From Florida 2010

We took a 12-day trip to Florida in May, flying to Miami and driving 2,250 miles home. Our days and nights in Miami involved decrappifying a house full of photos, knick-knacks, and oddities accumulated over 30+ years. We produced 10 super-sized garbage bags, two carloads for Goodwill, and gifts for two dozen people. (And this was actually the second week-long stab at decrappification.) The moral: We don’t need much of the stuff we have.

Chores ended and vacation began with a few days at the beach along Florida’s Gulf Coast, far-enough from BP’s – and “Drill, Baby, Drill”-fools’ – catastrophe. The high point was kayaking among dolphins just offshore.

From Florida 2010

Our path home took us through Alabama and onto the Elvis Highway from Birmingham through Tupelo, Mississippi, into Memphis for a few days with Merri’s mom. Out of Memphis, it is a straight shot of 1,000 miles home. In fact, after a night in Oklahoma City, when we got back on I-40, the GPS indicated the next turn would be in 540 miles, at the exit to our house.

Luke the dog prospered under the care of our housesitter, as well as with visits from friends and neighbors. Still, he was beside himself on our return, as were we. Now, we are grappling with his phenomenal shedding – more than I’ve ever seen from any dog. It’s good to be home.

Florida 2010 (19 photos)

Previous trip: Guatemala
Next trip: Colorado

[originally published on: May 14, 2006]

(6/14/2003 – photo by MRudd)

My friend, Mike A, owner of the Gold Pan RV Park in Platoro, Colorado, took me fishing in 2003. He was very generous and patient, loaning me gear, showing me a favorite spot, even cleaning the fish I caught on my first attempt (pictured above). When I caught a second fish, I was overcome by the realization that these fish lived in a beautiful place until I ripped them from their home.

The last fish I’ll ever catch:

Fishing with the Sensei:

PS: If you’re wondering about the title of this entry, it is in reference to this quote from — spit on the ground — Duhbya:

“I don’t know, it’s hard to characterize the great moments. They’ve all been busy moments, by the way. I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7½lb largemouth bass on my lake,” George W Bush said. [mjh’s blog — Dumb or Drugged?]

The two or three of you who might notice will probably forgive me – it’s disappointing me that disappoints me. I intended to post something photographic every day in May. I did not reckon with going out of town for 12 days or the fact that my tech editing job would experience a long pause that ended just before I go out of town. Nor the death of my graphics card. (Now, I’m just being dramatic – that’s not really interfering with Photomayo.)

So, I hereby declare this month-long project on hold (as of Mother’s Day). I may trickle a few other entries out in May. I’ll decide later whether Photomayo makes any less sense in junio than it did in mayo. In the meantime, refer to the previous entries, especially Day One, with all its links. There must be some picture of mine you haven’t seen (enough).