Paradise has never been about places. It exists in moments.
In connection. In flashes across time.
Victoria Erickson
“Even the Devil was once an Angel”
Road Trip by Debra
My husband works every other weekend, the weekends he is home we love to go exploring and take a day trip just to get away. This weekend we decided to visit some wineries in Brandywine, PA. We went online and found one that we thought looked really lovely. We drove 90 minutes to get to the Brandywine area in Pennsylvania, stopping on the way for breakfast.
We arrived at the winery, the vineyards were completely bare, not even a hint of color in the vines, looking as though they were a prop from a horror movie. After driving such a long distance, we decided to get out of the car to walk around hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I grabbed my camera and jacket, as I closed the car door, I noticed the building door was opened a crack, a woman proceeded to walk out of the building to greet us. I asked her if they were open, she said yes and invited us in, Brian and I look at each other, not sure if we should go in or get back in our car, but feeling obligated, we followed the woman inside. Once inside there is a wood stove burning with an overwhelming smell of smoke, then she closed the door to keep the wind out. I think our hearts skipped a beat, looking nervously at each other, Brian asked if they had wine tastings, she said yes. We are then asked to step into the wine tasting room, which was the size of a large closet, wine bottles and chocolate covered pretzels laid out on the table. A second older woman introduces herself and begins to explain the process of grape growing and how wine is made. Still unsure about the entire winery, we ask if there is any scenery for photos, she says yes. Then leads us outside to a very unkept area where there are the most adorable sheep. I think that was the highlight of this winery, not the wine!
While walking around the property I came upon this birdhouse, which I thought described the essence of where we were. I knew once I photographed it there was something oddly special about it. This particular birdhouse expressed the entire mood of the winery and described everything we had been feeling since we stepped out of the car. To add to the eery and creepy feeling, the sky was very overcast and the day was damp and bone chilling, which enhanced the overall feel of. While driving to the next winery, I was thinking of the strangeness of the place we had just left. It was a true experience and not a good one. Not every experience is good but I do believe we always come away with feeling something from each experience we have.
Thanks for stopping by, until next time … Debra
Photo Session at the Mission
by Carolyn
It was a cold and dreary day when we pulled up to the old mission in San Miguel. Not a bit of blue in the sky and the threat of rain. There weren’t too many people at the mission, just a few wandering about, looking at the work of those who lived there once upon a time.
We were there for a different purpose. I arrived with a family of six and we were set to do a family photo session. The mission is a great location for family photos or just for visiting. The beautiful adobe building was built more than 200 years ago. It was named for the Archangel Saint Michael. It is the 16th of the California Missions and is located about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The twelve arches are a variety of shapes and sizes. At first glance, it isn’t noticeable, but with a further look you can see that they are indeed different.
On this cold November day, we started out front near the large archway opening with our photo session. We moved in to the plaza and took some photos near the fountain. As we continued on, we headed around the back to the cemetary and got a couple of unique shots near the bell tower. The old church doors made a perfect backdrop for the four adorable children. If you click here you can see some of the photos we took that day.
We ended up getting just a bit of rain on us … the clouds overhead didn’t produce much, but it was the beginning of a very rainy season for us here in California.
Thank you so much for stopping. We’d love it if you followed along on our journey as we share our lives coast to coast.
Carolyn