Today was a highly unusual day. It was 84 degrees with low humidity. In late July. In Virginia!! It was THE perfect day to take a day off from work and walk around Lewis Ginter. Still plenty of colorful flowers in bloom and butterflies fluttering about.
Don’t look too hard, no butterfly in this shot. I just liked the purple flowers set against the purple pot.
Lions and Tigers and Bears…not quite ;-)
Cats and Birds and Squirrels are more like it. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!
It occurred to me that I hadn’t posted the Pennsylvania vacation we took a couple of years ago. But then again, it’s the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg, so in a way, I waited on purpose ;-) Well, it’s a few days late, but that’s the story I’m sticking to.
We started in Gettysburg at the visitors center, of course, where we grabbed maps of the 2-3 hour self guided driving tour around the park.
There were statues and monuments everywhere. I think it would have taken a week if you stopped to look and read them all. So we settled for taking pictures instead.
Everywhere!
Aw man, really? Had to put the metal detector away :(
We did get out and walk around a little in The Valley of Death.
I don’t think this barn had anything to do with Gettysburg, just someone’s home, but it looked serene and I couldn’t resist taking a picture ;-)
We stayed the night in Harrisburg. Not much to do in Harrisburg, except take pictures of the Capitol building.
The next day we set off for Hershey!
Not much in Hershey either, unless you’re 8, so we set off for Amish Country to look for some of the old covered bridges.
Except that it was pouring down rain, and rain is not a photographers friend…
So we headed home a little early. I would like to go back some day and actually see some of the covered bridges under nicer conditions ;-)
I love fireworks! And thanks to my new camera, I can take REALLY good pictures of them! Ok, it’s a little bit of a cheat, there is an actual fireworks display function specifically for fireworks, but hey, as long as I get the shot, I don’t really care how I get it ;-)
I typically only see fireworks on the 4th in D.C., but we didn’t go this year. So instead I went about 2 miles away from my house to the fairgrounds. I can usually see some of them from my house, but the tree line is a bit too tall to see them really well. I braved the traffic and the crowds and ended up getting a pretty good spot! Out of the 150+ shots I took, here are the best of the best (and there are still 30 or so, just couldn’t seem to cut them down any further!).
Happy Independence Day!!
Here we go…!
I really like the residual streaks in this one.
This show was very impressive! Some of the fireworks had distinctive shapes. This one was a heart ;-)
Grande Finale!
If I’m not in D.C. next year, maybe I’ll try the downtown fireworks. Only reason why I haven’t before is because the traffic, not to mention the parking, downtown is AWFUL! But I would love to get shots with the fireworks reflected in the river. Maybe I’ll hire a limo, HA!
anyonecantakeapicture 