Seaford Yacht Club (12/29/13)

I went to inspect the new (old) port (window) that I installed on my sail boat the day before (http://www.seafordyachtclub.com/).  It was a restoration job, and I had done my best to make it work.  It had literally rained cats and dogs the whole morning and early afternoon, and I was curious about the effectiveness of my restoration job.  This photo was taken from the boat; you can see the rain clouds in the distance and the shimmering of the wet dock and boats.

The restoration job did not work, the port leaked like a sieve, something I was afraid of.  Very disheartening, and it is back to the boat to take it out and do it a different way, that I know will work.  This was a case of one step forward, two steps back.  Oh well, a learning experience.  But it was a beautiful afternoon after all the rain.

Yorktown (12/25/13) ... Merry Christmas

Had a great afternoon walk along the Yorktown waterfront on Christmas day.  It was definitively blustery, a strong wind over the water and temperatures barely above freezing.  Skies were stark blue and it was crystal clear.  I have a feeling that some entrepreneur could have made a mint selling hot chocolate or more.  None of the facilities were open, and yes I understand everyone wants to be home with the family on Christmas, but you should be able to find enough volunteers to keep one or two of the establishments staffed, in particular since most people walking there the afternoon appeared to be tourists or people with foreign accent (says me the foreigner).

Anyway, we had a great afternoon, while the meat was in the oven and there was some time to get out and enjoy nature.

Yorktown (12/15/2013)

During a walk in the woods behind my house today I saw this strange phenomenon.  It seemed that all hickory trees had shed their terminal branches with leaves.  Below every hickory tree there was a whole mess of branches with wilted leaves.  I have no idea if this is common or not.  Just fascinating!

The other picture is from one of the ephemeral ponds in the back.

Faifax (12/10/2013)

Teaching in Fairfax today.  They were predicting snow, and there was a general panic about having the class.  It is amazing how people in more southern locations freak out.  Waking up at 6 there were a few flakes coming down.  A half hour later the world was white.  Saw two accidents on the way to the VDOT head quarters.  One SUV passed me and spun out right in front of me.  They just don't know how to drive.  Only two inches fell and this photo was taken around noon.

Yorktown (12/2/2013)

Frosty foggy morning

Richmond (11/19/2013)

Realizing this is a very low resolution photograph, I did want to post it.  I went for a lunch walk today to the state capitol and the preparations are already ongoing for the inauguration of our next governor, approximately 2 months from now.  It seems a little early, but I guess that’s probably the time they need.  It is amazing to think that the opponent of the governor elect has an office that looks down at the preparations.  That must be a sore/frustrating site for him to see.  In other news we learned today that the previous looser in the election for governors was stabbed and is in the hospital in critical condition.  Terrible, hopefully he will be fine.

Yorktown (11/8/2013)

Although out of focus today, this is worth posting.  It is great to walk in the woods behind my home.  This is what allows me to focus on life.  Summers it's no fun, mosquitoes, ticks etc, but when the weather gets cold I'm there!  It is really true being out there sets my mind at ease, it allows me to focus on the good things, and just enjoy myself.  Reading about nature deficit disorder I can really understand this need.

Fall in Richmond (11/5/2013)

Although it is early November, it already feels like late fall.  On the road from home to work the leaf colors seem to be just past prime.  Here in Richmond they are definitively past their prime.  This photo shows how empty Richmond is, even at lunch time.  Summers are better, but people seem to shun the outdoors when it gets a little cooler.

Toys for Tots ... Yorktown (11/3/2013)

This past Sunday the Peninsula was occupied by hundreds of bike riders who under the escort of the police were raising Toys for Tots, a Christmas tradition in many part of the country.  They end up at the Harley Dealer in Yorktown, where I took this picture.

