Old cannons and young kids

After yesterday's trip to Strawberry Fields we went off to see some old cannons pointed out over the water. Part of our expedition was a set of twins - Ronald and Michael McDonald. They needed a ride to Oracabessa, which was farther along our trip. But they knew of an old English site between Strawberry Fields and their destination. So, off the beaten path we went, up a hill and into an unassuming driveway. We edged past a building gone to ruins, and waited for the brothers to negotiate with some Rasta people that live on the site.

While we waited I took a snap of these Naseberries, another fruit I had never known before coming to Jamaica. It is amazing how many varieties of fruits growing native here.

Before long we were off to see our first cannon. This dated from 250 years ago or so. It looked like it could still be fired. The carriage was in great shape.

The site had several cannons, and some really gnarly trees. I am not sure what they were, but they were graceful and shady. They seemed kind of incongruous, growing alongside the cannons.

Everything looked as if it had been there only twenty years, instead of two hundred. If you had low grade black powder I bet you could even fire one of these without it bursting.

This must have been topnotch iron. The humidity here was oppressive, but very little has gone to rust.

For me, as usual, the children are beautiful and fascinating. These kids came out of the woodwork to see why we were interested in the area. They are fearless and engaging. This girl was beautiful, with her hair ready for dreads.

Her friend wanted to pose on the cannon. All the kids were great posers.

The little sister also had a beautiful face. No matter what else you hear about Jamaica, please know that the people (particularly the Rastafarians) are peaceful, engaging, and friendly.

For some reason everybody wanted to be picked up. Esther picked up the older girl and I lifted the younger. She was so tiny I was afraid she would break.

Just another beautiful flower growing on the site.

Scouting the wedding site

We were off to the North Coast (Robin's Bay) yesterday to scout out the wedding site. The wedding will be held at Strawberry Fields, an eco-resort. This is out of the way along an old road with lots of potholes, but worth the drive. There are some villas and some campsites, right on a rugged and wild part of the coast.

When you first drive in you see a wild little cove right away. The waves come crashing in and dissipate their energy on rocks along the sides and at the mouth. There is a swimming beach that is kind of protected.

As the waves run along the rocky headland, it leaves little waterfalls behind. Something about that is really appealing to me, not sure why.

I have always been a sucker for waves crashing on rocks ("masher/crashers"). There is plenty of that here.

Left of the little cove is a pavilion that can hold a lot of people. It has power for the music system Heather's uncle will bring along. Heather and Dan have picked out some music for the "march".

The pavilion looks out on the spot most likely for the wedding. This patio is right out in the middle of the waves, with water rushing in on the rocks. It's kind of wild and woolly. I think Dan and Heather will enjoy it a lot.

This is steps down from the pavilion. So Heather could emerge here and walk down the steps to join Dan.

Heather's cousin Tif wants dinner to be up at the rustic bar called "On the Rocks".

It has a nice sized platform with small tables and a bar from which dinner could be served.

These cute carved monkeys are "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil."

Here's Esther chatting up Ronald McDonald (really - there's a whole nother story there, as well). That will come in a later post.

As you look around the grounds you see small and large cottages dotting the grounds. We have some of these set up for a few days during the wedding period.

This one is a bit fancier.

It is called Moonlight Magic.

It looks pretty nice.

And has its own little cove.

With its own little beach,

and some interesting coral fossils to explore.

There is more to explore, but this gives you a feel for the place. I like it. It is another example of the little surprises that await you all over this island, tucked away in corners.

White rum and Ting

First night in Jamaica after a time away: I leave at 9PM for Uncle Paul's and Uncle Danny's club, Bamboozia. This club is really nice, located on a rooftop with a beautiful view of Kingston and the surrounding hills. At this time of night the lights are beautiful. I order up my first of several white rum and Ting drinks. This was assured to me to be a perfect drink; you never get a hangover if you stick to this one drink.

The music is loud, the crowd is a bit thin this early in the evening. Thursday at Bamboozia is karaoke night. Some of the singing is good, some really bad. It is pretty high tech, with a PC station running alongside the CDs.

By the time I am on my second or third drink the crowd begins to grow a little. While I am watching it I am thinking supper club. Dinner from 7-10, with romantic couples watching the mountains and enjoying the night breeze. The kitchen would be right out in the open, dinners prepared right in front of your eyes. The music would start out as soft jazz, then gradually turn to something a bit louder and more dance oriented as the night wears on. Brain farts... Maybe rum-induced, maybe not.

Up on this rooftop is another business, a well-equipped gym. There are tons of machines, treadmills, exercise bikes, and free weights. The place sparkles. It has just opened, waiting for people to enroll. There is a young guy in charge of it. He has stayed beyond the 9PM closing tonight to participate in karaoke. It turns out that he, too, is a frustrated musician. His voice is very good, and Uncle Paul tells me that he plays the piano well. I buy him a drink while he tells me about what he has to do to support his talent while waiting for a breakthrough.

