A Flame of Sadness, A Flame of Hope

Taken this afternoon during a very blustery walk through Arlington Cemetery. The way things have been going int his country in recent years, perhaps it's time to stop and consider everything for which this flame stands...

A New Year's Walk Through History

To ring in 2008, I took the family into Washington and paid a visit to the historic Congressional Cemetery -- partly for the history, but mostly because it's a quiet place with a lot of space to walk and run around (perfect for having the oldest tire herself out). It's a really great place for photography as well, and you never quite know what you're going to find.

For instance, you might see a march king...

...or a beautiful Native American peace monument put in place in commemoration of the September 11 attacks...

...or a humorous marker meant to keep the visitors guessing.


And you never know who might fly over for a look...

An Unusual Nativity

Read the nativity stories in Matthew and Luke and you'll see about the animals who were present at the manger during the birth of Jesus. Sheep, yes; cattle, presumably; goats, maybe.

But dinosaurs? And a pack of Godzillas?

Our neighbor up the street seems to think so, and has an unusual twist on the manger scene that he sets up in his front yard each year. This year, I had to get some pictures before he took it down.

At least he seems to have the plant eaters positioned closest to the child. This is one of the funnier sights each Christmas in our neighborhood.

A Mountain Drive

I took A. and the girls to visit my sister in Blacksburg today, and after a wonderful afternoon I decided to take a really rural road back to the in-laws' house in Roanoke (instead of relying on the interstate). This was one of the views that we saw as we were driving along -- it's incredible to realize, even after having been raised in this part of the state, that places like this still exist. Living in the D.C. area, you don't get to see this too often!

A Son of the South

My father-in-law and I took a drive to Lexington, Virginia today and among other stops visited the gravesite of one of Virginia's favorite sons, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Lexington is a beautiful, well-preserved southern town and has countless places to take some beautiful photographs. My time was limited, but I wanted to include these two.

New York City - Part 4

A memorial to the firefighters of Engine Company 10 who lost their lives on 9-11, located at the station -- right across the street from Ground Zero.

New York City - Part 3

St. Paul's Chapel.