Day One {Chips day}
• Arrival at Dulles airport, Washington DC.
• Impulsive visit to Manassas battle field (Civil war. Virginia. Overlooking Bull Run. First battle 1861. a draw. Second round 1862. Confederates win a decisive victory. )
I get close to the ground and then practice some close-up photography.
• Night at Lynchburg, Virginia (one block length empty downtown. No place to get dinner after dark)
Day two {Red Barn day}
• Morning in historic downtown Lynchburg.
• Appomattox Court House (Robert E. Lee last attempt to escape. Union infantry stop him. Lee surrenders to Grant. April 9.)
I walk away from the crowd, photographing 19th century houses surrounded by fall colors.
• Taking route 627 to Pleasant Hill in Max Meadows. Wonderful night at the Red Barn with the friendliest people on earth and enchanting bluegrass music.
• Late Night at Wytheville, VA.
Day Three {Creeper day}
• 50 miles morning drive to Abingdon, Virginia. The bike shop is busy. We begin our 34 miles bike ride at White Top. Sometimes nightmares become reality. My familiar photographer nightmare is suddenly real. I am 34 miles away from my cameras. Somewhere in the wild and far away from civilization. At Green Cove there is a little store. They have disposable cameras. I photograph these little plastic decorated thingys along the trail that goes by the Holsten River. Tall trees, a clear river, little farm houses, cows, and horses. Half way throughout the trail we get a homemade meal in a little restaurant in Damascus.
• Night in Abingdon. Fancy (i.e. expensive) diner at The Tavern. A place with sinking uneven floors.
Day Four {Tom’s day}
• Charming drive from Abingdon to Green Cove old train station. The local ranger bestows a history lesson about old trains. I decide to photograph the place with black and white film. A small group of boy scouts pledge their allegiance to the flag.
• Continuing south on route 58 we enter North Carolina near Sparta and go into the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fall is amazing here.
• Hiking up to Mt. Mitchell, to the highest point east of the Mississippi. We will do it again to watch the sun setting over the Smokey Mountains.
• Driving alone in the dark. the Blue Ridge Parkway is deserted at this time of night. we arrive to Ashville. Its Halloween night. The streets are alive with ghouls and zombies. Electronic music fills the town’s center.
Day Five {End of the season day}
• Back into the Blue Ridge and a morning hike at Craggy Gardens. The place is completely deserted. It is the end of the season and now they are getting ready for the frost. I photograph the desolated hiking trail in muted color.
• Back to Ashville. Drive-in milkshake. And the beginning of a 350 miles drive to Petersburg, Virginia.
Day Six {No ticket day}
• Drive through Richmond and south to Colonial Williamsburg. I try to imagine GW strolling down these roads, visiting the governor, dining and lodging at Mrs. Campbell’s. I get period coffee beans to take home to L.A. I photograph mostly in black and white using the versatile tri-x film.
• Driving back to Richmond for a late night dinner. Continuing north to spend the night in Waldorf, Maryland.
Day Seven {Say hi to Abe day}
• Arriving to Washington DC in the morning. The World War II memorial is crowded with Veterans in wheelchairs. They are from Kansas and are visiting the memorial for the first and probably last time. Nearly everyone is reading Lincoln’s second inaugural address at the remarkable memorial.
Known landmarks are tough to photograph without falling into the cliché.
• Just before sunset we arrive to Harper’s Ferry. The place strikes a chord. Reminds me the first time I saw Manhattan. 19th century buildings surrounded with fall colors. The kind of photographs that makes the heart sing or at least hum something. But Wait … There’s More! This place is where the Shenandoah River and the Potomac meet. And of course the fast train and the old train tracks.
• Night in Winchester. Sweet wine and good friends.
Day Eight {Rainy day}
• Recommended activity for a rainy day: Drive to Berkley Springs West Virginia. Fill up a couple of bottles with the local spring water. Visit an antique mall. Discover an antique mall is really an indoor collection of the best yard sales and thrift stores you’ve ever seen under one roof. Buy vintage jewelry for your daughters. They will think it was really expensive. Drive south to Strasburg Virginia. Check out another antique mall. Buy a rusty Virginia license plate. Ponder over a classic camera. Go back to Winchester. Take your good friends out to dinner at a nice local Japanese restaurant.
You will miss them tomorrow.
