Category Archives: travel

Well, we did Shenandoah National Park . . . partially, before we got rained out.  We did the Outer Banks—great for lighthouses and other scenery.

Today, we discuss and view Colonial Williamsburg, which Ursula and I actually visited on Friday.  We opted to not spend the extra money that would have afforded us unlimited entrance into the various buildings where we could watch craftsmen performing their arts.  I was much more interested in the exterior architecture and the outdoor sights, and all that is free.

Fortunately, the weather held for most of the day with only intermittent cloudiness marring some of the building shots (I much prefer photographing buildings against mostly blue skies with just a hint of interesting cloud formations to interrupt the monotony.

Just outside the more touristy areas, in Merchant Square, are some really neat shops, including a Williams-Sonoma for kitchen gadgets, a great little camera shop (Massey’s) with some surprisingly good prices (I purchased an Omni-Bounce at Massey’s for my Canon 430EX flash unit—the owner was very knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly; call him for equipment prices and you might be pleasantly surprised), a nifty little gourmet restaurant for lunch called the Blue Talon Bistro (playing old episodes of Julia Child’s The French Chef on the television—one of my favorite shows as a child, and a rather pleasant break from the normal ESPN/Sports Bar combination), and the charming and very well stocked College of William and Mary Bookstore (actually run by Barnes & Noble, and where I had an interesting conversation with a fellow author who specializes in illustrated children’s history books—very, very clever stuff; unfortunately, I cannot recall his name).

Educational, historical, fun, scenic, and lots of great shopping.  That’s a combination that’s pretty hard to beat.

Ursula and I arrived in D.C. on Monday and from there, via rental car, drove west to the Shenandoah National Park.  We only got about half way through before darkness fell and we were compelled to stop for the night in the town of Luray.  Unfortunately, heavy rain and fog the next day precluded a safe continuation of the rest of Shenandoah, so we exited onto Interstate 81, and then Interstate 64 heading east.

From there we made our way down to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, spending the night in the town of Frisco on the Island of Hatteras at the charming Breakwater Inn.

The next morning we ferried over to Ocracoke Island.  What a delightful place to spend a few hours and have a nice lunch along the Silver Lake Harbor, after the obligatory visit to the Ocracoke Lighthouse, of course.

Indeed, if lighthouses are your photographic “thing,” the Outer Banks is a place you need to most definitely sightsee.  We visited four lighthouses altogether this trip, three of which you’ll see photographs shortly.  I’m saving one lighthouse for another blog.

Meanwhile, interspersed among the shots that follow are photographs of the Ocracoke, Bodie Island, and the unbelievably tall Cape Hatteras Lighthouses.  I’ll post pictures of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse at a later date.

One last teaser:  Remember the 2008 Richard Gere/Diane Lane movie Nights in Rodanthe, based upon the Nicholas Sparks book of the same name?  Recall that gorgeous house on the beach?  You’ll see that house in one of the following shots as well.

Frisco on Dwellable

Ursula and I love day trips.  We especially love them when we can jump in the roadster and go with friends who also have sports cars.  So, Saturday was Roadster-Up-To-Old-Mesilla Day.  What makes the trip to Old Mesilla such fun is the back roads between El Paso and Las Cruces in New Mexico.  Although we live in the midst of the Chihuahuan Desert there’s still plenty of agriculture around, especially along the Rio Grande and the irrigated fields to either side of it as the river meanders through New Mexico and into Texas.

Along the way, convertible top down, wind blowing through our hair, we pass by fields of chili, onion, and cotton.  Vineyards and rows of maze drift by as we maintain a leisurely motoring pace.  We pass into the cooling shade of majestic pecan trees, their branches providing a leafy roof over the roadway, as we motor through the orchards of Stahman Farms.

The adobe and stone architecture of old Territorial New Mexico is abundantly in evidence as we pass through the towns of La Union, La Mesa, and San Miguel with it’s stone church, providing the photographer with some really great opportunities.  But once you reach Old Mesilla’s town square and it’s large central bandstand, you’re in another world . . . the world of the Old West, Pat Garrett, and Billy the Kid.  Here is where photographic opportunities come with nearly every step, including the Basilica of San Albino at the north end of the town square, the rustic 1800s wooden bar inside the Double Eagle Restaurant, the quaint dining courtyard of the adjoining Peppers Cafe, and the ever-popular and historic La Posta Mexican Restaurant just off the square.

Enjoy the views, then plan a road trip near your home.