And a one and a two...

So I've been MIA lately.  This is obvious.  In the wintertime I become a hermit.  I get up. I work. I come home. I knit, sometimes.  I go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat...


I need a break from the doldrums.  I need some different scenery.  I need to spend some time away from work. I. Need. A. Vacation.  Good thing, because I'm getting one!

Tomorrow, Hubs and I are headed to Virginia's wine country with our BFF's, M and R, along with their two beautiful daughters, Miss P and Miss J.  We are staying at a resort in Gordonsville, VA, Shenandoah Crossing.  We've stayed there before, in the two bedroom cabins.  This year, all they had are the three-bedroom cabins so Hubs and I will have a rambling cabin all to ourselves as we stay separate from our friends.  Last time we were next door to each other.  I'm not sure how it's working out this year.

 I really think it's the only way to go when you're vacationing with friends.  You have your own separate space to relax and you don't have to spend every minute with one another.  We have vacationed with these friends twice before.  I guess our friendship is strong as we've vacationed together and survived. 

It's beautiful there.  There are walking trails, horses, streams and lots of trees.  I am sure to find some inspiration in those hills.  I think we're going to go to Monticello this weekend as well, between visiting Horton Vineyards and Barboursville Vineyards.  It will give us a chance to stock up the wine fridge along with taking amazing photos, I'm sure.

I will be out of work until next Wednesday so I'm getting a much needed break. When I get back I'm going to be very busy.  Along with my paranormal investigations (which I really need to start posting about in an anonymous way.... how does one do that?! ) I am going to a photography seminar that the Nikon School puts on.  It should be fun.  It is an all day affair.  Soup to nuts on using my camera.  I'll learn all about ISO, aperture, exposure, white balance, etc...  By the time I leave there I will have some sort of an idea of what the hell I'm doing, I hope. 
I really want to take a proper photography class, but this is a good place to start.  I'm sick of auto-focus.  I want new lenses.  My father-in-law has a telephoto lens that I can use, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to adjust anything on my camera to take a decent picture, manually!  I really need to sit down and spend some time with the thing.  Hard to do when you feel like you have no time for anything and the photo project that you've been working on is iphoneography.
I will try to post while I'm there, on my phone.  I keep forgetting that I have an app for that.  No pictures, but I can surely describe the beautiful scenery.

Well, off to finish packing!