As the Hokies get ready for the Spring Game I thought I would post a little  eSession I did at VT two weeks ago.

James, Jack and I ventured out on a three day backpacking trip in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area last week. It was kind of the Four Seasons trip, starting out on Wednesday with temps in near 80 and ending up on Friday morning a bit below freezing. It was an awesome trip. I’ve mountain biked a lot on the northeastern side but I had never been to Mount Rogers on the southwestern exposure. I was truly amazed at the beauty, especially this time of the year before much had leafed out. It really doesn’t seem like Virginia at all. An added bonus were the ponies which seemed to be several places as we progressed through the trip.

It was Jack’s first time backpacking and he got a new pack just for the occasion. They say a large dog and carry 30% of their weight in a pack. We didn’t load him up that heavy, but it was pretty clear he had no problem with a mostly full pack. He plotted along a few feet ahead of us for most of the trip, turning around every twenty yards or so to make sure we were still coming. It’s pretty nice having a dog that you don’t have to worry about running off or getting lost. There is no way Jack would ever let us out of his sight long enough for that to happen. He is a joy, especially outdoors.

Here’s just a few pics from the trip. I don’t take any of my professional equipment on backpacking trips because of the weight, so these were shot with my little pocket Olympus that I hate so much. I guess I will get around to replacing it this summer. I kind of would like to get another Canon G series. I had a G1 about 10 years ago that I really liked. Now they are up to the G11. It’s a little big, but still portable, and much more adapted to manual shooting which is what I prefer. I think this trip convinced my I need a better knock around camera.

Sarah and Zach’s eSession was done at Mary Washington University and downtown Fredericksburg a few weeks ago. I normally don’t travel too far for an eSession but sometimes it just works out, and that’s great when the location has special meaning to the couple. It’s kind of a fresh challenge for me, too, and a break from the usual scenery.

This one also had a little side benefit for me. I grew up in a little town not too far from there and Fredericksburg was where you went when you needed to go to the “big city”. So, I had to give Sarah and Zack a mini-tour of what I vaguely remembered. We found my old pediatrician’s office and I still got that knot in my gut thinking about the top drawer on the right where he kept all the hypodermics. And I remembered the hilly and historic downtown which I believe was home to the only J.C. Penny I remember being dragged to for clothes shopping as a kid.

Today, Fredericksburg is not the same as it was when I was a kid. But, despite the sprawl and traffic that surround it, I found it to be much more pleasant. The old downtown is interesting and vibrant, the campus was beautiful, I got to meet and hang out with some really nice people, and I even got a bite to eat at one of the old Frederickburg eateries from way back. Most of all, I think it was particularly pleasant because I didn’t have to try on school clothes or get a shot. Yep, much better now :D