Seeing more family

I’ve left a message on facebook to my Uncle Mike letting him know I’m in the area. I probably should have gotten his phone number and given him a call, but alas – I’m a slave to convenience. Two days later he gives me a call, I happen to be nearly in his town already. Fifteen minutes later and I’m hanging out with Uncle Mike and Aunt Tawmmie. The fun began.

 

They give me a tour of the area, we go to the beach, I watch them play music at a birthday party, and at a rec center. We eat wonderful food, and swim in an 85 degree pool. We live the Florida lifestyle for a few days, and it was wonderful.

 

The first day we went down to a park in Punta Gorda. We see some wildlife. A blue crab, some pelicans, and a beautiful heron:

 

We visit a pottery and bamboo farm, where they have of all things pots:

And bamboo!

 

We visit Thomas Edison and Henry Ford’s winter estate. I forget my memory card, so they let me use their camera. We see the oldest banyan tree in the country (a crazy cool tree, hailing from india):

 

We take a picture of them in another ficus tree nearby:

 

The next day we are off to the beach. Florida has a cold snap, it’s in the 60’s or 70’s at the beach. People everywhere are in sweaters as Uncle Mike and I play in the surf. We laugh as the waves crash into us and knock us down. He feeds the birds a pretzel by hand while I shoot pictures like crazy:

 

 

Another dip in the pool, a dinner of alaskan king crab which was amazing, more music with friends. An amazing three days full of love, laughter, and life – food, fun, and family. A great three days.

 

And now I head north, to St. Petersburg to check out the city for a friend.

The Florida Keys

I’m speeding south, driving until my back and butt hurt. I’m sweating like a pig in the mid-80 degree temperatures with all that lovely humidity that comes with being on the ocean. I make it Miami on Saturday, taking highway 1 and A1A all the way down the coast (even when I’m in a hurry the interstate is to be avoided). I get towards the city and things begin to change. From run down towns to yacht clubs. From open beaches to ‘private property’ signs everywhere. Suddenly it’s not beat up civics driving around me, but Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Maserati. I’ve entered the rich-lands. I drive through without taking too much of it in. I’m really not interested in all these glittery things. I drive through Miami, planning to get an early start on the next day. Then I get a phone call from an old buddy.

 

His name is Joe, and I haven’t seen him since high school. We became ‘friends’ on facebook a few months ago and he noticed I was in his area. We decide to meet up, and I drive an hour back north to Ft. Lauderdale. I get to his house, we go out and get a bite to eat and a beer. We go back to his place and drink whiskey as we watch basketball. We get to know each other all over again. It’s good times. And it’s also a soft couch for me to sleep in, and a shower. Oh, the luxurious lifestyle. I say goodnight and goodbye, as I still plan on getting on the road long before he wakes up.

 

This is Joe, who could easily be a model if dentistry doesn’t work out for him:

 

Before dawn I’m on the road again, driving out to that stretch of islands south of the continental us. The clouds as I head down are amazing:

 

We drive all the way south to Key West, where it promptly begins to downpour for 15 minutes. Afterwards the sun is out, and it is a whole new kind of hot and humid. The dog and I make our way to the touristy part of town, we walk down the streets taking photos like everybody else. Things like mile marker zero of Highway 1:

 

And the big couple kissing:

 

Soon though I am tired of the area, so decide to head north again – back towards the mainland. I stop along the way to take natural photos. Things like a tree, at the very edge of the visible world:

 

An old stretch of highway that is no longer used:

 

And clouds over the beach:

 

I drive all through the evening to get back to the mainland, it’s dark and I’m exhausted by the time I pull into Florida City’s walmart. I pass out and sleep all through the night. Now it’s time to head west.

Miles and miles.

Not much to report. I’m in Florida. It’s almost exactly like southern California, except the sun rises on the wrong side of the ocean. And the water is warmer. And there are sand gnats biting you at dawn and dusk.

 

The miles just keep on rolling by as I make tracks for the Keys. Not too much stopping, not too much going on except driving through. My back hurts, my neck hurts, I think I’m not sleeping right. It’s humid and warm here, it makes me stink.

 

I take the dog running on the beach at sunrise. It’s enjoyable, but my calves dislike it. I get the camera out instead and take a few photos:

 

The dog helps out:

 

I have to admit, I am enjoying myself:

Savannah, GA is not pretty.

I was told this town was pretty, and I hoped to get a few pictures of it. But I can’t, it just doesn’t ever pan out.

 

You see the problem is that this town was not designed with a camera’s sensor in mind. With blocks after blocks of historic houses, a wonderfully dilapidated river road where the slaves were brought in, gardened ‘squares’ at every intersection in some districts, beaches that always seem to curve just out of sight, and the emotional equivalent of slow living seemingly built right into the brickwork, photographing this town is far outside of the talents of somebody like myself.

 

I’ve been here for a few days. Exploring parks, alleys, beaches, and backroads. All the while I’ve been clicking the shutter, hoping for something magical to stick in digital format like a wet leaf sticks to the sidewalk after a rain. Maybe, just maybe, with enough pictures of that beautiful hanging spanish moss, I might get just one that adequately translates the feeling it gives as I walk beneath it. Or perhaps that one dilapidated house would become on my memory card half of what it was as I walked across the street from it. Alas, no magic. I end up reviewing hundreds of photos and discarding almost all of them as ‘meh.’ Maybe my camera is broken, maybe it’s my eye, maybe Savannah simply wishes to remain as a mysterious feeling in my memory.

 

These are the closest things I’ve gotten to usable frames, in no particular order:

 

I leave Savannah tomorrow, with Florida in my sights. Some time on the beach and maybe a small break from the camera. Going to check out the keys, and then visit an uncle on the gulf side of the peninsula before continuing west. No idea how long Florida will take to get through… it looks like quite a few miles to drive around the panhandle.

Happy Turkey day!

Just a quick happy thanksgiving to everybody out there in the blogosphere. I’m currently in Savannah, Georgia. Have been for a few days. No big plans for me – a turkey sandwich, a whole blueberry pie (which I will share with the dog of course), maybe a trip to a bar for their turkey dinner and a few beers.

And some details that don’t fit anywhere else.

Some of the randomness of my photographic eye in Charleston:

The war memorial and the bridge into Charleston:

 

A costumed lady had her eyes set on Scrappy-Doo. “We have the same color scheme!” she said:

 

Callhoun kept watch over Marion Square:

 

Windows to heaven:

 

Beemers on trains! Awaiting a custom's agent to give them the once-over:

 

A fishing boat is but a speck on the morning horizon:

 

Voodoo door knocker:

 

Window shutter holder:

 

A pineapple fountain:

 

And there you have it. Almost everything I saw in Charleston. And just in time, because I’ve mosied on down to Savannah Georgia today. Let the fun begin again!

Graffiti in and around Charleston

Of course, we also explored the back alleys that we found, and asked a few locals for tips on where to go. The results were AWESOME.

From the mild:

 

To the WILD:

The flowers of Charleston

Of course, it’s not all buildings in this place. There are flowers everywhere. With a lovely temperature (high 70s) during the day, many people have window-sill garden boxes. Every place I look I see vegetation:

 

 

And of course, we don’t just stay in historic downtown either. We venture to the outlying areas. We walk on beaches and play in the surf. We drive all over the place. We return on monday, for some walking in non tourist-filled streets, until our feet once again hurt. And then we are off and away to still more pieces/parts of this place. I try to get to everything before we leave for Savannah, but I know I cannot.