End of an Era - Farewell to Fairhope

Fairhope, AL is currently my favorite sunset spot in the continental United States. I'm grateful for tonight's sunset because it appears it will be the last that I see for some time due to an unexpected transition associated with my "day job" that will likely have far less travel to Alabama.

This evening, Fairhope proved that she'd saved the best for last. Spectacular.

Fishing Partner at Sunset - Fairhope, AL

Getting this close to a Great Blue Heron proved to be a unique experience for me this far. This guy seemed intent on stalking the dock and waiting on handouts from the fisherman at the end of the pier. He was fearless around humans, and that characteristic is pretty rare in these normally skittish predators. Bearing witness to this type of magnificent stateliness gives me hope that the direction of the universal momentum propels me along the path that's meant for me.

The sun settled, and although the sky started cloudy and dark earlier in the evening, the final coda was one of the best that I've ever seen.

End of an Era - Fairhope, AL

I'm going to miss Fairhope. It is difficult to imagine that the gift of presence in this magical area can be easily replaced, but I remain optimistic. The spectacular nature of my final evening hear fills me with the warmth of confidence that the universe knows what I need and is pulling me inexorably down the path it has chosen for me to follow.

I'm even less sure what tomorrow will hold, but the signs keep pointing toward a future filled with adventure and wonder. For that, I'm profoundly grateful.

Quadcopter Sunset

After a bit of travel, I headed out to put in some miles at one of my favorite sunset locations. Distance was not the goal since the weather was spectacular and every now and then one should take some time to enjoy previous rounds of location recon.

I was a little nervous that I'd headed out a bit late, and quite frankly given the lack of broken cloud cover on the horizon, I launched out with a bit of skepticism that the photographic exploits of the evening would amount to much.

Boy was I wrong (which just goes to show you that I'm not much of a fortune teller.  I got down to the beach in Fairhope, AL just in time to prop my feet up on a stormwater outfall and soak in the glorious ending of the day.

Kicked Back - Feet Up - Fairhope, AL

I mean, seriously? I'm getting paid for this? I'm pretty sure I'd do this for free, and to top it all off, I was surrounded by fellow sunchasers.

Fellow Sunchasers (and dog) #2 - Fairhope, AL

Every time I come down to this place, I feel like I get a little bit closer to the Divine. I'm not a great fan of churchiness, but it's hard not to be awed by a power greater than yourself when you see it displayed in all of its glory.

While I was soaking in my good fortune, I noticed that someone was doing the same with the assistance of some augmentation from technology.

Quadcopter at Sunset - Fairhope, AL

Not knowing whether I was under surveillance or not, I decided to go with the civil response and waved a shaka in the general general direction of my robotic overseer. This little guy buzzed around a little, and given the running lights, seems to be facing the sun rather than facing the pilgrim.

On my way back to the car, I ran across the Quadcopter operator who happened to be a photographer as well.  Chris and I talked about Maryland, Alabama, the Navy, Coca Cola, and photography for a thoroughly enjoyable twenty or thirty minutes.  I met his service dog and one of his longtime friends, Cora as well.

Today was another great day for the record books. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I'll tell you this...I'm going to keep hitting the trail because it just keeps getting better the more I'm out there walking the path of the pilgrim.

Passion for the Trail

When I took my first walk to try to convince myself that the dream that has come to me about walking across the country, I walked seventeen miles without training. I had the wrong shoes.  I had the wrong socks. I didn't drink enough water. I didn't eat enough calories.  I had a blister at six miles. I kept going, and that was probably pretty foolish.  This was the result. I was down for two weeks.  I ended the walk with pictures of hamburger feet.  The idea of the walk persisted, and thankfully so did I.

Over the last two years, my life has been transformed by the trail. I see the world differently. My mind is less cluttered. I look to the sky, and I'm shown the glory of the universe on a daily basis.

