Sometimes Another Sunrise Just Has to Be Enough

I got another sunrise today.  Sometimes...actually every time...a sunrise is all that you have cause to hope for, and when you get another one, you see it for the gift that it really represents. This morning I got a sunrise and a thunderstorm that I was able to observe from afar. The dawning of the day was a particularly nice one.

Sunrise Thunderstorm - Mayport, FL

Today was a great gift filled with wonder. After all, I found myself wondering later in the afternoon just what the hell were forty people hoping to accomplish by meeting over the course of four hours that couldn't have been completed in a much shorter time.  Be that as it may, I'm looking forward to seeing what a new dawn may reveal about six hours from now.

Every Now and Then...

You get an opportunity to experience something spectacular. Today has been one of those days where event after event proved more fulfilling than the last one. Take those chances. I think you'll find that if you're awake, aware, and participating, days like the one I had today roll around more often than you've come to expect.

Back at BWI - Headed out on the road again

Today started off right with a quick hop skip and a jump on Southwest Airlines down to make my connection in Atlanta. The air was warm, but the sky was clear. I'd even remembered to check in yesterday just a little after the twenty four hour mark hit. For those of you who fly Southwest know, your seating will largely depend on getting checked in just as soon as possible. I was a little late, so I ended up in a middle seat. I did have room in the overhead bin for my backpack so that was a plus. I also had plenty of relatively svelte folks to choose to sit between during the flight. A good start to the day all in all.

Art on Display at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
Atlanta, GA

My layover in Atlanta was characterized by a walk a little over a mile long through the tunnels connecting the terminals. I've found that airports are pretty good places to see emerging contemporary art, and Atlanta proved to be the rule rather than the exception.

Leaving Atlanta - Bound for Florida

The typical afternoon thunderstorms were just getting started when we left Atlanta headed for Florida. The embryonic cumulous clouds were shaking awake and marching together to form the cumulonimbus playground of giants.

Thunderstorm Breaking on Final Approach

Thunderstorms have an untamed and wild beauty about them. Rain crashes out of the heavens and lightning smites the earth like a hammer. The legends of giants in the clouds seem well earned. These gods of the southern afternoon dwarfed our three hundred foot airliner and forced us to change our course a number of times in the short hop to Florida.

Lighthouse - Mayport, FL

I didn't really know where I was going, and got sidetracked quite a ways out of the way, and in the process I stumbled upon the St. Johns River Lighthouse in Mayport, FL. Originally constructed in 1890, the lighthouse has been out of commission for some time, but I'm grateful that it's still around. It turned an unfortunate sidetrack into an interesting drive.

Destroyer Sunset - Naval Station Mayport

I wrapped up the day with a spectacular sunset and a three mile walk on the beach. Today was a great day full of quite a few little adventures, and I'm grateful that I took the opportunity to experience them all. As always, I'm looking forward to see what tomorrow's adventure may hold in store for me.

The Pillars of the Pilgrimage

No pictures today. It's hard to believe that my Fitbit recorded a little over eight miles of walking without a deliberate period of walking throughout the day. Just for the record, walking as a form of exercise has a great advantage over other forms of cardiovascular exercise. Most of my day was taken up with yard work, and it's hard to imagine trying to jog and mow the lawn at the same time.  Walking...now that's a different story, but I digress.

I've been thinking more and more about how to construct the reality of the N2N-TCP. That's Newport (RI) to Newport (OR) Transcontinental Pilgrimage in case you've just joined us. Some folks in China visited the other day, and I'm not sure the fully aware of what this blog's really supposed to be about. I digress again. It's a habit from not getting any real feedback. There I go again.

Anyway, I'm working on the Pillars of the Pilgrimage. One of the doctrines of Islam that I've grown to appreciate quite a bit with some life experience are the Five Pillars. These concepts provide a relatively simple, but spiritual guidepost for folks practicing their Muslim faith. In short they are 1) A Testimony or Profession of Faith, 2) Obligatory Prayer, 3) Charity, 4) Fasting during Ramadan, and finally, one that I most closely relate to, 5) Pilgrimage to Mecca. The link above will provide a better description if that's what you're interested in, but the Islamic faith is not the point of this posting.

What I like about the five pillars are that they provide touchstones and simple discipline and I'm thinking of adopting the concept of the pillars to my own embryonic pilgrimage. Here's what I've come up with as general areas for consideration:

1) The Practice -Walking across the United States isn't too challenging. It merely requires putting one foot in front of the other over and over again. The Newport (RI) to Newport (OR) route is approximately 3600 miles long, and that equates to about a 6.6 million steps. Each step will be a practice of sorts, and the sheer scale of the undertaking will demand discipline (and about twelve pairs of shoes) to complete. If this isn't practice, I don't know what qualifies.

2) The Path - The path of our route is what's drawing me to this adventure. Seeing the country unfold is proving to be a powerful stimulant to my imagination, and I'm looking forward to seeing what lies around the next bend.  In Nebraska, I suspect we won't even be able to see the next bend for many miles, so walking this path may take a bit of patience.

3) The People - Rory Conlan is looking forward to meeting the people along the way. I'm looking forward to that aspect also, but I think this is the aspect of uncertainty that is really sparking his imagination. He's good with folks, and I think that skill set may prove very useful as we make our way slowly across one of the fatter parts of North America. If worse comes to worse, he may be able to get us a ride to the next town for a replenishment of Diet Coke or a job to earn enough to grab a bite to eat. Who know's what will happen, but we're both hoping that interesting people (really that's anyone that interacts with us in some way) will play a major role in the learning that may or may not come with this undertaking...ha ha...I mean adventure.

Those are the three that have gelled in my mind. I need to run them past Rory. If he ever visited this site, which he should be doing since supposedly he's a contributor, he'd know what I'm thinking. Since his presence comes about every four to six months, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Other candidates include The Planning, The Plodding, The Pastures, The Prayer, and The Potato. Clearly, some of these are better than others, but I really don't like any of them too very much. If anyone's out there reading this and has some suggestions, please let me know.

Until then and as always, I'm excited to see what a new dawn may bring. I suspect it will be enlightening.