Hotel Shower Heads

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Shower heads are not what they used to be -- particularly in hotels. Granted, the hotels are probably trying to save on their water bills, but the last few hotels that I've stayed in -- I could hardly get the soap off my body with the amount of water that was coming from the shower heads. Ultimately, you wind up staying in the shower longer, using more water.

These are mainstream, mid-priced hotels. At least one of the hotels was a four-star.

I used to always ask to see the room in advance just to check for cleanliness and bed comfort, but I think I am going to add "check the water flow in the shower head" to my future checklist.

Florida's Gold Coast

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 The sand is so white on stretches of Florida's panhandle that you could easily mistake it for snow. I've seen a lot of beaches, but this stretch of beach near Panama City is one of the most beautiful. Unfortunately, there is a lot of development around it.

Sunrise at Cocoa Beach, Florida - February 9, 2011

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Happily Lost in Space

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I spent part of the day this week at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and it is a great way to get totally consumed by space. From the moment you leave the car -- you delve into the space program.  First, I spotted some of the early rockets in the 'rocket garden,' next, I went to a short talk by a former shuttle astronaut, Bob Springer, and then it was over to the Space Shuttle Simulation ride.  Pretty cool ride, by the way.  As a bonus, Shuttle Discovery was sitting on launch pad 39B -- reminding me of the days when I covered the shuttle launches for the AP. There's nothing like watching a shuttle lift off the pad -- from about as close as you can get, safely -- about three miles. The sheer power of seeing, hearing and feeling it -- left me almost speechless the first time I experienced it.

Everything around is about space -- and, of course, that's the whole point -- but I found myself getting completely lost in space and forgetting about everything else. I felt like a kid again -- and dreaming about flying in space and traveling to places like Mars and the Moon.

The whole visitor complex is well organized and I don't mean for this to be a plug for KSC, but they've done a great job -- making the exhibits interesting and informative. For instance, I had forgotten how close Neil Armstrong came to not walking on the moon that July day in 1969 -- after technical problems almost fouled everything up.

By the end of the day, I had felt as though I'd traveled to outer space and back -- and, to a degree, thanks to the exhibits -- understood how, technically, it is accomplished.

Ten Gators

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I spent two years in Timor-Leste and heard lots of stories and rumors about crocodiles, but I never saw a single one the whole time I was there. The closest that I came was photographs. Er...and the zoo in Bali.

I have to say I didn't mind it so much -- my biggest fear was to find myself face to face with a Mr. Croc -- while snorkeling.

Today,  I spent a few hours at Florida's Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near Titusville and spotted ten alligators -- safely from a distance of about 10 feet. All ten critters were sunning themselves along a canal -- enjoying the warm 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Some were pretty hard to spot -- and it was a lot of fun -- creeping along the dirt road at 10 mph -- trying to spot them.

 Can you spot the gator in the photo below?

At Poe's in Richmond

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Hidden away at the corner of 20th and Main is the Edgar Allan Poe Museum. I've visited a number of times and it's always deserted. I've found that many of museums and homes dedicated to American writers meet the same fate. Last year, when I visited William Faulkner's home in Oxford, Mississippi, I had the place to myself. Similarly, when I visit the Thomas Wolfe house in Asheville, North Carolina.

I was a bit disappointed on this latest visit to the Poe Museum because the Raven Room was nevermore....er...no more.  I always enjoyed reading The Raven in the upstairs room painted red. 

Walk in the Woods

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These last few posts have had a snow theme due to the continuing heavy snowfall here in western North Carolina's mountains.

Having spent two years in the tropics and arriving back in the states just in time for winter, I had forgotten the thrill of wandering in deep snow in the trees. I went for a short hike today in the woods I also had forgotten the deep sense of silence the blanket of snow creates. I found it so refreshing to just stand on the mountainside and listen to the silence -- with the silence decorated by the occasional bird song or a squirrel jumping from one tree branch to another.

                                                     Below is my hiking partner, Claudia.

With the temperature hovering around the 20 degree Fahrenheit mark, the timber around me was creaking and popping in the light wind. It gives a new definition to woodwinds.  

Conversation is Decorated Silence

Tweet I was listening to a BBC piece today on poetry and one of the guests, in a reference to the rhythm of poetry used this phrase: "conversation is decorated silence." He said it was from the Elizabethan period. I like to think of sound in this way, particularly in the context that he was using it -- he had just listened to a poem in Serbian -- a language he doesn't understand -- and then heard it translated into English. He said he felt the essence of what the poem was about upon  hearing it in Serbian -- because of the rhythm and expression in the poet's voice.

