Becky's photoblog

After dinner, we took a scenic drive up through the Blue Ridge Parkway and watched a gorgeous memorable sunset over the mountains. Lots of great photos ops 🙂

Blue Ridge Parkway sunset – June 11, 2016 from BeckyDD on Vimeo.

Becca took us to one of her favorite places to walk … we walked the whole way around Beaver Lake, then wandered through the bird sanctuary before heading back to the house to relax.

As we were saying our good-byes to family heading back to the Denver airport, we noticed that the sky had cleared up a bit and the sun was setting over the Rockies in the distance. Hard to capture, but really beautiful.

Another lovely Memorial Day Weekend filled with family, great views and delicious food!

We went for a walk, and saw A LOT of ducks.

The Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens on a gorgeous sunny late afternoon.

My inner 8-year old needed an arts and crafts project, so I decorated a box with pretty autumn leaves. While walking along Baystate Road during my lunch break, I collected several lovely leaves all in excellent condition. I flattened them a bit, then mod-podged them to a box I had lying around just waiting to be decorated. So pleased with myself 🙂

We wanted to see some colorful New Hampshire leaves, and it had been too long since we’d seen Sara and Eric, so we made some last-minute plans and drove to Keene, NH. We had an incredible brunch at the Stage Restaurant, wandered around for a bit, then headed over to Mt. Pitcher and walked to the top for some incredible views!

I had about an hour to kill before our pre Yom Kippur dinner, and I needed to clear my head after a long week, so I took a walk around the Fenway neighborhood and found myself wandering through the Fenway Victory Gardens: “the oldest continuously operating Word War II Victory Gardens in the United States, spanning 7.5 acres with over 500 gardens.” Who knew?

The gardens are part of a park that’s about half way between Boston University and the Gardner Museum … two places that are a 15 minute walk apart, and where I have spent a lot of my time in the past 8 years … and yet I have never wandered yet another one of Boston’s incredibly little hidden gems.

The Fenway Victory Gardens are truly beautiful and bizarre. It’s one little secret garden after another along narrow dirt paths, each garden with it’s incredibly unique and often strange qualities. You can feel like you’re alone and lost (in a good/peaceful way) among the endless rows of gardens, and yet you can hear traffic not too far away, you can see nearby apartments, and you can see nearby landmarks such as the Prudential Tower. The contrast made this oasis of calm and quiet even more beautiful. In many cases, it’s clear that the gardens are not just places to grow plants and produce, but also places for peaceful personal reflections. Many of the gardens featured wandering paths, sitting nooks and an enormous variety of personal touches.

Brian took this lovely photo of the leaves that have fallen off of one of my favorite trees

Melissa couldn’t believe that we had never been to any of the Boston Harbor Islands, so we made a last-minute plan to fix that right away. We packed a picnic, hopped on the ferry from Long Wharf (which stopped at Spectacle Island) and spent an absolutely perfect Saturday afternoon wandering around Georges Island.

Most of the island is what’s left of Fort Warren, a civil-war era fort which is now mostly grassy fields, big empty rooms, creepy dark stair wells, and upper ramparts with amazing views  in all directions. We could see Boston, Quincy, Hull, and Boston Light on Little Brewster Island. There were tons of families out there because it’s a fun and inexpensive way for kids to run around and explore, and for adults to relax along the shore with amazing views. We got our exercise in, and we also sat for a long time and read our books. Perfect afternoon! Thanks, Mel!!

We had such a lovely day trip up to Portland a few weeks ago and we decided to try it again … Maine is only an hour and a half away! We decided to drive up to Ogunquit because we just wanted to walk around and get some exercise some place scenic. I remembered the beautiful scenic path along the water near Perkins Cove (the Marginal Way), so we headed there. SO bummed to find that it was so crowded with tourists that we had to completely abandon the idea … there was absolutely nowhere to park the car! So annoying because I could see glimpses of the stunning scenery as we drove around, and I was itching to get out of the car and take a long a walk but we were actually stuck.

After some whining (all me), we decided to continue north along the coast to see what else we would see, and we drove through a quieter, less touristy, residential neighborhood of incredible oceanfront properties … and then, suddenly there was a parking spot! We hopped out at Wells Beach, and walked along the shoreline listening to that wonderful irreplaceable sound of waves crashing on rocks.

