They Call It a Trial and Not a Kegger for A Reason

Today proved to be a long, tiring, and thankfully, productive day.  I hit the trail early and put some miles under the soles of my feet and welcomed the dawn toward the end of my walk.

Sunrise over Spanish Fort, AL

Bringing a ship to life and demonstrating it the an independent inspection team in a process known as acceptance trials consumed the rest of the day up until a bit after nine pm. I guess there's a reason they call it a trial and not a kegger, although I think that a party might be a better way to go about the task.

Late in the afternoon, a series of thunderstorms rolled across the area.

Mobile, AL skyline as the storm tapered off

The rain broke through the oppressive humidity about thirty minutes before sunset, and we wrapped up the day bathed in the cool beauty of the air freshened by the rain.

Clouds Breaking as the Sun Sets over Mobile

Mother Nature in all Her Glory - Mobile, AL

Fire Mingling with Water - Mobile, AL

I managed to keep up with the daily practices and still put in a pretty full day's work tackling problems. I'm looking forward to what tomorrow may reveal.

Grind It Out Friday

Not every day is brilliant sunsets and visions that inspire thoughts of romantic travel during simpler times. Somedays, I just have to grind it out, and today was one of those days. There was a forty page presentation due by 0700 this morning, so I skipped the morning walk and went in and smashed it out. The rest of the day seemed like a series on non-stop little emergencies and prep work for what's coming our way next week. The time ended up flying by, and before I knew it, the time had come to head out to the ice rink to watch the kiddos skate.

I eked out a mile and a half on the road during the ice skating event, and came home with not a whole lot of time before it was time to get some rest before starting tomorrow. There was a sunset.

Naval Station Annapolis Sunset

While the storm clouds in the distance were pretty impressive in person, the lighting was a bit washed out, so they're a little less impressive here in the photo. They did managed to coagulate into an energetic lightning storm after the sky grew dark. The smudge ended up an orange smear of tepid light just before the sky grew black.  Probably the best thing about this photo is a porta-john on the right. When you're out on the road, a porta-john can save you a fair amount of grief. Sometimes a porta-john is the best thing that the day has to offer, so I availed myself of the facilities and headed on down the road.

Heading down the Road at Naval Station Annapolis

I'm not quite sure where these roads I'm taking right now are leading. On days like today, it feels like they're not leading anywhere that I particularly want to be going. When a day like this comes along, there's only one thing to do. 

Grind it out.

Toad - Naval Station Annapolis

Toward the end of my wanderings, I happened across this little guy and about half a dozen of his warty brown friends. Not the easiest creature to get a photo of in the dark, but there it is. 

Sometimes you'll have days of doubt and thoughts about the futility of the journey ahead.  Days where the most exciting things you find are a lonely porta-john and a toad. When you get to those days, grind it out. You never know what might be waiting for you just around the next corner. I'm looking forward to whatever that might reveal itself as I wander the road of life tomorrow.

Unsettled

Just after dusk, the storm front rolled up from the southeast. It cut a swath of damage caused by wind, hail, and several tornadoes that left fatalities in their wake. Fingers of heavy rain scratched their way across the suburbs as long snakes of traffic made their way along the glistening highways in endless, red, LED lit rivers of angst.

The wind whipped the trees and sheets of lightening cascaded from cloud top to cloud top. The weather was as unsettled as the political landscape.

Sitting in the waning grey light, surrounded by the metal cocoon of the best Japanese engineering $28K can acquire my own thoughts rattled around in my head. The time had come to part ways with a familiar companion.

Five weeks had passed since the pop followed by a fiery wave of pain had been loosed from the outside of my left foot and washed up my calf to the knee. Since then, the CAM Boot and I had gone everywhere together. Up stairs and down. Clomping down sidewalks and streets. Through the grey corridors so typical of government facilities.

The CAM Boot Retired

Locking my foot and ankle in the tight wrap of it's velcro and unyielding sole, the boot had become my companion and confidant. It shifted my gait and my pelvis ever so slightly. I walked with a starboard list, but my friend had clobbered the pain. After a mere week or two in the boot's familiar embrace, the Motrin had been placed back in the corner of the dark cupboard.  Short walks from the car park to work or a store with a slightly off center list were the norm. Thoughts of my lower back and lower left leg faded into obscurity to be replaced with more pedestrian concerns.

It's been a good run with the boot. I'm left to wonder what tomorrow will reveal. What will it feel like to be restored to a completely vertical orientation. Will each step carry a tickle of worry that the fifth metatarsal will snap throwing me to the pavement. Will my ankle flap and flop like a flag that has lost one corner of mooring from the flagpole.

Time will tell, and I'm looking forward to the next steps.