To think of sounds in this manner, in some ways, makes it easier to tolerate those sounds that I might feel inappropriate in certain settings -- loud music in restaurants for instance -- at least a temporary tolerance. I would probably wind up walking out of the restaurant ultimately.

White Out!

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Less than three feet in front of me, through the window, a winter storm is raging. The snow, at times, is horizontal as it strikes the nine inches of snow already fallen. The wind, periodically, creates white out conditions -- the mountain that is 200 yards away -- has disappeared in the blowing snow. Visibility at times is 50 yards or less.

It's peaceful.

Since childhood I have enjoyed watching it snow. Today, I am sitting by the fire, in front of my computer, writing a report and wishing I had time to play. Maybe later today -- when the report is closer to being "a wrap!"

The photo above is my view through the window as I work -- just beyond the evergreen --- about 150 yards -- is a mountain -- invisible today.

Captions?

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When you look at this picture -- what does it bring to mind? Please feel free to leave a comment and your thoughts.

Used Cars and Salesmen

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I went shopping for a used Jeep Liberty. I'm not sure why I wanted a Liberty. I had driven them a couple of times when I rented a car while visiting the U.S. and liked the design and they got pretty decent gas mileage. So, I developed tunnel vision when I went shopping. I shopped for what I knew.

Shopping also meant dealing with used car salesmen. Most of the ones I encountered met the stereotype -- phony, slippery with the truth and ready to make a deal. One guy promised a six month warranty and the very next day seemed to have forgotten. When I pressed him, he came up with a convoluted reason why a warranty just wasn't possible. He did promise a tank full of gas instead. I passed.

I wound up buying a used Liberty from a guy at a dealership who seemed genuine.  Everything he promised, he delivered -- and that included a warranty.

In the five days I have owned the vehicle, it has come in handy and I will certainly put its four wheel drive to good use tomorrow. Today, we got about half a foot of snow. Vrooooom!!!!

Snow Bound

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Snow can interfere with the best laid plans, so I adjusted those plans and went for a walk in the snow. I'd wanted to do a trail hike in the mountains, but with nearly 8 inches of snow and no gaiters -- I settled for a walk along the dirt road where my parents live in Madison County, North Carolina.

As I write this, it is still snowing and several more inches of snow are expected. After a year of living in the tropics, it is absolutely exhilarating to be able to walk in the snow and hear the squish, squish, squish under my feet and to experience cold weather.

Here are more pictures of our farm on a snowy, day-after Christmas.

Christmas Day - Marshall, NC

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Weather is tough to predict in these mountains, but the forecasters got it right this time. They predicted a white Christmas here in the western North Carolina mountains – and, as if on cue, the snow started this morning and grew heavier and heavier throughout the day. By nightfall, there were nearly three inches of snow – and as I look out the window – it’s still coming down.  Here are some photos from our mountain farm.

Morning Shows in America

Tweet In my eight years living outside the United States, I had forgotten what it's like on morning television in America. I mistakenly thought I might get a bit of world news. What I found were stories on: the importance of checking the expiration date on toilet paper, the benefits of diet water and Lindsay Lohan's perspective on the world. 

I felt I fully understood American society after tuning in to the morning news in America. 

Over on the BBC -- reporters analyzed the Senate-ratified START nuclear treaty, focused on near civil war in Ivory Coast and mail bombings in Switzerland. 

I flipped back to one of the US TV networks and found a reporter getting Lohan's analysis of the benefits of drinking alcohol while watching the morning news programs.

Missing the Heat

Tweet All it took was 26 degrees Fahrenheit for me to begin missing the sun and heat of tropical Timor-Leste. And the breath-taking cold also brings to mind the old adage: be careful what you wish for.....

In Timor, where it was hot and humid, I was looking forward to cold weather -- my idea of cold was...say....45 degrees Fahrenheit.  A crisp cold, not a bone-chilling cold. Also -- I had completely forgotten about the wind -- and there was plenty of that with the 26 degree weather -- which pushed the temperature even lower.

I was completely prepared for the 45 degree "cold," when I arrived in Washington, DC -- I had a thin, long sleeved shirt, a t-shirt and a light jacket. It was the heaviest of winter wear in my closet in Timor-Leste.

Painfully and obviously it wasn't enough.

Still, I did get that snow I wished for -- on my second day in DC.  And it actually warmed up before it started snowing -- so, in a sense, I did eventually get what I wished for.