2020 Winter on the Outer Banks
Spending time at the beach is a traditional way to vacation in the summer months. How many times have you thought, "I wonder what it'd be like to live here in the winter?" What better way to figure that out than to rent a place and pack the heavy coat, hat and...
Chasing Color
Fall is in the air, but it's hard to find any color in our area. Leaves are falling faster than they are turning! Drove to Harper's Ferry in West Virginia to see if things started in the mountains. Only a bit of yellow and a few maples with some red, but overall,...
Spring 2019 in Charleston, SC
Another great spring trip to Charleston, South Carolina with my son, Mark VanDyke Photography. We rented a great place right in downtown Folly Beach. The colors this year were vibrant and the timing of our visit was perfect. Azaleas were at peak colors and in full...
August in Nashville, TN
A quick stop in Nashville, TN...a bit of luck and a bit of internet research led my son and I to this view of downtown Nashville at sunrise...and then we were on the road again!! Hope you enjoy...
Adventures in Greenville, SC
We arrived at the Embassy Suites, Riverfront in downtown Greenville, SC and checked into a room with a balcony. Headed to the rooftop restaurant where I had an amazing dish of shrimp risotto. Clouds were building and the view of the city was...
Adventures in Georgia
Savannah! Such a quaint, historic town. Wish we would have had more time to spend here, but we made the most of 2 days of wind, cold temps and intermittent rainfall! We started at Bonaventure Cemetery and we actually got lucky enough to snag a...
Spring in the South: Adventures in Charleston, SC
After driving 8 hours through the night, Mark and I arrived in Charleston as Magnolia Plantation and Gardens opened for the day. The azaleas were just getting started; some bloom, but could be much better. We went on to check into Shem Creek Inn in Mount...
A Snowy Day in My Town
Snow makes everything so beautiful... here is my town with our first snowfall of the season ....
The Magic of Yellow
The Virginia State Arboretum at the University of Virginia's historic Blandy Experimental Farm houses one of the largest collections of ginkgo trees outside of China--157 female and 144 male trees to be exact! Although the grove was originally only a scientific...
From the Outer Banks to the Blue Ridge Mountains
We spent a week in the Outer Banks as Hurricane Jose hovered over the ocean just off the coast. We had days without color - almost a whiteout; there were enormous waves that bashed against portions of the Frisco Pier trying to take it down completely; there were...
ROADTRIP!!
So excited that my daughter, who lives in Alaska, was able to join Larry, Mark, me and Xeva for a roadtrip in Western North Carolina. Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway is an adventure in itself, but there are so many great things to see and do along the way. ...
Loving Lavender…
Something about lavender is so appealing and seems to draw me into the magic of purple blooms. Looking for farms in the District/Maryland/Virginia area, I came across two relatively close locations. First, I visited Seven Oaks, a small family-owned and...
Ricketts Glen State Park – PA
Every spring I make the trek to Pennsylvania to put flowers on my parents' graves. There is no other family left there so I make the most of the trip by visiting Ricketts Glen State Park. I'm never sure how much of the trail around the 20+ waterfalls I can...
Finding Spring in Virginia
To me, there is no more beautiful season than spring and Northern Virginia has it all...tulips, bluebells, azaleas, even foggy mornings.
Exploring Folly Beach, South Carolina
Folly Beach, known to locals as "the edge of America," seems to have its own sense of time and place--wide beaches, surfing, eclectic community of shops and restaurants, and a way of life not found anywhere else but Folly! From Morris Island Lighthouse to the...
Exploring Charleston, South Carolina
I so look forward to visiting Charleston in the spring. The oldest and second largest city in the state of South Carolina, Charleston is a port city featuring cobblestone streets, antebellum architecture, fragrant blooming flowers, historical buildings, parks...
Exploring North Georgia
In the mountains of North Georgia near Atlanta, an incredible destination garden awaits -- Gibbs Garden in Ball Ground. Arriving at what should have been peak daffodil season in mid-March, we found the flowers had peaked in late February-early March....
Spring Travels – Greenville SC
Every season is probably a good one if you're heading to Greenville, South Carolina. For us (my son and I), our trip started at the beginning of what usually is prime-time spring. It seems the crazy weather we had this year meant flowers and trees that...
2017
A few weeks into a brand new year and I’m wondering how you’re doing on your “resolutions.” Like most, I hope to shed a few pounds, exercise a bit more, and go wherever I can afford to go! There’s been a little progress, a little frustration, a bit more...
Pennsylvania
Just getting around to posting a little bit about my annual visit to Pennsylvania, my hometown. It's always bittersweet for me as I have no family left there anymore. It's just a tad weird to drive past the "family home" that grandparents built, remember our lives...