Airborne - Charlotte, NC to Pensacola, FL

The first six miles of that first practice walk was filled with both boredom and anxiety. My mind was chattering to itself. I had not moved that slowly without entertainment for a very long time. The trees looked the same. The sky looked the same. The trail looked the same. It's because I had forgotten how to see. I'd become undisciplined in my thinking. I'd become addicted to the easy cotton candy entertainment of the television. I could no longer see what was right in front of my face.

 

Airborne #2 - Charlotte, NC to Pensacola, FL

I no longer bury my head in a book or a screen trying to hide from the people and the experiences around me. I can look out the airline window for an hour waiting because I know that the great moment is coming. The clouds will clear dn the blue sky will manifest. The river will shine in the sun, and if I'm not paying attention.  If my brain demands constant entertainment, I'll miss it, and the moment will be lost forever. I learned this patience on the trail trying to drive an crazy escape fantasy out of my head.

Fellow Travellers - Fairhope, AL

It took some time, but I learned to chase the sun. I learned to put myself outside during the golden hour and then wait. I learned to see again, and I'm hooked. Walking is not boring. It's one of the most passion filled aspects of my life.

Laid Back - Feet Up - Fairhope, AL

I had a couple of more miles to walk after this photo was taken, but one foot in front of another had taken me to this time and place, and it was worth a moment to soak it all in. I have no idea what the bottom of my feet look like today, but I guarantee they don't look like they did at the end of that first practice walk.

I continue to be amazed at what the universe brings across my path, and everyday my love...my passion...my calling for the walk grows a little stronger. My life is getting fuller, and I hope that one day this journey might help someone else. I have peace and contentment in abundance, and if you want some of mine you're welcome to it. I'd love to have you join me in this journey, and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow will reveal.

Rafting Life's River

Today was spectacular. Rory Conlan and I spent about an hour while we walked, and I managed to pull myself out the calling of walking to make it to my day job.  On the way, I experienced the morning of four suns.

Four Sun Morning - US 98 Causeway - Daphne, AL

We live in extraordinary times. Metal coated flat glass mirrors were not produced until early in the Renaissance in Venice. Due to the difficulty of making plate glass of uniform thickness, they were a very expensive luxury item. There are legends of the Countess de Fiesque purchasing a mirror for the price of a wheat farm she sold to finance the transaction. Today, we have mirrors everywhere. I didn't really notice this till I got out on the trail and started moving a little slower. Now I see them, and what they reflect, everywhere.

Later in the afternoon, I made my way back to Fairhope, AL for another round of trail work, and the day was then bookended with the glory of the universe.

Fellow Travellers - Fairhope, AL

Because of the cloud coverage, I was a little concerned the sunset would be a little dull. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Fishing - Fairhope, AL

People aren't something I normally photograph, but today, down on the end of that pier in Fairhope, the opportunities were just too beautiful to let pass.

Family Sunset - Fairhope, AL

I stood in awe as a raging river of life flowed by as the sun dipped below the horizon. Sometimes...oftentimes it's like that during my pilgrimage training. I raft down the river of life, and the universe brings me just the right things to achieve peace and serenity. I feel like I've discovered an endless river of wealth, and it costs hardly a thing to experience the flow in all it's grandeur. I am blessed, and although I don't know what will happen tomorrow, I have faith that the river of life will deliver just what I need.

The Call of the Road

I find myself back on the road again, and though travel takes me away from those things I hold most dear, it does give me the opportunity to get unfettered internet access.  I also find that travel affords the opportunity for adventure, a chance to meet new people, and, almost without exception,  a time to see the world from a slightly different angle.

Travel is a time to reset...a recreation, as it were, even if the time on the road is largely dictated by the constraints of the day job.

I like it.  I like it a lot.

Parking Lot Sunrise - Baltimore Washington International Airport

Today started off early with a trip to the airport. As I was waiting on the shuttle from the long term parking lot, the sun peeked up over the horizon and, as seen through the chain link fence, offered a pretty striking vista to start the day.  