There is also a music studio on this level. I do not make it inside, being primarily interested in blowing off some steam with the rum and music. Uncle Paul tells me that a video studio is also planned. Niece Tif is now part of a growing creative group - an unstructured collection of people with talent in music, photography, video and editing, advertising, etc. They are young and energetic and seem to think there is opportunity. I find out that the local cell phone companies (3 of them) fight it out monthly on TV with newly shot commercials supporting their campaigns. There is money to be made.

I head off to the bar, drunk as a lord, to gather a story from a geezer I see there. I am thinking it is unusual to see another silverhair in a place like this. I sit down after offering him a drink and wait for some conversation to pop up. Instead, a young woman (mid-twenties or so) comes up and sits between us. She is a live wire. I know she has been up on the stage singing, and ask her if she has some Indian background. Something in her voice makes me suspect that. She tells me her Mom is Indian and proceeds to tell me her life-story. I notice she also has a space between her front teeth (like me), and comment on it. She assures me that the space means she is sweet up here (in the mouth area) and down there (she vaguely waves a hand around her lap). She introduces me to her boyfriend, the silverhair. I can't hear very well, but it seems she came from a town out west (Santa Cruz) that I have traveled through. Her boyfriend is a business man, and they are happy together. The conversation goes on and she invites me over to another bar on the following evening. Her friend writes the address on his business card. I am thinking, what a friendly place and what friendly people.

I mention that I am Danny's brother-in-law, and she warns me to stick to my wife. She tells me Jamaican girls will stick to you, trying their best to please you. So beware! Probably good advice, don't you think?

The next morning I discover that maybe no hangover is a bit inaccurate. Welcome to "Jamaica, where the rum comes from."

Austin to Ft. Lauderdale

This is a tough part of the trip. East Texas and Louisiana are both flatter than piss on a platter. The only breath of life is the Atchafalaya Basin. This is a gorgeous place; at this time of year the cypress trees have turned to red. Their shapes are just poetry, outlined against the mist and water.

We stopped off at the welcome center for the Atchafalaya Basin, along US Route 10. This is a little gem, with beautiful displays, animated swamp creatures, and a 4 minute movie introducing the area. It was a nice surprise. They even offer free coffee - very good free coffee!

Around noon we stopped off in New Orleans. We like to break our trips up with something when we can. We drove down Esplanade, then onto Decatur to get to the French Market area. It's touristy, but it is the place for beignets.

Apparently it is also the place where Esther gets frisky with other mustachioed gentlemen.

Eventually we found the Cafe Du Monde. The place is crowded, but also disorganized. The waitstaff is slow, but eventually they get to you.

The result is wonderful!. Cafe au lait and beignet are perfect.

Even the touristy flavor has some interesting bits. Take a look at the hooves here. It may help to click on the photo and get the enlarged version. This is the trotting gait (diagonal legs hit together). This particular shot is the "clop" of the clip-clop that you hear with a trot.

Everyone here has a gig, whether it is begging, bouncing, or busking. This dude, who looked like he had been "rode hard and put away wet", played Christmas carols on his mandolin.

Leaving via Esplanade took us down a beautiful, live-oak lined street. There were a whole series of these beautiful homes along the way. Many had flickering gas lamps, as did this one.

This lovely old home was offered at $879, 000, despite its rundown condition. It would probably take a few hundred thousand to bring it back.

As we followed Route 10 out of town it was easy to see the hurricane devastation. You could look right through some homes, from one end to the other. No wonder there are all the "Brad Pitt for Mayor" t-shirts here. He has helped a lot, but there is more to do.

Austin is unique

This trip we did not get as active in Austin as usual. Dan and Heather were busy with work and school. I had injured my calf muscle trying to dodge a nor'easter wave. We did get out to Chuy's Christmas Parade, though. The parade itself is designed to collect gifts for unfortunate children. The real story is people and animals for me, though.

They come out of the woodwork at every event. I am not sure what it was about this young woman, but she captured my attention.

For sure it wasn't the gums. Check out the pattern on the dress.

There are always dogs around. I loved the personality on this one. It was just biting and shaking its leash with abandon.

While its partner remained quiet and calm...

The horses were dressed with amazing style! This was a fortune in silver (or some other worthwhile shiny metal).

These guys, from separate families, got to know each other in the usual doggy way. I know it also involves butts, but who wants a picture like that?

Keeping warm is a priority for us geezers.

The prize always goes to the kids, though.

This girl knew her picture was being taken and was intrigued with the idea. What a sweet face.

To Austin

I'm losing track of how many road trips we have made to Austin. I think this is the 5th. I'm not sure what it is that makes road trips such great fun, but a few things that contribute are

• traveling with your loved one
• driving itself
• seeing the countryside
• making stops at places you have read or heard about but never seen.

