In 13 Heaven
1. I was in 13 heaven this vacation week when I came across several good 13 images to photograph. This one is my favorite. Besides the main sign and the one on the left, there’s a 3rd one across the street that isn’t visible at this shrunk down size.
2. My one regret was not stopping to take a photo of a field of sunflowers in peak bloom that we saw near the Delaware and Maryland border on our way home.
3. After writing the title above, I got to wondering about what the phrase “7th Heaven” meant. According to the wikipedia, in the Jewish tradition it’s believed to be the highest level of heaven. It’s also a T.V. show that I’ve never seen.
4. The last time I was at the ocean (Hunting State Park in South Carolina) I wrote this on my 13 Thursday list: Pelicans always look like cartoon characters to me. When they crash down into the water to catch fish, it looks like slapstick.
5. I didn’t see any pelicans at Bethany Beach, but I saw several Great Blue Herons on the canals and salt marshes. Unlike pelicans, Great Blue Herons are poised and stately. They’re like the blue-blooded aristocrats of big birds.
6. My sister Kathy wrote in a recent comment that she thought heaven would be clutter free. Nancy thanked the Goddess that because I was on vacation I would be spared from watching the news, which, of course, made me want to immediately watch the news to see what else is wrong.
7. We took the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and tunnel to and from Bethany Beach. Driving on large bridges gives me anxiety, but less so if I’m not the one behind the wheel. It seems like it would be scarier to put my life in someone else’s hands, but when it comes to driving, I prefer to.
8. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that heat rising from the road when driving in summer looks like water from a distance. I imagine it to be a perfect mirage for a thirsty traveler in the dessert.
9. Fun can be exhausting. First there was my son’s wedding and all the company that came for it, then Joe and I went to Bethany Beach for his family reunion, and now Floyd Fest is this weekend!
10. Speaking of fun, did I mention that I actually did get to play Scrabble at the beach after all? Not once, but twice. I played with my husband’s sister’s boyfriend’s daughter who just graduated high school, is a musician, rides horses, loves to dance, and is an all around awesome young woman.
11. Reading the book “Word Freak” about the counter culture of Scrabble tournament players almost makes me want to quit playing Scrabble because I’m never going to take the time to learn how to be really good at the game. But then I read this quote from the book, spoken by the director of the National Scrabble Association, and I felt much better: Scratch the surface of any champion in any individual sport and you’re often going to find an obsessed misfit who’s deficient in many parts of his life because he devotes eight hours a day to it.
12. The following is a colorful description from a Richmond Times story on Floyd Fest that I found at Fragments From Floyd: No doubt about it, rural Floyd County is one of the hippest places in Virginia, with the latest generation of hippies, artists, nature lovers and every sort of laid-back refugee from the urban rat race living shoulder to shoulder with the easygoing local farmers. The place has become part paisley, part pasture; half hemp fashion, half hayfield. And one reason Floyd has gotten so hip is FloydFest, a musical extravaganza held every year in a wide field surrounded by woods and mountains where thousands gather to groove nearly nonstop to the sounds of dozens of bands and singers over several days.
13. HERE is the entry I wrote last year about our Floyd Fest poetry scene. And THIS was my post about Ani DiFranco, who played at the festival (just half-a-dozen miles from our driveway) last year.
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13’s are here.
July 27th, 2006 9:33 am
I did a post on Floydfest today too…now you know it is actually in our county of Patrick but the Floyd vibe is much cooler!
Love your 13 road sign, how lucky a find was that?
July 27th, 2006 10:04 am
sounds like you have had busy couple of weeks! the beach sounds great- and you haven’t missed much by missing 7th Heaven, the show.
July 27th, 2006 10:05 am
Sorry, I made you want to see the news and take you away from your peace and relaxation.
Don’t be surprised if I show up in Floyd someday, ready to move in. LOL!
The FloydFest sounds like a blast….have FUN!
July 27th, 2006 10:16 am
I’m so jealous of your Floyd Fest…maybe I should have booked to visit there this weekend, instead of October? Nah….probably way too hot there now and Oct. should be gorgeous in your area with the foliage.
Loved your “13” signs! Very appropriate.
So I take it you’re now back home….and you need a vacation from the vacation?
July 27th, 2006 10:37 am
Great list!
I love the Bay!
My TT is up
July 27th, 2006 11:08 am
what a great 13 picture! Awesome! Sounds like you enjoyed the beach.
July 27th, 2006 12:00 pm
I LOVE that picture!!!! Love your list, too.
My TT is up, too. Happy TT!
