A Photo A Day [Vacation Edition Part Deux]

Never fear, these are the last shots from my trip. I've been using them as fillers for the past few days as I decided to use the time I'd ordinarily spend photographing and processing that day's photo to instead sort through and process my vacation shots instead. Otherwise I suspect those pictures would still be sitting on my hard drive weeks from now.

Dead End

I'm so pleased with how the processing turned out on this one. I had an imperfect shot of a West Virginian road and couldn't figure out how to make it more interesting, until I stumbled across the ghoulish picture I had saved on my hard drive from a previous project.




Another one from my husband's former elementary school, now a charmingly dilapidated building falling apart and peeling to pieces.

On a Pale Horse

One of the best things we did on the trip was go for an hour-long horse ride through a state park. I can't remember the last time I rode a horse, probably not since the few pony rides I took as a child. We both had a blast even if my horse was a bit of a slowpoke.

A Photo A Day [Day 333]

Can't you see my walls are crumbling?

During our trip to WV my husband was eager to see some of his old haunts. Unfortunately, because his childhood was so long ago many of them are more likely to be the home of haunts and ghosts than living persons now. We intended to merely poke around the outside of this building, one of the elementary schools he attended, but upon finding an unlocked door he was curious to see inside. The building was full of debris, peeling paint, and abandoned furniture and fixtures. Not to mention some extremely curious graffiti honoring Bob Hope. Don't ask. I have no idea why either.

Unfortunately, I didn't make the most of those prime conditions so most of my shots were too dark or blurry as a result of the darkness. A shame because I would have loved for my first attempt at photographing a derelict building to have turned out better. Oh well, at least now I have some idea of where I went wrong and I learned the #1 most important lesson about traipsing around an abandoned building: make sure to wear close-toed shoes. I'm lucky I didn't slice my feet open on all of the broken glass everywhere.

A Photo A Day [Vacation Edition]

I'm skipping around when it comes to processing my photos so here are a few from my trip with a gap or two in between. In other words, more are to come. I know you can hardly contain your excitement.

Our West Virginia adventure took us from Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown (seen here) to Fayetteville, Oak Hill, Beckley, and Charleston. Finally we've made it to the tail end of our vacation in Berkeley Springs. Most of those are tiny towns in one of the nation's least popular states so you'd be forgiven for never having heard of them before.

Tuesday found us in Beckley where we finally saw the final Harry Potter movie (yes, tears were shed) and we revisited a little bistro we'd enjoyed over four years ago when we were last there.


This is but one example of why I'll probably come home from this vacation ten pounds heavier.

I've never been one to shy away from a challenge, especially when it comes to eating. In this case the challenge took the form of this gigantic piece of rich chocolate peanut butter cake. I suspect it's my mother's post-war upbringing that was in turn instilled in me that makes it impossible for me to throw any food away uneaten. Because my husband's not a fan of chocolate I was on my own here and our plans did not allow for a doggie bag. It was quite a battle but I persevered in the end. :)


On Wednesday we headed to Charleston and poked around the city. Just as I was beginning to fret that none of my pictures from our trip to the state's capitol was worthy of sharing online I discovered that combining a horribly overexposed shot of this downtown building with one of the better shots I took resulted in this funky final product. Looks almost like a sketch, doesn't it?


This last one was taken yesterday here in Berkeley Springs. This is what passes for a mansion in West Virginia and I suspect this one comes with a ghost or two to boot. You gotta watch out for those hillbilly ghosts. They're usually so drunk on moonshine that it only makes them meaner than regular ghosts.

We're heading back home tomorrow so it's back to reality for me then. It was a fun vacation while it lasted.

Thanksgiving Travels

A church somewhere near Mt. Jackson, VA. Amazingly, this photo was taken through the window of a moving car.

My husband and I spent the last week traveling around Virginia and northern North Carolina visiting family, delivering cupcakes to deserving family members, and taking silly pictures. We were both long overdue for a break from work and our normal routine so what better excuse than Thanksgiving to take a few extra days off to roam? Unlike most people I actually enjoy being around my family and the in-laws so that portion of the trip wasn't a hardship. It probably helps that we spent just the right amount of time with each before moving on to our next stop.

I'm all about tradition so I was glad we were able to stop and spend a few days with my mom and little brother at the time share we've been going to since I was a kid. While I'd say most time shares are a rip off and the maintenance cost my mom still has to pay for this one is absurdly high, it's situated in Virginia's picturesque Shenandoah Valley and I've got so many good memories associated with going there with my family. If nothing else it's a perfect excuse for my mom to relax, which is a big change from her normal life of rushing around trying to do a million things a day. For that reason alone I'd say it's worth the cost.

Found at a Goodwill in Woodstock, VA. Note the similarities. I nearly got confused and took the troll home with me instead of my husband.

The tall fella is Johnny Appleseed, taken outside of a Johnny Appleseed-themed restaurant in New Market, VA. Yes, he is wearing a pot on his head. I hear that's all the rage these days.

One of the few covered bridges left in VA. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get the exposure right when taking pictures of these things?

A better shot of the covered bridge, blurry mother included.

My zombie brother

While similar to the last pic I like how skinny this makes me look so I'm posting it too.

After two days with my family we hopped over the VA border to visit my in-laws in North Carolina. Here we are with my super cute niece who adores me for some inexplicable reason.


I found she'd written this on her desk in anticipation of our arrival. How sweet is that?

