We Were Tourists in Bedford

When we go to a tourist attraction like Old Bedford Village, we take plenty of photos. Sometimes we pose for a few, maybe even some silly ones. Doesn't everyone?

Old Time Schools

There are two reconstructed schools at Old Bedford Village. The school room above may be very old-fashioned but it still has the atmosphere of classrooms I remember.

Left: The "Eight Square School." I really liked the octagon shape of this school house. Supposedly it was easier to heat than the more common rectangular room, and the windows let in plenty of light.

Blacksmith Shop, Whitesmith Shop

Above: Blacksmith Shop

Below: Whitesmith Shop

Reproductions at Old Bedford Village

Note:
A whitesmith is someone who fashions tin into objects, although the dictionary says it can also be someone who polishes items made of iron. I imagine you already know what a blacksmith is.

Church in Old Bedford Village

This is Christ Church, inspired by a church near Schellsburg, PA. It is sometimes rented out and can be seen on the village map as building 5.

Wishing Well

Tossing a coin in a wishing well may seem superstitious, but at times it may move you closer to your dreams. Why? Because verbalizing what you want is the first step toward setting a goal.

A Very Brief Video Taken at Old Bedford Village

Views with Windmill

Old Bedford Village, PA

Old-fashioned windmill seen from two directions.

Duck Pond at Old Bedford Village

Old Bedford Village is not officially open in April, but it is available for special events and there was a muzzle-loading gun show on the Saturday that we were there. After a brief visit to the show to see the ornately-carved guns and some flint-knapping exhibits, we were able to tour the village. I was surprised to find most of the buildings open even though few staff members were around. Normally the village features lots of folks wearing historical costumes but they are are not present in the off-season. (No, nobody really lives there. The village is a re-creation; the buildings are brought in from elsewhere and reconstructed.)

Events at Old Bedford Village

Bridge at Old Bedford Village

Claycomb Covered Bridge

This bridge was moved to Old Bedford Village in 1975. In the upper left corner of this photo you can glimpse trucks traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Truck or Minivan of Old Times

Bedford, Pennsylvania: Covered Wagon

I believe this is a Conestoga Wagon, so named after the Conestoga River and valley in Pennsylvania. We saw this at the Old Bedford Village.

Links: Wheels that Won the West

Conestoga Wagon, Wikipedia

Forsythia

Seen in Pennsylvania April 10, 2010

Shawnee Lake in Pennsylvania

After we looked at some of Bedford County's covered bridges, we passed Shawnee Lake near Schellsburg, PA. We decided to drive into the Colvin Area parking lot and take some pictures. At first the light was flat due to the overcast sky, but as I busied myself trying to get some shots with geese in them, the sun showed itself and the sky and water brightened.

Link: Shawnee State Park

Bedford's Bridges

A week ago we were in Bedford County, PA. We arrived too late in the afternoon to visit the museum so we checked into the Quality Inn and drove off to sample the covered bridge tour.
Unfortunately the weather had turned rainy so our photo ops were limited. In a way, the rain was appropriate because the main reason bridges were covered was to protect them from rain and snow, which could warp and rot the wooden boards.

There are many covered bridges in Pennsylvania, and I noticed that a lot of them look alike. I liked Cuppett Bridge, shown below, because it was distinctively different.

Ryot Covered Bridge

When we drove through the Ryot Covered Bridge, the rain had moved on and we had enough light to take some pictures. I got shots in both directions. Link: Ryot Covered Bridge

Country Road in Pennsylvania

Near Ryot, PA

A Break in the Clouds

Near Bedford, PA

On Friday we drove in and out of rain showers. At one point the sun broke through the clouds and I took a picture from the car.

Brunch at the Casbah

LW and FW, Pittsburgh, 4/11/2010

Mary, Bill, and Frank

While we were in Pennsylvania this weekend, we visited Frank's brother and his wife.

Four Generations

Little Sophia has been adopted into a loving extended family.

Above: She is held by her grandfather, who is surrounded by his mother, his daughter and his father.

Left: My sister carries her new grandchild.

Note: Click on a photo to see a larger version, especially if you want to download it.

Baby Sophia

My nephew and his wife have adopted a lovely baby girl. She has a sweet disposition and big beautiful eyes.

View of an Interstate Exit

Here we see an exit off I- 81 near Staunton, VA. The road in the foreground above is U.S. 250 (recently mentioned in a Charlottesville post). This particular exit has several restaurants including Mrs. Rowe's, a steakhouse, and a couple of American chains restaurants.

Trees are Flowering

Virginia is lovely in Spring and the flowering trees add bursts of color everywhere. I saw these blossoms near Staunton last weekend. I think they are cherry blossoms.

Pastoral Pond

One of the pleasures of living in rural Virginia is enjoying the lovely scenery whenever we drive anywhere.

When we drove past this pond on the way home from Mount Jackson, I asked Frank to pull over so I could take a picture. The scene reminds me of a pastoral painting by John Constable. As a child, I admired the painting, Wivenhoe Park, Essex in the National Gallery of Art and purchased a postcard of it.

Daffodils at Day's End

New Blog on Confederate Veterans in Kentucky

Author Rusty Williams has posted a blog called My Old Confederate Home. It concerns Confederate War Veterans.

In 1902 Kentucky's Confederate veterans organized and built the Kentucky Confederate Home, a "respectable place for civil war veterans." Mr. Williams has a book coming out soon about this old soldiers' home which you can order online.

Downtown Mall, Charlottesville

I took these photos at the popular pedestrian mall in Charlottesville, Virginia. People were taking advantage of the warm weather and enjoying the urban outdoor environment.

The third image seemed a bit flat so I lightened the area surrounding the young women and added a poster edge filter in Photoshop.

Lunch alfresco

Charlottesville, VA

When we travelled to Charlottesville for an appointment last week, it was lunch time when I left the doctor's office. I asked the receptionist to suggest a place to eat and she highly recommended the Downtown Mall. She gave me directions including where to park for a quarter or two. I hadn't been there in over a decade so this was very helpful.

The weather was so gorgeous that we decided to eat outside. There were a number of indoor choices but I think most people were opting for the outdoor tables.

Three Notch'd Road

This marker stands in Charlottesville's Downtown Mall. It tells part of the story of U.S. 250, which become Ivy Road and Rockfish Gap Turnpike west of town, then changes names again and again on it's way to West Virginia and Ohio.

Three Notch'd Road

Also called Three Chopt Road, this colonial route ran from Richmond to the Shenandoah Valley. It likely took its name from three notches cut into trees to blaze the trail. A major east-west route across central Virginia from the 1730s, it was superceded by Route 250 in the 1930s. Part of Jack Jouett's famous ride and the Marquis de Lafayette's efforts to prevent Gen. Charles Cornwallis from obtaining munitions occured along this road. Today West Main Street and part of University Avenue approximate the Three Notch'd Road's original course through present-day Charlottesville.

Route 250 in Wikipedia

It's Spring, It's Easter

A Corner in the Country

Shadows on Battlefield Road Near Fishers Hill,
Shenandoah County, VA

View near Crescent Rock

Yesterday we drove along the middle section of Skyline Drive between Route 33 and Route 211. Here we are looking west toward the Massanutten Range.

A View of Old Rag Mountain

Old Rag Viewed from Skyline Drive