Branching Out from Huntsville

I've been in Huntsville, AL for a little over a week, and like all my travel, I'm really enjoying the experience.

Retention Pond Sunset - Huntsville, AL

Thankfully, the sun sets and rises here in about the same way it does everywhere else I've been, and I've been able to find a vista or two. I do need some more time to explore, but in a matter of days, I've found some "old standby" haunts when time is short and the need for some beauty is high.

I'm not letting the moss grow on my this rolling stone, and tomorrow I head out to Georgia to attend the Second Annual (2017) Georgia Tiny House Festival in Eatonton, GA.

I'm planning on hammock camping which will be a first for me, and I'm really looking forward to the adventure. We'll see how it all shakes out, but I'm hoping to have some tall tales and photos worth sharing before it's all said and done.  Until then...

More Airborne

Yesterday was a pretty sparse day on pictures. Given those constraints, I'll give you something I caught on 20 November.  I'll get something fresher for the next post, but I love the freedom and adventure that travel represents and air travel is the ultimate symbol that's easily accessible for me.


Enjoy!

Airborne over North Florida

I don't know what tomorrow will bring.  I hope it's some rest, but if not, I'm as ready as I can be for what's to come. Cheers!

Back in the Mid-Atlantic Area

Last night I headed back from Alabama on my way to the Mid-Atlantic region. I was blessed to fly through Miami on the way back.




Topping South Beach on Final - Miami, FL



The nightlife appeared to be ramping up as we passed over South Beach Miami on final, and it was good to stop off in a location that boasted sixty seven degree weather at 10 pm in November.


It's good to be back and get back in the grind at work, and I'm looking forward to finding out what tomorrow will reveal.  I'm facing some challenges, and I'm hoping to move down the path toward resolution in the next day or so.  I have faith that, although I don't see how this situation can possibly lead to a particularly happy outcome, the universe is conspiring to make me successful if I'm willing to put in the effort.


Until then....

Back On The Road

I'm back on the road again, and truth be told I'm enjoying it. Selling a final product to a tough customer is just around the corner during my day job, and I really relish this type of think on your feet challenge.  It's gonna be epic.

Final Approach into Charlotte, NC

I've been listening to a biography of Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance.  It's a great book, and I think it provides an excellent feel for the highly competitive and technical nature of the work that Mr. Musk and his companies are currently tackling. 

Musk's way of working bears a striking similarity to the description of the way that Hymen Rickover  worked on the nuclear navy as related by Theodore Rockwell, related in his biography of the Admiral.

I sense that the effort associated with the N2N-TCP is somehow related to this high tech pursuit of conquering the challenges associated with surviving on planets or celestial bodies other than Earth for long periods of time.  I don't know how they relate, but the inkling is there for me.

I don't know how any of this will shake out tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Look What I Found in the Library

Preparing for a thirty three hundred mile walk involves quite a bit of time out on the trail, but that's not the only consideration.  Today, I took some time in the local library to access some of the experience of the people who have gone before me in this same sort of endeavor.

I really like to read, but compared to some I'm a bit of a piker.  Jim Stavridis is an avid reader, and he's suggested that there are thirty five hundred years of history so there really is no excuse to make the same mistakes as folks who have come before us. That dovetails nicely with my "philosophy" of always trying to make new mistakes. To that end, in preparation for the pilgrimage I find myself in the nearest branch of the county library.

Look What I Found at the County Library - Annapolis, MD

This has been a busy travel month for me, and tomorrow, I believe I'm going to find myself looking at a vista similar to this one.

Airborne - Miami, FL

In addition to providing new and exciting places to get out on the trail for training, travel provides some dedicated time to read, and I'll be exploring the Appalachian Trail with some of the great thru-hikers on this next trip.

The path to the pilgrimage has been an interesting trek so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's revealed around the next bend in the trail.

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.

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.

Fishing on the Menominee River

This is likely my last trip to Marinette, Wi.  The opportunity to combine my evening walk with a brief fishing outing on the Menominee River proved too much to resist, and I spent a very relaxing couple of hours chasing the sunset as well as a some fish.

Like the last time I was hear, I only landed one small mouth bass (colloquially known as a smallie in this area), but it was a bit better fish than I landed last time.

Smallie - Menominee River - Marinette, WI

This little guy put of a good fight, and the thrill of the catch was worth the cost of getting set up for the opportunity. Spending time out on the river was deeply relaxing, and I'm glad that I've gotten to the point in my life that fishing is a much bigger draw than spending any time at all on watching television or some other form of on screen entertainment.

After hooking this one, I spend about the next half an hour largely practicing my casting, and was rewarded at the end with another great sunset.

Sunset on the Menominee - Marinette, WI

The air has a hint of fall in the air, and there was not a breath of moving air. The sky and the river became one at the close of the day, and if it weren't for gravity, it would have been hard to tell them apart.

