Happy National Pizza Day! Every February 9th the world celebrates their visions of bubbling cheese; baked veggies and sliced; diced & crumbled meats in sizzling pie fashion, sometimes overflowing with sauce (AKA a blood pie); sometimes rolled; and sometimes on bagels (it's also National Bagel Day, btw). The fanaticism pizza breeds knows not the boundaries of time or place! I also like to think that National Pizza Day brings the nerdiest of food nerds out to eat: the late-night programmers and engineers, the passionate pizzaiolos and pizzaiolas, the Ninja Turtles.

​Today I'm thinking about Crozet Pizza located in the small town of Crozet near Charlottesville, Virginia. If this pizzeria isn't a palace for the gods, it's certainly a boutique hotel. What I mean is their pizza is GOOD and their 90's music selection made me feel like a kid again. Do you see that half Buddhist, half Greek sans olive pie up top? This place was on my "to-eat" list for nearly two years before I sunk my teeth into this baby, and now I'm hooked. There's just one problem: the hour drive from Richmond to Crozet. In our conversation that day, the owner mentioned he'd be interested in a Richmond location. I told him I'd like to be his first customer. My fingers are crossed.

Above right: Snapping my half-eaten first slice while singing along with Blink 182.
Above left: Two slices in.

Whatever your preference, I hope you try something local or wood-fired today. If you know a great place I should check out, leave a comment! Remember, a slice a day keeps the blues at bay.

This doesn't look like Virginia.

That's what I told myself at every bend of the New River this past June. I was on another photo shoot with Sam Dean in Pembroke. This time we were shooting for two days and camping overnight on the river- my first time in a tent since my long-forgotten Girl Scout days. I was ready to pee in the woods. I was ready to get my shoes wet (not with pee). I was ready for the sweat and too much sun. I was ready to not sleep at all. I wasn't ready for the train that would roll through the neighboring meadow at 5 am on day two. It's a hell of a wake-up call, but it got the camp stirring.

​Before I get ahead of myself...

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." -Dr. Seuss

This quote was running through my head both days of the adventure. Here I am. Going. Learning. Camping. Castle Rock (above middle) had been on my radar for a few years, and my attempts to research the formation were relatively fruitless. There wasn't much to learn via Google, so I was super excited to be experiencing it in person.

The rock tower lies on one of the five oldest rivers in the world as it flows through the little town of Pembroke, population 1,128. It's here that Tangent Outfitters provides full service outfitting for fishing, kayaking, canoeing, rafting and mountain biking. They'll even be your guides. With southern charm and accents to boot!

Several portions of the river near Pembroke were lined with cliffs like the one you see above. The river was silent and the morning fog made their unveiling surreal. The moment above is one of my favorites. We were on a jungle safari in Virginia, minus the flesh-eating fish and bugs as big as your hand.

Below are some behind-the-scenes moments. On the left, Sam shoots slo-mo video of the models on day one. I can't tell you how nervous the bend in that jib arm made me. Do you see the camera held up by a string over the water? Shout out to Parkway Brewing Co's Get Bent Mountain IPA in the middle. And on the left, Ron The Bike Guy improvises with a reflector on Whose Line Is It Anyway.

The adventure came and went, 12 million photos were snapped, no one drowned (for the most part), and we all got sun. ​If I were Dr. Seuss I'd make up an awesome ending with mountains and water and paddles and rhyme it with "fun." Instead:

"You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way!"

It was another 4 AM wake-up call this past Tuesday. On the road at 5. At the farm by quarter 'til 7.

I received a friendly greeting and tour just in time for a mountain-delayed sunrise. The next sixty minutes were a golden hour rush and flood of endearment. I was CRAWLING with baby goats. Literally. Baby goats nursing on my fingers. Baby goats nipping at my clothes. Baby goats suckling on my hair. Baby goats climbing into my lap. Baby goat noses all up in my camera. Baby goats licking the lens hood. Baby goats stumbling. Baby goats bleating. Some of them were even wearing hand-knit sweaters!

​OK. Pump the breaks. Let me bring you up to speed on these kids.

Caromont Farms is a family farm located in the heart of Virginia's Piedmont region. They raise and milk goats with which they produce fresh, hand-made cheeses. They also partner with Silky Cow Farm in nearby North Garden to produce a few cow's milk styles, but that's not part of this story. This story is about cuddling!