This post and those following will be about these enjoyable things. During our trip we stopped over in Vicksburg, the site of a major Civil War siege. I am not a student or fan of the Civil War times, but I will provide a bit of background. By virtue of its central location and access to the Mississippi River, Vicksburg was a key component of the Confederate western defense. After Gettysburg, Union General Grant began the siege of Vicksburg, in an attempt to gain control of the Mississippi. Vicksburg is located on top of a bluff, with a series of hills surrounding it. Grant eventually laid siege to the entire surrounding area.

The site is a national park, large and hilly. There is a driving trail that extends for miles, along with many walking trails.

This is a Confederate emplacement overlooking a valley sited near the park's museum.

I didn't know that cannons had their own names (and numbers). There are apparently some very famous ones.

The site contains monuments and plaques to all of the various groups of Union soldiers.

There are lots of cannon emplacements.

There are also dug-in positions taken by the Union during the siege.

Apparently the inclusion of references to black soldiers at Vicksburg has been very contentious at times. At one time plaques referring to these troops were removed from the park.

Here is the USS Cairo, one of the Union iron clad ships.

This is a huge and enjoyable park. It is impossible with a few pictures to do justice to what went on here. I would encourage anyone passing through the area to spend some time here. You could easily spend days. Be careful when driving through the park, though. There are many, many local walkers taking advantage of the woods, roads, and trails.

T-burg diaspora, etc.

Diaspora

We are enjoying a quiet Thanksgiving visit to Austin. Via Facebook I connected with a former T-burger, Dan Gill. Dan used to walk down the hill with his family many summer days to Taughannock State Park, in New York. The famous feature of the park was the falls, a beautiful hanging valley falls sited in a shady, shale gorge along Cayuga Lake. But the beach was active, too, with swimmers of all ages.

Dan's Mom and Dad were interesting figures in their own right. They provided one of my first experiences of different lifestyles. The two of them were involved with poetry and a small printing business, but our involvement went further. I used to sit with Dan's Mom, Elaine, on breaks from lifeguarding at the park, listening to her talk about life. She had wide interests, from language to lifestyles and beyond. She brought another bit of intellectual stimulation to my life.

There were several ties with the Gills over the years. Dan became a good friend of my younger brother John. Dan's Dad, John, worked as a synchrotron operator at the nuclear physics lab where my Dad spent 35 years as a technician and manager. Dan continues to maintain ties to some of my old acquaintances and friends from high school.

This trip I got in touch with Dan Gill via Facebook and met him for coffee. He mentioned that his Mom is in a nursing home in Austin, so I suggested a visit. She looked marvelous, with a glowing cap of white hair. She did not recognize me, but I instantly recognized her. The short visit took me back a long time.

Young people

Heather and her Dan (Poore) are fine, ready to get married in December. A good deal of this trip was consumed playing with and reacting to their puppy, Pepper (Pickapepper Poore). She is a black Lab mix, with a beautiful face. She still has some puppy in her, but has grown quite a bit since they got her. She likes to slobber and "bite" hands and sniff and wiggle. Sometimes she is quiet enough to snuggle, but usually it turns active. She has quite a personality. She "talks" to you if you ignore her for too long. It's kind of a growly sort of voice, letting you know she is important, too. This has been lots of fun.

This time we haven't been as active as on other trips. Dan and Heather are working and going to school at the same time (Heather for nursing; Dan for graphic design). This limited their available time, so we didn't go out as much as usual. They are both doing extremely well in school, so we are proud. This is a difficult time in everyone's life. They are good examples, though, performing under fire with grace. They make a good couple.

On the road again

This was day 2 of another road trip to Texas. Day 1 was stressful for Esther, what with me forgetting my ass (really my wallet). It took a few minutes to find it zipped up in my overnight bag. After that it was trying to find each other after my new phone (and navigation device) ran out of power. We were in two cars, ferrying one down to Texas for the youngsters. It seems we go everywhere together now, thus needing only one car. Well, it will work until I get my next motorcycle, anyway. Hmmmm, I'm ready for a cruiser, but no Harleys for me.

Today we arrived west of Atlanta after a short day that began at 4:30 AM. From the room next to ours came the serenade of people getting it on. Squeaks, moans, thumping, bed whacking on the wall - it was all there. It went on for half an hour, after which we both wanted to stand up and applaud. After that I got a bit more sleep, but I don't think Esther did. A short, crappy, hotel "continental" breakfast and we were on our way to a boring drive down US 85.

Getting through Atlanta was a bit bitchy, 6 lanes, 8 lanes, 5 lanes, 8 lanes, finally scrunching down to 3. Things weren't too congested, except for an accident and its attendant rubber neckers.