Back to the Beach!

 Sunday, April 15 was a sunny day and a great one to make our first beach outing of 2021. A year ago we wouldn’t have been able to bring our chairs and towels to spend a few hours in the sand. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sullivan’s Island had a “keep moving” policy. If you came to the beach you couldn’t sit or lay out; you could walk it and, yes, keep moving. 

So a year later with things getting closer back to normal, it was a pleasure to sit and stay for a while here at Sullivan’s. I may never again take for granted such a simple pleasure as a local beach outing. 

Here are some favorites photos from this mid-April outing. 

Pandemic Panorama: Richmond Day After Easter 2021 Scenes

 

Richmond, Va. is a medium-sized Southern city (population approximately 225,000) with a nice mix of the old and the new.

This was my stomping grounds while a student at VCU in the early 1980s. Richmond was where I kind of found myself. And it’s where my Alesia is from and where we started to date. So lots of good, positive memories from Richmond! 

CHURCH HILL

The day after Easter I did some sightseeing here with Alesia and her brother Blake. It was a pretty spring day and we had all had free time with no one in a rush to be anywhere. 

One stop with its great views of downtown is Church Hill where these photos were taken. This area is also known as the St. John's Church Historic District. Keep reading to find out why. 

Richmond has a great amount of early American history beyond and before its role as the capital of the Confederacy during the civil war.

As addressed in my previous blog post (link here), part of the city’s rich history has been under fire and most long-standing Confederate monuments have come down (except at Hollywood Cemetery-keep reading)

Monumental Changes on Richmond’s Monument Avenue

Richmond’s marquee thoroughfare had a rough 2020. It was not the coronavirus pandemic that brought drastic changes to Monument Avenue. It was the aftermath of the police brutality death of George Floyd 1,200 miles away in Minneapolis, Minn. Coast-to-coast racial upheaval brought forth, among other things, the removal, sometimes violently, of statues perceived as symbols of White racism and supremacy by many Black Americans (and people of other races too).

Robert E. Lee monument as seen a few years ago

As the Confederate capital during the 1861-1865 American Civil War, Richmond in the 1890s and early 1900s had many many monuments and markers to the lost war and the “Lost Cause” narrative that espouses how the South had noble intentions in fighting for state’s rights while downplaying its efforts to protect slavery. 

Lee monument photographed on April 5, 2021

Gravesite of Lt. Gen. “Chesty” Puller- “A Marine’s Marine”

 

Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell Puller (1898-1971) had the unique nickname Chesty. Perhaps he earned it for the dozens of medals he wore on his chest during a military career matched by few in our nation’s history. (I know that's not the reason- but click here for more on the "Chesty" origins). 

I became interested in Gen. Puller after recently watching on TV the fine Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks- produced dramatic HBO miniseries “The Pacific.” Released in 2010, the 10 episodes document the bloody battles fought by the U.S. Marine Corps against the Japanese in World War II’s Pacific theater. 

Then a lieutenant colonel, Puller (played by William Sadler) appears in some episodes as a rugged commander who his Marines seemed to really like and respect. 

Chesapeake Bay Birding (and One Easter Bunny)

Easter time was our first getaway trip since a visit to Hilton Head last summer. It was nice to take in some different scenery (even Pedro at South of the Border!) and great to see family again. The Virginia side of the Chesapeake Bay, where my parents live, is a pretty, quiet place with opportunities to satisfy my inner birder. 

At the folks’ house, I need to go no farther than their backyard to see this Osprey platform. It has been here for years and my father had a hand in getting it erected. During this visit, a family of Osprey was in residence. The parents were still working on the nest. A few times I saw one swoop down to a nearby yard to grab a branch or twig. Pinecones could also be seen on the structure, though as my father noted they wouldn’t be too comfortable as bedding for the big birds. 

It is always challenging to shoot from a great distance and to get good shots of birds in flight. Here are my best  images...

Azaleas- ‘Tis the Season!

 

They are dormant for maybe 46 weeks of the year. But come March the countdown begins for the lovely azaleas to put some real spring into the spring season. 

Ours have started to bloom in force over the past few days. And what a welcome sight they are! The glorious Azaleas are helping offset the awful dump of pollen and the accompanying pine tree pollen pods.