It's our human need for physical contact and the joy of snuggling (especially with cute, fluffy babies) that brought me to this farm. You win, baby goats. All the way from Australia, you won the internet that day in January, and so my visit was prompted. Yes, people as far away as Australia volunteered to travel half way around the world to snuggle with these kids. The response they received for their request was so huge, their waiting list had a waiting list. And, unfortunately, there will be some goat-less snugglers this season... but not me! *maniacal laugh*

Check out a few of these precious video moments:

This experience was amazing. Therapeutic, even. Cuddling baby goats was exactly what I needed! Only now I want some goats of my own (and chickens, and otters, and a skunk, a fox, rats, pigs, all the cats and a dog).

You won't be able to get your cuddle on at Caromont anymore this season, but keep your eye on next year. They start giving farm tours in June, so you can still feast your eyes, ears and nose on the sights, sounds and smells of the farm. And get your taste buds on some local chevre.

P.S. They should be opening their online store soon, so all those folks in Australia can taste the fruits of our snuggling.

It's likely no surprise to Richmondfolk that I'd consider the view from the Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge the best in all of the city (aside from the rooftop of the John Marshall Hotel... or so I've been told). If you live in RVA, you've seen the skyline from the bridge countless times- maybe even with a PBR in your hand or a few stashed in your backpack on your way to the river. Until I directed a kayak shoot at both sunrise and sunset in August of last year, said view had somewhat lost its splendor for me. It had become the for-the-millionth-time perspective and the same photograph everyone's taken.

I wonder if the residents of San Francisco or New Yorkers feel this same way about the Golden Gate Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

5:45 ante meridiem alarms are the pits. Usually I’m excited to wake up for a photo shoot, but the food from the holiday weekend was weighing me down. Visions of Tofurky, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and yeast rolls (lots of yeast rolls) had been dancing in my head and belly.
 
I sluggishly threaten the clouds as I slip on the clothes I laid out the night before and head downstairs to find Dad. It’s not often I get to wake up in the same house as my parents, and it’s not often I’m awake before Dad. Mom has the coffee going and is ironing laundry way too early in the morning. It’s sweet to witness her preparing his morning elixir. Moments like these are perfection that too often go unnoticed.
 
Gloves. Hat. Coat. Coffee. Saturday morning photo adventure, go!

We roll out from the house in Pinehurst’s Fairwood on 7 in a retiree’s go-cart and make for the lake on Pinehurst No 4. The sun is rising and the clouds are floating miracles as I scurry over the shimmering, dew-drenched grass. The surface of the lake looks like a portal to another dimension, reflecting the sky and upside down pines surrounded by undulating manicure-turf. It’s almost otherworldly, empty of players.
 
Hello, my name is Sarah. I enjoy crispy tofu, sci-fi novels and sunrise strolls through empty golf courses… and introducing myself as if I were on a 70's dating game TV show. My inner monologue often aggrandizes its sense of humor, but it always has a point. I should hang out on golf courses near dark more often.

My dad is my model and I get him to pose the cart and drive over a bridge a few times. To the maintenance crews, we’re clearly enjoying ourselves. Or we’re a nuisance.

Somewhere near the clubhouse on No 7 when we're about to call it a morning I notice my socks are soaking and I make a mental note to buy new boots. Their permeation is a satisfying yet temporary memento of our morning accomplishment.

The silver lining to shooting sunrise is wrapping and reflecting upon all you’ve accomplished while the rest of the world has been sleeping. Time for another cup of coffee.

​With the shifting weather last week, I found myself making a last minute drive up to Boyce, Virginia to photograph the ginkgo grove on the Blandy Experimental Farm. An impending rainstorm was on the move, threatening to huff and puff all the leaves off the trees. The Farm is a grounds for University level ecological research in the Shenandoah Valley and home of the State Arboretum of Virginia. They also have hands-on programs for K-12 students along with workshops, lectures, camps and tours. I have a lot of respect for places like this.

Their grove of ginkgos is particularly significant not only because it’s one of the largest collections outside the tree’s native habitat of China, but because the grove is a happy result of a science experiment and love of knowledge. In 1929, Dr. Orland E. White, the farm’s first director, began collecting seeds from a single 'mother tree' on the grounds of the University of Virginia. After the seeds germinated, he planted over 600 to determine the sex ratio of said mother tree. 301 trees survived and the ratio was proved to be very nearly 1:1, just as Dr. White had hypothesized. He did not live to see the experiment completed, but the grove lives on today, turning a magnificent gold every fall and dropping its leaves to carpet the floor below. What an amazing memorial, right?

I was warned ahead of time that the smell would be awful (some variant of dog droppings) and to wear appropriate attire. However, I experienced no such scent during my visit. Whether it was the cool air, the slight breeze or Mother Nature’s sweet mercy, I’m not sure. Nb4, I didn't have a cold. I didn't get much of a sunset, but the leaves lit up every frame as bright as any sinking sun.

