldn’t just wait for them to move because I was sitting in the van at a traffic light and by the time they moved, I’d have been gone. I love buildings from this period. Classic.

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Toronto at Night

Toronto at Night

Toronto at Night

I arrived in Toronto at about 5:00 PM today with ten youth and two other parents from church. We’ll be spending the week working in a soup kitchen for about four hours each day and then at various sites in the afternoons.

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