Category: Places

Today was sunny and in the 60’s (that’s ‘warm’ in Celsius). Since issues are still open on the book I am foot loose and loosed my feet to Cape Girardeau today.

Cape Girardeau is a Lovely little town on the Mississippi, with a smaller college (Southeastern), some great architecture, and about the friendliest people I’ve met in Missouri. I ended up chatting my way through town.

First off, Cape Girardeau is the world’s only inland cape, originally built on a rocky promontory on the Mississippi. There’s a park by the water you can walk along, watching the barges float past a rather pretty bridge.

Today the wind was blowing so strong it formed white caps on the river, and a mist, like fog, in the distance. I kept getting sand in my eyes, and spent most of my walk crying, which somewhat fits a lonely river walk. Thankfully I wasn’t seen or there might be concern I was going to throw myself into the river in despair. The need not have feared, though — a person would not commit suicide by jumping in a river with three cameras.

Unless they were weights.

Didn’t stay too long by the water.

Since Old Muddy can be a wild beast at times, there are canals through the town to help with water overflow. In addition, there’s a huge flood wall built between the town and the river. By the height of that wall, that town must have faced some serious flooding.

The buildings in town were interesting. Several vintage civil war era buildings, some in good repair, some with just enough weathering to make them interesting. And because of the college, you have a mix of old and new, including beautiful old buildings with wrought iron trim, and beer cans in the grass surrounding. It is not your ordinary waterfront, tourist town.

Additionally, it has a thing for murals. There are murals everywhere. The nicest of the bunch was the mural pained on the river wall–The Missouri Wall of Fame. It features famous people who have been born in Missouri. Among them are Mark Twain, of course, Walter Cronkite, Betty Grable, George Washington Carver, President Truman, General Omar Bradley, Josephine Baker, and several others.

Today was a quiet day — too quiet in some ways, because I think my picture taking generated interest in its own right. However, that led to fun conversations. For instance, I was taking pictures through a closed antique shop window when the owner came up and we started chatting about the sewing machine in the window. He said that the machine was actually listed on eBay under his username (which I will post as soon as I find the piece of paper he gave me).

His shop, A-1 Consignment was great; just a jumble of stuff, and I do mean jumble (that will make the collectors drool). The business is a part-time job for him, so it’s not always open; he supplements his income selling stuff on eBay, which I thought was an interesting story to pursue (putting into my future story to-do list).

He also had a terrific story to tell about Rush Limbaugh, as well as an old Post Office letter cancelling machine but I’m fading fast, so I’m forced into being a tease, and leaving these stories for tomorrow. In the meantime, the rest of the photos.

(And its Mardi Gras this next week — I have to be healthy for the parades and the King Cake.)

Cannon Beach in Oregon is one of my favorite places, and I have several photos in my archives from stays there. I’ll try to space them out because after seeing several, I’m sure there’s a sameness about them.

When we would visit we’d stay right on the water, and listen to the surf at night and smell that wonderful ocean smell coming in through the open windows. If it was cool, we’d light a fire, or sit in the jacuzzi built for two – candles lit, curtains open to the promise of beauty.

In the mornings we’d walk the beach, looking at tidal pools, and checking out the antics of the gulls. You can’t get tired of walking Cannon – it’s never the same from day to day.

Later in the day we’d have lunch in town and then walk about, visiting the galleries, enjoying a town designed for tourists that still managed to maintain its charm – no easy task, because tourists can be cultural termites.

After lunch, there was the cliffs surrounding the town to explore–magnificent! No matter how busy the season, there’s always places to get away from the crowds.

I learned to fly a kite at Cannon, but I still haven’t taken the large one out, my kite with the wing span almost as long as I’m tall. This Spring, she will fly.

From Vermont we moved to Boston, still one of my favorite cities. I like walking towns, and Boston is built for people on foot. It’s a must, only people with an old car or very good insurance drive in Boston.

Ah, Boston, with its images of old New England, and the Big Dig. The photo above is a reflection of Trinity Church in the John Hancock Tower – worst piece of architecture in the world. The building was designed to ‘blend in’ by appearing invisible via the reflective windows.

But they built the thing on land fill. So the building’s not completely stable, windows didn’t fit, several fell out. Additionally, the construction unsettled the land and damaged Trinity.

But Boston survives Towers and Digs. My favorite place is still the Commons, and it was old when our country was new.

Even in the heart of Boston, always places to go for a quiet moment.

Of course, wouldn’t want New Hampshire to feel left out. The following is Howard Dean’s post-Iowa New Hampshire headquarters.

(Just joshin’ the Dean folks. Figured sound jokes were getting a little old about now.)