Tag: B&B Trip Report

B&B Trip Report: Wright Brothers Monument

On August 7, 2017

In National Parks & Places, Road Trip, Travel

After exploring the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, we got back in the car and continued South to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Our first stop in the islands was the Wright Brother’s National Memorial. The monument is in Kill Devil Hills at the site of the first powered flight. The brothers chose this location because of the area’s steady winds as well as the isolation. Shockingly, in the early 1900s,
this area was not the tourist hub it is today. The granite monument was built at the top of Kill Devil Hill, where the brothers spent three years performing gliding experiments before moving on to powered tests at the base of the hill.

To learn more about the Wright Brothers and to plan a trip to the monument, visit the National Park Service. Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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B&B Trip Report: Norfolk Botanical Garden

By Ashleigh

On July 31, 2017

In Travel

After leaving Williamsburg, we decided to make a stop at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and make use of the Reciprocal Admission Program. This is a huge garden that even has a river and offers boat tours as another way to experience the landscape. We decided to take the tram around the garden to get an overview everything they have to offer. The botanical garden is home to approximately 250 Crapemyrtle Trees, which is the official tree of Norfolk. They also have a rose garden made up of over 3000 rose plants (which you will see on this week’s Wordless Wednesday). For more information about the gardens, visit NorfolkBotanicalGarden.org.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back next week as we arrive in the Outer Banks and visit the Wright Brother’s Memorial. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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B&B Trip Report: Jamestowne

By Ashleigh

On July 24, 2017

In Camping, Travel

After our morning at Yorktown, we made our way to Historic Jamestowne. When looking to visit Jamestown, you have two choices, Historic Jamestowne and Jamestown Settlement. At Jamestown Settlement, you will see costumed re-enactors and get to experience how the first American colonists lived. We chose instead to visit Historic Jamestowne which is run by the National Park Service and is the actual site of the Jamestowne Colony. We got there just in time for the archaeology tour and I was glad we made it. The tour was led by a Jamestowne archaeologist and she took us through recent archaeological discoveries that were made right where we were standing. I was surprised to learn how much is still being learned about these people that lived over 400 years ago. Honestly, some of their discoveries are shocking and I don’t want to spoil it for you if any of you are planning on visiting Jamestowne. If I’ve piqued your interests, you can read about their finds on the Historic Jamestowne website.

This was the highlight of the trip for me and I would recommend that everyone should visit, especially if you are an American History buff. The photo above is a recreation of the original Jamestowne fort. They didn’t just look at drawings of the fort to put this together, they actually figured out where the posts used to be by looking at the color of the soil. That is some attention to detail!

I believe this will be my last post about our time in Williamsburg so I want to talk about the campground. We stayed at Chickahominy Riverfront Park which had tent sites right on the Chickahony River. This must not be a popular spot to tent camp during the week because everyone around us left on Sunday and we had the place to ourselves Sunday night. The park is a little drive from the Williamsburg sites, but I enjoyed our time there. They have a fishing pier, boat ramp, and a pool which is nice way to cool down in the Virginia summer. It was a peaceful place and I would definitely camp there again. For more information about the campground, visit JamesCityCountyVA.gov

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

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B&B Trip Report: Yorktown Battlefield

By Ashleigh

On July 17, 2017

In National Parks & Places, Road Trip, Travel

Just outside of Williamsburg, on the Colonial Parkway, lies the Yorktown Battlefield. In 1781, The Americans and their French allies surrounded the British by land and sea. The British were significantly outnumbered and after three weeks of battle, General Cornwalis surrendered to General Washington. The Battle of Yorktown marked a major win for the colonists in the American Revolution and was the last of the major battles of the war. The Moore House, above, was where the two sides met to negotiate the terms of surrender. During the surrender, General Washington refused to grant the British the traditional honors of war (marching out with flags flying, bayonets fixed, and bands playing) because a year before the British had denied the Americans the same after the battle of Charleston.

