for the beauty: traveling east

A wedding of friends, a graduation and family. These are the joyous events that had us driving across the country to Pennsylvania/Virginia in late May. I wrapped up the last day of my farming internship, got home and we drove well into the night, stopping in Ohio then waking early to drive the rest of the way to the wedding in a tiny, beautiful town called Waterford.

I am in love with old houses - with places that could tell you many stories and reveal history. This town has been preserved and changed very little since the 1840's. Between the ceremony and reception (just a walk through town from one building to another) Grady and I wandered the streets, me taking pictures of almost every house and marveling at how tiny some of them were. Of course, there were also near mansions, like the ones pictured above. Many of the houses had small gardens and a few even had sheep in the backyard!

This step back in time was a matter of minutes, really, from our nation's capitol. So, to make the most out of our trip we spent the night in DC. We've both done the tourist version of DC before, but this was the first time I truly realized that there are other things in the city aside from the White House and lots of big monuments. We stayed on Embassy Row and so spent the morning wandering more streets and taking more pictures of amazing houses (seriously, I love old architecture). We were directed to the most ingenious place for brunch, called Kramer Books.

This place is a bookstore, a diner, a bar and a performance space - talk about making the most out of your space!

From Washington, we went on 'home' to be with my family. Lancaster, PA is a home I have never actually lived in, but I love it all the same. It's the 'Home is where your heart is' kind of place. And not only is it the place I find my family, it is a place the claims the oldest continuously operating farmers market. I mean ... that's awesome - not to mention the architecture ...

Family gatherings are few and far between for us since we have all spread out to so many areas and, of course, there are quite a few schedules to try and coordinate. Even at this gathering, we were still missing two siblings. Still, time together is precious and often centering. I am reminded of the things in my life that are constant and lasting - Love above all.