Interstate Travel

Early this morning, I watched the sun rise over the great state of Alabama as they awakened to the first full day of being the College Football National Champions.

Spanish Fort, AL Sunrise

After work today, I made a quick trip to the great state of Florida for the opportunity to participate in tomorrow's $1.5B (annuity value) Powerball multi-state lottery drawing. It was about a 38 mile trip one way, and the odds of winning are vanishingly small but for that kind of upside I'm willing to invest a little time and money.

Pavement Logo at the Florida Welcome Center on I-10E just over the Alabama-Florida State Line

It was a good little jaunt, and I even took a quick moment to swing through the Florida Welcome Center that was sporting a Blue Angel Jet static display, a life size dolphin statue, and this (trademarked) sidewalk logo.

I ended the meeting watching the 2016 State of the Union address given by President Barack Obama. He is exceptionally talented at delivering soaring rhetoric, and his presentation was a stirring look toward the future. I wish he had gone a little further in his call to big action on a number of fronts. I believe that the nation is primed and ready to tackle a major project. My choice would be a return to the Moon and on to Mars, but there are a number of efforts that are begging for national (and even international) investment.

Roll Tide

As I write this, I'm watching the 2015-2016 College Football National Championship game unfold on television. Given my location, it goes without saying that I'm pulling for the Alabama Crimson Tide finishes out the last five minutes of the game with their lead intact. Currently, they're leading 38-27.

In addition to the fact that I'm watching television, an unusual event over the last several months, I also went out to dinner with the folks from work. I had a good cajun meal at Boudreaux's Cajun Grill in Daphne, AL, and the company was a refreshing change from my usual monastic walking existence.

Both of these events have been a welcome change to what has become my habitual routine.

Sunrise over Spanish Fort, AL

After all, life can't be all about sunsets, sunrises, and water views. With a little bit of work and sequencing, I actually managed to get in my daily practice as well as an hour of television and a social dinner.

Another great day in the books, some of my more recent routines have been challenged, and I'm well placed to enjoy whatever tomorrow might reveal.

The Benefits of Air Travel

I found myself on the road again for work. More accurately, I took to the air and in a surprisingly short period of time covered over 1800 miles on my way to lower latitudes. Although a bit on the pricey side, airports are one of those places where you are easily able to access anything that your heart might desire.  They really have become highly functional as well as artistic facilities. Those features are all on the public facing side of an incredibly complex and effective logistics enterprise that moves thousands of people and thousands of tons of cargo across the country (and the world) quickly and efficiently everyday.

Sunrise at Charlotte International Airport

Part way to my final destination, I found myself back in the land of what one of my friends calls the "Panther Plane" for obvious reasons.

Vertical Stabilizer of the "Panther Plane"

I also stumbled across this blast from what I assumed was the long forgotten past of a different sort of air travel.

Piedmont Airlines Offices

I always assumed that Piedmont Airlines was one of those regional carriers that had vanished into the mists of time.  There were some major changes after they merged with US Air in 1989, and here is some of Piedmont's earlier history. It turns out that they are still operating under the American Airlines group, and their headquarters is still in Salisbury, MD.  Charlotte International Airport is one of their principle hubs.  I do like their logo.

Arriving in my final destination for the day, I slowed down my pace quite a bit, and I put in just over eleven miles on the ground. As sometimes happens, I really wasn't too very thrilled about the prospect of that kind of distance after a day of travel, but when I got to about the halfway point, my outlook had shifted, and I was glad to be out on the trial.

Statue of the goddess Daphne in front
of the Daphne, AL City Hall

This statue is one of my favorite vistas along the thirty two mile long Eastern Shore Trail that runs from Spanish Fort, AL to south of Fairhope, AL. It is especially striking at sunset, and I caught it at just the right hour this evening. That was a fortunate piece of good luck and entirely spontaneous. It's a lesson for me that good things will happen if I'm willing to put in the work.

US Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office in Daphne, AL

This was my turnaround point this evening about 5.7 miles into the walk. Overall, it was a productive and fulfilling day in the air and out on the trail.