Tulips
The beauty, elegance and simplicity of a tulip speaks to my heart. I love these flowers! The softness of a pink tulip in bloom is soothing, calming and almost makes me want to tiptoe around them. They appear so delicate, yet withstand spring weather changes, rain...
April 2016 – Bluebells
A spring treat in Northern Virginia are the bluebell wildflowers at Bull Run Park.
April 2016
A trip to the "Holy City" of Charleston, South Carolina in spring takes you into enchanting gardens, sunsets and sunrises from beaches to low-country back roads. The area never disappoints. [gallery link="file" columns="4"...
March 2016
March was a busy month for Mother Nature. Azaleas and cherry blossoms bloomed early creating a beautiful spring palette of colors. I didn't make it down to the Tidal Basin in DC to see the cherry blossoms, but Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Va. were...
Freezin’ for a Reason
Lots of fun at Lake Anne Plaza today as folks took the polar dip and jumped into the freezing water to raise money for a charitable cause - Camp Sunshine.
February 2016
Following the epic blizzard of 2016, a visit to the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC provided an icy view of the Potomac River Tidal Basin and a great sky at sunrise.
Blizzard
So much snow!!
Winter
I love DC when the city sleeps; the beauty is unquestionable.
2016
The first day of a new year, and I hope you find your future filled with happiness and love. The first shot on this first day is our Nation's Capitol.
December
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia has the best display of holiday lights, and is even more fun when shared with family: Reston Town Center also displays an outdoor decorated illuminated Christmas tree. ...
November
A week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina is always a good change of pace. Several days of rain dampened the photo opportunities, but was able to capture a few. Washington, DC also displays autumn...
OCTOBER
October is my favorite month...spent looking for brilliantly colored foliage in North Carolina, and even closer to home - Washington, DC. I just wish the season would last longer as I only have weekends throughout the month. It gets harder and harder to work inside...
SEPTEMBER
Fun starts at the Renaissance Festival in Maryland where there's some type of entertainment for everyone!! My husband works for a company that buys out Six Flags Amusement Park for one whole day! So that means you can ride...
Great Country Farms – Potato Dig
On August 29, my husband, son and I traveled to Bluemont, Va. where the Great Country Farms was hosting a potato dig. Nothing tastes better than a potato fresh from the ground. We rode the hayride wagon to the field and dug out potatoes! Then we headed to the...
Frederick, Maryland – “Color on the Creek”
On August 23, my husband and I traveled to Frederick, Maryland to see the Color on the Creek project -- a project to enhance the water quality and aesthetics of the Carroll Creek Linear Park in downtown Frederick. We found a charming water canal through town with a...
Burnside Farm – “Summer of Sunflowers”
On August 14, my son and I visited Burnside Farm, a family owned operation at 2570 Logmill Road in Haymarket, Va. The sign on Route 15 said "pick your own sunflowers;" this event is one of several that the owners host on their fields. We found the entrance and paid...
Summer
Summer: hot temps, long days and short nights! Unfortunately, it also seems like an unending rainy season with dull, gray skies! Even my annual visit to the Western North Carolina mountains was very windy, foggy and/or overcast. Yet, I was lucky to capture a great...
April 26, 2015
It was supposed to rain until mid-morning today. I thought about how great it would be to "sleep in." I didn't; and it didn't rain at all! I like the district of Washington, DC on Sunday mornings. If you are there early enough and there isn't some sort of race or...
April 25, 2015
Rain was forecasted today so I had to get up and out early to get ahead of the weather. Headed to The Netherlands Carillon near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Was hoping for a chance to capture some of the amazing tulips with the illuminated Washington DC...
April 2015 – Part 2
Rushed back from SC to catch the cherry blossoms in DC; however, rain and windy weather created tough conditions for photography. My best shots are: Northern Virginia Meadowlark Gardens: [gallery link="file"...
April 2015
There never seems to be enough time to see all the sights of spring. Here are a few views of what I've been able to capture. Spring in low country Folly Beach, Charleston, South Carolina: [gallery columns="4" link="file"...
March 2
Think Spring!
March
Here's a look at the frozen Potomac River with a zigzag crack in the ice cover. Standing in Georgetown, Washington DC, and looking out towards Arlington at daybreak, I hoped the blue hour would contrast the whiteness of the snow; however, Mother Nature did not...
February
BRRR...has to be the coldest February ever! I keep dreaming of spring when cherry trees blossom and bluebells carpet the forest floor, but until then, my hat goes off to those who participate in charitable events to raise money for a good cause. 2015 Freezin'...