Today was  an exceptional day.  Safe travel covering over one thousand miles, the opportunity to pit my wits and technology against some fish, and a sunset that is really quite unbelievable when I look back at the photos. I'm not sure what tomorrow may hold, but I'm looking forward to taking another crack at another good day.  Goodness is all around us. I have not always recognized this fact, but now that I do, my life has gotten much better.  It has become a life centered around the experiences that I have...or even make...rather than the things that I own. It's a lesson that I knew once, forgot for a time, and am relearning as I grow a little more seasoned. I grateful for the relearning that's gone on over the last several years, and I continue to greet each day with the respect for the the opportunities that the day will provide if I'm open to seeing them.

Virginia is for Lovers...And Work

I find myself on the road again after a productive day of walking, travel, and minimalism. I headed south again, and based on all the signs along the way, I'm convince beyond a shadow of a doubt that Virginia fulfills the billing as being for Lovers.

Virginia is for Lovers

This sign at a rest area on I-64 represents one of many Loveworks installation pieces throughout the state that promote the notion that Virginia is for Lovers and offer scenic stops along the way to capture that feeling. The simple lines of this particular rendering appeal to my newfound asceticism (both deliberate and by circumstance). I even managed to find a donation center in VA to offload ten books today on the tenth day of my path to a greater feeling of freedom and minimalism.

Minimalism Day Ten

All of these books stayed with me for so long because they came to represent a part of my identity. There really is no explanation other than that. "Elementary Applied Partial Differential Equations" represented a very challenging and difficult phase, and if I never have to conduct a Laplace or Fourier Transform again, I probably won't shed too many tears. At any rate, it was good to lighten my load a little to make room for whatever the future may have in store.

On the way down to Virginia, I stopped off at the Washington Navy Yard to pick up some clothes and capture a shot or two of the USS Barry in her final days at the Navy Yard.  She's been there for three decades or so after having served the fleet ably, and I find a bit of nostalgia poking up through my normally tough and crusty exterior.  Today, it became clear that preparations for her departure in early May (currently, Saturday, 07 May 2016, 0600) are beginning in earnest.  The crane barge Columbia NY owned and operated by Donjon Marine, Inc. was moored beside the USS Barry along with two Donjon tugs.

USS Barry with Donjon Marine, Inc. Crane Barge Columbia NY

The last time I worked with Columbia was during recovery efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita . We spent months pulling primarily shrimp and fishing boats and tank and deck barges out of the bayous of southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. A fairly comprehensive accounting can be found in the US Navy Salvage Report - Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (S0800-AC-RPT-010). A picture of Columbia NY refloating shrimping vessels in Venice, LA can be found on page 4-3 of the report. Nostalgia ruled a good hour of the day. 

It's a bit sad to know that this river view will undergo a major change in the coming weeks, and I share history with the equipment and company that will play a role in that change.

Anacostia Afternoon with USS Barry and Columbia NY

Change is inevitable, I suppose, and moving out old possessions to make room for new possibilities seems to be a thematic element for my life this spring. It will be interesting to see how the universe conspires to shape the unfolding, but until it does, I'm looking forward to what dawn may bring tomorrow.

Back in the Mid-Atlantic for a Little While

Successfully made it back to the Mid-Atlantic states. Travel will continue until morale improves, and as such this is about a fifty two hour stopover, some relatively local travel, and then we'll see what shakes out.

I took to opportunity to get in some much needed rest this afternoon. As I get a little older and wiser, I believe I'm getting better at listening to the body tell me when I'm pushing too hard and adjusting accordingly. To a degree, I wish I'd learned this a little sooner.

Departing CLT

Nothing to terribly exciting on the picture front, although I caught the above gem on the window of the A320 hauling me to Baltimore after a quick trot through the airport to catch this connecting flight. It's good to be back and I'm grateful I managed to basically keep up with all aspects of the daily practice in one form or another during a relatively challenging time from a schedule and sleep perspective.

I read a quote on a running website the other day that I think has some real applicability. It said, "Motivation gets you started, Habits keep you going." That's speaking with Big Medicine  from my perspective, and it's more than a bit heartening to realize that I've managed to develop some of those more positive habits over the last couple of years. It's been quite a trip.

Looking forward to what tomorrow's sunrise will reveal.

Thinking on Oneness, and a Trip South

I skipped a dedicated walk for exercise today. Travel took up a good part of the day, and frankly, I am tired.

The day started early with fellowship with a good group of folks where the topic of discussion centered around resentments and how they work against healthy living. If I'm honest, I sometimes struggle to keep a sense of oneness at the center of my relationships with both people and institutions, so resentment may be an issue for me address. I don't perceive myself as bitter, but my suspicion is that like eating and exercise the fruits of the way I approach life is an incremental and cumulative process. I don't want to be a bitter or resentful person. I believe that capturing that sense of oneness may prove critical to that vision.

In other news, I headed back down to the land of alligators and fried pickles with a brief stop on the way in the land of early presidential primaries.

