Running Away.

suzy1124 · Post by **suzy1124** » 27 Jan 2014, 05:20

The " Painted Dessert " B.H.!...let's do it!...exquisite palette of dee-lish colors...

Bryce, here we come...

Carla Hurst-Chandler · Post by **Carla Hurst-Chandler** » 27 Jan 2014, 05:43

Woke in a Mississippi state of mind. The bright red clays of Geogia and Alabama becoming fainter and fainter and replaced by the muted golds and saffron yellow dirt clay of the deep South. Cotton fields bursting like popcorn in a trompe l'oeil that makes the acres appear snowy if it weren't for the 90 degree heat. The French patois of the locals. Cypress and their knobby knees rising from tannin stained swampland here and there. Approaching the Crossroads. Clarksdale...a wide spot in the road with crumbling brick buildings and home of some of the best "blues" on the planet.

suzy1124 · Post by **suzy1124** » 27 Jan 2014, 06:20

so B.H. how's the weather in Bryce?...do ya think i need a coat?

i've seen most of the USA, but unfortunately not that part.............

i just googled " The Painted Desert ".............wowee! how'd i miss that one?

Hasta...

Bighuey · Post by **Bighuey** » 27 Jan 2014, 10:11

You would need a coat. Bryce Canyon is at about 9000 feet, its one of the coldest places in Utah. Or if you really like the cold, we could go to Randolph in Rich county. It gets below freezing at least one day out of the month year round. Brrrr.

suzy1124 · Post by **suzy1124** » 27 Jan 2014, 15:39

i'll leave it up to you...

Bighuey · Post by **Bighuey** » 27 Jan 2014, 20:50

Well, thats too cold for me. St. George would be warm, its full of old fogies like us.

suzy1124 · Post by **suzy1124** » 28 Jan 2014, 00:56

Carla Hurst-Chandler · Post by **Carla Hurst-Chandler** » 28 Jan 2014, 08:02

Still sub-zero here...so today's Running Away might involve the Florida Keys. Heading down the Florida Scenic...they call it the Road to Paradise...because...well...it is

Beginning at Homestead and stretching from Key Largo to Key West...taking a mid-morning stop at Pennekamp. Enjoy the soft white coral sand beach...or snorkel and swim with an amazing array of marine life. Don't annoy the barracuda that drift motionless nearby. They look a bit unsettling...but they won't bother you unless you provoke them. Take a hike on the boardwalk through the mangroves...take off your sandals and feel the grit of the sand tracked in by other hikers on the warm silky smooth boards. Marvel at the larget shell-shop I've ever seen. Purchase a mango and eat the whole thing in the 75-80 degree morning...the juice running down your chin...maybe we'll just stay here today and head further South tomorrow...

laci_baby · Post by **laci_baby** » 28 Jan 2014, 10:39

Carla, that was beautiful haha. It really put me in the moment of wanting to go there.
But of course anywhere warm would be a happily invited guest right now.

Carla Hurst-Chandler · Post by **Carla Hurst-Chandler** » 29 Jan 2014, 13:19

And it is up to 20 degrees today...feeling a bit like a tropical heatwave after the last few days...but there is still a chill in my bones and so we will head on down that silvery thread of a highway island hopping from cay to cay....the shallows ranging from aquamarine to deep green on either side...arriving at one of my very favorite Keys. Grassy Key. Home of the Dolphin Rehab and Turtle Rescue. Lucky Flippers and Loggerheads that spend some time here, and then are returned to the "big blue". Enjoy a tour of the facility...get to meet the staff. Some of the warmest most kindhearted people you will ever chance to meet. And my favorite. Swim with the dolphins. The level of interaction depends soley on their interest in you. Touch them. Not a bit slimy...more like squirmy wet rubber, actually. Listen to their clicks and squeaks and squeals. Most of all drink in the amazing experience of just being part of their re-grouped "pod" for a short while. Pass the above ground tanks of sea turtles and peer into the wise eyes of one of the oldest reptiles. Alive since the time of the dinosaurs, sea turtles achieved their evolutionary pinnacle and seem to have rested on their laurels ever since

