Wright Square and the Bonaventure Cemetery

I have to wait a moment to start because the guys on Game Day are talking about the Texas/Nebraska game. . . the bums! They don't give the 'Horns a chance. We'll see. I may have to delay posting this 'til after the game.

Okay. The first stop on the East Coast Tour was Savannah. I forgot to mention in my intro yesterday that my host, Darin, and I worked together at Lockheed-Martin in Marietta. So, the weather's cleared out and we're in Wright Square waiting for Jennie to join us for lunch. I can't stand it just sitting there if I've got a camera on my lap, so I looked around for something to shoot. The first thing to catch my eye is the Federal Courts building on the west side of the square. Not only was the Georgia marble bright in the sunlight, but the architecture was perfect for this beautiful square.

 The building with the gold dome is the Savannah City Hall, north from Wright Square on the opposite side of Johnson Square (those trees in front of the dome). I like all the activity on the sidewalk at lunchtime and the utterly relaxed atmosphere with all the extras I hired for this shot. To get a feel for Savannah, one needs only to count the number of parks (squares), appreciate architecture, or maybe just note the design of the lamp posts - the details make the difference.

Jennie didn't stay long. Instead, she went off to take care of some business while Darin and I toured the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum. Housed in the beautiful Scarborough House, originally the home of William Scarborough, former president of the Savannah Steamship Company, the museum boasts a huge collection of model ships - large model ships - all exquisitely done and representing the long-time relationship between Savannah and her economic lifeline.

After the museum we went back to the house to collect Jennie and headed off to the Bonaventure Cemetery - final resting place of Johnny Mercer, among others. But we weren't looking for specific tombstones or monuments; Bonaventure is simply a beautiful place to spend the afternoon. The huge live Oaks, streaming Spanish moss in the cool breezes, kept me looking up for photo opportunities as the light changed with the westering afternoon sun.

  

The cemetery (and a couple of others, adjacent) is bounded on the southeast by the Wilmington River, which adds to the beauty of this site. The river can be seen in both these pictures, above and below.

 

 I found it interesting, but not surprising, that the old Georgia state flag - with the Stars and Bars - was flying in the cemetery. Upon some reflection, I had to admit that I don't know whether it was there as an "official" statement, or whether it was simply included as a somewhat over-the-top display above a particular loved one's plot.

Now. About that football game. Texas 20 - Nebraska 13. 'Nuff said.

The 2010 East Coast Tour

Well. Where to start after my extended break? I guess the best way to proceed is to use this first post from my East Coast Tour as a sort of index of what you can expect over the next several days. First of all, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip, visiting friends in Georgia and the Carolinas, and finally getting a chance to see the Shiloh National Military Park. It is off the beaten track.

I left Austin on Tuesday, 28 September, headed east. Skirting Houston, I made good time into Louisiana where I had my first planning snag. At Baton Rouge, though I had charted I-12, I didn't make a mental note about the change and followed I-10 South of Lake Pontchartrain to New Orleans, which probably added an hour or so to my first day's drive. I-10 is a pretty easy drive though and I arrived at Pensacola before dark.

The next morning, I mixed it up with the rest of the rush-hour traffic and made my way to Gulf Breeze and Santa Rosa Island. I followed the coast road through Fort Walton Beach and Destin, then turned north to rejoin I-10 to Tallahassee. I had hoped to get some good pictures along the coast, but my skills were a bit rusty or I hadn't gotten into the proper frame of mind yet. Nothing to show for the few stops I made. From Tallahassee I cut across southeastern Georgia and took back roads to Savannah.

I estimated the length of the drive pretty well and made it to Darin's and Jennie's house about 5 minutes before Darin got home from work and in plenty of time to leave for the BB King concert downtown. I enjoyed the concert very much, though the auditorium seating had not been laid out with someone my size in mind. No pics from the concert. You can find any number of them online which would be indistinguishable from mine had I taken any.

I explored the area on my own the next day - anticipating red beans and rice for dinner - while Darin and Jennie were at work. They're from Louisiana, and understand such things.

On Friday the rain and clouds had disappeared, so we had lunch in Wright Square (above). The woman in the picture was weaving flowers out of marsh grass and selling them from her bench. Later, we toured the Ships of the Sea Museum, the Bonaventure Cemetery and Tybee Island, and went back downtown for dinner at the Crystal Palace Beer Garden and dessert at Leopold's Ice Cream Parlor.

October 2 - the day of the wedding - I drove up the coast to Mount Pleasant, met Pat and Ginger for lunch, then got ready for the wedding downtown at the Circular Congregational Church and reception at the Mills House (above). That's Ellen dancing with her father, Tony, and the groom, David, is looking on. I brought my small camera with me, and took a few pictures but, as the night went on, I seemed to lack focus - it didn't bother me a bit. I saw lots of old friends, met several new ones, and still had my camera at the end of the night.

After Sunday brunch at Tony's and Donna's I made the short drive up the coast through Myrtle Beach to Wilmington to visit Joe Vetter and check out his new digs at Wrightsville Beach. We stayed at the rectory, went out to the beach to see St. Theresa's and consider whether the weather would clear (above) for my trip to the Outer Banks, then went out to dinner. I'm glad Joe's where he is. He's worked hard during his 12 years at Duke and deserves this type of assignment.

It's Monday morning and Joe split for a meeting in Raleigh while I continued up the coast looking for seascapes to photograph and some indication that the weather would clear. I checked out the coast at Surf City (above), curved up and around Camp Lejeune, and back to the beach on the Emerald Isle. The weather had me wondering most of the morning how this photo trip was going to turn out but it did eventually start to look hopeful. When I got up near Morehead City, I turned west and headed for Wilson to see Pat and Ginger.

