John & Anne Wiley

2013/06/09

Yes N.O! (2)

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,People,Random — John @ 20:32

Well, I enjoyed many smiles in the memories triggered just now going thru our pix from New Orleans again. I’m a little surprised at only choosing eight more pix to share from the 600 or so snapped during our five days there! Of course, if you’re like me and just can’t get enough of this delightful town you can always take another look at the earlier posts from there. Meanwhile, here’s another overview taken as we flew in.

0239 N.O. Arrival

0239 N.O. Arrival

Tho you can’t really make out details, one of our hotels was at the right edge on this side of the river. Frenchman’s district is on the left side of the river’s curve past downtown’s tall buildings. Bourbon St. is a few blocks to the left of that running from the tall buildings into the distance. Another pic of the waterfront shows some of the cool parks we explored there.

0256 Waterfront

0256 Waterfront

Some of the zoom shots I got as we approached showed places we saw later on the ground, like Lafayette Square.

0260 Lafayette Square

0260 Lafayette Square

Three days later I snapped this view of the sky we’d been in, from that street.

0006 From Lafayette Up

0006 From Lafayette Up

An especially enchanting day was the one I wrote up in the “Mystique” post, when we discovered the refined night music scene in the Frenchman’s district. Here are two more snaps of that evening.

1116 Down Bourbon

1116 Down Bourbon

After looking down Bourbon Street from Canal St., the trolley took us to the Frenchman’s scene.

1121 Frenchman's

1121 Frenchman’s

Still plenty of stimulation, but not the ever-entertaining deafening crazy drunk screaming zombie crush on the open air asylum of Bourbon St. The music here spans the New Orleans spectrum including the thumping beat everywhere on Bourbon Street, but expanding to embrace everything else. Even in daytime downtown you’ll find fascinating street scenes.

0018 Street Art

0018 Street Art

When I look at this, art is both inside and outside the frame. Looking back as we left the Lakefront airport the next day, New Orleans felt even more like an intriguing friend.

0595 Farewell Friend

0595 Farewell Friend

2013/06/08

Maps (Isl. Adventure)

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Random — John @ 07:00

Last night we downloaded the GPS tracks from the antique (5 year old) portable aviation unit we had on the Islander Adventure. Unlike in prior Adventures, this time I always remembered to turn it on before takeoff and to occasionally start new tracks so it didn’t fill up and stop recording. Here’s what the whole trip looks like.

Islander Adventure Track

Islander Adventure Track

If you click to see the largest version, there are some interesting details. For example the short detours in PA when we flew over my ancestral town, and over Punxsutawney. The biggest detour was from the GA coast to TN and then back to the SC coast for our fun visit with Nashville relatives. Another detour was when we flew back to NY from Quebec via Maine to avoid weather. In case you’re wondering about the different colors, they’re not related to anything in particular – just the days when I started a new track.

Big Bend Track

Big Bend Track

As you can see from the Big Bend track, after landing (several circles) we flew pretty much direct to the border (Rio Grande River) and mostly followed that on the way to San Antonio. That beautiful shot of the light on the river looking into Mexico is where we first joined the river as it cuts through the ridge (dark diagonal line). Even looking at this terrain map, the memories of magnificent views come flooding back!

Bahamas / Keys Track

Bahamas / Keys Track

Our flight over Abaco and back to Freeport in the Bahamas similarly represents a flood of views with a simple line on a map. As does the part of this track that shows us going down to Key West and back. So glad we finally did that real islander part of the Islander Adventure we’ve wanted so long to do! Of course, looking at each of these tracks also brings back memories of all we did on the ground (and in the water) along the way.

Grand Canyon Track

Grand Canyon Track

As you’ll see if you look at a map of the Grand Canyon, we didn’t really fly over it. As I described in that post (and illustrated with more pix in the post after), we instead flew over the Little Colorado Gorge and then near the Canyon’s South Rim on our way West toward Home.

Another thing that’s happening as I look at these tracks, is a niggle that’s growing into an urge. I’d love to go again some day! Hopefully at least to some of the nearer places like the Grand Canyon. So many delightful places to fly, so little money. 🙂

2013/06/06

To N.O. (2)

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Nature,People,Random — John @ 21:18

Flying to every U.S. state and Canadian province we’ve seen so many beautiful vistas and met so many wonderful people. But it’s been surprising to me not just how different our experiences are in each place, but how there’s a distinct “feel” to each region. After departing Galveston we flew along the barrier islands toward New Orleans, and it gave us a richer feeling for the lifestyle that the phenomenon named New Orleans emerges from.