Now that you’ve had your daily dose of American History, lets talk about visiting Yorktown. When you arrive at the visitor center, they tell you about Ranger-led programs, a video you can watch, and other ways you can explore the battlefield and learn about the history. We made the mistake of doing all of it. That may not sound bad, but between the video, the costumed reenactor, and the driving tour I felt like I had heard the story a million times. I really appreciated the costumed reenactor (I believe he was Thomas Nelson, the Governor of Virginia after Thomas Jefferson returned to Monticello) and I feel like I got the most out of that. The driving tour is nice if you want to actually see the sites, but, unless you have a love of cheesy acting, I would skip the movie.

Don’t miss next week’s post where I take you to Jamestowne! Thanks for stopping by! To plan your visit to Yorktown, visit the National Park Service. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

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B&B Road Trip: From Pennsylvania to Virginia

By Ashleigh

On July 10, 2017

In Camping, National Parks & Places, Road Trip, Travel

Our first night of the trip, we stayed at Laurel Hill State Park in Pennsylvania. We got in late and had to set up camp in the pouring rain. We had a lot of driving to do so we left before we really got to explore the park, but what I saw I liked and I would like to visit there again when I had more time to relax and explore the nature of Pennsylvania’s highlands.

Untitled Anyway, from the park it was a twisty-turny road through rural Appalachia. We made our first stop along the way at the C&O Canal Visitor’s Center (left) so Chris could get his first National Park passport stamp of the trip. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is a 184.5 river system that was designed to connect the east coast and the Great Lakes. The towpath trail is a popular biking spot that runs from Cumberland, Maryland to DC.

After exploring the canal trail a bit we continued south and made our next stop in Fredricksburg, Virginia. We visited some of the sites at the Fredricksburg Battlefield (above) and the Fredricksburg Cemetery. Fredricksburg was a Civil War battle that ended in a Confederate victory and over 12,000 Union casualties. This was the first Civil War Battlefield I had visited and it was hard to reconcile the history and the tragedy with the beautiful scenery that has sprung up in over 100 years since the bloody battle.

It was a short drive from Fredricksburg to Williamsburg where we set up camp for the next two nights. More on that next week. Thanks for stopping by! For more information on the C&O Canal and Fredricksburg, visit the National Park Service. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Beaches and Battlefields Trip Report

By Ashleigh

On July 6, 2017

In Camping, Road Trip, Travel

We are back from our Outer Banks road trip and I am excited to begin recapping my trip with you! This was another camping road trip visiting 6 different campgrounds in 4 states in 10 days.

Night 1: Laurel Hill State Park in Somerset, Pennsylvania
- Explored Fredricksburg Battlefield
Night 2 & 3: Chickahominy Riverfront Park near Williamsburg, Virginia
- Visited Yorktown and Jamestowne
Night 4 & 5: Frisco Campground in Buxton, North Carolina
- Explored Hatteras Lighthouse and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Night 6 & 7: Ocracoke Campground in Ocracoke, North Carolina
- Explored Ocracoke beach and the Village of Ocracoke
Night 8: Oregon Inlet in Nags Head, North Carolina
- Visited Bodie Island Lighthouse, Wright Brothers National Memorial, and Roanoke Island
Night 9: Owen Creek Campground in Thurmont, Maryland
- Explored Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, Anteitam National Battlefield, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park

In some ways, this trip was the exact opposite of our trip last year. Where last year we headed north, this year we went south. Where it was cold last year, this year I felt like I was on the surface of the sun. Tent camping on the beach is rough because there is no shade and no escape from the relentless southern heat. I love the Outer Banks but next time, I’m staying in the air conditioning.

This photo was taken at the beach at Frisco Campground at sunset. Sunsets on the beach can be tricky because they are often lacking a foreground subject. Being that this is an ORV beach, I found my foreground subject by looking down.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back next Monday to read more about our trip. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.