Douthat State Park (10/28/2013)

 Douthat State Park was developed using the Conservation Corps of the 1930s, and there are some great examples of their work left.  Our cabin was constructed from logs and had small detail items such as wood hinges that were crafted at that time.  Even outside there are a lot of remnants of those times long ago.  These steps hark back to those times.  They gave me the feeling of an ancient English Garden, a touch of class in the mountains of Virginia. 

Douthat State Park (10/27/2013)

The hike on Sunday was magnificent.  We did a great hike, starting at the cabin over the ridge behind our cabin along the Mountain Top Trail.  The views were exquisite, the leaves were turning, and it gave us a nice view of the lake.

Eagle Rock (10/26/2013)

Visited Blue Ridge Vineyard on Saturday.  Great people, good wine.  We had a great time.  We bought a couple of bottles which we'll enjoy.  Moreover, the staff directed us to a few great places to eat.  They were very helpful and fun.
This photo was taken on the way into the property.

Douthat State Park (10/25/2013)

Traveled to Douthat State Park for some rest and relaxation.  This is a great place, with funky cabins, great hiking and just good clean fun.  The leaves were turning, it was absolutely great.

Eastern Shore 10/6/2013

After a successful ride on Saturday, it was time to go back home after that.  Three pictures for this day, the first is a beach/dune shot from Ocean City MD and the second is from Onancock, VA.  I consider Onancock a hidden jewel on the eastern shore.  It is a cute town with a nice harbor and what looks like a rich fishing culture.  Had lunch at the harbor which was ok.  The remaining two photos shows a view from the restaurant and a view of the harbor.

Chesapeake Bay 10/4/2013

One of my hobbies is biking, and the weekend of the 5^th I traveled to Salisbury and Ocean City MD to ride the Seagull Century, a 100 mile bike ride.  Getting there one has to go over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  This photo was taken from one of the islands.

Norfolk 10/1/2013

Had dinner at my favorite sushi place that evening.  I love to stay in a motel nearby and at least spend one evening at this place when visiting the area.  I used to work nearby and this was one of my favorite lunch stops, but now it is at least worth a visit when in town.  The place is Kyushu's in Newtown Road.

Yorktown 9/26/2013

I have been pretty delinquent lately.  My excuse is that my wife has been in the hospital with abdominal surgery and I have simply not been motivated to take pictures and post them.  I will try to post a few in rapid order detailing a bit what has been going on in life.  This picture was taken at home doing one of my other hobbies which is baking bread.  This is a rey/pumpernickel bread that I baked.

Danville (9/10/2013)

Staying in Danville.  They have a great bike path along the river.  For the rest it is somewhat depressed town, but it is really a nice town.

Seaford Yacht Club (9/7/2013)

Saturday members of the club had a chance to sail the small Lasers at the club.  This photo was taken at the end of the day when everybody brought their boats back after a fun morning of sailing.

Richmon (9/3/2013)

Richmond actually has/had a canal flowing through it.  This canal was used for power production and for boat traffic up the James over the falls.  Just an interesting picture I took on the 3rd of September of one of the buildings on the canal.

Hampton (8/28/13)

Teaching at the Hampton Roads Convention Center.  I'm amazed we are the only group here at this great facility. We have some 70 persons in our class today, a bit too many I think.

Chesapeake bay (8/26/13)

Saw this crab hanging on to the piling, it is probably eating all kinds of things that grow on it.

Richmond (8/22/13)

Every Thursday there is a band playing downtown.  Great to listen to some good Caribbean music for lunch.

Fredericksburg (8/20/13)

Downtown Fredericksburg is a great place to hang out and go to dinner in the evening.  It is literally one of my more favorite places to eat outdoors during summer months in my travels through the state.  This evening I ate at Kybecca, a nice somewhat alternative place.

Norfolk (8/17/13)

Visited Nauticus today, a great maritime museum.  This picture is of the USSS Wisconsin.

Hampton (8/16/13)

The Air and Space Museum in Hampton, a nice place to visit.  I find it a little disorienting.

