(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

So I am finally getting around to going through our photos from our Newport, RI trip last May.  There were so many beautiful things about this town and although I can offer only a pinch of some of the visual, there was so much more.  The pride this town has in it’s history & it’s art & it’s ties to the ocean is seen everywhere and so inspirational.  As you interact more and more you feel a distinct air of wholesomeness & friendliness that resonates in the delightful personalities of the locals.  And although this town generates quite a large bit of tourism, it feels so far from touristy.  This is a gem that is worth a visit.  Thanks honey for finding it and all your planning you did to take us there. 

Newport, I love you and I cannot wait to come back year after year after year to explore all of your lovely layers…

On the drive up we passed by these unused overpasses that nature reclaimed back into it’s arms, before NYC, maybe in NJ.  Reminds me of the documentary Life After People. 

Leilani letting the breeze into our beautiful room at Newport Beach Hotel & Suites.  We booked in the off season and got an amazing room for a fraction of the cost.  It was AWESOME!

A view of the beginning of Easton Beach.  What the photo does not reveal is that this particular part of the beach is rather stinky due to the decaying organic matter in the seaweed below.

Starting our stroll along the beautiful Cliff Walk which is famous for it’s views of not only the bay, ocean & cliffs but also of some of the famous historial mansions and houses that border the walk.

Tall hedges & fences keep the public from venturing or peeping in on some of the private residences that also are along Cliff Walk.  If you did not know any better you would wrongfully assume all the really magnificent historic looking homes are accessible to the public.  You will find many gated & fenced properties all over Newport which specifies their private status right at the gates.

My sweethearts, Leilani & Scott walking down the famed Forty Steps which “During Newport’s Golden Age, the Forty Steps were a gathering place for the servants and workers from the nearby mansions.”

View at the bottom of The Forty Steps.

View at the bottom of The Forty Steps.

This is one of the first spectactular pieces of historic architecture you can easily see and simply walk right up to from Cliff Walk (no fence!).  I at first assumed it was The Breakers but after walking all around it was suprised to find that this was owned and used by The Salve Regina University.  The impressive structure is called Ochre Court and had we not had our jogging stroller in tow, we could probably have walked right in. 

Giant trees like this oak are very common.  Some showcasing branches that are as thick as large mature trees.  Many had heavy chains installed that were used to hold up some of the larger branches.   There were a lot of “WOW” moments just in tree size appreciation during the trip.

The Breakers by far one of the most opulent creations from the Gilded Age.  We did tour the mansion (which is rather hard to do with a 3 year old) but it was mind blowing!  It is incomprehensible how something like this was created.  Unfortunately no interior photography was allowed but every square inch of the inside of the mansion is lavished with detail and extravagance.  You just cannot help but to awe at the art that surrounds you and imagine in wonder at the amount of time, effort, and money that must have went into creating each spectacular room.

Gates like this is typical for most of the larger properties.

So are Gatehouses which sometimes are impressive all on their own.  This huge gothic light is from the Gatehouse for McAuley Hall.

More to come soon…

Newport, RI Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

If you are wondering why the sudden drop off in Blog posts and FB chatter, I am still getting caught up from our recent week long family trip out to Newport, RI (which has secured it’s place as my favorite road trip vacation destination!).  We are still in catch up mode but we will be posting more lovely inspiration again very soon!

In the meantime here is a little bit of lovely inspiration.  A lovely sunset panorama of Newport Harbor.  If you have never been, consider it.  It is only about 6-7 hours away (just stay off of 95 through NYC) and there are a ton of things to do for all ages.  It is gorgeous, historical and so friendly!  And the historical houses & mansions are WOW! 

Have a beautiful weekend!

Grace

Central PA’s Refreshingly Modern Portrait & Wedding Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

Some more photos taken at Cape May on our brief stay in March.

All that was needed was to ask this little girl to give her Dad a raspberry, she most enthusiactically obliged.

Not a whole lot was open in the off season but the ice cream & fudge store was!  Ice cream can be enjoyed on a cold blustery day, but did you know high winds can melt ice cream faster than no wind at all? 

We revisited The Star Inn which was the 1st place we tried out when we first went to Cape May in 2007.  We were drawn to the fresh and modern beachy decor, suite set up and cozy little back yard.  Oh what a few years can do to a place.  The mattress was terribly sunk in the middle and the furniture & carpet had seen much better days but the great memories were still there.  Note to all hoteliers, please use great mattresses, nothing can be worse than a nice room with a terrible mattress…

Love Sunset Beach, known for it’s gorgeous sunsets, concrete ship, Cape May Diamonds & the fun beach stores with curious things to look at.  The beach is made up primarily of small smooth stones or “diamonds” and upon closer inspection there is also a treasure trove of life & death scattered through out the washed up debris.  The most exciting is to find the alien looking spider crabs which at first look dead but are mostly alive, just slow…  Living & skeleton varieties of other crabs and sealife also are everywhere, the waves mixed with rocks I imagine can be quite brutal at times.

This very charming & beachy memorial to American Pride or something unknown was on display at the end of Cape May Beach.  I imagine by the time we revisit it again in the summer the prized shells will have been picked clean by shell collectors.  Scott did run way wayyyy down the beach as Leilani and I shouted that we were freezing out butts off in the wind, when he came back he had 3 giant shells like the ones decorating the fence here.  One of the shells was entirely intact.  A Great find!  That is definitely something we wouldn’t be able to get had we not stopped by in the off season.