We will move along further towards "Where the Rainbow Ends" tomorrow...

jhollan2 · Post by **jhollan2** » 29 Jan 2014, 20:16

This thread is making me melancholy. I've been unemployed for a while now and was desperately looking for a job. I finally found one, and it is one that I really like and one that I am happy doing, but it has filled me with this sense of panic. Before, I could do anything that I wanted. I could potentially get in my car and go anywhere, drive until I ran out of money...meet exciting people and have adventures. Now, all of that beautiful potential is gone. I'm stuck. Not that I was going to really do anything, not that I could afford it, but that I had the possibility on the table that is now gone.

Carla Hurst-Chandler · Post by **Carla Hurst-Chandler** » 30 Jan 2014, 08:27

After Key hopping to the very last Key we are now "Where the Rainbow Ends"...and there is a hand lettered sign to prove it

And when you arrive in Kay West the first thought that crosses your mind might be "This is where the 60's and 70's Counter-Culture Migrated".If you are at all like me...you might find yourself pining to migrate as well. It is past noon and after Captain Burnout parks your car in one of the ginnormous park-for-the-day lots set at the edge of town tou may want to wander in to "town proper " for some grub. Captain's Table is the first place you'll pass if you are lucky. Slick and touristy with a Hemmingway's version of The Fish on the wall...overpriced and the food is "meh". Explore a bit further and you'll see a hole in the wall selling conch fritters. This is the place you want to be! Shaped like a tenderloin breaded and tasting of sweet conch and onions and celery and maybe a touch of sage and topped with lettuce and mayonnaise. Check out the "naughty" tee-shirt shop and dodge Vespas..which are thick here. Like Rome. Make no mistake about it. Key West hasn't strayed that far from pirates and scoundrels...some of whom would use a beacon to lure ships into the rocks to have salvage rights to them. Key West is all about tourism. But it is good fun for the day. Pop by Trader Joes. Wander the gardens and meet the six toed cats of Papa Hemmingway's house. Poke throgh the shipwreck museum. Watch a local artist paint en plein air. Have a snowcone...it is almost 90 degrees. Chase anoles. Be careful...the green ones are safe..but the darker blunt headed Cuban Anoles will bite. Really. Tiny but fierce. Check out the aquarium in the heat of the day...it is marvelous and has AC. Photograph everything. Get a temporary henna tattoo or your hair braided with beads. Catch a live show at the playhouse, maybe. Head to Mallory Square at the end of town as the sun begins to set. This is when the show starts. Everyone will be there. A bongo player. A solo guitarist with case open. A fire-eater. Jugglers. The flower and cookie lady on her three wheeled bike with basket and floppy straw hat. Buy a bunch of flowers and a yummy chocolate chip cookie. And watch for the flash of green as the sun slips out of sight. And so we finish running away to the Keys! <3

suzy1124 · Post by **suzy1124** » 30 Jan 2014, 08:34

" Brevity is the soul of Wit "...Shakespeare was right!

Carla Hurst-Chandler · Post by **Carla Hurst-Chandler** » 01 Feb 2014, 07:39

Brevity is the soul of lingerie. (Dorothy Parker)

Running away...briefly. How about straight shot up North to Makinac Island. Dress warmly. They;re in perma-frost this time of the year. The horse drawn carriages replaced by sleighs. The sprawling Grand Hotel closed until late April/early May. no ferry now because Huron is frozen. A bush plane will give you a ride over. For the most part nobody is here but the hardcore locals. Some of them have run away to warmer climes. Snowmobiles on the sidewalks in Mackinaw City across the strait. The lighthouse is abandoned. Maybe we'll just come back when it all thaws.