Wishing all my family, friends and readers a Blessed and Happy Easter. Just wanted to share a few spring photos. A lot of people are commenting on what an exceptionally beautiful spring we’re having this year. Secretly, I believe it’s because we have more down time to look around, notice and appreciate the beautiful of renewal around us. Enjoy!
On October 14, 2018, we visited the John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA…main goal? To see The Smithsonian’s traveling exhibit, “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission”. I instigated this visit for my husband, Keith’s, sake, but thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit and the other parts of the museum we were able to experience.
Continue reading“Apollo 11 Lunar Capsule at Pittsburgh’s John Heinz History Center”
Where do you go first when you visit a new locale? I’m not talking about getting settled in your hotel, bed & breakfast, Air BNB, tent, et al. What is it you want to be sure to experience ? Art? Architecture? The great outdoors? Foodie destinations? Historical spots?
My favorite would fall under the “historical spots” category. Now, don’t be too quick to judge my fascination or think me maudlin. One place I want to hang out in wherever I go is a cemetery.
I love the architecture, the sense of family amongst a group of headstones, the flora and fauna. And they make for incredible photo opportunities. Cemeteries are peaceful places and great to hang out in as long as they are in a safe location. I’ve been in graveyards where I was the only person save one who was following me around. Not cool!
Today, I am in Charlottesville, Virginia. My oldest daughter, Kate, graduated from the University of Virginia as did her partner, Vincent. So, I’ve spent a lot of time here taking her to lunch, hanging out on campus and passing through for a coffee on the way to Smith Mountain Lake. But I’ve never been to a C-ville cemetery.
My interest in cemeteries amped up when I visited Boston with my husband on a business trip almost 20 years ago. When I travel on these conferences, he is busy most of the day and I am free to explore. One day I decided to find the original Cheers bar as I was a fan of the show back in the day. Inevitably, I got lost and “had” to wander. (So blessed that I had no cellphone with the option to Mapquest my way to the location as I would have missed an amazing experience or two.)
The first was a lady in a doorway with every color of electrical tape on her body a la Native American warpaint though I’m sure our nation’s First Citizens were much more artful and purposeful with their body art. I felt compassion for her and tension as she was angry.
Back to the point — I stumbled upon a small cemetery between two wings of a high-rise building that was obviously ancient. It was a warm day and the shade was welcome. I strolled and skimmed names on the markers. That’s one of the reasons I love these places. Ancient names we don’t see in today’s society and some of the deceased’s taglines are intentionally hilarious.
As I wandered I found a mass grave in a back corner of over 150 people in about a 12-by-12 foot spot. I have no recollection of why but remember some of the dead were children. I moved to the right and as I perused the stones I found Benjamin Franklin’s parents’ graves and Paul Revere’s among others. Who would have thought it? I love happy accidents, don’t you?
I’ve visited many cemeteries since then in Lexington, Williamsburg and Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, New Orleans, Louisiana, etc. Today, I visited Riverview Cemetery on a misty, dreary, appropriately-atmospheric day. The view from the hill was breathtaking even in the foggy conditions. And, you guessed it, it made for the perfect backdrop for the destination. Due to weather and the isolation of the location, I did not get out so my car windows were worn out traveling up and down to allow for the perfect shot. As you can see in the attached photo gallery (all from Riverview) the clouds dusting the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance were breathtaking.
Save for the groundskeepers I was alone in that memorial yard and was pleased to be. It was a moody morning after too little sleep in a so-so hotel. It was a brief overview of the serene spot without the joy of walking among ancestors, but a thoughtful stop on my way to work and shop at the Downtown Mall.
I’ve also included a small headstone sales office on a corner I passed on the way to Riverview Cemetery. Never seen anything like it. You can see for yourself in a photo here. Looked to me like an edifice erected in a bygone era itself.
What are your favorite cemeteries, if you are given to this predilection? Anyone who has any fave memorial spots would be most welcome to share them in the comments below.
Happy wanderings!
What’s so great about spring? Fresh veggies, warm sunshine, baby animals, bird song and the water fowl return to the creek!
Canada geese, great egrets, blue herons, ducks and other geese varieties along with seagulls, and other non-water birds.
A few days ago I went on a half-day 42-foot catamaran cruise to watch Christopher Newport University (CNU) sailing team in a competition with other schools. On a beautiful, blustery day at the mouth of the Warwick River off the James, I caught great shots of the competition along with several gliding pelicans, swimming Canada geese and a beached deadrise (fishing boat). Spring days are for such things as these.
The sailing competition was a photo shoot for an upcoming story on CNU’s sailing team, but the extraneous shots were an effort to capture some of the birds in my backyard in a more active fashion. The pelicans caught me by surprise as we don’t see that many up the creek.
I fell in love with pelicans in April 2015 when my daughter, Lauren, married her love Geoff Rogers. The wedding party stayed on the beach of Edisto Island just south of Charleston, South Carolina. (That’s a whole other post I will feature in the Travel section of the blog in future.)
Back to spring’s beauty and other assets: One thing everyone loves about spring from an aesthetic standpoint is the burst of blooms that seem to know just when to appear so we can tell it’s a new season. Forsythia, redbud trees, tulip poplars, azaleas (wild and cultivated), phlox, vinca, tulips, daffodils, crocus, Lenten roses, and the indomitable flowering weeds. Yes, I said, weeds.
From the time I was a little girl, I believed the spring-flowering weeds were just as pretty as the planted garden varieties. I loved henbit’s purple trumpet flowers, sunny yellow dandelions (especially the wisps you could blow and infect the lawn), purple and white violets, hairy bittercress with its tiny white blooms, creeping speedwell veronica with it’s tiny blue flowers and dead nettle with its purple flowers and leaves.
Weeds never seem to run out of energy to reproduce themselves and be one of the first to say, “It’s spring!” Since they leave such a bad taste in gardeners’ mouths, it’s a good thing they possess such a hearty persistence.
I love flowering weeds. Actually, aren’t most native plants weeds? They come up on their own given the right conditions and thrive well in their given environment. Think about it — You put a garden border around a clump of henbit and you got a garden by definition. Right?
Happy Spring Everyone,
Cathy
Anybody else out there like weeds? If you have a story to tell about playing with weeds as a child, making bouquets for your mom with them, etc. share it here. I know I would love to read it and bet others would too!