Eden, NC decked out for the holidays. At least I'm pretty sure it's Eden. Don't sue me if I'm wrong on that one.

Ominous cloud that massed over us around Greensboro, NC. I'm sure it's because my husband said something blasphemous.

After lunch with my aunt and uncle who live close to my in-laws, we headed to Roanoke, VA for a few days. I honestly wasn't planning to go to any cupcakeries after having baked and delivered three dozen cupcakes of my own on that trip but we just so happened to stop for dinner at a restaurant right next door to Bubblecakes. How could I resist the alluring sign advertising, "We have cupcakes" and the charming decor?



I was, however, able to resist this deal. Is this even legal?



One our way back we stopped at a cheesy roadside attraction, Dinosaur Land, in northwestern Virginia. A friend had visited a few months ago and it looked like goofy fun, so I bookmarked it just in case we were ever in the area. Turns our our route home took us within ten minutes of it. Even though I was eager to get home to the cats I begged my husband to make the detour and I'm so glad I did. While I wouldn't recommend going far out of your way just to visit the site, it's definitely worth stopping in if you're nearby. Honestly, we were out of there in about 20 minutes although it did make for some good photo ops.














Even though I'm nearly a week late I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are now gearing up for an even better Christmas!

Why I left the house this weekend

I will preface this by saying that I'm usually bored by vacation blog posts on others' blogs so I will understand if you choose to skip this. Odd, because I do like traveling but something about seeing lots of pictures of some people I've never met visiting some site I've never heard of just doesn't do it for me. That said, if you ever plan to visit the Poconos there are some interesting things you should check out while there. I'll give you some of the highlights.

It should shock you to learn that I left the house this past weekend for something other than a trip to the fabric store or a stop at the produce stand to replace the wilting and slimy veggies that seem to invade my refrigerator on a regular basis. Not only did I leave the house but my husband willingly went too! In fact, he's the one who planned our weekend getaway in the Poconos as a belated anniversary gift. He did a wonderful job, starting with the lovely B&B he booked for us, Santosha on the Ridge. This was the view that greeted us from our room and the rest of the grounds were equally lush.



We spotted a small car show and spent the evening shopping for our next vehicle.




On Saturday, after some rain showers that seemed to make the air more humid and hot than before, we paid our $20 for the privilege of hiking at Bushkill Falls. Normally I'd object to spending money on, well, anything, but in this case I think the clearly marked trails, debris-free paths, and helpful stairs made it worthwhile. Especially for someone like my husband who is not used to trekking about in the outdoors. Besides, can't complain too much when we were rewarded with beautiful views like this:


Lunch was at Tandoor Palace Restaurant, a pretty tasty Indian place located in an old train car. Their naan was sublime! Just the right combination of crispy buttery goodness with soft, pillowy bread. Mmmmm. I got to pretend I'd been whisked away on the Hogwarts Express even if the view was nowhere near as impressive.



By far one of the best parts of the trip was stumbling upon Frazetta's Fantasy Costumes in East Stroudsburg. Neither of us is big on costumes but they did have some fantastic high-end Halloween décor. As in, if you have a spare $3,500 to spend on a life-size animated figure in an electric chair this is the place for you. Alas, most of it was out of our price range but it was nice to window shop and pose with the especially evil ones. We didn't make the connection until we were inside but we've since found out that the store is owned by one of Frank Frazetta's sons. If you grew up reading as much classic sci-fi as I did you'll recognize the art if not his name.

For those of you with an interest in all things creepy and Halloween, more pictures (and pics from the whole trip) can be seen here.

In an effort to keep this short enough so as to not bore those of you strong-willed enough to have made it this far, I'll end with a review of the fabulous German restaurant we visited, Der Jaeger. It's a unique combination of antique shop, BBQ shack, B&B, and restaurant that serves everything from the aforementioned BBQ to homemade German food almost as good as my grandmother's. It was just like sitting down to one of her meals back in the day as everything was clearly lovingly prepared just for us. Reservations for dinner are required and now I see why. It's a small place with only a few tables nestled among the antiques and once the owner found out an actual German was coming to visit she pulled out all the stops. Her preparations began a week in advance when she put the Sauerbraten in to marinate just on the off chance that I'd want to order it. Turns out her hunch was spot on as it's precisely what I went for with a side of my perennial favorite, spätzle. In an effort to further remind me of my family (as if her German features and mannerisms weren't enough) she guilted me into ordering a vegetable as well, and boy am I glad I did. The red cabbage was perfection and this is coming from someone who used to eat the smallest portion of the stuff that I could get away with. The portions were huge so I have plenty of leftovers to tide me over for a few days to come. Not that I let that stop me from getting dessert, a mango mousse cake that arrived with an extra dish of whipped cream on the side.


You know you're in a German restaurant when the serving of whipped cream is bigger than the actual dessert it's meant to accompany. What can I say? To the Germans whipped cream is its own distinct food group and one must be sure to get the proper daily dose.

I should also explain that the critter seen at the top of this post was a lucky find at Odd-Lot Outlet. At only $1.99 we just couldn't resist. He is yet to be named even though we formally introduced him to several people over the weekend. I'm sure they weren't frightened at all by our love for this adorable little dear. Even if I suspect he snuck sips of my pineapple upside down cake martini while we all dined at Pistachio Bar & Grille in Allentown. That little lush!