I can’t lie — this theme was in my mind for a couple of months because I knew I was taking a road trip.
And what a trip it was!

I’m still working on a couple of posts specifically about the trip, and offering up things I learned. And I have to say — I learned a lot. About me. About Harper. About life.
So yeah, it’s safe to say the trip was highly good for my self care quest.
It’s funny, too. I have been trying to make sure I take photos maybe without Harper in every one. I want my personal Instagram to have a better mix (she has her own Instagram after all), but it’s hard at times. She’s so damn photogenic! But I keep working for it. I’m also starting to carry around my mirrorless camera as it’s smaller, lighter, and more compact. I’m in a quest to find a good side case, though, to be able to carry it and some of the Canon M lenses I have for it.
Fall has arrived though, at least in my neck of the woods. Trees are turning color and I anticipate with the dry summer we had, it may be a quick turn this year. If it’s the same near you, make sure you get out and enjoy it. And if it’s not the same, well get outside anyway!
Here are my five for the month! Let’s see what you all have!
1. Sunrise
I’m going backward for some of these. This photo came on the final day of the trip. We were on the Jersey Shore and held a geocaching event at 6:45 a.m. to catch the sunrise. Nobody but the two of us traveling, and Harper made it to the event. That’s too bad, too, because it was an amazing sunrise. And I actually got Harper to pose for a few moments, which was shocking. (Side note, this photo is now a 24×36 canvas print on the wall in the living room).

2. Shenandoah National Park
We had the opportunity to drive through part of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park during the trip. The goal originally was to go from top to bottom, but it was extremely foggy and we only got this type of a view a few times. Also, it was more time consuming than they say, so we knew if we were to get to our stop that day, we needed to find a place to drop off. And, I’m going to be honest, as amazing as it is, seeing the same sort of views each stop got a bit monotonous. If we were finding different hikes etc., I could understand. But we picked the right time to hop off.

3. Geocaching
This trip, of course, covered some geocaching. And why wouldn’t it? We found a little more than 100 geocaches over the eight days, if I remember right, and it was nice to see such a difference. It’s also nice to find the ammo cans in the wild. If memory serves me right, this one was at a welcome center for Georgia and was a major travel bug spot. Harper, of course, found a stick to gnaw on as we did the other parts of geocaching!

4. Rock in the wild
I love finding the painted rocks when traveling. Sometimes I keep them. Sometimes I leave them. Sometimes I move them. This one I kept. It was too nice not to add it to my collection. We found it in Shen NP … and it was really nice to have something like this as a keepsake of this trip. From what this trip did for my self care, this rock is truly right.

5. Ferry ride
On the second to last day, we were heading from just below Washington DC (in Virginia) to the Jersey Shore. For where we were ending up, the fastest way included the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. We opted to give it a go when I researched and saw the ferry was dog friendly and I didn’t have to leave Harper in the car. She loved the ride. We walked the decks and people seemed happy to see her and some interacted with her and enjoyed petting etc. Harper also enjoyed the ride, the sights, sniffs and everything else. A success I’d say! I had to show two images here, so I combined them into one.

This trip was truly full of experiences for all of us. I learned a lot about myself and I hope I can put my fingers to the keyboard and have some good posts about the trip.
For now, there’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.
And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).
Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.
** CHALLENGE CHANGE **
From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.
That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.
So, below is the linkup for September. Make sure you drop your link there.
OK, so it’s time to keep on moving! It’s such a good month to get outside. Or sit inside with a cup of tea/coffee. There’s many things often going on in October. And, of course, on the last day. So let’s step back and make it a bit easier for the month. October’s theme is … Potpourri. Interpret as you see fit! Remember to come back on October 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!
Photo Blogging Challenge: September 2022 results
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!
Looks like an absolutely awesome rad trip!! I look forward to the posts to tell us more. This would be an amazing trip, especially in the Autumn.
Lisa recently posted..September Photo Challenge: Road Trip
Nice road trip! Love, love, love the sunset photo! Painted rock, not so much so. If I find them on my travels in National Parks, I will be picking them up and keeping them. It does not fit with the “Leave No Trace” ethic of being out in nature. Just like the people who feel they need to carve their initials into rocks and trees or decorate trees out in the wild with Christmas decorations. I remove those to. And I knock down artistic rock cairns. In some places, you will be confronted with hundreds of these human constructions. Got to go and select my five from about 500 taken on my Sept road trip.
What a fun trip, glad you and Harper had a great time!
Love the sunset picture. Good thing in September you don’t have to get up that early to catch it!
Maybe one day you paint your own rock?
Your photo of Harper at the geocache looks like she’s lying down near some poison oak. Leaves of three, let it be?
I hope that wasn’t the case.
Glad you were able to get away on a road trip with Harper before the school year started and work picked up again. And good for you for following through and printing one of your favourite photos – and large format, no less!! I need to start doing that from time to time.
I echo Mandy’s comment re: painted rocks in national parks and how it doesn’t jive with “Leave No Trace” BUT I will say that I think it’s less bad than making rock piles and WAY less bad than leaving litter. The most recent painted rock I found was along a local trail in Canmore and it said “Rock On.”
The last photo and accompanying commentary re: the dog-friendly ferry ride is pretty cool. Thanks for including that.