Charlotte International Airport - Concourse B (on right) and Concourse C (on left)

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport serves as a major hub for American Airlines since their acquisition last year of US Airways. A friend of mine used to live in Charlotte, and I'm pretty sure I spend more time here than have over the last year. The USO in the airport has the largest collection of challenge coins that I've ever personally witnessed. One of the volunteers told me today that word on the street is that Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport owns a bigger collection, but Charlotte was working to catch up. I'm happy to report that I added two coins to their collection over my last two trips. I picked up a ham sandwich and bottle of water and headed on down the road.

An afternoon arrival in Mobile, Alabama led to a relatively late night in the office. By the time the end of the day arrived, the lights of the city were shining in all their glory.

Mobile, AL Skyline at Night

The colors displayed on the building have shifted from the Mardi Gras theme of purple, gold, and green since the last time I traveled down here, and I welcome the change. The picture really doesn't do justice to the grandeur of a big city infrastructure with a small town feel. If it weren't for the heat, humidity, and alligators I might imagine myself living here one day. Even those aspects have their charm. As another friend of mine likes to point out, "You don't have to shovel heat." This phrase seems to pop up just after the Mid-Atlantic region falls on the receiving end of sixteen inches of snow. Tough to refute that logic. 

Habit coerces me to admit that I'm looking forward to reveling in astonishment when the day after today is revealed.

Just Keeping the Streak Alive

Today has been a pretty busy day. After I got in my daily walk this morning, my daughter played her first competitive lacrosse game, and she looked pretty good. She's pretty quiet normally, but if you put her in a mask, mouth guard, and give her a stick she shows and assertiveness that comes as a bit of a surprise. That's a great thing to see.

The rest of the day was largely spent getting ready to get into the 5 mile high aluminum tube.

That's it for tonight. No pictures...just keeping the streak alive one more day. Sometimes that's the best you can do. We'll see how it all unfolds tomorrow. 

Train Stations

There is something about a train station that evokes a little thrill of adventure coupled with a bit of a sad nostalgia yearning for the reality of the image of simpler times. I walked down to Union Station today, and the white Vermont granite of the exterior seemed to capture the thrill and freedom of climbing into a mahogany and teak Pullman train car hauled by a fast locomotive toward points west.

Union Station - Washington, DC

I'll be headed out on the road again soon, but instead of eating roast beef and carrots and drinking coffee in the dining car on a multi-day trip accompanied by the rhythmic click and slap of the great iron steam pistons, I'll be climbing into an aluminum tube to be pushed past the ground five miles above the earth lulled to a shallow sleep by the pitched whine of twin turbofan engines.  

There is something to be said for being able to cover 1200 miles in about four hours, but today I was longing for the myth of simpler times. Times when travel was slower and instead of avoiding my fellow pilgrims we would exchange greetings and banter about whatever news we all brought from our smaller and somehow more isolated sections of the country.

After spending a few minutes dreaming of the open air freedom of travel in a rail car, I turned on my heel and headed back toward the river, relishing the lightning sky in the east and the gentle breeze on my forehead.

Tomorrow morning will bring a new set of dreams and visions, and I'm looking forward to seeing them unfold one moment at a time.

Philadelphia and Back

Today started with another glorious sunrise, and I experienced it from Philadelphia. I really do love that city, and I'm only a bit hesitant in suggesting that it is a place that I could see myself settling down. It's about the perfect distance between Washington, DC and New York, NY for visiting purposed, and the cultural offerings of what is really a pretty gritty East Coast industrial hub can't really be surpassed. The sunrise was fantastic as well.

Philadelphia Sunrise

For reasons that I can't really put my finger on, Philadelphia is a place that feels like home to me.

A quick morning lecture, and I was back on the road to catch a 2 pm meeting in Washington, DC. I was back before noon. That's what I mean by it being almost the perfect commuting distance for visiting from Philadelphia to DC.

I even made it back in time to catch another view of the USS Barry. Her departure is looming, and I'm really wishing that I'd done a better job of planning how to document her last days at the Washington Navy Yard. There's still time to act, but I'm going to have to "get hot."

Anacostia Afternoon with USS Barry

Another fulfilling day is now in the books, and I'm relishing the surprises that St. Patrick's Day may bring my way tomorrow.

Headed North

Today I started in Maryland, passed through Washington, DC, transited Delaware, and landed in Philadelphia, PA.  The morning started out right with a brisk morning walk along the Anacostia, and the views, as they often are, were spectacular.

Yards Park Fountain

I captured the images to create the gif that I was hoping for last time the Yards Park fountain was lit this way. I felt at home and comfortable when I rounded to corner and saw this display for the second time in the last month.  It was a good way to start.

USS Barry - Anacostia River Morning

I made use of the differing perspective that came to my attention yesterday, and captured another pretty good full length image of the USS Barry.

After wrapping up a few things at the Navy Yard, I headed north to Philadelphia.  I haven't been here in a couple of years, at least, and if feels really good to get back and be privileged to visit some of the old haunts of my youth. If viewed from the "right perspective" it seems that I've already achieved the lifestyle that bushels of gold would be used to facilitate.  

Another good day in the books, and I'll get a chance to practice some of my public speaking skills, such as they are tomorrow.  As always, I'm looking forward to the experience.