Northlandia - First Day

Bedlam is a lot closer to St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport so the usual early morning rush to the airport was missing this time. In a first I walked in and saw an empty Allegiant ticket counter and not believing it could possibly be so lacking of people I asked where the ticket area for Peoria was. The guy said right here, and in 45 seconds I had my boarding pass. Wouldn't you know it, the security screening area was empty as well. I wasn't unduly early as other flyers (or is it fliers?) had already gone through, it was just one of those crazy times when I was the only one around. Won't happen again EVER! But it was sure nice.

One of the pilots said there was a squall around Tallahassee but otherwise clear skies all the way up to Northlandia. Sure enough, it wasn't too long after takeoff that the blue skies gave way to these clouds. In seconds, they were gone and sunshine led the way.

While sitting in the best porch in West-Central Illinois, I spied Doug's car across the street and had to go over and check it out. It is a 1947 Studebaker Land Cruiser. If nothing else the name alone merits consideration for best model name ever. It has a few scratches and a dent here and there and the interior was redone in the late seventies, and a far from original, but there is no denying the form and aesthetic beauty of this car. It was purchased by Doug's father's and while the storage has been less than perfect, purrs like a kitten and will be on display at the Aledo Antique days car show on the 23rd of August. Kudos to Doug for keeping it in the family and recognizing its value and importance as rolling art.

In what will be a recurring activity in the next few days while in Northlandia, there is something up here I do not and cannot have in Florida: a perfectly unmolested night sky. I have enjoyed taking night sky shots and while up here want to utilize every opportunity to shoot the black sky, and also the Persieds meteor shower this month.

The first night back I went to the old ball diamond in Seaton to see if I could manage some night shots. This is from the old school and diamond south of town looking toward town and Herb's old grain elevator.

My hours in the next few days would become more nocturnal to take advantage of the clear night sky. The picture of my first meteor would open the door for more in subsequent nighttime shoots in the days ahead.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week. Except for me. I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers. These pics need no words. Why muddy the waters? They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley. The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter. If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one. But, please, no more.

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. Note the propeller

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