I got in the aluminum tube, and a little less than twelve hours later, I was blessed with experiencing the sunset in Fairhope, Alabama during my evening training walk for the N2N-TCP.  

Heron at Sunset - Fairhope, AL

There were moments of terminal terror as I hustled to make a connection and a day job email or two in between, but the bookmarks on each end of the day seemed to make it all worthwhile.

Fairhope's On Fire

As I told Rory (Conlan) during the walk, "We really should be doing this sort of thing full time."

Soon.  Very soon.

I'm not sure what tomorrow holds, but I sure hope it's more of the same sorts of experience.  I'm optimistic.

Moving Toward the Pilgrimage Three Hours at a Time

Today, I had three hours of relatively unstructured time and I'm ending it feeling more convinced than ever that the N2N-TCP is calling. Three hours isn't really enough time to escape the urban area I'm in, and the options for doing something seem relatively limited.

One thing that's available in spades is the opportunity to pay homage at the temples of materialism. They're ubiquitous, but with minimalism on the mind they don't have the draw for me that they once held in the past. Going to the mall to look at things I don't need feels like a big waste of time. I'd rather be out alone on the trail, encountering vistas like this one.

Day's End - Fairhope, AL

On the surface, watching the sunset isn't any more or less valuable than walking the mall, but for some reason it feels closer to whatever it is that I'm seeking in the journey.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, but it's clear that I have to focus my efforts on making the Transcontinental Pilgrimage a priority.

Sunset Finale - Fairhope, AL

Tonight will likely be the last evening I spend in southern Alabama for a week or two, and the sunset in Fairhope, AL seems a fitting nightcap on the way out of the area.

Heading into the Sunset - Fairhope, AL

Chasing the sunset is proving to be quite a rewarding past time and source of awe as I progress on my pilgrimage.

Sunset Finale - Fairhope, AL

Truly nature's canvas, and I can't wait to see what she unveils tomorrow.

Changes in Attitudes

Today after my day job wrapped up, I spent some time chasing a sunset. A little bit of map recon would have gone a long way because I ended up in a less than optimal viewing location. On top of the initial geographical mistake, I got to the spot just in time to watch Sol slip below the horizon, and I was left with the dregs as the light faded into night. Don't get me wrong, it was much better than any number of evening pastimes (like watching the "news"), but there's some improvement to be achieved.

That said, Google Photos salvaged a photo or two automatically, so the walk wasn't a total loss in terms of scenery.

Dregs of the Sunset as Interpreted by Google - Fairhope, AL

After the walk, I found myself in a Target looking for bottled iced tea. That's a whole story in and of itself, but suffice it to say that I'm battling my way through breaking a Diet Coke habit and I needed some non-artificially sweetened caffeine.

As I walked through the store, my thoughts brought me back to one of the great Jimmy Buffet songs, "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes."  While Jimmy sings about a geographic changes driving a shift in outlook. Walking is doing something like that to my outlook. It's getting more and more difficult to stomach the complexity that I find inundates almost every moment of my conscious existence. Material wealth, choices, distractions, entertainment, and agendas froth around my senses begging for attention and often getting far to much of it.

All this after I've curtailed many of the purchases I used to make and essentially have ejected television from the list of activities I find fulfilling.

The road is calling. I sense a building of circumstances surrounding what amounts to the crazy idea that a pedestrian trek of some distance will allow me to reset and reconnect with something whole and spiritual that even now I can't really define. Today, the draw was greater than it's felt in the past, and every day that passes without moving out seems to make the pull a little stronger...the whispers of my thoughts and feelings a little louder...my resolve to step out and complete this fantastical journey a little more steely.

Rory Conlan has said in the past that "sometimes it's good to step out of line just to see if the line is leading you anywhere you'd like to be going." Maybe it's time to take a step to the right and forge off in a different direction.

We'll see what the morning brings. It'll be different, and I'm looking forward to that possibility.

