When I was in Jr. High my dad and I took a trip to New Orleans. A friend of his was getting married. We stayed in a classic New Orleans balconied apartment for our visit on St. Charles. I don’t remember much from that trip except that the trolley ran by our building, there were very large plants, and the air was sultry and smoky. I’d been there a few times since and was never crazy about the place. So…
February 7, 2017 Fort Walton Beach, Florida I will dream of this ocean and of it’s beautiful unyielding song when I am locked away in a florescent cubicle in the middle of America. I will dream of this ocean and of it’s beautiful unyielding song when I am chasing my ideals down two-lane highways lined with forest. I will dream of this ocean when I am lying unable to sleep in a stuffy bedroom on the third floor of a brick…
It was a accident that I happened upon it – I was taking a detour off a highway and thought the road went through. Instead, I ended up at the site visitors center. This was a successful navigation mistake. The Moundville Archaeological Site near Tuscaloosa, Alabama isn’t huge, but very interesting. The museum is worth the time. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Heading south, I had some noisy neighbors and a poor night of sleep at Land Between the…
I went back to Carbondale after my fiasco in Terre Haute to spend more time with my mom and since it was no longer freakishly cold, I was able to visit some of my favorite haunts like Giant City State Park. First, Argos and I climbed up to look out over Shelter 1. This is a favorite hang-out spot, and also where a lot of folks practice rappelling. It was a gray day, and my photos aren’t fabulous, but at…
After a couple of well-fed days visiting friends in Springfield, I headed to Urbana, Illinois. I met my recently married step-brother for lunch and then went to find the duplex my mom and I lived in when I was in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. We lived in the right side further from the garage. I think it was white when I was a kid. We had an old Fiat that took a couple of hours to warm up in…
I have been remiss in my posting duties! After I left Carbondale, I headed a little north to Springfield, Illinois to visit some friends I hadn’t seen since around 2005! We had a delicious eats and indulged in The Great Negroni Debate: Vodka, Gin, Bourbon I think I liked the vodka one best, and my friend Wade liked the gin one. Or, the vodka or gin for after lunch, and the bourbon version for after dinner. I talked my friend…