Cape May, we will see you again this summer!   

If you ever need to try a new beach destination, we couldn’t recommend Cape May more.  It is gorgeous, clean and delicious!  And for the most part feels like you are stepping back in time when things were more wholesome, classy, respectable, polite and family oriented.  Love this place…

Cape May, NJ Addict & Harrisburg Area & Central PA’s Modern Portrait & Wedding Photographer - Grace Lightner Photography

(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

Cape May, NJ is a place that we have grown very fond of for the past 3 years.  We take our family vacation out there in the summers.  What is there to love?  The beautiful beaches which are kept clean and spacious enough to not ever feel crowded, the charming old Victorian buildings full of history and gorgeous gingerbread work, the newer grand beach houses that make you sigh &  you wish you were making rock star money, the amazing culinary selection and the pleasant people.  We just love it there!

So we decided to head there for a short get away towards the end of March.  It was a risky move as we knew it would be cold but we were getting a few days of nice weather by then so we were hopeful.  It was most certainly the off season, most of our favorite restaurants were closed and despite the great weather we had the week before, our trip coincided with a stretch of cold and blistering winds.  And then when we found it was going to rain we cut our losses and left a day early. 

We spent less than 24 hours in Cape May but it was better than nothing.  We needed a couple of beach days even if they happened to be bittery cold and windy =)  I got a chance to shoot a little and hang out with my babes which made me happy!

This crab was alive but so cold it was just not interested in doing much scurrying.

Seashells, seashells on the seashore.  In the off season there TONS of shells everywhere, and not just shell pieces but big honkin beautifully intact whole pieces.  Leilani could care less about the cold all she wanted to do was collect shells, she preferred the broken variety.

I love the presence and architecture of this church, I always take a photograph of it if I am walking by with my camera, it is just gorgeous.  It is the Our Lady of The Star Sea Catholic Church and is built in a Medieval revival style with Roman & Gothic styles of architecture mixed together beautifully.

Were were all so spoiled with that short string of gorgeous spring weather.  Like so many I was out in short sleeves tidying the garden and enthusiastically getting it ready for planting in hopes of a bounty of fresh veggies and flowers.  Delightfully admiring the early spring blooms peeking out in yards and roadside gardens.  And somewhat enjoying the yellow of the crazy forsythias that I hope I never ever convince myself to buy.

Then blammo a streak of windy & raw and now rainy weather.  A bummer probably to most, me too but I always like to look on the bright side.  It will make the rest of this week feel that much more AWESOME as we are supposed to get gorgeous sunny days with temps in the 70′s!  Wahoo!!!

So just a reminder for those waiting it out, spring has definitely awoken and here are some photos from a week ago to remind us.

It was the striking color combination of this almost forgotton dried thai chili that happened to be next to this brilliant wild purple viola that made me go inside and grab my camera and my macro lens.  I didn’t stage this.  The juxtaposition of old death and new life both equally vibrant in color really spoke to me.

Should have been called bunny willows.

Definitely one of my favorite trees due to it’s winter and early spring presence.  The Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick and it’s unusually screwing limbs and graceful catkins.

Perfect few days for bringing out the sidewalk chalk, don’t worry they are coming again in just a few…

Beautiful beautiful hellebore or lenten rose.  The earliest blooming flower in our perennial gardens.  Fragile in look but in reality very hardy.

Mmmm reminds me of chocolate…  

Enjoy,

Harrisburg Area & Central PA Flower & Nature Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

Blue Bird of Happiness sounds like a sing-song version of an oxymoron.  But if you have ever observed blue birds you know the truth behind the term.

Since 2-3 years ago we have had about 4 blue bird boxes all around our yard.  If you are not aware, blue birds are VERY particular about where they will nest, so if you want to attract blue birds you almost have to buy or build a special bird house for them.  That alone will not guarantee though that the blue birds will come.  The placement of the box is also very important.  Out of all of our blue bird boxes, 2 will usually be ignored but this one is definitely a favorite, especialy for us because it is located right outside the kitchen window. 

Late February here in Central Pennsylvania while it is still too cold to go out without a heavy winter coat, the blue birds started their house hunting.  With all the leafless trees and little sign of life outside it was a welcome vision to see this bright and happy little bird excitedly checking out it’s possible new digs right in our back yard.

It is a sure sign that spring is soon to follow and before I know it there will be 4 pairs of blue birds vying for this box.  They are very civil about it too, no loud screeching, pecking, or flying of feathers, they usually just stand around and talk it out…  Maybe I am wrong it could just be a friendly brunch.

The pair usually lay eggs at least twice through out the year and during the summer there is usually 1 really fat blue bird baby that hangs out close to the box.  I guess there is just no place like home…

Here is a tip, put the box close to areas where birds can easily perch nearby, preferably close to a window so you can enjoy watching them.  This one is hung up on a mini pergola and there is deck railing and a wood playground structure nearby.  Want a blue bird box of your own?  There are tons on the web if you just google, just be sure you are able to open them as they will need to be emptied at least once a year.

Grace

Harrisburg Portrait & Wedding (& sometimes Nature!) Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography