Saturday, July 27, 2013

Self Portrait with Gnomes

I took this picture last weekend at Rock City; it was in that store near the entrance--what's it called?--where they have all the gnomes and fairy house stuff. It's my reflection in the mirror behind the gnomes.


The store is called Woodland Wonders; I just looked it up on the Web site.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Real Live Brady Bunch

I found this recently, stuck in a book (I often use ticket stubs as book marks). I was given a pair of tickets to see "The Real Live Brady Bunch" at Center Stage as a reward for something or other at my job at ExecuTrain. (I saw quite a few shows this way in the early '90s, in fact, including "Brigadoon," starring one of the guys from "The Dukes of Hazard.")

Anyway, it was 20 years ago today that I saw this, for whatever it's worth. I don't remember it being particularly great, but for a show I didn't have to pay for, it was okay.


Monday, July 22, 2013

And the dreams that you dare to dream...

I went outside last night to check the mail, and when I turned around I saw this double rainbow right over our house.



Friday, July 19, 2013

A Trip through the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge

Since the summer is almost over, at least in so much as Anna has to go back to work next week, I took this opportunity to go on a drive for a couple of days. So, I set out yesterday morning at 7:00 for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge.

I had a wonderful drive up, even if I did miss my family some of the time. I made it to the Oconaluftee Welcome Center at around 11:00, bought a T-shirt, and drove to Clingman's Dome--which was very, very busy. I made the whole walk to the observation tower (there are some pictures below), which is no mean feat for a guy in my shape. (I need to work on getting in better shape so I can do that walk with my kids someday, hopefully in two or three years.)

After that, I drove north through GSMNP to Gatlinburg, which was insanely busy. I had thought I might stop, but the number of cars and people and shops all crammed into a relatively small space filled me with anxiety, so I kept going towards Pigeon Forge.

Pigeon Forge was also busy, but is more stretched out and has a four-lane road, so it doesn't seem nearly as crowded. Still, I didn't stop anywhere except a place called Book Warehouse.

I did stop at the Books-A-Million in Seveirville, where I bought Robert A. Heinlein's The Star Beast, a novel I read thirty years ago and remember loving. I've been looking for it for a while, actually.

I spent the night at the Quality Inn in Clayton, Georgia, which is where I am right now as I type this. Since I need to check out in 20 minutes, I'll end here, with the addition of 15 pictures I took yesterday:















Sunday, July 7, 2013

Self Portrait, July 7, 2013


Not the most flattering picture of me, but this is what I look like, wearing my blue Stone Mountain T-shirt and sitting in the rocking chair in front of the blinds.