Routine Through the Changes

The front end of the eviction move is complete.  Our material possessions have been moved from the large house and deposited rather haphazardly in the small apartment. One good thing about transitioning from a six bedroom five bath house with a basement and two car garage and into a three bedroom one bath apartment with a one car garage is that it focuses the mind (and the eye) on the amount of stuff that one's managed to accumulate. I don't like it one bit, but in the end, I believe that being faced with this stark reality is going to lead to some positive changes in the way I and my roommates collect hard good.  I hope so anyway.

The move has also presented the opportunity to practice some unplanned digital minimalism.  That experience has been good for me as well. I still don't have internet service in the apartment.  Let's face it...it's difficult to set that kind of thing up when all the wall area is hemmed in by boxes.  Every now and then, when I can get access, I'll post an update to let my readers (the Chinese and Russians mostly) know "Vas es Los" until more routine access can be squeezed out of the moving boxes that have invaded my current abode.

About the only thing that hasn't gone through tectonic magnitude events over the last several weeks has been the daily practice.  Walking, calisthenics, the twenty six list, photography, and minimalism have proceeded apace.  I even added introducing myself to at least one new person a day and taking a cold shower every day to the mix.

The rest of the world has continued it's practice of moving forward as well, so if you find yourself fretting about the outcome of the upcoming election, which I believe is a comical farce no matter how the results bear out, by the way, pick up the remote, turn off the fear mongers, and join me outside for a stroll. You won't be alone. There are plenty of sane people out here doing the same thing.

Sunset Paddle Boarder - Fairhope, AL

Regardless of how ridiculous some of our fetishes become down here on earth, the universe has provided that the sun will rise and set every day. On evenings when the wind lays down, and the water beckons the more reasonable of our species to glide on it's surface, the peace and serenity flow through everything that the waning rays of Sol caress.

Sunset - Fairhope Pier - Fairhope, AL

Fairhope municipal pier is still standing, and the martins are still chasing down the last of the season's mosquitos in preparation for the upcoming winter. The cool fall air promises football and rain and a tempering of the summer heat and humidity. The gentle breeze speaks to the goodness that is all around us in the midst of the naysayers proclaiming doom of one political stripe or another.

North Beach Park Fountain - Fairhope, AL

Just when you think the light show is over and it's time to head back to wherever you started your journey from, you might glance over your shoulder and see something like this display as the day comes to a close.

I'm grateful for the changes that have come my way via circumstances beyond my control or influence. I'm grateful that the daily practice I've been building over the last year has been resilient enough to provide routine in the midst of external chaos.  I'm grateful for the sunsets, sunrises, storms, clouds, and people who have graced these last several weeks during my unintended sabbatical from writing. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the morning, but I sure am looking forward to finding out what waits around the next bend of the trail.

A Spiritual Journey

I am uncomfortable speaking of the N2N-TCP in terms of a spiritual journey, but as Rory and I continue to plot and talk and train and move toward the beginning of the journey the spiritual nature of the trip continues to become a larger and larger presence in our efforts.

The discomfort comes from an degree anxiousness that this sort of external manifestation of an internal journey is really not something to be talked about in polite company. I feel that I run the risk of being a little crazy or off kilter. I don't know why I feel that way, and I suppose at this stage in the progression it's becoming time to lean into that discomfort a little and try to communicate this aspect of the pilgrimage.

The Daily Message from the Universe - Fairhope, AL

Since I started training for this walk, I've broken with culture to a degree. I suppose I always new that the walk across the United States would be a spiritual quest of some sort, and that's why I settled on naming the idea the Newport to Newport Transcontinental Pilgrimage (N2N-TCP). One aspect of breaking from the cultural norms is that I spend much more time outside than I used to spend. Not only is the amount of time higher, but I've come to believe that the quality of the time is also higher. Vanishing from my day to day existence are the televisions and radios, and in their place, the sunsets and sunrises that have been happening on this planet from the beginning of time forced themselves into the forefront of my experience.