July 27th, 2006 12:36 pm
I love to play scrabble!
July 27th, 2006 2:48 pm
I remember reading about the Floyd fest last year – and how much it made me want to attend. I still want to – but I have to work. Maybe some day I’ll make it…LOL
July 27th, 2006 6:27 pm
Floydfest is a new one to me I will have to look into that. Loved your list!
Cindi
My TT are up and running
July 27th, 2006 9:25 pm
I’m wishing I could make it to the Floyd Fest this year!!! The girls have a swim meet starting tomorrow morning at Radford and it ends Saturday. Sunday we have the swim team banquet.:( Bobby said next year, maybe we can camp out!:) Tomorrow is my baby’s third birthday. Oh…and I have to tell you….I sent out my letter of intention to home school Whitney next year! She’s staying home with me!!!!:) I’ll miss seeing you this weekend!
July 27th, 2006 10:39 pm
“Seventh Heaven” was a movie from the Forties, too or I should say first! I cannot remember who was in it at the moment—I’ll have to look it up–but my memory is it was a good film! I still don’t know what that phrase actually means…
I love how you find the most wonderful and appropriate TT Photo’s, even if you so cleverly make them yourself.
The FloydFest looks quite amazing…!
Another wonderful TT Post, dear Colleen…!
July 27th, 2006 10:45 pm
Wow, that’s a pretty good list of thirteen! I simply love the signs. I’m really digging the list though. 🙂
July 27th, 2006 11:34 pm
I was born on the 13th and have to say that it’s been VERY luck for me! Loved this post!!
July 28th, 2006 12:17 am
Excellent pic! So funny you thought of TT on your trip!
Thanks for visiting mine.
July 28th, 2006 7:51 am
Sorry so late…It’s been hot as hell around here.
Speaking of hell and it’s opposite – I think “7th heaven” refers to the dimensions – presently we, the human race, reside on the 3rd plane of existence (3D). When we individually or collectively make it to level 7 we’ll be considered perfected souls living entirely for the good of the All.
I never really knew it had to do with Jewish tradition. That is interesting.
And about those 7th heaven perfected Scrabble players – I think it’s more fun on the level where you’re at. That way, I *might* have a chance of beating you one day.
I love the sign pictures. You must have fainted when you saw those.
July 28th, 2006 10:02 am
This is the best 13 you’ve ever posted. I enjoyed every bit of it. Thank you.
July 28th, 2006 10:31 am
There will be a young man there this year who has traveled across the country to different music festivals on a grant from William and Mary. I believe Floyd will be his last stop. His name is Stavros. Maybe your paths will cross.
July 28th, 2006 11:00 am
I’ll be at the POETREE tomorrow at 3:00.
July 28th, 2006 11:32 am
Wow – I remember reading your posts about FloydFest and Ani DeFranco and I can’t believe it’s been a year since then already!
Loved your comment about Scrabble – my husband and I used to play a lot pre-kids. We actually used to fight about how long our turns were and who was taking too much time. Now we play with a chess clock – no more fights but it’s a totally different (and really fast) game.
Also, I’m the same way you are when it comes to driving across big bridges – I’m always torn between looking at the great view (when I’m not driving, of course) and wanting to do nothing but stare straight ahead and try to breathe!
July 28th, 2006 12:25 pm
We passed a sunflower field on our way to Myrtle Beach this past Sunday. For miles after I passed I kept thinking that I should have stopped to take a photograph of it. It was the only time I’ve ever seen a whole big field of them. You would think I would know by now, if you think you should take a photo of something you should do it. You only regret it when you don’t. How many times do you say “Dang, I wish I hadn’t stopped to take a photo of that.”
And I made the same comment about pelicans while riding on our boat tour in Georgetown, South Carolina yesterday, but had forgotten that you had said it first. I remembered that Amy once said the same thing about donkey’s, but I had forgotten that we had that conversation after reading your post about pelicans.
Have fun at Floydfest, I wish I could be there, but I’ll be on the river.
July 28th, 2006 12:26 pm
great 13 pic! and cool floyd sounds so great. and i never realised deana was so close to you too.
have a great time.
July 28th, 2006 1:50 pm
Mayberry, we’re living parallel lives lately! I wish one of us would have taken that shot.
Keda, Deana is only about 15 minutes from me, and I only just discovered her recently. Apart from our blogs, every now and then (twice) our paths cross in real life.
July 31st, 2006 6:57 pm
I missed your thursday 13!!! I’m sorry 🙁
I’m with Kathy, I think that’s what heaven will be like 🙂