Patterns in the Sand

In the late afternoon on Imperial Beach a strand of kelp lay on the sand. ~B

The Watchers

The Children's Pool in La Jolla was given to the city if it continued to be used for the benefit of the children of San Diego. But in the past few years harbor seals have found it to be a great place to rest, breed and have their pups. Protected under the Marine Mammal Act they are now watched by many curious visitors each day.

The seals have a slightly different reaction ranging from apathy -

to hyper-active excitement at all the attention -

~B

Bovine Beach

La Jolla has gone to the cows - 20-some, colorfully and artistically painted and placed on street corners . . . some have pierced teats -

. . . and others just have a message. ~N

Exxxxxxxxxxcuse me!

We had a nice red sunset tonite . . . have you ever lined things up, focused and just as you snap the shutter someone steps . . . errr flies right in front of you!? ~N

I Met a Woman

While this cartoon is funny, today I met a woman whose anger at the treatment she's received from her husband (not physical, I'm sure, but including divorce) might lead her to have these thoughts. Not to betray my gender, but it seems the men can be much more vindictive than the women EVEN when the men start the proceedings. ~B

Back Home!

We're back home from Antarctica. Art by the Embarcadero is new. This kaladiscope stands proud in the fog of the morning. ~N

The "Canadian"??

At Rebecca's, a funky coffee house in South Park known for its scones and odd characters (no snide comments please!), we fell into conversation with a young "Canadian". He'd been in the U.S. for 12 years, but came from Vancouver and his parents still lived there. Having just been there, we began asking questions. After a few minutes it seemed that he knew little about Vancouver, didn't know anywhere we'd been, and was, to be kind, not much of a "Canadian". ~B

A Fitting End (or a Prediction???)

19,640 miles -not quite around the world, but close enough for now. Our last night was in Gila Bend, Arizona at The Space Age Lodge. It seemed appropriate to end this journey with the suggestion of a future trip. Maybe soon??? ~B

Silver City, New Mexico ~ N's View

A 2 hour walk through the historical section of town - mygosh! there was lots of color! ~N

Silver City, New Mexico ~ B's View

We came into Silver City in the early evening yesterday - not too impressed with one of the "Top 10 Small Towns in America". A jumble of signs, fast food, old and new motels, tire stores, auto repair, etc. Seemed that a 2 night town should have been a 1 nighter. BUT in the AM, walking the 'historic district' and seeing the details of smaller things, it was different. There is a core that is old & battered, but also active and alive with color, art and creativity. It's still not a 2 nighter ~ now it's maybe a 3-4. ~B

New Iberia, LA ~ Best Little Main Street in US??

Late in the day we went seeking the "Best Little Main Street in the US" - that of New Iberia, LA. On a street of empty store fronts and a few shops, most closed for the day, we did find some interesting images. One that caught my eye was a brick wall of a building with an unknown future. But it glowed in the late afternoon light. ~B

Cajun Residents (Abbeville, LA)

Driving through Louisiana's bayou country today - we saw that the harvested rice fields have been flooded now and wire traps have been set out for the next crop - crayfish.

Lawns all over town have these dried muddy mounds. I asked a bayou homeowner and she told me - "Oh, those are just the little crayfish who live everywhere in the mud". ~N

Bubba Lives!!!

Along the Natchez Trace National Parkway it's very rare to see any trash. Many times we passed a pickup, flashing lights and wearing a sign announcing 'Frequent Stops', that would stop to pick up trash. But in the remnants of the Trace, the local bubbas toss their Bud Lights - is there a reason we never find a microbrew the weeds? Hmmm? ~B

The Trace

As we drifted down the Natchez Trace, we passed above rolling valleys of Tennessee farmland. ~B

TN Cypress Knees

Cypress knees we found on our drive today from Memphis to Nashville, TN. ~N

Graceland

Graceland - hype, gift shops at every turn, Elvis singing from every nook and cranny, a marketing machine, all what Toby Keith describes as "a redneck with money". But also impressive in many ways - here was a man who cared about family, had immense talent, was generous and kind, and probably lonely in many ways because he was unique. I've always enjoyed his music. I was ambivalent about him personally. Now I like him much better as a person. And I think he would have gotten a big laugh out of what his Graceland has become. ~B

Beale St. Memphis, TN

It's colorful, cold this time of year, several blocks for walking only/blocked from car traffic - it's messy, grubby between the old buildings - at night music spills from clubs and the smells of southern cooking wants to follow you home. ~N

Hwy 64 - Tennessee

Along Highway 64 across southern Tennessee is a string of small towns, some with central squares or even a central hexagon. Outside the towns are little pockets of homes, farms and other buildings. Some are large, impressive and new. Others, like the one below, are small, battered and broken. Many have a seat on the porch facing the road. ~B

Jack Daniels Distillery Tour

Our tour guide, seen here explaining how the barrels in which Jack Daniels is aged, are made, toasted and then charred before being used ONCE to age the whiskey. (An Aside: he'd also told us that if anyone had trouble physically following him on the walk, he would send for help. As he wheezed through the tour, I wondered if it was really a silent cry for help.) ~B

