I discovered a new motivation for walking – a camera! I also discovered a new motivation for blogging – a camera! O.k., you may already know about the power of the little gadget, but this morning I actually took it on a walk and learned about a whole new world. As I left the house, I thought, “Maybe a photograph will give me a blog post idea. It’s worth a try.”
So, this is the story about how I learned walking is more fun if my sole purpose is to take photographs to blog! And this is the story about how a blog post and more than one came from walking and “seeing things” from my camera’s eye view. 
It was a surprisingly beautiful day, with clear blue skies and those big fluffy white clouds that make irresistible photo ops, and there was a cool breeze after last night’s rain. I parked on Main Street right next to our city cemetery. I love cemeteries – not because I expect to wind up in one, but because they are always so serene and somewhat haunting. Did I say haunting? By the way, I love steeples too. They are so uplifting.
But, my mother is buried in this city cemetery and my best friend, Meche, along with many soldiers of the American Civil War, including Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Jackson was a Confederate general who won many a battle against the Yankees. Before the war, he lived in our downtown in a neat little house on Washington Street and he taught at the Virginia Military Institute.
Approach to Jackson’s Tomb
After paying my respects in this haunting cemetery, it was back to Main Street where I was struck by an overhead street banner announcing a local Pie Festival. Where else but in a rural community like this would you be urged to enjoy a pie festival? Our ice cream social was such a grand success I suppose someone thought pie would be a good idea too. After the serenity of death in our lovely cemetery, this sign screams “life” and the enjoyment of luscious living.
Onward I walked, and I took a few photos of our main thoroughfares. The tourists were out enjoying the sun, and the Lexington Carriage Company was clip-clopping them around town by horse and buggy. I stopped in at the carriage company tack room/preparation center and met two new horses who were being introduced to the city. They had just had their baths and were enjoying lunch. Their owners invited me to take pictures and said I could learn more about their operation by “liking” their Facebook page at LexCarriage. Amazing what sporting a camera will do in terms of introducing you to new folks. It’s much like walking a dog!
As I roamed around town this morning, always looking for likely photo ops, I suddenly realized I was panting and could hardly trudge back to the car. And checking my watch, I discovered I had walked 40 minutes! True, it was not fast power walking, but I wandered much further than I would have without my trusty Camera. The fact is, until the final slog back to the car, I was having a grand time looking around town for likely photographs that might be the inspiration for a blog post.
All the experts advise that walking is the best exercise. Walking in fresh air and sunshine is even better. They also advocate finding an exercise you like to do, something you can have fun at. I must admit, I have never found exercise of any kind to be “fun.” I much prefer the couch and have to force myself into the right state of mind to actually move.
Now, however, I see myself as a foreign correspondent, looking at the world through my camera’s lens. O.k., so the pics are pretty amateurish. And the locale is local and not foreign. But the act of photographing while walking is my newest inspiration.
“I thought about making a fitness movie for folks my age and calling it Pumping Rust.” ~Author Unknown
- The Time Traveler’s Road (countryliving4beginners.wordpress.com)
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