John & Anne Wiley

Today we flew from Charleston to California in a little over three hours, and on takeoff I got permission to fly past the city.

2554 Fresh Look

It was great to get a fresh look at this part of town where we’d had so much fun. But we were surprised at how many interesting things we’d missed, like this park.

2558 More To See

We also enjoyed another look at Cam’s boat, and it took me back in time as I imagined being one of the remarkable pilots who landed damaged planes on that tiny deck in heavy seas after hours of flying punctuated by intense combat. Coming home to that ship must have been pretty emotional when navigation technology was such that finding it was quite a life and death challenge in a massive ocean even on a good day.

2572 Time Machine

We only took 170 or so photos on today’s flight, but one of my favs is this old farm house. Seems to me there’s something very powerful about the concept of Home that keeps the modern farmer from tearing down an old house like this to make use of the land it’s on. Vines cover the walls and have taken over the old bare tree, but the Presence of a home like this calls to us.

2612 Ancestors

Well, in case you were curious how we managed a 3 hour flight from Charleston to California in Tripp, we landed at St. Mary’s airport in California, MD. This is next to Patuxent River and Leonardtown, big names in the Home category from our family history. A highlight of the day was being met at the airport by Joe & Linda, who kindly brought us to their Home after a great crab dinner at a restaurant on the water.

0505 Home Again

From our twosome time exploring Charleston for several days, it’s wonderful to be Home with family again. We’re curious what tomorrow will bring.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

0448 River Lunch

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

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

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

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. 🙂