Lens Travels - Living our Dreams! travel blog

Old Order Mennonite Church near Dayton

Old Order Mennonite Church

Shenandoah Valley farm

Beautiful farms everywhere

Farm near Dayton, Virginia

Farm near Dayton, Virginia

Neat old barn

My friend Paul Rexrode and his dog Lady near Reddish Knob

Shenandoah Valley as viewed from Reddish Knob

Shenandoah Valley as viewed from Reddish Knob

Neat plant at Paul and Marsha's house

Beautifully redone Victorian farmhouse built over a spring

Another beautiful Shenandoah Valley farm

Summer homes near Singers Glen, Virginia

Summer homes near Singers Glen, Virginia

Summer homes near Singers Glen, Virginia

I thought this was a charming old house

Old Order Mennonite farm where Eldon grew up

Old Order Mennonite farmhouse where Eldon lived as a child

Old Order Mennonite buggy


The Shenandoah Valley is one of the truly special places in this country, and I never tire of the place. I've been here so many times, and each time I return it grabs me just as it has in the past. I love the west with it's more rugged, stark, desert environment, but I love Virginia nearly as much with it's lush green rolling mountains and beautiful pastoral farms. This has been such a great experience returning here after a year and a half in the west. On balance I'd personally rather spend most of my time in the Rocky Mountain west, but I will always return here with some regularity, not only for the beauty of the place, but for the many friends and family that live here.

So far I've stayed with my long time friends Paul and Marsha Rexrode in Harrisonburg, Virginia and with long time friend Eldon Bowman and his lovely wife Barbara in Broadway, Virginia. Both were so very welcoming and hospitable, and additionally drove me around to visit the places that I'm picturing here. Much of the credit for the pictures included here go to Paul and Eldon. All I did was point and shoot the camera.

During my stay with Eldon and Barbara Eldon and I drove to Princeton, NJ to visit with Eldon's friends Stan and Betsy Rosenberg, who are some of the most gracious, wonderful people that I have ever met. We spent the night at their house and had just a wonderful time with them. I don't know yet how I'm going to arrange this, but it is my intention to visit them again sometime. Eldon told me that he was sure that I'd love them as much as he does once I got to know them, and he surely was right about that.

Stan drove us in his 1962 Bentley to visit the Princeton University campus. We walked all around the campus, and I can say that it was everything that I had imagined that a major Ivy League University would be, and then some. Unfortunately I forgot to take my Nikon with me on this little side trip. Stan and Betsy offered me the use of their digital camera, and as soon as I get the DVD copy that they are going to send me of the pictures that I took I'll post them here.

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