ONE week from now I will be a few hours into my 14 hour flight from JFK/NYC to Haneda/Tokyo. Besides packing and other chores I wanted to wrap up the last travel blog that I need to get done. But first….
Here is a great blog entry from Substack I just came across. She is going to Japan the same time as Alex and I but will be in different parts of the country. I look forward to reading her (professional) writing about the experience. I came across her when searching something about Murikami’s Japan. I so enjoyed Norwegian Wood and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle many years ago. I just bought his last 2 books for my Kindle to read when I am over there. No more Japanese travel or history books after the plane lands.
https://the-shooting-star.com/in-search-of-murakamis-japan
https://theshootingstar.substack.com/?utm_campaign=subscribe-page-share-screen&utm_medium=web
OKAY!!! Didn’t get very far and got busy… so now … in 36 hours Alex and I will be leaving for our 14 hour flight to Tokyo.
So, now I must very quickly get this last post up. I was in South Carolina and Florida from Jan 9th to 31st. 3 weeks in Photos with very little commentary.
Buffalo to BWI to Myrtle Beach.
Myrtle Beach airport was empty and tourist strip like a post apocalyptic scene, no humans.
It was a 30 mile drive south to Pawley’s Island/Litchfield Beach. I explored a small area of beach, it was “only” in the 40s but SUNNY.
I bought provisions and watched the sun set over the marsh to the west of the condominium (VRB0).
Sunrise over the Atlantic.
I bundled up for my first run as it was only in the 30s, but SUNNY.
Meme of the day. I saw a few planets some nights but not all at once. Cool photo of moonbeam pointing to Orion!
It would take a full week for me to stop taking sunrise photos EVERY day.
Long Run Day. Short movie link …
https://www.relive.cc/view/vWqBZDRDeYq
Night walk on beach
Enjoying the nice view as I do Japan planning. And reading a book about the Middle Ages.
The next day I decided I had better get in an open water swim before the weather got even worse. The water temp was not awful but the air was sooo cold that my hands got really numb.
Another long run day. Much warmer.
I rented a bike for 2 weeks and had a nice casual ride (with a Starbucks stop
)
Short movie link ….
https://www.relive.cc/view/vrqowB5kGyq
A short predawn run and then some sunrise coffee.
Meanwhile from back at home I got a Google Home alert!!! Intruder !!!!
I was supposed to be drinking down to Boca Raton on Thursday (Alex flying in for a long weekend) but the next cold snap made me leave early ….
I got in a long run on Sunday as weather still holding ….
But it was getting colder by the day.
I bundled up for my beach walk on Monday. The birds were insane!
And …. Time to flee south !
That is future radar for 8pm. It was cold for my Savannah visit , but dry!
Savannah was awesome. I love the architectural variations. And I should have re-read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (or watched the movie) and re watched Forrest Gump. The tour guide pointed out all the movie spots.
I took the great tour bus and got off near the last stop so I could walk back and stop into the old Temple and Cathedral.
It started to rain just as I headed out for St Augustine where I would stay south of the ice line for the night.
St Augustine, FL had a lot of nice old homes like Savannah.
I enjoyed the amazing Ponce de Leon and Native American history site but it was soooooo cold and windy!
On my Facebook feed I learned about a Capybara cafe there. It was great.
At least I was south of the snow! They had a lot in New Orleans and the Florida Panhandle.
After my Capybara Rx I drove south to Boca Raton.
It was “only” in the 60s the first day so the locals were wearing puffy coats and there was a falling iguana warning. The cool air and 84 degree pool balanced out perfectly free dry.
After all the travel I took a full day of relaxing while my mom played golf. The next day Alex arrived and we went from the Palm Beach Airport to a nearby Manatee center right next to a power plant that discharges warm water.
The next day Alex and I visited our favorite spot in the Everglades NP.
The birds were awesome !
And our old friends the 🐊 s of course.
We did the short nature trail also.
We enjoyed the pool in the afternoon. And then some good Japanese food!
On Sunday we visited a nearby Turtle Rehab center.
It also had nice exhibits and nature trails through the mangroves.
We then headed over to visit my uncles Steven and Richard whose condo is beachfront.
The waves were too small to surf but i just paddled and rode some whitewater on my belly. The waves were almost too big for swimming so I only swam for 10 minutes.
We had an early dinner so we could watch the Bills lose ….. again.
After dropping Alex at the airport on Monday I drove up to Orlando and visited Universal studios for a day. We took Alex to Disney when they were 6 but that was the last time I had been there.
I visited Charleston on the drive back to SC.
I got back just in time for Sunset and later some planets.
A few more days in SC and then I headed back to the snow.
Enjoyed blog