These daily celestial events, many shared (because they cannot be truly captured) in the photographs on this blog leave me feeling simultaneously blessed in a very special and intimate way and feeling small in the face of the vastness and power that they indicate is working all around me.  They leave me with a feeling of distance coupled with a feeling of closeness that I find impossible to really describe.

I am beginning to sense when other people have experienced the same sort of paradox in a similar way, and I'm beginning to believe that we all experience these feelings at one time or another. Through my time under the sky on the trail I sense a slow coming together into a feeling of oneness with others that I don't really remember experiencing in the past.

Uncertainty with where any or all of this is leading makes me question the direction this is going from time to time. In those moments of doubt, I'm reminded by Rory that sometimes it's good to step out of line every now and then just to make sure you agree with where the line seems to be heading.

I'm grateful that he's been a partner in these endeavors, and although I have no idea what tomorrow will reveal, I'm looking forward to finding out.

I Forgot

Yesterday was a really long day getting ready for the final push to complete the move/downsizing that we recently experienced. I had access to the internet, but it wasn't convenient. I did not watch any television. This is a good development, and it's one I hope to find a way to extend to our broader home way of living.

I woke up early this morning and headed for the airport to catch a ride down south. Due to some IT glitches, the travel agent was unable to get me ticketed, but with an hour in advance of the flight arrangements were made and we departed Baltimore just after sunrise. After clearing the clouds, I snapped this photo from my window.

Airborne shortly after sunrise - Climbing out of BWI

This photo's been doctored more than a little, so strictly speaking this is not the sight that greeted me, but it captures the mood that the scene evoked in me after clearing the clouds. The air was clear and the sky clean a blue. Multiple layers of clouds captured the light and shadow in a myriad of interesting ways. The cold front headed our way was churning the atmosphere at multiple levels. The view was glorious.  I didn't post this photo to social media because of the heavy handed filters applied. The explanation for doing what I did is not really in keeping with my social media photo philosophy where I try to render a more realistic and less artistic view of things I observe.  That "philosophy" is probably worthy of a post all its own, but I'll leave it at that for now.

On the way back down out of the sky, I glanced out the window and saw the shadow of our Airbus A321 cast on the clouds that we were rapidly descending through on our path down to Charlotte, NC.

A321 Shadow on Clouds - Descent into Charlotte, NC

Other than cropping and some light adjustments on exposure and highlights to bring out the shadow, I posted this one to Facebook. The photo very quickly racked up more commentary from a wider variety of participants than I'm normally used to seeing. It was a head scratcher, and though pretty interesting, I was initially a bit worried that this photo would not be well received at all.

The I remembered that today was the day we've been told we'll Never Forget. September 11th. Several weeks ago, I decided to fly on September 11th because I'd forgotten that fifteen years ago today the United States was attacked with airplanes in a graphic and horrific way that would shape the balance of my career in my day job from that moment to (a lesser degree) now.

It's not that this photo is particularly good or unique. It's that more people are sensitive to imagery associated with airplanes on the fifteenth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the heroic end to United Airlines Flight 93 in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

I'm going to go against conventional wisdom and suggest that a bit of forgetting is good for the soul. When I look back on the last fifteen years, I'm not sure that we've made the right decisions on how to address these attacks when viewed through the prism of opportunity cost. This is little doubt in my mind that the trillions of dollars spent and the wars that have been fought in response to this attack have improved the physical safety of most of us from a martial perspective. I do wonder if we've unknowingly sacrificed security in equally important, but not so memorable or dramatic areas that we may want to consider going forward.

What's done is done, and there are folks now who are learning about this chapter of World history without having experienced the raw emotion of living through the events of the last decade and a half. Perhaps a little forgetting is in order so we all can move on and address the legion of issues that might be helped with a more balanced expenditure on security.  I don't know, but my elbow is itching a bit, and this is often a sign for me that we may want to pause and ask some hard questions.

