Under the Sea in Plastic

Berkeley Springs, WV

 I was surprised to find this mural in the theater room of the “Ice House,” home to a gallery of the Morgan Arts Council. This is a mosaic made of repurposed plastic by students at the Warm Springs Intermediate School. Sea creatures are being affected by plastic that makes its way into the ocean.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

Murals and Beach Scenes

Timberville is a small town in western Shenandoah County. The Walmart lets you know you are there.

When Allison went to the beach with her dad, she kindly took pictures of murals in a restaurant for me.

Monday Murals / Blue Monday 

I don’t consider myself a beach person and I haven’t been in a few years. Here are some beach pictures from the past, five on the East Coast and five on the West Coast.

Note: This is the last week that Angie will be hosting Mosaic Monday.  Thank you, Angie, for doing it for four years. The new host will be at https://happy-hour-with-picts.blogspot.com.

Pink Skies, Virginia Beach

Willy Nilly Friday

The theme for City Daily Photo today and tomorrow is Pink. I thought of pink skies and decided to go back into my archives for pink sunrises at Virginia Beach in honor of that great vacation town. Today that area suffered a tragic shooting, something that should not happen anywhere.

These pictures are left over from our trip there in 2017. We were also there in 2013. We don't go there very often because it is a long drive, even though it is in our state. It takes 4 hours plus a lunch stop and traffic delays, which we always hit between Newport News and the beach.

Sharing with Skywatch Friday and Weekend Reflections.

The mother and child photo is from later in the day. It was almost black and white so I went ahead and took out the rest of the color.

I don't know the people in these pictures. I was using a zoom lens from our balcony. At that time, my right foot was still tender from foot surgery so I didn't even try to walk on the sand. (Wow, and here I am two years later and that foot still gets sore! My weak ankles don't really let it heal completely.)

The flowers were at nearby First Landing State Park.

Have a good weekend!

Sharing with Friday Bliss and Floral Friday.

Hotel Utility Box

This picture is left over from our Ocean City trip. I saved it to share with Monday Murals.

Shadows, Reflections, Boardwalk, Beach.

Ocean City, Maryland.

From our hotel I could look down on the boardwalk. The boardwalk runs almost two and a half miles, with buildings on one side, and on the other, a sand beach bordering on the Atlantic Ocean.

The flag of the state of Maryland (below) is based on the coat of arms of the Calvert family, the colonial proprietors of Maryland.

We had some rain so there are reflections on the boardwalk in the final image.

Weekend Reflections and 

Shadow Shot Sunday.

Beach Birds and Ponies

Frank had made reservations for Ocean City months ago. We were looking forward to seeing his daughters but as the date approached, the weather forecast was not good. Rain storms every day!

It turned out to be not so bad. We did have rain on the way there, but our first full day at the beach was partly cloudy with wind but little rain. The next day was similar, and by Monday the sun came out. Finally rain storms moved in on Tuesday while we were driving home.

I didn't see many birds other than gulls, perhaps because of the wind. On Monday we went to Assateague Island, on the Maryland side. (There is no road that goes the length of the island, so to reach the Virginia stretch of the island, you have to drive inland and then back out over Chincoteague Island. We've been there many times but this time we were a short drive from the Maryland end of the island.)

I had told Frank's sons-in-law that we would see wild ponies, and the ponies cooperated. Signs warn you to stay 40 feet from them, but these seemed very accustomed to tourists. Still, I zoomed in to get these pictures. 

In the final image, there are a few birds standing in the foreground. Far away on the right side is a herd of wild ponies. 

To see more photos from this area, page through my Eastern Shore posts.

Looking for a Photo of the Year.

Here we are at the very end of 2017 so...

Happy New Year!

Meanwhile, I am trying to pick a Photo of the Year to post to City Daily Photo. Here are some runner-ups. I'll post the final pick tomorrow.

First, three black and white edits.

1. The re-enactors were near the 8th Vermont Monument at Cedar Creek. 
2. I added the sparkles to the angel statue using Movavi software.
3. Someone at Harper's Lawn Ornaments had the idea of putting a concrete sculpture under the flow of water in a lighted feature. I just snapped a picture of it and I like the look.

And then there are the color photos. It's hard to pick what's best or most topical or even most liked. My site statistics show that certain older posts got the most hits, with only one post from 2017 placing in the top ten of popularity, and that one (Today in Charlottesville) does not have very good photos. So I picked some based on specialness.

Bear in Shenandoah National Park.

Selfie, Viewing the Eclipse.

Flash, Coming Home in the Car.

Lynn, showing off the pants she altered by adding ruffles. She was going to a rock concert.

I wanted to show her spirit because this is the year she beat cancer. She got the diagnosis a year ago and recently the doctor said she is definitely cancer-free. She is still dealing with the side-effects of radiation, though.

The first rule of success is to survive.

Children at State Arboretum, Boyce, VA.

Autumn, Shenandoah Valley.

 Hummingbird.

View of Front Royal from Skyline Drive.

Bronze Dawn, Virginia Beach.

Lily.

Last Week at Redondo Beach

By the Pacific Ocean.

We had lunch at Kincaid's. I was disappointed because I had told my waiter "no spice" on my salmon but it came out with spice including pepper. I had to send it back so that my allergy would not lead to uncontrollable coughing

I was startled by a painting that reminded me of some pictures I took in July at Virginia Beach (left).  Well, great minds think alike!

Light and Shade at Wayfarers

Wayfarers Chapel was designed by architect Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright. Not only is the chapel stunning, the grounds are delightfully landscaped. Since this is Southern California, there are flowers and greenery everywhere. There are spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean far below.