A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Skagit Valley seems progressive compared to Greenville, but there are some areas where that’s not the case. One place switch taxation. They don’t have a state income tax, but instead, they have a very regressive, high sales tax. This shows up in the way services are provided (or not provided) to citizens.In Greenville County we … Read More “Skagit County Library Dilemma” »
Our last big sabbatical was in 1991, twenty-six years ago. Laura has had other sabbaticals since then, but these have been half-year leaves involving work and research with local companies. During those sabbaticals I was working in positions I couldn’t leave easily, so an extended trip wasn’t possible. This is the first extended sabbatical away we’ve been able to do since that first big one, and we can’t help but draw comparisons between them.
Life on our island is still an odd dichotomy of frenzy and relaxation. It’s incredibly peaceful, but we still have so much to do. Similar to the stages of grief, there seem to be stages of settling in. We hit the tourist stage while Glynda was here, and seem to be in the midst of the “dealing with stuff” stage. I’m ready to get to the “normal life on the island” stage, whenever that might come.
It’s harvest time in Skagit Valley. That means fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere, picked right from the fields we have to drive through to get to the island. It seems most of our visits to the area have been in August just as things are coming into season, so I’ve always been impressed with the bounty. This past week we made the most of it.
Read More “Skagit Farmers Markets and Locally Sourced Foods” »
It’s raining. That shouldn’t come as a surprise seeing as this is the Pacific Northwest. However, they have had an unusually dry summer and this is the first rain in weeks. Given the chaotic nature of the past week, it’s been a good opportunity to catch up on writing.
Our drive from Greenville to Samish Island seemed like a whirlwind. We were constantly on the go. However, I found a way to make the 3,186 mile drive go by even quicker.
Read More “From Greenville to Samish Island in Four Minutes, Fifty Seconds” »
The constant traveling is starting to take its toll. We are all worn out, especially after yesterday’s whirlwind trip through Yellowstone. Today would be another long push, but it would get us very close to our final goal. We would be traveling from Bozeman, Montana to Ellensburg, Washington.
Today was the one day we had planned to not travel any further west. We had allowed one day to explore Yellowstone National Park. Only one day in Yellowstone is blasphemy, but it’s what we had. We made the most of it. Even though we didn’t make any progress on our western migration, we still covered about as many miles as any other day so far.
Day four – the cats seem less terrified and more on the verge of mutiny. We’ll have to watch that. The day started with cool weather and good bagels and coffee, and ended in heat. In between we passed through some of the most lonely, stark landscape imaginable.
Day Three of our travels was a whirlwind. The cats settled in much better, and even slept last night. We got our start at about the same time as yesterday. The mileage would be a bit less, but we had so much more to see.