More Cherokee, NC

Cherokee, NC has one main street that threads a curvy trail between a creek (overflowing right now) and steep wooded mountains. The main road is decorated by colorful bear statues. ~N

Piggies

In the Cherokee Indian Reservation town of Cherokee, NC, on a street lined with shops selling T-Shirts, rubber tomahawks, mocassins, indian pottery (made in China), 'bajas', swords, knives, posters of Marilyn Monroe and other 'authentic indian crafts' is a covered shelf on which is stored a supply of plaster piggies - treasures ready for an eager buyer to take home. ~B

On the James

They drifted silently beneath the footbridge, casting, reeling in, saying nothing as they drifted silently down the James River in Virginia. Never acknowledging us as we watched from above. ~B

Checking for Indians

And late in the afternoon after several large cups of coffee, our fearless scout climbs a low stone wall to survey the situation below. ~N

Mechanics Helper

High on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Nola checks tire pressures. ~B

Fox Hunters Paradise

From an overlook called Fox Hunters Paradise, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we looked over rolling farmland and range after range of mountains. The day was overcast (below us) with fog layering the mountain ridges. ~B

It's all BLUE!

Wooo Hooo! We've reached the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia! ~N

Mmmm!! Tasty????

From the rafters in the Smokehouse at Shirley Plantation hang dissicated cuts of pork looking like so many long dead bats. ~ B

St Michaels, MD

The Maritime Museum at St. Michael's, MD. is awesome with many fascinating exhibits, including boats and lighthouses to wander through. This is a collection of old oyster meat cans, part of an exhibit including an old skipjack oyster fishing boat completely outfitted with all the tools and equipment the fishermen used.

Lancaster, PA

Today we drove behind Amish buggies down the main streets and rural roads too. ~N

Ho-Ho-Vermont

In Brattleboro Vermont we walked down the main street looking in the store windows. ~B

Rockland, Maine

Downtown Rockland has a fun light house museum with a large collection of lights of various sizes. The sign said *Do Not Touch* but I was able to lower my wide angle into one and blindly snap this photo. ~N

Blue Hill, Maine

All the creeks and little ponds are freezing over here. The noise of cracking ice is in the air. ~N

Almost Ooooops!!!

The hot water heater tank was damp - with a puddle on the top of the tank. Corroded fittings were leaking and some unidentifiable parts seemed nearly gone.The overly high water pressure in the pipes didn't help. The pressure regulator was not working. Why? We replaced it and the corroded gate valve next to it. The gate valve was 'rotten' and could have broken. It was really no longer a valve because it couldn't be turned.

Now, 3 1/2 hours later, things look much better. The top of the new water heater looks like this:And we have a new pressure regulator and an easy to reach, proper valve (yellow handle) just outside the house that can be used to turn off the water in an emergency. ~B

Cold Graffiti - Yarmouth, Maine

An Eskimo with a spear, (a toddler crawling behind him?), an igloo, 10 dogs hitched to a sled and another dog (labeled) bringing up the rear - all drawn on a white washed wall of a ferry landing hut at the end of a tiny dock on Cousin's Island near Yarmouth. ~N

The Sign of an Empty Mind?

I've heard that "a clean desk is the sign of a cluttered mind". Down the hall was an open door. I feared to enter, suspecting booby traps or even that my shots might not be up to date. ~B

Eartha in Yarmouth, Maine

Eartha is the world's largest rotating and revolving globe with a diameter of over 41 feet. It's located in Yarmouth, Maine at the DeLorme map company headquarters. ~N

Work Ethic

In Eastport, Maine, in front of a brightly painted house, someone made the extra effort to be creative. The split firewood could have been stacked in neat, orderly, but plain rows. But this stack was interwoven with pieces of wood to make it look as if the logs had been stacked within the branches of a tree. ~ B

Blue Berry Land - Jonesport, Maine

Up the coast a piece in Maine, where lobster rules supreme - we also found blue berry fields . . . and then we drove by Blue Berry Land on Hiway #1 - *Closed for the Season*, like most places in this state it seems . . . I'm almost sad I didn't get to experience their "Unique Blue Berry Gift Shoppee". ~N

Evening Light

The sun is setting very low now. Low on the horizon and well south of where it sets during the Summer. The flat, warm light illuminated a roughly stamped piece of glass hanging from a weathered wind chime. ~B

Marked in Michigan

Fort Wilkins State Park is at the very end of the Keweenaw Peninsula. As parks do, some of the trees are marked but this one with an engraved and then spray painted beaver? pelt shape, was different than the rest. ~N

Last Call

We don't get colorful Fall foliage in most parts of Southern California, but yesterday we had incredibly blue skies. Against this background the last of the dying leaves on a small maple waited patiently to fall. ~B

Goin' Out in Style

Wow, a very own mosaic for eternity - piece by piece someone honored Edward's life - or maybe he made it himself? Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. ~N