My flights landed safely, and toward dusk I found myself in the familiar and welcome embrace of Fairhope, AL. The sunset was muted in keeping with the tone of the day, but it was beautiful nontheless.

Dusk - Fairhope, AL

We'll have to wait and see what the next fifteen years will reveal, but I'm hopeful as always that tomorrow will show us all another new set of new and adventurous challenges.  Till then, and per my usual habit, I'm looking forward to it.

Six Sunset Vistas to Add to Your Bucket List

If you've been following this blog, you should know that there are not very many of you, and you have probably figured out by now that I enjoy to post pictures of sunsets and sunrises.  The pictures lean toward sunsets, but that's mostly a function of the schedule I keep. Both astronomical phenomenon are equally beneficial from my perspective.

I also love travel and have been blessed with visits to four of seven continents and a fairly robust log of locales visited over the course of my life. Although the beginning and ending of a day are special experiences anywhere you find yourself, I do have some favorite locations.  Without further ado, I give you six sunset vistas to add to your bucket list.

1.  Key West, Florida - A week's worth of attending the Sunset Celebration hosted daily at Mallory Square Dock in Key West is worth the planefare and boarding combined. Every day that the sun makes an appearance is a celebration with performers, crafters, food, and hundreds of people gathered for the finale of the day. Key West in general is a very special place, and the Sunset Celebration lives up to the billing it receives as a party to acknowledge the glory of nature as the sun settles down into the Gulf of Mexico.

2.  West Shore of Oahu - Anywhere along the western shore of Oahu, Hawaii delivers a sunset vista that should be experienced at least once in your life. Some of my favorite views of the sunset in Oahu came during the (more expensive) celebration at the Paradise Cove Luau. Having been to a luau or ten, the sunset as viewed from the beach associated with Paradise Cove makes this one special. If you're going to attend a luau anyway, and you should, might as well make it a two-fer and take in colors of the sky as the sun makes it's exit until the next morning.

3.  Bridge over College Creek on Rowe Blvd, Annapolis MD - For reasons that I don't completely understand, the quality of lighting in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, particularly in Annapolis, MD, rivals anywhere else in the world I have traveled.  The bridges over College Creek in Annapolis offer long stretches of water to reflect the spectacular pinks, reds, oranges, blues, and greens that often accompany the setting sun. Partly cloudy days with a clear horizon provide the best viewing, but if the sun is visible any day will do in a pinch.

4.  Fairhope, Alabama - The bluff overlooking South Beach Park and Stack Gully has a concrete walking trail, numerous benches, convenient bathroom facilities, and a number of public art installations and piers that add interesting contrasts to the views of the sun settling down into the waters of Mobile Bay. In the winter the air off the bay brings a hint of warmth and in the summer there is usually a cooling breeze to cut some of the famous south Alabama heat and humidity. After the sunset, the town of Fairhope offers the same celebratory atmosphere that seems to be a theme to accompany my favorite sunset parks. The folks at McSharry's Irish Pub are always warm and friendly, and the shepherd's pie is well worth the visit after a long day of walking.

5.  Anywhere on the ocean - Sunsets undefiled by city lights and foreground obstructions are near the top of the list.  While I've never personally seen the green flash , I'm going to keep going to places with unobstructed horizons until I do see one or can no longer make the journey.

6.  Wherever you are right now. I post quite a few of my sunset and sunrise pictures to other social media sites, and I had a friend comment the other day that I "was making everyone look bad with all these pictures of the magic moments" of the day. It's not that I'm a particularly good photographer or that fabulous sunsets are particularly rare occurrences. Every photo I post is a contemporary sunset or sunrise from the day it was posted unless noted otherwise (and that is a rare occurrence). I'm lucky because I put myself outside at the magical moment that happens almost every day and just wait for the unique but ubiquitous event to occur while I'm watching.

I'll leave you this evening with another view closing the chapter on another day.

Sunset - Residential Street - Spanish Fort, AL

Another great day for the books, and I'm looking forward to facing the mystery of tomorrow.

