Posts Tagged ‘river’

Avignon And Arles – Beautiful Southern France

Pont Du Gard ©TimeLine Media

Viking River Cruise

Today’s post is a departure from my regular geography as they are from the cities of Avignon and Arles in the south of France. Of course, this was a trip that we took well before our current lock down. I am more thankful for the opportunity now! Prior to leaving for the trip, I was not familiar with the history and geography of this part of France.

Viking Heimdal river cruise ship ©TimeLine Media

Avignon and Arles

Our flight arrived in Marseilles from which we boarded a van that took us to the ship. We boarded the Viking Heimdal in the medieval city of Avignon. This ancient city has many characteristics that come to mind when you think of the Middle Ages. The old city is fortified by a tall stone wall surrounding the interior. From behind the wall you can see towers rising from palaces and churches. In fact, this was the home city to popes that ruled the Catholic Church from here for a time. The landmark closest to the ship was a bridge over the Rhone that no longer spans the river.

 Pont Saint-Bénézet bridge over the Rhone in Avignon, France ©TimeLine Media

The next day, we cruised south to Tarascon. This was the closest that the ship could dock for a tour of to the city of Arles. Although this was a setting for part of the movie, ‘Ronin’ I was not familiar with this amazing city. This is an ancient Roman city complete with an amphitheater like the coliseum in Rome. It changed from an arena, to a fortress protecting the citizens from marauders, back to a bull fighting ring today. It was mind-bending to think that it was built as a gift from the Julius Caesar, the senator before he was emperor, for their support during a conflict.

Arles is also known as a place where Vincent Van Gogh resided and was hospitalized late in life. There are restaurants, and the hospital where you can tour and learn more about the artist and his work create there.

After the tour of Arles, the ship brought us back north to Avignon. On arrival, we were afforded a river view of Avignon in the evening – just stunning! It was an impressive ancient city that leaves an impression.

Since the ship docks close to the city center, I set an early alarm to get up to get some morning photos. I did not venture from the ship and took these from the roof deck. The fog and color from the sunrise set a moody feel to the photo. Cropping out the modern parking lot in front evokes a view of Avignon in ancient times.

Lastly as we left the Avignon area, we took a side excursion to the Pont Du Gard. As can be seen, this is an ancient structure built by Romans to bring water to the city of Nimes. It is the tallest aqueduct bridge from Roman times, and one of the best preserved. It was breathtaking to try to comprehend the feat to create such a structure so long ago. Not to mention, the slight elevation change along the entire route to Nimes that successfully brought water across 31 miles! As can be seen, this area for France is full of photogenic places and I feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to see Avignon and Arles. Stay tuned to the blog for our next stops!

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Colonial Pipeline River Cleanup

Trey from Anasoctia Riverkeeper speaking about cleanup efforts ©TimeLine Media
Trey from Anasoctia Riverkeeper speaking about cleanup efforts ©TimeLine Media

College Park, Maryland

Last fall, I photographed the corporate clean up event in College Park, Maryland for Colonial Pipeline. On this occasion, a group from the company met with Trey from Anacostia Riverkeeper, a non-profit organization. Their aim is to preserve and restore the Anacostia River, an important waterway throughout Washington, DC, and Maryland.

River Cleanup

This afternoon, the group received an education on the efforts of Anacostia Riverkeeper to improve the river. Outreach efforts with the goal of cleaner waters include lectures, and hands on workshops. Overall the goal is to have a clean river that the community can enjoy.

Colonial Pipeline River Cleanup group in College Park, MD ©TimeLine Media
Colonial Pipeline River Cleanup group in College Park, MD ©TimeLine Media

I was surprised at the amount of trash that was pulled from the river while they walked the river banks. Surrounded by fallen leaves, most of this trash was hidden from view. So, at first look, I did not think there was much to do. After finding some trash, volunteers separated the items by type. It became apparent how big this job would be. However, starting with this many volunteer on this small section is a start.

Trash Collection

From old food wrappers, bottles, and balls that had strayed from the nearby recreation area, they were removed and sorted. Additionally, there were some larger items that they removed. These included an old car seat, entire bags full of other garage, and a hose from a fire truck! As you can see from the photos, this required many people to bring out from riverbed! When a bag was full, it was weighed.

Sorting the garbage removed from the Anacostia river tributary ©TimeLine Media
Sorting the garbage removed from the Anacostia river tributary ©TimeLine Media

Overall, I was impressed with the volunteers from Colonial Pipeline. They donned the water-safe gear, gloves, and grabbing implements. Then they put in a lot of work to find trash. Although it was cold outside, they moved quickly. Afterwards they brought all the trash together! After weighing the debris, they pulled out 500 pounds! Being a beautiful park, you would not have expected that much. Afterwards, they were properly disposed at nearby bins.

Colonial Pipeline team with trash they removed from the Anacostia River ©TimeLine Media
©TimeLine Media

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Freedom Boat Club

Sunset boat ride hosting by George on Belmont Bay in Woodbridge, VA ©TimeLine Media
Sunset boat ride hosting by George on Belmont Bay in Woodbridge, VA ©TimeLine Media

Woodbridge, Virginia

Being that we are in the middle of summer fun, I wanted to look back to a pre – quarantine event with Freedom Boat Club. On this occasion, George from my business networking group invited us on an evening cruise on the Occoquan River. I was very familiar with these waters since my mom has a house right on these shores.

George McIntosh of Freedom Boat Club hosting an event on Belmont Bay in Woodbridge, VA ©TimeLine Media
George of Freedom Boat Club hosting an event on Belmont Bay in Woodbridge, VA ©TimeLine Media

Since George works for Freedom Boat Club, we were taken for an evening cruise just out of their marina. Having a membership in his company gives you access to their fleet of boats. What a great way to entertain clients, or treat friends to a unique experience!

Boating on the Potomac River with guests of Freedom Boat Club in Woodbridge, VA ©TimeLine Media
Boating on the Occoquan with guests for a boat club in Woodbridge, VA ©TimeLine Media

If George wanted to pick a perfect day for a demonstration, this was it. Not only did the summer heat go away as we were speeding out on the waters, but the sunset was amazing. I took some time from networking to get lots of photos of the sunset. It doesn’t look like Woodbridge from out here!

Sunset over Belmont Bay in Woodbridge, VA ©TimeLine Media
Clouds lit by the setting sun over Belmont Bay ©TimeLine Media
Clouds lit by the setting sun over Belmont Bay ©TimeLine Media

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703-864-8208

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