Thursday

On Thursday, I ran away from home.

 A day in pictures.

This past Thursday, my friend Bobby picked me up and we went adventuring.  You can adventure these days provided you are content with wide open spaces and no human contact.  We had a destination in mind though no time schedule.  

Leaving Wharton, we went through Lane City (pop 111), 

Magnet (pop 42), and Wadsworth (pop 180). 

And, I saw …….

Fields of cotton, still blooming.

And corn – ready for harvest.

A very bucolic scene.

A wind farm I didn’t realize was up and going.

Old and new – working side by side

Wild flowers galore

  

Yes, it was hot but there would be relief at the end of the trail.

Have you walked in soft sugar sand?

Be sure to wear shoes – the sand is really hot.

Did you already guess the destination?

Near to the Sea, we forget to count the hours.

And, while there, I saw . . . .

The waves crashing on the jetty where the 

Colorado River meets the Gulf of Mexico.

Tiny Coquina Clams digging back into the sand.

A Coquina Clam is very small, wedge-shaped, and varies widely in color (white, yellow, pink blue and mauve).  They are very active; they migrate up and down wave-washed beaches with the tide and will reburrow between each wave. They are edible and are used in broths and chowder.

Cabbage Head (or Cannonball) Jellyfish.

Cabbage Head Jellyfish are mostly harmless to humans.  Contact may cause itchy skin or irritated eyes but the toxins it secrets mostly affect only other fish or predicators in the ocean.  It is considered a delicacy in Japan, but it must be prepared properly, which usually means it is dried.  And, it must be harvested while still alive and healthy.

But mostly I felt the warm, heavy air; heard the waves crashing and seagulls crying; smelled the salty brine; allowed the waves to wash over my feet and legs; generally renewed my heart and soul.

Bobby brought one of his toys along . . .

  

We had sort of picnic lunch sitting in the truck to eat, cool down a bit, and watch the Intercoastal Canal.

 Tugs push long barges up and down the Intercoastal

to unknown destinations.

The Intercoastal Canal is a 3,000-mile inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts 

of the United States, running from Boston, Massachusetts, southward along the Atlantic Seaboard

 and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas.

  

Then, it was time to leave and come back to the real world.

18 Jul 2020