Brrrrr

HUNTING ISLAND STATE PARK — SOUTH CAROLINA
TEMPS: LO 45F / HI 50F (7C / 10C)

I’m not sure when the rain stopped. It might have been late last night; or maybe it was in the wee hours of this morning. Either way, I went to bed to the sound of raindrops on the roof and woke up to total silence. Nary a drop fell throughout the day, but it sure was cold. In fact, we reached the day’s high just after midnight (or so the weather websites report) and the temps fell from there. The sunshine promised for this afternoon was a no show, so we had an overcast and dreary day to contend with. So be it!

Mui had it in his mind that he was going to figure out how to set up the tripod satellite today — I think he was inspired by the neighbors across the road from us. So that’s what we worked on this morning. There were no tears shed, but it was a close call. Once he found the instruction booklet that came with the dish, the set up turned out to be a breeze. I read the instructions; he followed. And in a jiffy we had the satellite locked on to a strong signal through a small (make that very small) opening in the tree canopy.

Success!

Our application for DNS (Distant Network Service) is still going through the channels, so now that we’re out of the DC area, we don’t get the local channels on the satellite anymore. No problem; thus far we’ve been able to get those channels with the antenna. Mui’s a happy camper!

We then puttered around the house for a while, hoping against hope that the temps would rise just a bit. Around noon, we gave up on waiting, bundled up, and went for a walk. It was a cold 45F (7C); felt colder with the windchill. But we pressed on.

as the tide ebbs, The beach scene near the campground becomes eerie. It is starkly beautiful despite the destruction caused by the sea and the wind.

Our goal was to find the beach access to the Lighthouse Trail. And we did — sort of. Last night’s high tide had left a great deal of the treeline area under water, so we had to walk along the beach instead. We did connect to the trail eventually — just a few hundred yards from the lighthouse!

We had to walk along the beach area (black arrows) since the lighthouse trail
was mostly inaccessible (red x).

Despite the fact that we were just two hours away from low tide, the exceptionally high water along the beach threw up a couple of challenges.

I don't know if this is what Sherry (of In the Direction of Our Dreams) described as
the "River Jordan" in her blog, but we have to find a way to cross it if we want to
keep going. And no, wading is not an option; it's just too cold for that.

First Mui …

… and then I cross over using some toppled trees as a makeshift bridge.
Trust me, the water is deeper and flowing faster than it looks in these pictures.

Shortly after we forded the “River Jordan,” we found the trail that we’d been looking for. It turns out, we were close to the end of the trail. We did follow it for a bit, but we detoured out to the beach again to sit on some tree trunks and eat our lunch before continuing to the lighthouse.

the Lighthouse Nature Trail is quite beautiful.

The good news — THE LIGHTHOUSE IS OPEN! But with the weather so icky, we didn’t climb it today. The forecast for tomorrow calls for plenty of sunshine and blue skies, so we’re going to return to check out the views on the way back from another hike or two we have planned. We did take the time to wander through the small outbuildings on the grounds, but I’ll keep those photos for a future post on the lighthouse.

Glimpse of the lighthouse from the beach.	Tenaciously hanging on in the face of adversity.

The “River Jordan” was still running fast and deep when we made our way to the cross-over point. Our makeshift bridge came to the rescue again. The return walk to the campground was at a faster pace, with few stops for photos — not because we were anxious to get home, but because we were trying to keep warm as the damp weather increased the chill factor. The promise of a cup of steaming hot cocoa was the ‘carrot’ that kept us going.

Leonardo da Vinci said, “In time and with water, everything changes.”
How apropos!

Remember the photo I posted yesterday of a crab burrow? I wanted to give you a better idea of how small the sand-pellets really are …

Mui’s finger puts the size of these sand-pellets in perspective.

I leave with you this image of Mother Nature’s art.

Simple, fluid, flowing — beautiful sand art.

If the weather cooperates tomorrow as promised, we’ll be out and about. If not — well, I’ll think about that tomorrow …

We are going to the world cup!

