New Wedding Tradition?

On Sunday, John and I took a trip back to Peace Valley Park, so I could get some changing leaves  and great sunsets photos.   I did get some lovely shots, like these...  (click on any of the photos below to get a bigger and better view and some good details)

Then, I saw this...

WHAT?????  Is she really wearing a wedding gown???


My sister told me that apparently this is the new thing to do after your wedding.  Ruin your wedding gown in a fun way, because you're never going to wear it again.  Brides jump in mud puddles and other crazy things (like roll around in a cold lake) .


I can't imagine my daughter doing this after her wedding, especially after all the money she spent to purchase her gown.  (she won't and I'm sure you'll see a comment from her confirming this!!)


I, myself, had my wedding gown preserved, in case one of my daughters wanted to wear it when they got married.  I should have realized when I married a man who was 6'2" tall (and I'm 5' maybe) that chances were, any daughter I had would be taller than me (Gina is 5'3" and Dani is 5'5")


Here's a blast from the past!   My brother, Michael and me on my wedding day in 1981.  Michael gave me away because my Dad had passed on the year before.  I paid $250 for my dress, which probably equates to about $1,000 in today's dollars.  I can't imagine ruining this lovely dress!

Anyway, I Just thought it was nuts!  To ruin a perfectly good dress, even if you don't plan to wear it ever again.  Maybe a future daughter might!  Or use the material to make a First Communion dress or a Baptismal gown.

Peace Valley Park, Week 2

I'm trying to get back to my favorite park in the world, Peace Valley Park, in the lovely village of Chalfont, in Bucks County, PA.  I'm hoping to catch the turning leaves at just the right moment.  


The weather today was perfect!  74 degrees with a light breeze.  I sweater or jacket was needed in the shade, but in the sun, it was warm and lovely!


We got to the park around 2:30, a few hours earlier than we did last week.  We weren't there for sunset because Dani and Tim were both coming home.  Dani for an orthodontist appointment and Tim, just because.  Dani's boyfriend, Dustin came home with her.   I promised to make lasagna.... a lot of it so Dani could bring the remainder back to her place in Indiana, PA.  I put the lasagna together last night, then headed to John's to spend some time with him.  I left his place at 5pm to be home for dinner.


sorry.... rambling here.


Anyway, we got to the park at 2:30 and I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few people there.... in the grass, on the pathways, and in the water!


There were all kinds of water craft today!    I had my trusty camera with me.

We saw Sailboats.

We saw kayakers.

We saw my favorite!  A windsurfer!

We even saw people using the paddle boats.

There were lots and lots of folks on land too!

Folks relaxing and reading.

People enjoying a picnic.  They brought a really cool portable gas grill with them!

This old lady was all bundled up to keep the chill off!  Her husband had a really stinky cigar and had just walked off to chat with someone.  I think they were just enjoying the outdoors.  That wasn't their camper either.  Someone had just parked it there minutes before.

There were cyclists riding on the paths.

People playing and walking their dogs.

I saw a runner in just a pair of shorts.  I think it was too chilly for go topless, 

but I guess he was ok with that.

Someone was nice enough to take our picture for us.

John took this one.  Oops!  You can see my white roots!  Time to visit my hairdresser!  

And I just realized that John's so intent on taking the picture that he forgets to smile!

Now, why were we there?  Oh yeah!  We came to the  park to take photos of the changing leaves!  I was so busy taking photos of all the people there, I nearly forgot!

This was taken October 2

This was taken on October 10.

You can see some subtle changes in the colors.    Let's see what next week brings, weather permitting!