Long(ish) Walking as a Means of Renewal

For the first time, in a very long time, I found myself with no structured activities planned in advance of greeting the morning. Today promised to be a day of renewal, and I'd like to think I used it wisely. After taking a bit of my own advice and skipping the sunrise the morning, I got myself together and decided to research the possibility of talking a long(ish) walk in the Pensacola, FL area. The distance from Mobile, AL to Pensacola, FL is not daunting, and I thought that a change of scenery, to an area I have not explored in a long time, might prove useful.

After a quick scan of suggestions from Google, I settled on starting out near the Pensacola Lighthouse. Plans being what they are, fungible, I actually started a little bit further east down the beach than I had originally planned, and I ended up with about a four mile walk to the light.

Blue Angel Static Display - NAS Pensacola Officer's Club

Naval Air Station Pensacola, being "The Cradle of Naval Aviation," host more than a few bits of eye candy for enthusiasts of aviation in general and Naval aviation in particular. This static display as one of several that I passed on the trail to the lighthouse. I also took the time to speak to the closest mothers in my life since I found myself away from them all on Mother's Day. All told, I spent about three hours on the phone with them, and I thoroughly enjoyed their company.

After a little over an hour, I fetched the distance to the lighthouse, and the walk proved to be worth every step.

Pensacola Lighthouse with the Lighthouse Keeper's Residence in the Foreground

Originally, my plans called for finding a location to take pictures of the light as sunset approached, but when I finally got there, I found that the angles weren't going to give me the shots that I wanted. What I did not realize was that the lighthouse was open for visitors, so I decided to pay them a visit.

Pensacola Lighthouse with Jeremiah Pelican

Like many cities, Pensacola boasts a public art installation at various locations of a statue decorated with symbolism to match the surroundings. This art installation is call Pelicans in Paradise, the Jeremiah Pelican, The Lighthouse Keeper stands watch over the lighthouse. The light tower is one hundred and ninety one feet tall and the observation platform can be accessed by climbing a spiral staircase with one hundred and seventy seven steps. Admission was six dollars, and the views from the top far outpaced both the cost of admission and the light sheen of sweat the climb up initiated.

View from Pensacola Lighthouse Looking East

The observation platform is the tallest publicly accessible lighthouse platform in the state of Florida. Looking east you can see down the length of Big Lagoon all the way to Pensacola Bay.

View from Pensacola Lighthouse Looking West

Toward the west, you can see the skyline of Orange Beach and past the state line into Gulfshores, Alabama with the miles of white sand beaches in between.

View From Pensacola Lighthouse Looking North

Toward the north the airfield and the National Naval Aviation Museum are prominent landmarks, and with a bit of luck a student pilot will put on a display of aviation skill (or not) during one of their many training flights.

Having decided that I would depart Pensacola before sunset, I made my way back to my car and wrapped up a walk measuring a little over eight miles.

Blue Heron Making an Approach at Naval Air Station Pensacola

Toward the end of the walk, I caught a Great Blue Heron making a landing approach on the apron that used to host the seaplanes stationed at Pensacola. This was a fitting encore to a spectacular jaunt.

Falling back into old habits, I made my way down to Fairhope, AL to take in a sunset.  I put in another five miles of walking along the bluffs, and enjoyed the closing of the day.

Sunset - Fairhope, AL

The cobalt sky was lightly brushed with high cirrus clouds, and the warm breeze off Mobile Bay brought with it a feeling of renewal and energy from across the water.

Skyscape - Fairhope, AL

Even after covering just a bit over a half marathon distance, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated.

Out on the Water at the Closing of the Day - Fairhope, AL

Today was a day of welcome renewal and adventure. Soul healing new sights and old favorites tilled the space between moments. I'm looking forward to what the universe has planned for tomorrow.