It's taken 32 years, but Australia have finally qualified for the world cup. I'm also running a little short on fingernails after the tie went to penalties, despite Australia totally playing Uruguay of the park throughout the second half, but being unable to finish it off. The substitution made by Guus Hiddink in the first half, bringing on Harry Kewell after 30 minutes was pure genius, and the final save from Mark Schwarzer in the shoot-out was almost Schmeichel-like. I have to say that I can't ever recall seeing an Australian team dominate opposition of that level to such an extent before.
It's actually quite amazing considering that three or four months ago, nobody would have given that team a hope, but some changes were made at the top, and now some of the potential is being realised. I also think we might surprise a few people in Germany next year. There's been a lot of talk in the past about Australia having to deal with a supposedly "unfair" qualifying route, having to play against a South American side even after winning the Oceania qualifiers. However, it didn't seem to be an object for this particular team. That said, they need to work on that final ball into the penalty area, and their set pieces, because a lot of opportunities were squandered. On the balance of the play, we should have wrapped this one up without the need for extra-time or penalties.
Either way, the long wait (one which stretches back before I was born) is finally over! Ra!

Pirate Statues at Blackbeard's Castle

All Bronze, and several of them...

I do like this one, if you look close, you can see the governor's Mansion in the background just above this pirate's wrist.



Step daddy Harley, a pipe smoker himself, related to this guy...



Me, while I don't know much about art, I was partial to the less than hidden meanings behind this pose of the only female pirate in the gallery.

Last Ride of the Year

Today, I just HAD to end the year with a singletrack ride. Headed over to Manawa and ride the trails I rode yesterday. Rode better today than yesterday. Thanks again RF and Martin to deflate my tires.
Weather was upper 20s, sunny, and with some wind. By the time I had finished riding, I was quite warm - wearing too many layers. Tomorrow, I will probably need it.
Here's shots of the same place on Fast Track - December vs September

Craigellachie Bridge

Craigellachie bridge across the River Spey is to my mind the most beautiful bridge in Scotland. I spent the first four years of my life in the village of Craigellachie, and we then moved all of three miles away to where my father still lives. So I grew up taking its grace and uniqueness for granted.

The bridge was designed by the famous engineer Thomas Telford, and built between 1812-1814. It was, I discover now, unique for having a very slender arch built of a single span of cast iron. The journey made by the ironwork from its foundry in Wales must have been a major undertaking in itself: it was transported by barge overland and then by sea around Britain to the mouth of the Spey. From there it came by wagon to Craigellachie.

The bridge was used by normal traffic until 1970, when a useful but bland replacement was built nearby. You can still cross Telford's bridge by foot and bicycle - I'll try to post some photos before too long.

When I stopped to take these shots this weekend some canoeists were setting off from the little shingle beach. It's a popular swimming spot in summer, but on Saturday the temperature was about 2 degrees and it was hard to imagine anyone willingly jumping into the river.





As we watched, the canoeists got into the fast water beside the rock face, and suddenly one capsized.





Here he is, safely upright again. The man on the left is setting off downstream in search of his colleague's paddle - which he did eventually catch.

Dog Days

This week I'm taking photos for our local library of dogs and their owners to celebrate the Dog Days of Summer. Here are a few of my favorites.

Dalek Jubilee

Warning: you are now entering the wilder reaches of Jubilee fever. I wonder if Mrs Queen knows about the Dalek celebrations of her Jubilee? This is the City of Edinburgh Libraries Dalek at the Central Library.

Doctor Who is such a global export that I'm sure Daleks will be familiar to many. Just in case, you can read about them here. In a nutshell, they're an alien mutant race which famously invaded Britain despite their inability to go up or down stairs. I am of the generation which hid behind the sofa when they appeared on TV waving their little sink-plungers (sorry, death rays) while threatening to 'exterminate!' in their chilling metallic voices.



There is, I discover, a Dr Who episode called 'Jubilee'. This is all getting very in-joke-ish. The Queen and Prince Philip seem to be having a jolly time despite it all.





Apologies for the blue-ish tinge of the photos. I set my camera to 'tungsten' setting for indoor shots, but it seems that the light was half indoor, half natural light. The central lending room is a lovely light space. I'll remember that next time I take a photo of the library Dalek.