After we walked a bit, we decided to take a risk on a tiny little shack of a restaurant called Wells Beach Lobster Pound. It didn’t look very promising from the outside, but we were pleasantly surprised! We brought our food across the street and enjoyed incredible clam chowder, fried clam strips and a lobster roll on a ledge overlooking the ocean. Absolutely perfect!

The morning after Brendan and Courtney’s wedding, we decided to wander around nearby Salem before heading back to Boston. We hit the gorgeous Turner exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum and then we wandered around the touristy part of Salem – gorgeous views of the harbor, and a lovely lunch!

Did you know there are over 3,000 islands off the coast of Maine? We took a little day trip up to Portland Maine, and we saw about 10 of them on a 3-hour cruise on Casco Bay Lines. The cruise is called the Mailboat Run because it brings passengers and mail deliveries to the islands twice a day, and it gives tourists like us the chance to see Maine as it was intended to be seen: from the water. A perfectly beautiful relaxing  inspiring New England day.

We passed Gorges Island, Peaks Island and Little Diamond Island, then our first stop was at Diamond Cove on Great Diamond Island, followed soon after by a stop at Long Island. Our third stop was at Cliff Island, then finally at Great Chebeague Island, then back to Portland for window shopping and an amazing dinner.

After saying our goodbyes to the grooms in Campbell, we headed up to San Francisco. There’s never enough time to explore such a great city … last year when we were in town for Lou and Jonathan’s wedding, we got to drive through San Francisco for less than an hour, mostly at night. This time, we had about four hours. I’ve been out to San Francisco five or six times before to visit my dear Lou, and spending four hours with her was definitely better than none at all.

We met up with Lou and Jonathan in her old neighborhood, where I stayed with her in 2006 and 2007, and we walked a very familiar route a few blocks down to the ocean at the Cliff House and Sutro Baths. It feels like the end of the earth there since it’s essentially the northwest corner of San Francisco, and there’s an incredibly wide vista (see video below) … nothing but ocean until you reach Japan. I used to take walks down there every day, so it was great to be back!

Then, we headed over to the Legion of Honor (a museum and park) for amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the South Bay and the Marin Headlands. We drove around a bit so we could see some more of San Francisco, and then after a stop for coffee and ice cream, our time together was over all too soon.

The Gardner Museum’s new wing is now two years old, and after two years of encouraging guests to take photos in the new wing (because that’s the only area of the museum where photography is permitted), I finally got around to taking my own photos! The morning light was absolutely gorgeous, especially with all of the light reflecting off of the snow.

The new wing starts with the front entry hall and the admissions desk. Beyond that is greenhouse which guests can view from a long corridor. Across from the front hall is the coat check and the gift shop, and then beyond that is the main staircase. To the right of the main stairs is the Living Room, to the left is the cafe and the art studio, and between the stairs is the corridor that leads you to Mrs. Gardner’s spectacular museum.

Brian’s parents have a popular bird feeder, and the birds put on a little show for us while we are our breakfast. My favorites are the cardinals and the blue jays because I love the colors.

We spent the day in Deering, New Hampshire to visit the house that my aunt and uncle have right on Deering Lake. It rained for most of the day, so we spent most of the day playing games, but we decided not to let a little drizzle keep us from going out on the boat … even though it was windy and probably in the high 40s. We bundled up, and Captain John (right) gave us a tour of Deering Lake.

We also got to meet our newest cousin, Ted. Between Brian and me, three of our first cousins had babies this year, so we get to hang out with lots of adorable infants. This was Ted’s first time meeting several of his relatives, so we took lots of pictures.

Family and friends, please click here to see photos of Ted. The password is his middle name (all lowercase). 

After a long Spring semester and very long weeks leading up to Commencement, we took a much-needed getaway weekend on Cape Cod. Brian found a place in Falmouth (Sea Crest Beach Hotel at Old Silver Beach) which gave us exactly what we wanted: easy access to a quiet beach where we could sit and read and listen to the ocean. It was incredibly relaxing and refreshing!

