Empty beach signifies summer's end

Empty chairs on the beach (above) and no volleyball players (below) signify the end of summer, which officially ended this week. On to autumn!

Fall foliage spectacular predicted as Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates its 75th anniversary

Experts predict the best color in years as the Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates its 75th anniversary. 2010's fall foliage spectacular will peak this week in the higher elevation mountains of Western North Carolina, the state where it all started 75 years ago this month.

The prediction for a fabulous fall comes from Virtual Blue Ridge out of Boone, North Carolina, a supporter of the non-profit Blue Ridge Foundation. After consulting professionals in the field, Virtual reports that this summer's combination of drought and rain with September's clear sunny days and cooler temperatures will in all probability combine to produce "the most colorful leaf season in years."

Virtual Blue Ridge begins publishing weekly fall color reports online in a few days. In Virginia, the Department of Forestry offers a "Fall Color Hotline" at 1-800-424-LOVE starting the end of September.

A year to celebrate

For a great fall foliage trip that's free, the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway not only offers visitors stunning scenery with vivid colors but this year visitors can participate in celebrations of the parkway's history.

It was in September of 1935 that the groundbreaking occurred at Cumberland Knob near the Virginia-North Carolina state lines on this Depression-era work project. Visitors can relive the creation of the landscape architectural wonder at the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation close to where the parkway begins near Afton Mountain in Virginia. "The Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary Celebration" is open through the end of this year at 420 West Main Street in Waynesboro from Tuesday through Saturday between 9:00 - 5:00 and is free.

http://www.virtualblueridge.com/color-reports/
http://www.waynesboroheritagefoundation.com/
 

Beach walks in autumn

The summer crowds are gone, the weather is still warm, so what better place for a hike than the beach! Plus you can take your dog on most beaches between Labor Day and Memorial Day. This picture shows the north end of Virginia Beach at Fort Story where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Note the ships leaving the bay in the distance.

Civil War 150th kicked off today in Richmond

The 150th anniversary of the U.S. Civil War starts in 2011 and Richmond is ready! After two years of planning for the sesquicentennial, a local and national partnership officially kicked off their "On to Richmond!" campaign.

The capital of the Confederacy, Richmond lies just 100 miles south of the nation’s capital Washington D.C. where the battle cry “On to Richmond!” rallied people during the 1861-1865 civil war. Many major events of that epic struggle occurred in or near Richmond, and the American Civil War Center has teamed up with the National Park Service and the Richmond Visitor’s Bureau to showcase them.

Housed in an old ironworks factory on the James River in downtown Richmond, the center prides itself on being the first museum to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the war from all angles – Northern, Southern and African-American. Visitors can see original artifacts as part of their “In the Cause of Liberty” exhibit and tour the grounds of this 1861 gun foundry.

The U.S. National Park Service operates the Richmond National Battlefield Park, which encompasses 763 acres at 13 different sites in or around the city. For a starting point, visitors can get an overview at their the National Park Service Civil War Visitor Center located next door to the American Civil War Center on Tredegar Street. Historic markers at the various sites provide detail on the federal campaigns to capture Richmond and the confederate resistance.

The third partner in the sesquicentennial observation is the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is available to assist sightseers on their journey into Civil War history.

View on Rogue's Point

Rouge's Point looking upstream from the north bank of the Rappahannock River. The blue of the sky and water seem to merge in harmony as the gentle waves lap the shore. Bird foot imprints tell a tale on the sand, some quite big like the Great Blue Herron. The area is also home to our national bird the Bald Eagle.

Casperson Beach in Southwest Florida

My mother sure picked a great place to retire in southwest Florida! Here is one of the many public beaches in Sarasota County -- Casperson Beach just south of Venice on the Gulf of Mexico. You can walk for miles in a natural setting. Sharks teeth are plentiful. Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs in its sand. Sea birds dart in and out of the surf. Sunsets are gorgeous. It's often warm at Christmas!

Sunset on the rivah

Sunset on the Rappahannock River facing Urbanna from the Lancaster side