Foundation Executive Director

I always insist driving when my wife and I are on the Parkway, not because I am a road hog or control freak but because we keep our camera loaded between us, ready to aim and fire.  Some of our best Parkway photos are those prospect shots that you see out of the corner of your eye driving at 45 miles per hour.  I have learned to stop sharply, but safely to avoid the inconvenience of having to go down the Parkway to turn around and come back to find that the shot has been lost.

One recent case was the classic family photo that was being set up at a popular overlook, tripod set with all the family members tightly grouped sans dad.  Whoa!  "Would you like for us to take that shot for you?"

What greeted us was not the perfunctory, "well, yeah," but "this place is great and we want this photo to be the one to go on our Christmas card."  We always ask where people are from but it was obvious from the get-go that they were from "Minnes-soda" and that this was their first trip to the Parkway.  "Actually, we were looking for Panera Bread (Hiway 25 south and the Parkway in Asheville) and we discovered the Blue Ridge Parkway!  Wow, what a place!"

I had to take my own classic photo with them grouped around the overlook sign and as I was filling out the photogrpahy model release which we do with all of our photography (the parents names are Joel and Janell), the mom began to list the name of her five boys.  "Josiah, Jonathan", ...and let me guess where this was going, all the rest of the names would begin with 'J' ... "Jordan and Joshua".

Yes, a Blue Ridge Parkway Perfect Family.  I hope they will come back!