A few posts back, I wrote about how Debra and Brian invited me to New York City to document their engagement session.  Since my hubby and I had never been to NYC and rarely get to take vacations during wedding season, we decided to make a weekend of it.  Normally, when we visit new cities, we try with all our might to avoid looking like tourists, to look like we belong.  But as our giant airport shuttle drove us into the heart of Manhattan, my face pressed expectantly against the tinted window taking in the mass amounts of people, gritty streets, ornate architecture, street festivals, sidewalk vendors, endless, endless, endless buildings forever disappearing into the horizon...I knew that I was going to be one of those open-mouth, looking-up, camera-around-the-neck tourists. Meh, c'est la vie.

We spent three days wandering, eating and sightseeing our way through Little Italy, Soho, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Midtown, Murray Hill, Times Square and Central Park.  I thought I would create a million images.  I thought my camera would be permanently affixed to my face.  But it turns out I was so mesmerized by the city, by the stunning architecture, iconic movie locations, the subway, the sidewalks, the shopping, the people, the heat, the Empire State Building, the food, oh sweet baby Jesus...the food, the heart-wrenching artwork at MoMA, the Brooklyn Bridge, the tops of buildings disappearing into tiny specks in the sky, the sprawling, historic, endlessness of it all...my mind couldn't process it fast enough. 

I was sure that I would be taken by the glamour of the city, you know...bright lights, big city.  But what resonated with me was the sense of personal history, the thought of thousands of hands that touched thousands of bricks, the raising up of buildings, families, careers, hope, and the comforting connectedness of a past that left grounded, physical evidence of it's existence.  I'm certain on my next visit, I'll have some much needed perspective and will create lots more imagery. But for now...this is a tiny handful of what was in my heart that weekend.

Last week my mother-in-law treated me to a three-day getaway at The Greenbrier.  And it was, in three simple words...vintage southern luxury.  I must admit...from the time I was twelve, quietly immersed in the 1024 pages of Gone with the Wind, I've secretly wished to visit that charming, chivalrous, ephemeral old south.  And now, I'm absolutely certain we traveled through time to a place of courteous, elegant, southern perfection.

We visited about four weeks shy of the peak summer travel season...so my glimpse of the resort was a quiet journey through impeccably designed, immense, vacant spaces.  It felt the like a reception ballroom before the guests arrive...perfectly poised, quietly waiting for the arrival, the rush of conversation, joy, movement, laughter, life.

I adore July 4th.  It has always been one of my favorite holidays.  Maybe it has something to do with the simplicity of it, those hometown comforts...the family flags brought out from the attic, kids gathering in the street watching bottle rockets take flight, the sweet stinging smell of firecracker smoke, potluck picnics, the local marching band leading the parade, the coming together of families for no other reason than to enjoy each others company.  Just maybe.

Well, this year, Brian and I decided to celebrate the holiday in true small town fashion in Sawyer, Michigan.  It was the perfect July 4th retreat...a quaint vacation beach town with sprawling farm land, featuring dozens of locally owned wineries and adorable B&B's (ours was The Rabbit Run Inn).

I thought I would share these few images because of something the wedding officiant shared during Mindy and Chris' ceremony last weekend.  He said you should not only take photographs of the places you vacation, you should put them up as a reminder of the joyful times you have spent together, so you can always say to each other "Remember when..." to instantly relive those happy memories.  I thought it was beautiful advice for the newlywed couple...and for those of us not-so-newlyweds.  So, here's my reminder to my sweet husband, Brian...who laughed at me while I took half of my images from the window of the moving car!  Remember when...