C is for...Corniglia

     On the western coast of Italy there is a small town up on the cliffs called Corniglia. It is the middle town of the area known as Cinque Terre and in the late summer of 2021 I was able to stay there a few days and hike the trails of the Cinque Terre. Not far outside the door of the place where I stayed was a bench and if I sat on this bench I could watch the people come and go. If I looked out in front of me across the square filled with tables and chairs and their umbrellas shading from the sun and protecting from the rain, and brought my gaze up above the terrace, there an old church stood, there in the center of town. One morning as I sat on the bench, I pulled out my paints and sketched away as the people, locals and tourists made their way from one place to the next.   

B is for....Big Meadows

 

One last little hike out into the meadow to do a sketch before I headed into Harrisonburg to visit a few pillars of my childhood who had since relocated to Virginia but always offer open doors if I ever venture south-in those Covid days it was decks and patios, but wonderful visits none the less before my journey back north.

In June of 2020, I had a vacation scheduled, but with just coming off Covid lockdowns and still having a lot of restrictions and different protocols in different states, I wasn't sure that any trips were in my plans.  However, my adventurous self couldn't quite pass off the chance to get away a little bit and I ended up booking 3 days at Big Meadows Lodge at Shenandoah National Park.  I had a room off the opened up on the terrace and I spent my days sketching and hiking.  

The last morning, after checking out and before heading home, I carried my little stool out into the meadow and watched the bees buzz from one flower to the next collecting pollen and the butterflies fluttering here and there never quite stopping long enough to let me grab a good picture.

I had so much fun that I told myself I was going to come back again sometime when they were having stargazing in the Big Meadow.  I haven't made it back yet, but someday.