York River (1/10/2015)

It was a cold but clear weekend, and so it was great to visit the museum in Jamestown.  We drove the "Parkway" on the way back and hit our favorite pull off just around sunset.  It was extreme low tide, and part of the mudflats were laying bare.  Moreover, there was no wind and the river was glass.  Took a number of experimental photos using the art filter on my camera.  Here is a normal one followed by a black & white manipulated one.  Donna remarked that it looked like Scotland out there.  We were in Scotland four years ago, and yes this reminded us a bit of Skye, minus the mountains and the vistas.  Honestly, we can find nice places even here on the Chesapeake Bay, that give you wonderful vistas and a great experience of nature.  Very different than what some might think of when you mention the east coast.  It is not that polluted, and even here you still can find solitude

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I've never sailed up the York River, although it seems you could go even past West Point.  I really want to try it one of these days, but the river gets narrower and the wind should be right.  There are very few facilities up the river; the south side being mostly military.  It is amazing to see big warships and military freighters docked at facilities just past this point.  We kayaked the river once, a little further up the river, and boy it was rough that day; we even took on water.  I drive the Parkway almost every morning on my way to work.  At this spot I am always reminded that the world is round (sorry flat earth people).  When it is clear you can see smoke coming up from under the horizon.  The smoke comes from the saw mill in West Point.  Being 20 feet above the water line (at least) that would indicate that the plant is at least 8 nautical miles away (1.17.times the square toot of your the height of your eyes above the water in feet equals the distance in nautical miles ... see this wonderful website).  According to the map it is 20 miles, so the plumes I see in the morning are very tall can come from far below the horizon (my calculation show that at the point where the smoke comes above the horizon the plum is already 300 feet above the ground surface).  This is important for us sailors and boaters. 

Anyway a nice end to a chilly weekend.

Yorktown (9/10/2014)

I commute from Yorktown to Richmond every day when I don’t travel to somewhere in Virginia.  An exception is Fridays when I telecommute.  My favorite commuting routes brings me into Yorktown proper, along the Parkway, and only then will I pop onto Interstate 64 and do the rest of my commute.  On the way back I take a similar route.  Having these small traditions or shall we call it rituals is very important to me and I suspect, to many people.  For me, it gets the work day started and, in the afternoon, it is a nice end to a busy day and a crazy commute. 

What I don’t understand are all these commuters that get antsy and try to pass you on the Parkway while you already drive two or three miles over the speed limit.  To me the Parkway is not really for commuters; it is a ritual, a way to relax and almost meditate.

I clearly suffer from horizon deficit disorder (I just made up that term, but I have it).  I need to be able to see far and preferably see the horizon.  In the 80s we lived for three months in Durham, NC; and I still remember that feeling of claustrophobia; all those trees everywhere and no horizon.  I grew up on an island in the Caribbean and remember that on clear days we were able to see the mountains of Venezuela, more than 40 miles away.  I need to see the horizon, or at least past the next tree and this is why this ritual is so important to me.

This morning was magical.  We have had two days of rain in our area, and some was very heavy.  The town of Smithfield reported 12 inches (or 30 cm) of rain during the past two days).  So it was great to see the sun peak out of the clouds this morning.  Looking at the horizon I was amazed by the interplay of sun and light in our partly cloudy sky.  I saw sunbeams streaking down, while a tanker waiting to load (or unload) at the oil terminal was in the shade of a cloud.  I had to stop and take this photo of the scene. 

Back in the car, driving down the parkway I all the sudden saw a bald eagle coming my way flying above the trees.  Bald eagles are gorgeous majestic birds and I was absolutely amazed how big this one was, soaring over the trees, wings wide and looking in the direction of the river.  It was absolutely magical; a great start of a new day.  I just wonder how many commuters experienced the same thing.

Colonial Parkway (6/27/2014)

I usually don't post two photographs (or entries) on the same day, but what the heck.
I desperately needed a haircut, so decided to drive to Wiliamsburg to get one.  I love driving the Colonial Parkway between Yorktown and Jamestown; although I stopped in Williamsburg this time.
The Parkway is part of the Park Service and considered part of National Park System.  For us it starts out along the Yorktown and ends in Jamestown, along the James River.  Jamestown is one of the first places the colonialists arrived, in particular captain John Smith.  Our area is also called the historic triangle.
Both rivers used to be very rich with seafood.  Over-fishing and pollution has really lowered the yields.  Having done a lot of historic (environmental) research in this area, I was amazed to learn that in the time of John Smith you could walk across the James river on top of oyster beds.  I've seen photos on downtown Norfolk where, during the turn of the century, they would convert oyster shells into lime.  They would harvest the oysters and in a lot of cases, not even eat them.  Oysters would go into kilns with coal and lime would come out the other side.
In addition, I have collected fishing data for my job, and found that in the past 30 years the amount and the type of fish caught by commercial and recreational fishermen has changed drastically.  Fish caught in large amounts 30 years ago, have disappeared and now they are catching different species and we are eating them as well.  This past week the state has announced crabbing limits.  We are catching too many crabs and the stock is not rebounding fast enough.  The same is the case with the menhaden.
Enough said, driving the Parkway, I got my horizon and water fix.  I love it and try to drive the road at least once a day during my commute to or from work.  You often see water men and their boats taking care of their crab pots and harvesting these delicacies.  This photo shows one of those boats.  There were a lot of crab pots in this area (which are a pain when you are sailing, but obviously great eating in the future).

York River (1/17/2014)

Having a day off I got up early to take a few sunrise pictures along the Colonial Parkway.  Yes, the State Virginia gives off on the Friday before the Martin Luther King Holiday as Lee/Jackson Day.

This picture had not much to do with sun rise but I just loved the ice on the pole and the colors so close to sunup.  A second one show the sun rising behind the bridge.