Pat got a kitchen pass for Tuesday and Wednesday so we headed for the Outer Banks via Port Raleigh on Roanoke Island. We skipped Kitty Hawk since we paid homage to the Wright brothers when we made our previous whirlwind tour in 2002. This time we booked rooms in Buxton which allowed us to explore Cape Hatteras and take pictures. We even had time to sit out watching the sunset (drinking Jack Daniels and whatever swill Pat had) and call a number of friends we thought might appreciate our great good fortune in being on the Cape and getting toasted.

I was up well before sunrise Wednesday and set up on the beach to record a Cape Hatteras sunrise. At a more reasonable hour I went back and had breakfast with Pat before going out to shoot anything else that might conceivably reward a photographer - like the seagulls in front of the Cape Hatteras Coast Guard station (above).

  

At mid-morning we took the ferry to Ocracoke Island. Pat got a map at the visitor's center (above) that showed the 3 or 4 other roads on the island, so we took some more pictures, had lunch, and settled back to wait for the Cedar Island ferry that would take us back to the mainland and Wilson before Pat's liberty expired.

 

Now, several days after the wedding, I figured life for Tony and Donna would just about be getting back to normal. It seemed like a fine time to return to Charleston for a few days of R&R. The low tide at Tony's dock (above) contrasts with the especially high tide (7.1 ft) I caught several times over the next few days. I also got to make friends with Tony's and Donna's new dog, Satchel, as well as Ellen's dog, Murphy.

Eventually, they told me I had to go home, so I headed for Atlanta to spend the night with my daughter, Gillian. I liked her apartment (above), and the idea that she had room for me. I might go back. Tuesday, before leaving town, I had lunch with two friends I worked with years ago at Lockheed. A couple other friends contrived a trip to Eglin Air Force Base - so they wouldn't have to hear how great retirement is, I guess.

That's all the friends and family on the agenda, so there's one thing left. I drove up through Chattanooga and east, past the Jack Daniels distillery (I bowed my head as I passed), and on to Savannah, Tennessee where I spent the night. Early the next morning - since I forgot to turn my clock back to central time - I arrived at the Shiloh National Military Park before anyone else (rangers or tourists). So I drove through the park alone at sunrise (above), enjoying the quiet, the changing light, the deer and turkeys - very restful. I spent about two hours there and it set the tone for the day. I drove on home through Memphis, Arkansas, and the East Texas Piney Woods. I arrived safe and sound Wednesday night, after 17 days and more than 1000 pictures.

Over the next several days, I'll post pictures and comments from the trip - much as I did after the trip to Colorado and Utah in May. I'll warn you ahead of time, there's lots of water, boats, marinas, piers, and - most of all - birds. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the comments but, in any case, I enjoyed the tour and look forward to the next one.

Previous Reunions...

Mother and Stephen, Mary and Ellen, and - I presume - Paul and Lee have all returned home from the Furey family reunion in northeastern Ohio last weekend. I didn't go, though I wish I had. I should have known I'd feel this way. The previous reunions - in 1985 and 1996 - were at a volunteer fire department hall in Canton (I believe) and at Uncle Louis' home, repectively, where this latest encore took place. Of course, since I wasn't there, I have no pictures from last weekend. The purpose of this post is to "prime the pump" as it were, hoping to nudge one or more of my siblings - or cousins - to share some of their pics.

Most of the following are from 1985, when Uncle Arthur still lived on the Farm, and the Parker contingent stayed in a cabin at Atwood Lake.

First order of the day is to visit Uncle Arthur at the farm and let the kids see the barn where we played when we were their age.

After we let them run wild for awhile and bleed off excess energy by climbing on the tractor and chasing each other with sticks...

...we got them to sit still for a few shots...

...visited with Uncle Arthur, had some lunch and cleaned up.

At the VFD hall, we took group photos with various configurations. The picture above shows Ellen and Angela, et al, milling about smartly during the Chinese fire drill. The shot below happens to be Mom's generation and mine. I like this particular version of it, wherein Daniel is being directed by his mother and several of his aunts to "Exit, stage left".

Of course, in the cabin at Atwood it took a while each morning to build up enough steam to get the family moving in unison. Above, a young Angela has a cig while David wakes up Grover. I thought all this time it was Oscar the Grouch; much to David's disgust, my Dad always referred to it as "that purple worm".

It was crowded in the cabin, but David and Joey didn't really have to sleep on the shelves of the TV table.

We got them fed and corralled, then worked on getting them dressed for the day...

...then took a few more pictures and went on about our business.

These 1996 pictures, except the last group shot, were taken at the farm (shortly after Uncle Arthur moved out, I believe). The last one was taken in Uncle Louis' back yard. It occurs to me - since I don't see my kids - that I missed this one too, so I'm not sure who the photographer was. I was driving my family up the coast highway in Queensland, Australia...

Mary, Angela, and Cathie gave Drew and some others a tour of the barn...

...then gathered on the front lawn of the farm house for a casual group shot.

Ellen and Allison, next to the driveway, pose across the road from the barn.

Richard and company, Melissa, Daniel and Andrew in this case, all look ready to eat again. Time to load up and head back to Malvern.

This is the Parker subset of revelers, 'cept those in Oz. Also missing in action is Paul's and Lee's daughter, Lauren. I don't know whose dog that is.

As I said, I hope we'll see some of the 2010 pictures soon. In the meantime, Stephen has posted a great painting he just finished of St Philip Neri Catholic Church in Dungannon.