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author | luxagraf <sng@luxagraf.net> | 2017-04-29 09:33:07 -0500 |
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committer | luxagraf <sng@luxagraf.net> | 2017-04-29 09:33:07 -0500 |
commit | a5aac1376579ddf0baabed815baeb7f384ae922f (patch) | |
tree | 3cbe99e17ffd8028eaf52f63719e91d7e053016e | |
parent | defeedb08942bf23f0af05e602f5e25c2b09529c (diff) |
added gulf island piece and archived unused stuff
-rw-r--r-- | gulf-islands.txt | 19 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | unused/leaving.txt (renamed from leaving.txt) | 0 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | unused/quality-of-things.txt (renamed from quality-of-things.txt) | 0 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | unused/rhythm.txt (renamed from rhythm.txt) | 0 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | unused/searching for ruben dario.txt (renamed from searching for ruben dario.txt) | 0 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | unused/shorethoughts.txt (renamed from shorethoughts.txt) | 0 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | unused/upgrades.txt (renamed from upgrades.txt) | 0 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | unused/urns.txt (renamed from urns.txt) | 0 |
8 files changed, 19 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/gulf-islands.txt b/gulf-islands.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..403f9e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/gulf-islands.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +I could spend all day floating in the Gulf of Mexico. Coming from the Pacific I sometimes sneer at places without waves. Waves humanize the ocean, they give it rhythm, maybe even rhyme and reason. Especially big waves. + +The Gulf though. It's not much for waves, a little chop that's trying to be wave like at times. But there is something utterly tranquilly magic about just floating there on your back, staring up the occasional brown pelican or tern hunting for fish. Or at least it seems like it would be, unfortunately I don't float for more than about five seconds. I do enjoy sit-floating in the shallows, watching the birds drift by overhead, especially Ospreys, which are in abundance around here. Having spent considerable time watching Ospreys over the last few weeks I've decided that, should I get the chance to have another go on this planet, I'd like to do it as an Osprey. + +We ended up staying four extra days at the beach house in St. George Island. Some friends from Atlanta came down for the last couple of days and then we hit the road again, headed for the Fort Picken area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. + +I am, and will continue to be, an advocate of taking the back roads. However, there are exceptions and Florida's 98 -- not really a back road, but the only option other than I 10 -- is a horrid disaster of a road. It was so bad I'm not even going to describe it. I'll just say that if I had it to do over again I'd take I10. Although I don't know, Florida drivers are so consistently bad I'm not sure I'd want to see them going over 60. I've been to 45 states and Florida drivers are without question and by a very large margin consistently the worst drivers I've ever had the misfortune to drive among. I've also never seen so much garbage hurled from moving cars. Stay classy Florida. + +Despite the horror of Florida roads and the drivers on them we did eventually though we made it to Gulf Island National Seashore, which might be the prettiest beach I've been to in the U.S. It's downright stunning, if you plunked me here I might guess I was in Thailand though the dunes provide a clue, the dunes are unmistakably Gulf coast barrier island dunes. + +In some ways Gulf Islands is probably what St. George was like 60-70 years ago. Take away the houses and St George wouldn't be all that different. St. George is darker though, more stars. I've never been anywhere on the east coast with more stars visible than St. George. + +We ended up in a really nice partially shaded spot in the Fort Pickens campground, about a three minute walk from the shoreline. Approaching perfection in fact. The weather largely held too, we had couple days of clouds here and there, but that just meant we got the beach to ourselves. If you're willing to put up with the occasional spit of rain, you can have an entire barrier island to yourself down here. Or at least it feels that way. I spent several hours on the beach one day with the girls and we didn't see another soul. + +If all this sounds wonderfully Idilic there is one, occassional, catch. This particular barrier island is right off the coast of Pensacola, home of a rather large naval air station. A rather large naval air station that happens to be home to the Blue Angels. Just down the road there's an air force base that's home to the Thunderbirds. Twice a week, two times a day, for the better part of two hours you get a free air show. We even got the see the Blue Angels flying in formation with the Thunderbirds, which I'm pretty sure doesn't happen at air shows. + +I have mixed feelings about watching 40 million dollar killing machines burn through millions more dollars in jet fuel for the sole purpose of entertainment, but the kids thought it was pretty cool. Or at least they were entertained until they noticed a Great Blue Heron that was going around to all the fishermen and women on the pier and trying to steal their fish. I thought we had a close encounter with a Heron at the cabin the swamp, but that was nothing compared to this. This bird had no fear and seemed to barely care about our existence. It came within arms reach -- and Great Blue Herons are very big birds, as tall as I am -- and just stared, craning its neck around, always keeping an eye on all the buckets of fish around the pier. + + diff --git a/leaving.txt b/unused/leaving.txt index 61843ab..61843ab 100644 --- a/leaving.txt +++ b/unused/leaving.txt diff --git a/quality-of-things.txt b/unused/quality-of-things.txt index 3834e76..3834e76 100644 --- a/quality-of-things.txt +++ b/unused/quality-of-things.txt diff --git a/rhythm.txt b/unused/rhythm.txt index 824df9c..824df9c 100644 --- a/rhythm.txt +++ b/unused/rhythm.txt diff --git a/searching for ruben dario.txt b/unused/searching for ruben dario.txt index 56f93d0..56f93d0 100644 --- a/searching for ruben dario.txt +++ b/unused/searching for ruben dario.txt diff --git a/shorethoughts.txt b/unused/shorethoughts.txt index dfcd56d..dfcd56d 100644 --- a/shorethoughts.txt +++ b/unused/shorethoughts.txt diff --git a/upgrades.txt b/unused/upgrades.txt index 76c63cc..76c63cc 100644 --- a/upgrades.txt +++ b/unused/upgrades.txt diff --git a/urns.txt b/unused/urns.txt index 766da19..766da19 100644 --- a/urns.txt +++ b/unused/urns.txt |