Some of the photos below are from two churches that we saw while we were wandering around before an incredible dinner at the Glass Onion in Falmouth. We could hear the organist practicing as we got closer to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, so we wandered around and discovered a beautiful little secret garden next to a chapel behind the church. There was no one else around and it was almost as if it appeared out of nowhere!

After a nice long Sunday morning reading on the beach with my coffee, we took a drive further down the Cape towards Chatham, passing through a memorable stretch of Rt 28 in Yarmouth where I’ve stayed a few times. Of all the little towns with cute little shops and galleries, Chatham is one of my favorites. We hit a few little gems – Yankee Ingenuity, Chatham Art Gallery – gazed longingly at the Impudent Oyster where we had an incredible meal last year, and then turned around and headed back to Boston.

Photos from our visit to Chatham in May 2012

I think this might be the start of a series. How gorgeous is this tree?

We spent the weekend at Cedar Lakes Estate in Port Jervis, NY for my cousin’s wedding. I didn’t get any good shots at the wedding (other than the shot on the right of the lovely table centerpiece), but we got a handful of lovely shots as we wandered around and explored the lake and the beautiful fall foliage.

I had a groupon for a Cape Ann Whale Watch, and we used that as an excuse for an incredibly pleasant daytrip to the beautiful town of Gloucester, MA (click to see google map). One of the many things I love about living in Massachusetts is that there are gorgeous vacation spots right under our noses. Gloucester is right on the ocean, and the weather was picture-perfect.

First, we wandered around Rocky Neck, one of American’s oldest artist colonies. I went to art school, so I have some idea of what it’s like to be surrounded by artsy-types. This is much different. These are serious and talented artists running cozy galleries, and living the good life in quaint houses with incredible views.

Then, we crossed an item off of our list by visiting the Sargent House Museum. The house was built for Judith Sargent Murray (1751–1820), who was (among many other things), the great-grand-aunt of John Singer Sargent (one of the few artists that Brian and I can truly agree on). The house was lovely and the tour guide really knew her stuff, but we had to duck out before the tour was over because the whales were waiting.

We boarded the Hurricane II, and enjoyed the views, the wind and the salty air as we headed out to visit the whales. It was such a clear day that we could see Boston in the distance the whole time we were out there. Brian actually listened as the guide taught us about the different whales that we saw, so you’ll have to ask him. I just wanted to see something you don’t see every day — an animal so huge that it reminds you how small we are, in its natural habitat, an ocean so huge it reminds you of how little we know.

After the whale watch, we decided to take a little drive and ended up in Rockport, MA (click for google map), another great town with lots of galleries, cute shops and beautiful views. After some wandering, it was time to find some dinner. We had just stopped in to a small restaurant to try their chowder and their seating area was crammed with picnic benches and loud children. That’s exactly what I didn’t want for dinner, and I was getting frustrated with the tiny keyboard on my phone, searching among an overwhelming array of local options. So Brian said “let’s just try this place” and we walked in to the restaurant across the street.

I can’t say this enough: we are two incredibly lucky and fortunate people. The hostess at Brackett’s Oceanview Restaurant apologetically offered us the last available table at the restaurant – a tiny, out of the way, private room with a big window. The table was perfect, the room was perfect, the view was perfect, my drink was perfect, the fried seafood was perfect, the lobster ravioli was perfect and my husband is perfect.

Then we walked off dinner on Pier Avenue, just in time to catch a beautiful sunset over Sandy Bay.

I was taking a handful of shots of the Gardner Museum’s new building, but I got distracted by the gorgeous fall foliage. How fabulous is that color?

Looking at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum across Evans Way Park

The new greenhouse (slanted glass on the left), the new entrance and lobby (green panels in the middle), and the new special exhibition gallery (the cube on the right). The new building will also contain a new performance hall, gift shop, cafe, classrooms, offices and a lounge for me and my fellow volunteers 🙂


From Palace Road, you can see the new cafe, and the patio for outdoor dining. Beyond the patio, you can see the glass tunnel that connects the new building to the historic palace. Above the new cafe is the new performance hall. 

This is the view from the 5th floor of the Simmons School of Management looking towards Boston Latin (on the left) and Back Bay (on the right). I took this shot just before the lecture by one of the Gardner architects on the design, materials and techniques in the Gardner’s new building. I’m so excited about the new building – just a few more weeks until I get to see the inside 🙂