Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

New England Trip: Staunton & Lexington, Virginia

This was my request. I asked to visit a small town, much like Sutter Creek near me. So off we drove to Staunton (pronounced Stanton) and Lexington. These two towns were quaint and different. The difference was in the age and ornamental qualities of the buildings.

Let’s visit Staunton first. We stopped at a street that was blocked off to traffic.

Top row: An employee setting up an outdoor smoking area for a smoke shop. A wooden Indian sculpture inside the shop. Instruments made from cigar boxes.

Second row: People enjoying outdoor dining.

Third row: A cute store and a theatre.

Still in Staunton, some interesting buildings.

The Augusta County Courthouse
Yikes! A giant praying mantis!

In Lexington, we took a horse drawn carriage ride. It was great, but made photography difficult. Our guide apologized for not being able to stop because it would get her off schedule.

I mostly rested in Alexandria, Virginia. So our next stop will be Boston! Stay tuned.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 10 Comments

A return trip: Locke

I’ve been to the town of Locke a few times, but never on the weekend. This time we went on a Sunday and some stores and museums were open. My challenge was to photograph something different or from a different angle.

Known as the Locke Historic District, CA (U.S. National Park Service), Locke was originally a town built for the Chinese immigrants who came to work the farms and orchards. For a full history, click on the link above. The town remains basically the same as you can see from the pictures. It hasn’t changed at all in all the years I’ve visited.

By going on a Sunday, we found many residents home and working in their yards or just relaxing. A couple of stores were open too. It’s a very small town and main street is a far cry from a typical small town thoroughfare. Two restaurants serve the town. It’s about a mile to Walnut Grove, also founded as a need to house Chinese workers, where you can find more restaurants, etc.

My neighbors joined us for this expedition and just weren’t prepared for how the town was kept as original as possible. Even the toilet bowl garden hasn’t changed or the old barn with all the wheelbarrows

I was lucky that the open store had cold drinks and a few items to photograph.

Doorways are fun to photograph in Locke.

The old buildings have remained the same. The one with the bulging front is still standing.

Someone has his/her own way of dealing with this pandemic.

I also liked these chairs sitting in a yard.

I’m sure we’ll go back to Locke again, maybe next year. Things will probably remain the same.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Discovering Northern California: Downieville, the town

Wow, I’ve been busy in the present time! I was testing and bought a used macro lens, and I’m looking forward to learning more about macro shooting. However, this post is about Downieville, a historic town. at the confluence of the Downie River and North Fork of the Yuba River. In my last post, I showed you images of the trip up and back, saving the town for today.

Downieville was founded in late 1849 and named after Major William Downie who founded the town. The town soon became a bustling gold rush town and is the county seat of Sierra County. Today it attracts summer tourists with fishing, mountain biking, back country off-road adventures, motorcycling, kayaking, and gold panning.

Of course, we were not there in the “season,” and no restaurant was open! But, the hardware, beauty shop and a few other stores were open. Enjoy the town. Maybe in the future I’ll have some macro images to show you!