Joe Benning Photography

Travel & Photo Blog

  •   Reston, VA

Sevilla, Spain

! Hola ! We made it and we are now settling in to our flat in Seville, where we will spend the next 6 weeks. We are in a (Spanish) language immersion program. Mary Anne is in the advanced class. Needless to say I am not. I am in the class with the other hopeless […]

Read More »

On the Road Again–New Mexico

We are finally getting back on the road. We recently gave Road Scholar a test spin with a trip to New Mexico. Our group leader, Scott Aarestad, whose photo is included below, did a great job of showing our group around—with the sites ranging from places in the city of Albuquerque to Taos to Los […]

Read More »

The Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens is an immense collection of botanical gardens in Kennet Square, PA. It is largely the creation of Pierre DuPont who originally bought the 1,077 acres to preserve the trees growing there. Located in the Brandywine Creek Valley, it is one of the premier display gardens open to the public year-round.  Pierre DuPont, who […]

Read More »

Asheville, North Carolina

The New York Times describes Asheville as a big blue dot amid a sea of red voters in western North Carolina. And it is that. It is also a tourist mecca and home to the Biltmore Estate. Built by George Washington Vanderbilt between 1889 and 1895 it is, according to Wikipedia, the largest privately owned […]

Read More »

Newport, Rhode Island

In October it was off to Newport, Rhode Island for a family wedding. (Congrats, Steve and Madison). Newport is a gorgeous town—picturesque, very much a New England vibe, and with a lot of history. We got a chance to do some sightseeing amid all the festivities that included the famous cliff walk.  If you get […]

Read More »

Fall Comes to Reston

Fall has finally arrived. This fall the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival returned to Reston Town Center. Sponsored by the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art, the festival provides a forum for artists to display their work and offer pieces for sale. This year’s festival was rescheduled from May of 2021 to September 9 though 12 […]

Read More »

More on the Outer Banks

There is a lot more to see and do on the Outer Banks in North Carolina than just hang out at the beach–which truth be told is pretty enjoyable by itself. There are plenty of other things to see. Among them are the lighthouses at Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras, the Jockey Ridge Sand Dunes, […]

Read More »

Duck, North Carolina

Summertime and the living is easy. Especially in Duck, NC, where we will be for the rest of July and most of August. The place is hopping. Vacation season is here and it looks like people are making up for the horrible 2020.  The setting is gorgeous; the weather is terrific and there are plenty […]

Read More »

Off to New Jersey for a Wedding

We recently traveled back up to New Jersey to attend the wedding of our nephew Kevin McDonald to Becca Lipke. The wedding had actually been scheduled for 2020, but due to the Covid pandemic, it was postponed for a year. With things finally opening up, the wedding went forward.  The ceremony took place at Hudson […]

Read More »