There was a family running around with a photographer and several other couples leisurely enjoying the display. Newly weds in full attire asked to take a photo in front of the Virginia is For Lovers truck I happened to be navigating. Circumstances, happenstances, being in the right place at the right time; I find joy and appreciation in these moments. Sometimes I feel like the Grinch whose heart grows a size every time I recognize how amazing life is. Then I realize my chest should have exploded some time ago, and I'm glad that's not how it works!

​Most of the leaves have found their resting place for the year, but I’d recommending adding the ginkgo grove to your bucket list for next year. Take a family portrait. Shoot your engagement photos. Road trip with friends. Have a picnic and roll in the leaves like a kid again (while minding the fallen fruit). Don’t let this experience go unchecked.

​In August I found myself at Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg, just around the corner from my childhood stomping grounds. It’s atop Hogback Mountain on some 200 acres of rolling hills with a centrally located pond that reflects a beautiful mountain sunset.
 
They had just opened an impressive new tasting room with a cozy fireplace nook, banquet hall, dining-available tank room with adjoined underground barrel hallway and three stories of outdoor porches with stone and wood accents everywhere (queue the wedding bells). Yeah, it’s dreamy. It’s a to-be couple’s wonderland and the setting for so many beautiful photos.

A few more production shots throughout the day show the crew filming models at the main tasting bar (left), the big sunset finale on the western third story porch (center) and Jeff directing models (right).

I even got a chance to enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day, but was so exhausted I didn't take note of what I was drinking. For this reason, along with the gorgeous property and incredible hospitality of the staff and owners, I vow to return on my own time to enjoy a day of tasting and, hopefully, another beautiful sunset. To be continued...

Natural Bridge, Virginia is, in my opinion, the ideal weekend road trip destination if you’re within a few hours driving distance. My visit this summer wasn’t my first, but was just as exciting (and focused on photography).
 
You’re probably familiar with the stunning 215 foot-tall rock formation that was carved out by Cedar Creek over a period of time unfathomable to us mortals. It’s the natural highlight of the region: once a sacred site of the Native American Monacan tribe, surveyed by George Washington in 1750, a major tourism attraction for Europeans during the 18th and 19th centuries who wanted to see the 'New World' and has been included in several “Seven Natural Wonders of the Worlds” lists. In summation, you should see it for yourself. Folks have been raving about it for hundreds of years!

As if seeing the archway during the day wasn’t magnificent enough, they also have a nocturnal light show. Fair warning, the audio accompaniment depicting the seven days of Creation as described in Genesis is dull as a dishwasher. The visuals are well worth the wait, however. Find you favorite album or playlist and don those earbuds. Enjoy the stars.

I bet you didn’t know Virginia is home to over 4,000 caves. This statistic blew my mind when I first heard. Most of them are not worth mentioning, but there IS one in Natural Bridge with some jaw-dropping formations and an original name to boot: The Caverns at Natural Bridge. (Not to be confused with the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio.) It’s a great escape from the summer heat at a stable 54 degrees Fahrenheit and is a great sequel or prequel to your Natural Bridge geological lesson.

Slightly less geological, but still in the same realm is Mark Cline’s Foamhenge. This is a full size scale replica of Stonehenge made entirely of foam. It’s a heck of a roadside attraction even if it hasn’t stood up to Stonehenge's test of time. This is a MUST stop, even if it's only for a few minutes. And say "hello" to Merlin for me.

Additional suggestions: Grab dinner in nearby Lexington at The Red Hen (a farm-to-table daily menu that won’t disappoint) then catch one of the walking ghost tours. Stay the night at House Mountain Inn (below) and hike to their overlook on Big House Mountain with a bottle of wine. Or scramble up the Devil's Marbelyard. Bonus points: visit in autumn.

A friend and I recently hiked Stony Man Mountain on Skyline Drive (milepost 39.1), an easy 2.9 mile out-and-back trail with an elevation change of 750 feet. About half a mile up you'll run into Little Stony Man Cliffs where you get a spectacular view of the valley and can witness the cliff face for which the mountain was named. It's the second highest peak in Shenandoah National Park, by the way.

Unfortunately, just after reaching the summit, the sun sank behind a giant rain cloud. I was able to snap this shot of a family who'd made it to the top before the weather betrayed us, leaving us to eat our trail mix and peaches with the impending gloom. We flipped almonds and caught them in our mouths until I deemed him the King of The Mountaintop Almond Toss (a useful conversation starter and essential party skill).

We called the sunset quits just as it began to sprinkle and made it back to the car in time for the deluge, the sky flashing as we booked it out of the park along the Drive.