Headed to Sea

Today, we head out to sea where the air is clear and connectivity, at least for me. doesn't exist. That being the case, I'm doing something that I don't normally allow myself to consider in sharing some photos from yesterday. Normally, I confine the photographic content of N2N-TCP to contemporary photos, but I woke up this morning and these panoramic shots from yesterday had come together overnight, and I won't have connectivity to share anything that comes together today.

The best area that I've found to see the sunset in the immediate vicinity (so far anyway), are the bluffs overlooking the municipal pier in Fairhope, AL.  There are about five or six individual vistas that are quite spectacular, and yesterday I managed to get to three of them during the setting of the sun and have these photos to share.  They are presented in the order they were taken.

Sunset -Fairhope, AL

This pier is publically accessible, so it's a great spot for a little romance during the setting of the sun.

Sunset #2 - Fairhope, AL

The piers to the left are private piers, but the one directly in front of the lamp in the foreground is publically accessible. This shot is taken from the bluffs overlooking the beach park at the bottom from the walking path and grass park at the top of the drop-off. There is access via wooden stairs between the to areas of the park.

Fairhope Seahorse at Sunset

This welded metal seahorse on the bluffs overlooking the beach is a great location to watch the day fade over the horizon. There are a large number of public art installations throughout the City of Fairhope, AL. I may have to take a day to lay them all out for a comprehensive visit. I suspect it would result in a fairly long walk as well.

By custom, I'm looking forward to the next couple of days at sea. I hope to get some time to relax and really enjoy the experience as well as successfully close out some concerns we have with a ship for the folks that currently fund my walking and writing habits.  It should be good.

A Rare Day of Rest

After a brief stint at work this morning, a coworker asked what I had planned for the rest of the day and suggested that, if I wanted, I could spend some time kicking around with him and his family. I thought about it for a minute, and I told him that I, though grateful for the offer, I thought I might take a nap instead. He said, "A nap, man, that sounds like a pretty good idea." With that little piece of encouragement, I laid down for about three hours and slept soundly.

I would be fibbing a little if I didn't admit that the idea of turning on the television, "for just a few minutes," didn't tempt me a little, but, in the end, I fought off the idea. Waking up after a good rest, I'm glad that I resisted the devil in the flatscreen. My energy restored, I headed south to Fairhope, AL to get in a walk and catch the sunset.

On the way down to Fairhope, I thought about stopping off at a store and getting a book, but the reminder of this minimalism way of life convinced me that I really didn't need a book. I remembered I'd seen the first Little Free Library, the index case of my LFL infection so to speak, in Fairhope and decided I'd see what was on offer.

Little Free Library - Fairhope, AL

Unfortunate, nothing really caught my attention so I moved on. Making my way to the second LFL in the area, I fell in behind a small woman walking a very big dog. I snapped a picture because the sight of this unlikely pair taking a stroll through a true American downtown area is something that catches the eye. It' probably not as rare as I perceive it to be, but also not a sight that's easy to ignore.

Small woman with Large Dog - Fairhope, AL

Happily, luck favored me at the second Little Free Library, and I borrowed The Lobster Chronicles by Linda Greenlaw. The dust jacket advertises that it's a book about a swordfish boat Captain who returns to her small hometown in Maine for a change of pace and the book chronicles her adventures and insights along the way. Linda Greenlaw was prominently featured in  Sebastian Junger's, The Perfect Storm, and I'm looking forward to her observations about another small town in America.

Little Free Library #2 - Fairhope, AL

After getting in the better part of my walk, I relaxed a bit near the Fairhope Pier to take in the sunset. Disappointment was not part of the program, and the universe treated me to a rendering of the horizon rich in color and subtlety.

Sunset - Fairhope, AL

I spent the final moments of the day with the Fairhope Seahorse by Bruce Larsen on the bluff overlooking the municipal pier. 

Fairhope Seahorse 

Rest and recuperation were the order of the day, but it turned into a day of beauty, serenity, and adventure as well. Tomorrow I head out into the Gulf of Mexico if things go as planned, and I'm looking forward to another day or two of new sights and adventures on the rolling ocean.