0139 Life Line

0139 Life Line

The life along the seemingly endless line of sand between the open Gulf and miles of wetlands is a relaxed yet precarious one.

0176 Water Line

0176 Water Line

From the air it’s clear how close these homes are, not just to water’s edge, but to the high water line. A little storm surge, climate change, or even heavy rain can make a home into a small island. Yet the attraction is so strong that even after disaster strikes they rebuild. Often trying new methods of withstanding the water.

0178 New Design

0178 New Design

Many of the newer homes are based on a steel frame that might survive most storms, and able to tolerate a rush of water that will sweep away everything on the ground floor. A man once told me the quality he most aspires to achieve. “I want to be permeable, so that life can flow around and through me.” This sort of ease and flexibility seems to me a key element in the lifestyle of the Gulf Coast region. It was infusing our hearts as we approached the Big Easy.

0234 To New Orleans

0234 To New Orleans

2013/06/04

Galveston (2)

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Nature,People,Random — John @ 01:10

Revisiting [connoted by the (2) meaning this is my second post about it] our departure from Galveston I found more pix to share. Here’s the view northeast along the island past downtown Galveston in the distance, as we climbed out of the airport.

0091 Past Galveston

0091 Past Galveston

Looking at this pic, or even a map of the city, one of the first things that comes to mind for me is, “How?” How has this charming little city survived hurricanes, at an elevation of seven feet? Maybe two answers are heritage and determination, both demonstrated by the massive cemetery representing both a deep ancestry and the courage to continue living (and rebuilding) there.

0095 Galveston Graves

0095 Galveston Graves

After flying up the island, as we turn to cross near downtown I was struck by how close the defensively-raised houses are to the city center.

0112 Downtown Mix

0112 Downtown Mix

Across the street to the right from that white tower are block after block of homes. A few blocks further from it beyond the lower-left edge is this wide old boulevard that has surely seen a series of storms.

0115 Aston Villa

0115 Aston Villa

The stately square red-roofed 1859 Aston Villa probably survived due to sturdy brick construction, but presumably some of those adjoining empty lots had more recent buildings that have been swept away. Crossing the bay I wondered if this shipwreck were left over from a recent hurricane.

0125 S.S. Selma

0125 S.S. Selma

I was surprised to learn just today that this concrete ship has been there since she was deliberately scuttled at the tender age of three, in 1922! Continuing along the Bolivar Peninsula we got a glimpse of some relatively new homes and even a few mansions like these, that stand right on the beach as if defiance and determination are enough to stop a rising sea.

0131 Fort Defiance

0131 Fort Defiance

What looks like the remains of a swimming pool in the now-vacant lot next door seems to foretell the possibility of Change blowing in some day.

2013/06/02

Big Bend (2)

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Islander Adventure,Nature,Random — John @ 08:33

In going thru pix from the trip again [marked (2) in these posts] I realized there are more from the Big Bend part that I really like, but didn’t have time to share during the trip. So even tho there were also a few more good ones from the Las Cruces area, I’m going to skip those because these are so much more memorable for me. Approaching this area the terrain gets ever more severe and beautiful, even in the late evening light and a fairly thick haze that seems to dwell there.

5305 Bend Approach

5305 Bend Approach

You can search this blog (find the Search box in the right column) for the earlier stuff I posted about our charming stop. But soon after takeoff we were skirting the Mexican border enjoying scenes like this.

5342 Water Works

5342 Water Works

I love how the shadows and colors converge in a sandstone sculpture that sings the desert song of heat and flash floods over eons. With hints of how humans may have used these places during our relatively brief forays here since ancient times. Some formations seem to evoke cowboy hats, while others in the distance scratch the clouds into interesting patterns of their own.

5357 Rocks & Clouds

5357 Rocks & Clouds

The rock layers carved into intricate shapes make this area interesting to fly in, with different angles on the features providing new panoramas.

5362 Angles

5362 Angles

Some of the formations have an imposing grandeur about them. This one’s perfect for a western movie backdrop.

5366 Western Set

5366 Western Set

I’m curious what forces created this razorback ridge that’s so different from the surrounding terrain.

5373 Razorback

5373 Razorback

As the light faded we flew through a gradual shift from the shapes, colors and layers of a vast sculpture garden, into a realm of two-dimensional cutouts.

5380 Cutout Fantasies

5380 Cutout Fantasies

Just when we thought the show was over, sun and clouds conspired to put on a spectacular light show with both brilliant and subtle hues. Our official invitation to revisit this friendly and intriguing corner of the world.

5469 Soft Palette

5469 Soft Palette

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