Rocky Mount (8/12/13)

Boring view from my motel room

Gainesville (8/7/13)

Teaching in the training room of Wetland Studies and Solutions.  Right outside the room is a great green roof that helps in treating storm water.  The building is a LEED building.  Really nice building, and a great company.

Quantico (8/5/13)

The National Museum ot The Marine Corps is land mark that is easily visible from I-95; it kind of announces my arrival in Northers Virginia (NOVA) to me.  I decided to stop by and take this photo on my way to Manassas.

Chesapeake Bay (8/3/13)

Sailed a race Saturday and saw this boat on the way to the start line.

Grocery store parking lot (8/2/13)

Now look what ran into while shopping for food today.

Farmville (8/1/13)

Drove through downtown Farmville today.  Home to Longwood University.

Abingdon (7/31/13)

The locomotive at the start of the Creeper Trail in Abingdon.  The Creeper is a 34 mile bike trail on an abandoned railroad that ran through western Virginia.  I walked the first mile and a half (total 3 miles). Next time I come here I need to bring the mountain bike.

Abingdon, VA (7/30/13)

In a diner for this evening's meal.  I was somewhat surprised with the lack of the medium priced good food in this town.  This was just outside the motel and it was actually not bad when you choose the right food.  Coffee was great as it should be at any good diner. I left more satisfied than yesterday when I had a deep fried fish meal.

Christiansburg (7/29/13)

Traveling out west I stopped for a bike ride on one of my favorite trail, the Huckleberry.  This trail goes from Christiansburg to Blacksburg.  It is approximately 6.2 miles each way and has some relief.  It is improved and great for road bikes.  A fun one hour trip.

Yorktown (7/25/13)

When I drove to work this morning I had to stop at this spot in Yorktown.  County personnel were cleaning up the debris field from last night's storms.  They told me this was the third time this week.  Looking at it, all the stone was undersized, so was the channel.  The worst of it was that all the runoff ran right into the Chesapeake Bay.  Being one of the stormwater experts in the state it really stings seeing this and what the workers reported to me was the inaction by management.

Yorktown and Seaford (7/22/13)

It has been a tremendously wet couple of days.  Sunday night a rain guage in our neighborhood recorded 5.5 inches of rain in 2 hours, and Monday evening it rained again.  It probably only rained 2 inches, but the soil was so saturated that it was flooding all over the place. We live in a neighborhood that was built in a swamp and you can really notice it.  But the fun thing about it is the frogs.  They came out like gang busters; sitting outside you could hardly understand each other, they were so noisy.

Seaford (7/21/13)

We received 5.5 inches of rain Sunday evening.  This was a foreboding of what was to come.

Yorktown (7/14/13)

It's been so wet there are frogs everywhere.

Rainy day (7/11/13)

Home - Yorktown (7/10/13)

A picture from around the house.  We have been building a woodshed in our back yard the past few weeks.  I installed a gutter and a rain barrel to capture some extra rainwater for the plants.

Front Royal (7/9/13)

We were teaching in Front Royal today and I was struck by the retro/old fashioned look of this hardware store and just had to take this black and white shot of it.  I enhanced the contrast a bit to make it look more dramatic.

US 17 near Bealeton (7/8/13)

This roller skate is a landmark I always enjoy seeing near Bealeton when traveling on US17 north to the Winchester area.

Seaford (7/7/13)

Scallop fleet ... Seaford in York County is the home of the Seaford Scallop Company, one of the largest companies in the area.  As I understand it, they go out off the New Jersey coast to harvest them.  I heard this is sustainable fisheries.  We kayaked by the boats Sunday afternoon; they were very quiet being the long weekend of the 4th.

Gloucester Point (7/6/13)

Sailboats at York River Yacht Haven ... This is where I have my boat hauled when I need to work on it.  It is also where I buy treated gas for my outboard.  The place is nice and has a restaurant and crab deck.

Yorktown (7/5/13)

Our garlic harvest ... One of our friend brought us some Heirloom stock.