John & Anne Wiley

2013/04/13

Frontier Scenes

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Nature,People,Random — John @ 04:23

After a delicious home made lunch with GA cousins we flew for dinner with a TN cousin. It’s such a delight to reconnect with far away loved ones we’ve not seen for decades, and so greatly enjoy the relatively brief journey between them. It was a somewhat bumpy flight due to last night’s storm, but less hazy from all the fires we’d seen coming into GA. Even so I used the polarized filter for a clearer look into the distance. In places like this it was like looking back into the past when this was all forest frontier with little clearings carved out by pioneers.

1880 Georgia Frontier

1880 Georgia Frontier

We passed this quiet cemetery far from any towns, and I wondered whether it had once been near a town that is now gone except for these former inhabitants still visited and tended by descendents who have moved away.

1901 Silent Memories

1901 Silent Memories

There were a few outposts like this where people heard some call to build on bluffs overlooking long valleys as we angled into Tennessee.

1904 Bluff Calling

1904 Bluff Calling

There were suspicious ponds with colors that made me wonder if land and water were being poisoned for generations to come.

1916 Unnatural Colors

1916 Unnatural Colors

1917Then there was this valley with many small plots rather than the vast monoculture farms that now dominate most of North America. I wonder what the story is, and why this one valley seems to have such diversity.

1924 Varied Valley

1924 Varied Valley

Our TN cousin treated us to a drive around downtown Nashville, and if I find some good pix from that I might share them tomorrow.

2013/04/12

Family

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Nature,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 04:46

Hartwell is a warm and friendly Georgia family town, seems to me. We’ve been impressed by the helpful and friendly nature of so many of the people we meet here. We came to visit cousins, and tonight we enjoyed a wonderful meal with wide ranging conversation. Like many who hadn’t been to the South before we used to have a mistaken impression of life here.

1769 New Life

1769 New Life

Added to the traditional culture here is change brought by the civil rights movement, and more recently a large influx of people retiring here from the northeast. Many build dream homes on the lake.

1770 Reflections

1770 Reflections

Gathering storm clouds reflected in the lake found me thinking about how much life has changed here, and how many ways it’s still the same.

1806 Walmart

1806 Walmart

Our cozy and affordable hotel at the bottom-right has replaced an older inn that used to be the prime accomodation, and Walmart at the top-left has replaced many family businesses.

1847 Golf and Mine

1847 Golf and Mine

The forest has been replaced by a golf course and open pit mine that have a proximity seen from the air that most residents may not know about.

1797 Pollen Pattern

1797 Pollen Pattern

Pollen is dusting everything in town with a golden yellow, including the lake. It collects in drifts, creating patterns where none existed. So it is with this town perhaps, as new residents blow in to mingle in new ways changing age old patterns and traditions.

1856 Down to Earth

1856 Down to Earth

Returning to earth from today’s brief flight with cousin Marilyn and her pilot hubby Jack, I noticed an expanded sense of how grounded the people here are in family and community. This is their little slice of paradise, and it’s an honor to be so warmly welcomed into it.

2013/04/11

270 Later

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Nature,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 05:49

We’ve accumulated 270 pix since my last post, and we’re tired. So maybe I’ll share a bunch of pix with few words and then possibly have some rain time tomorrow to share more pix and words on all our adventures since Dizzyney.

1617 Titus Takeoff

1617 Titus Takeoff

Our glorious time with Lee & George ended when we took off from Titusville and looked up the Florida coastline that is almost continuous beach homes, condos and hotels forming a line between ocean and wetlands into the dim distance. Many beautiful views (and of course pix) later the blue of this Marineland Dolphin Adventure at Palm Coast stood out. Great for humans wanting to expand their experience, but I do wonder how dolphins feel about swapping entire oceans of freedom for the adventures they have in those pools.

1641 Dolphin Pools

1641 Dolphin Pools

Minutes later we arrived at St. Augustine. Again. For another fascinating visit with Roy & Lettie Lou. That night after a delicious dinner at Harry’s with Roy, we walked this part of town.

1644 St Augustine

1644 St Augustine

The fort across the highway got me wondering what the soldiers protecting it would have thought about Tripp. What an advantage would go to an attacking army, if they had Tripp back when that fort was the state of the art in defensive battlements.

1646 Fort Laid Bare

1646 Fort Laid Bare

This morning we enjoyed catching up on news and then a tour of Jacksonville culminating in lunch on the river.

0448 River Lunch

0448 River Lunch

Then another takeoff to the North, and more countless coastal condos into infinity.

1663 Condo Line

1663 Condo Line

The shapes and colors where water meets land are endlessly fascinating from the air. Maybe this is why seagulls ceaselessly soar the winds.

1693 Elements

1693 Elements

At dusk a quick aerial tour of Hartwell before landing at Franklin. I don’t see the local store we went to at 11pm in our borrowed truck, to buy a cable we left in Tripp so we could download our pix from the cameras to share with you. Yes, it was a Walmart.

