Cocker Spaniels are the best!

Watching the Westminister Dog Show - here's my beloved! Anne with Hayley.

Scanning project to preserve old photographs

I've started a project scanning old photographs and am having fun posting them to a Facebook group with old friends from my hometown of Orange, Virginia. My mother Doris Farrell Green was a photographer. I am pictured here at right with Jeanette Sale holding an American flag during a Girl Scout color guard ceremony at the Orange County Courthouse in October 1965 when I was in 7th grade.

2012 Free Virginia Travel Guide

A family enjoys an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Virginia Tourism Office is offering a free and updated travel guide for 2012 with new destinations, family favorites, and attractions “that put love at the heart of every Virginia vacation”.

New features this year include vacation ideas for all four seasons, a special section on small towns, scenic drives and a listing of the newest attractions to open in Virginia. 

The guide is full of trip inspirations and travel resources. Visitors can request a free copy of the 2012 Virginia Travel Guide in print or electronic form by going to www.Virginia.org or calling 1-800-VISITVA.

Montpelier Races in Orange County Nov 2011

 Horses race toward the jump!

 Ruth and Ann chumming it up.

 Sara and Grandma Edith taking it all in.

Liz walks the children to get closer to the action.

Fall color grandeur in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Peak fall color has come on fast in higher elevations the past week according to Virtual Blue Ridge, a supporter of the non-profit Blue Ridge Foundation out of Boone, North Carolina, and this weekend may be the best time to see the season’s grandeur in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway begins in Virginia at Rockfish Gap on Afton Mountain between Charlottesville and Waynesboro, Virginia, 78 miles from Richmond. Brilliant yellows, oranges, deep scarlets and reds are reported from there south to the Peaks of Otter. Points north in the Shenandoah National Park also offer stunning vistas and there is an online update on fall foliage.

On the parkway south of Roanoke down to the Blue Ridge Music Center the scenery is also in peak color.  Higher elevations like Grandfather Mountain near Boone are past peak but still have beautiful color remaining.

The Virginia Department of Forestry offers weekly updates on its website along with a "Fall Foliage Hotline" at 1-800-424-LOVE (5683) providing the latest in fall color throughout the state from the Atlantic seashore to the Appalachian Mountains. These reports are available through early November.

Virtual Blue Ridge publishes weekly fall color reports online or you can call their fall foliage hotline at 828-298-0398.

Fall foliage reports for Virginia and free maps

The Virginia Department of Forestry begins its fall foliage reports around September 29, 2011. The state agency will provide weekly updates on the progression of fall colors in Virginia.

Typical dates for peak season are mid-October to early November for the western mountainous region, late October to mid-November for the central and piedmont regions, and early to mid November for the eastern regions.

Free Maps

Check out Virginia.org/Fall to find the best places for scenic viewing, when the peak is nearing and other fun activities and getaways to enjoy this season.

Order a Map of Scenic Roads in Virginia to get you on your way to see beautiful Fall foliage. The map comes with a Virginia Travel Guide to help you plan your trip. You'll also receive the supplemental 150th Anniversary Civil War Map of Scenic Roads.

http://www.virginia.org/TravelGuideForm/?guides=SCEN&t=eNewsFall11&eW=1&eNL=scenicmap

 

New Virginia fall travel planning website

The Virginia Tourism Corporation has launched a new fall travel planning website featuring destinations and events where loved ones or loners can celebrate the season.  Visitors looking to take in stunning fall foliage on a scenic drive can use http://www.Virginia.org/fall to plan the perfect trip. 

The new website features interactive mapping using GPS technology so visitors can search by zip code or locality to find the ideal fall experience.