Passing Through Florence

 Travels With Jerry (to borrow from Steinbeck)
    Another post for loyal readers and for the other few who wonder where I am (and more importantly, where my wife is.) I just mentioned (bragged) that we were recently in Paris and Rome and, given that we were in those two well-known places, decided to bypass Florence. The Florence passed, I will add, is the one in South Carolina, not the other one in Mississippi. That one was named after some guy's wife, the one skipped was named after General Harlle's daughter. That we skipped Florence was not because of General Harlee's southern past, but because my companion didn't like the name of the river passing through it - the Pee Dee.
   Having attracted you with the names with which you are familiar I will now say that we are in Lumberton, which you may not have heard of, but which once was on the 'Grand Tour' for those returning from the 'Low Country.' From here, I will say only that we are descending to Duck, which will actually be the high point of the trip except, of course, for those encounters with family members.
 
The Bonus:
   Not much substance again, so here is something else to read. It is actually brought to you courtesy of a very large billboard, which displayed in very large letters, these words: VEGETARIAN RECOVERY CENTER. It was for Smokin' D's BBQ. (As an aside (and actually another bonus), I will say that the billboards advertising "adult-type" places seemed to have toned down a bit, perhaps because of the purifying effects of the current President. The one noticed mentioned in it the word "mindful", which may sound a bit 'woke', but not at all prurient. But, back under Biden we passed one that said - "Every Day Is Hump Day."

Post Script: The Duck destination exists. It is at the higher end of the Outer Banks and should still be there this year.

Blogging While Travelling

   For my very few loyal readers I feel I should provide something. My excuse this time for lack of activity is that we were on the road and one is not allowed to text while driving, let alone blog. Even in the U.S., where one should be allowed to do anything.

  Although I don't usually blog about things personal and certainly don't provide photos of things personal, the one above is a photo of what our destination would look like if we arrived after the Memorial Day holiday. 

   There is a lot to be said for the "Shoulder Season." The real photo above is what the beach looked like when we arrived. The view is north and the one looking south is much the same. If you look very closely, you might spot, at the top, tiny figures who may be large Secret Service Agents since President Biden has a place nearby in Delaware. Otherwise, there are not many people around. One of the things one can say about the "Shoulder Season" is that it is cheaper than the peak one. That is odd to me since I would have thought that people would pay more to have less people around. Rich people do, but they have other ways to give the rest of us the shoulder.

 

  The trip south in search of the spring became more colourful in lower Pennsylvania and now that we are below the Mason-Dixon line it is much greener, although one does notice spots of political red. The route chosen from Harrisburg, PA to Ocean City, MD was the less travelled one on the right above and it took us through very tidy Pennsylvania Dutch country where much was in bloom.

  The sun that we have not seen for a while showed up on time and is expected to arrive every day for the next few days. We gather that will be true up in Ontario as well and perhaps it will be a little greener when we return

Post Script:

   Admittedly, the short piece above is a slight one and for something better read about Edwin Way Teale, who slowly came North With the Spring. Very slowly, since he meandered about each day, until the spring was ready to move along. Just how much wandering he did to get from Florida to New Hampshire is revealed in the subtitle of the book: A Naturalist's Record of a 17,000-Mile Journey with the North American Spring.

The Bonus: (For Adults Only)

Among the red blemishes amid the blooms were some signs for "Adult Stores" and these two caught our attention. The first one may be difficult to interpret for the growing number of people who have never worked a full week, but here it is: "Every Day Is Hump Day." The crassness of the name of the next one is mitigated  somewhat by a hint of tenderness, but it is more likely that even purveyors of porn appreciate irony: "Bend Over: A Romantic Adult Store."