1733 Hartwell Dusk

1733 Hartwell Dusk

The little shops and many churches looked so inviting from the air, and we’re excited to explore tomorrow. We’ll also drive out to expand on the pleasure we found in Jack and Marilyn’s company at dinner.

I was thinking yesterday that even though we’ve seen some cloudy days, this trip lives in my memory as a stream of blue skies and smiles. So many beautiful places and people, we are filled to overflowing. 🙂

2013/04/09

Dizzyney

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,People,Random — John @ 04:30

First off, here’s another pic from yesterday’s fun at Disney World (DW) with Lee (George met us for dinner and concert, then we watched fireworks).

0294 Topiary

0294 Topiary

Because we were planning to hike miles around the park, I didn’t bring anything but my phone. So aside from the two I posted last nite from my phone, tonite’s pix are from Anne’s camera and I couldn’t share the colorful pix like this she got of the flower show. Many great topiary works like this, and glorious blooms of all sorts everywhere we looked. Also many painters including this one in front of a little cottage Lee would like to live in.

0297 Dream Cottage

0297 Dream Cottage

Wouldn’t she just love waking every morning in her magic kingdom and wandering the grounds! Last night’s amazing room turned out to be haunted. We got this pic of the hotel in the morning light after too little sleep, and I’ve added a red box to show how big our room was.

0359 Sec. State Suite

0359 Sec. State Suite

Yes, it has five double doors onto three different balconies and takes up all but one room on this side of that floor. I’ve seen many houses with less space, probably including our modest home. But we laughed uproariously this moring about how it was “haunted” because someone using our bathroom woke me at 7am. It turned out to be Anne and the place was so big I didn’t know it was she. Then at 8am the phone rang and each of the gals thought the other had called them. It turned out the desk had called, but they took so long to answer the desk had hung up leaving them talking to each other from opposite ends of the monster room. Such a funny morning! 😀

This morning we swam in the hotel pool and rode the water slide, then walked the park some more hauling our four bags. After a rest we happily loaded the stuff into Lee’s car and drove to an African-themed hotel where we saw giraffes and a zebra, had lunch, and I got to drum with a real expert.

0379 Erny & J Drumming

0379 Erny & J Drumming

Such a fun and sweet guy he is! I loved every second of it, and the gals said we sounded great so maybe I did ok. Then on the drive back home we took a short detour to get in Tripp and fly back over DW. Here’s a pic of the small area where we stayed in that big world.

6214 Small World

6214 Small World

Last time we were here, Lee & George took us on a brief tour of DW at night and we tried to understand why she’s so totally addicted to it. Yesterday and today we got a proper introduction, and now we “get” what a great place it is to endlessly explore. If you ever contemplate going there, plan on at least a few days and let me hook you up with Lee. She saved us many hours and dollars by sharing her remarkable expertise on what to do and see. Thank you, playful Lee, for a magical time! 🙂

2013/04/06

Both Sides

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Nature,People,Random — John @ 04:07

We’ve seen Miami and Vizcaya from both sides now. After a fun time with Bob & Georgia over coffee and bagels we took a rainy trainy day from Boca to and around Miami.

0188 EnTrance

0188 EnTrance

First stop after three different trains was the short walk over to an enchanted entrance to the Vizcaya attraction (that last manse I snapped from the air yesterday). Anne took nearly all the pix on her little camera today, so it’s especially fun for me to see what caught her eye.

13-55-03_73 Beauty

13-55-03_73 Beauty

As you can see, I snapped this one using my cellphone since we were traveling light. This other side of the mansion is quite different from what we saw flying past, yet similar in what it says about the man who had it built and only lived in it a few years. The whole story is on the links (two words in the text about it) from yesterday’s article if you’re interested.

0194 Barge

0194 Barge

That barge we saw out front yesterday is a popular photo spot. I wonder how many people arrived here by boat rather than from the grand entrance by road. The barge appears to have also been used as a theater in the round, but I haven’t read anything about that.

0200 Nancy's Realm

0200 Nancy’s Realm

We imagined our dear friend Nancy in this kitchen with a full staff bustling about, creating a memorable menu and glad to have that high-power fan in the ceiling during typical Miami muggy heat.

0211 Servant Stair

0211 Servant Stair

The “home” has a zillion bedrooms and an elevator with also several grand staircases as you’d imagine, but we were fascinated by this cantilevered stairway for the servants.

14-03-38_572 Grounds

14-03-38_572 Grounds

Vizcaya is a very popular Miami attraction, and many visitors say the gardens and grounds are their favorite part. Lots of nice touches, combining natural and human elements.

0240 Train Tour

0240 Train Tour

We’d hoped to walk a lot and explore several other popular destinations, but the rain found us riding the various trains for an impromptu city tour instead. Fascinating architecture everywhere, with a distinctive quality quite different from other big cities.

0184 City Scape

0184 City Scape

That glass building was our favorite, with the lights and colors of the sky compressed into reflections of the city in a giant lens.

We were repeatedly struck by how friendly and helpful the people of Miami are. So many times total strangers went far out of their way to offer directions, suggestions and friendly conversation. Hope we’ll be back on a sunny (but not hot) day sometime soon. 🙂

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