Blue Beach, Vieques, Puerto Rico

Two days now waking up to the sound of neighboring roosters instead of chop saws and hammers. It's a good thing. Yesterday, we had a challenging beach tour. All of Vieques most glorious beaches exist within a national nature preserve, and you need transpo to get there. We chose the medium of scooter onc again. The perfect balance of all things. Scootering around, missing turns, stopping to look at maps.. It's all part of the charm. Hilariously, the island doesn't really have very many roads, but we're missing turn and getting lost all the time. On some level, we were looking for shade for Lucy, and snorkeling for me (really both things for both of us, but those are the priorities). The beach politics here are like none Ive seen before. On Blue Beach, Secret Beach, & Garcia Beach, we would find tiny populations — 3-10 people — and still feel crowded. This would be on a fairly giant beach, mind you. The premium quantity is often shade. We're both sun worshippers — albeit *from afar.* Or as I'm fond of saying: "I love the sunshine; especially when I'm not IN it." The beaches are magnificent here today we're going to try out the very outermost beaches -— and hope for that magical combo of good snorkeling, shade... and the absence of those pesky 3-10 other people who just want the same thing.

Beaches and scooters day

Lucy demonstrates our beach/scooter fashion sense.

The batmoscoot

You can't really see the glory of my getting-snorkel-fins-on-the-scooter strategy, but it's there..

Tree Lizard is watching you...

This morning we spent morning coffee with a couple of giant tree lizards. Lucy has been captivated. I think they're iguanas, but not sure. They're about 4' long and magnificent climbers. The whole island is a-scamper with little chameleon-type lizards, but these are the first Big Boys that we've seen. Since they seem to have our accomodations well in hand, the plan is that we take the scooter and head for the beach.. (And snorkeling, my fave thing)

Those wacky Puerto Ricans and their sweeteners

Two entertainingly-named sweeteners

Luis

This our cab driver luis. Luis went to MJ's funeral in LA. Alone. With apparently no friends in LA. Or a ticket. He said he paid $250, I think..

Bus vs. Lucy

Color cross silhouette

Scooter Lucy

Look out Vieques backroads!

Hix

The amazing Hix guest house, in the hills of Vieques. Look it up. Concrete moderne, baby.

Hix

The amazing Hix guest house, in the hills of Vieques. Look it up. Concrete moderne, baby.

Our new digs

We moved across the street. Intense construction was harshing out mellow. Goodbye Esperanza Inn (great though you were!), hello Tortuga Inn! Boy as distinctive, but all things considered, a slightly better fit

Isabel II

The only other actual town on Vieques. We're not sure why it's "two," unless a hurracabe wiped out "one."

Hix

Merely a bathroom wall still life at the amazing Hix guest house, in the hills of Vieques. Look it up. Concrete moderne, baby.

The Lucy

My fave iPhone photo to date. (you know every one of these Vieques photos so far is a cameraphone photo, right?!)

Fiends of Distinction

All day at the beach and we hardly saw a soul. Except for a couple of strange girls, 15-20 hrs old. One approached us and obviously couldn't speak English any better than I could speak spanish. She had a vaguely frenzied quality of glee about her; Lucy and I both were having unspoken considerations, the same ones, to some extent: 1. This is private property and she's telling us to leave? 2. They're going to rob us? 3. They're high, drunk, or tripping. One girl gleefully gave Lucy a bundle of twigs and then "planted" her own handful (pictured), complete with protective fencing. Eventually they wandered off, but it was odd enough to write about.

Lucy

Lucy

Easy Chair?

It's on the beach, so it's pretty easy. I didn't sit in it, though...

Twofers

It is TWOsday, but one of these is Lucy's, I must confess.

Vieques sunset

Lime Colada at Lazy Jack's

A delightful concoction endorsed and made by Josie. 1 1/2 shot of light and dark rum; "margarita mix;"tblsp of coconut milk/syrup (coco lopez). Extra deliciousness was likely parted by an excellent vintage dancehall reggae soundtrack.

Fronds of Sun Beach

Lucy Relaxo

Monday on Sun Beach, Vieques Island. We pretty much own the area. Hardly a person in sight.

Lucy still life

Vieques ferry

Vieques ferry

Headed from mainland puerto Rico to our chill island spot!

Deep Blue Morning

Aspects of 39,000 feet

From the air

The wondrous Caribbean from 39,001 feet. Tell me I don't live in an amazing world.

Up and away

The wondrous Caribbean from 39,001 feet. Tell me I don't live in an amazing world.

Delta dawn

Atlanta airport where y'at?!

Doin the hurry up and wait but successfully headed towards some paradise

In the clouds in the dreams

Eerie history

I'm not a museum curator, but it seems like some artifacts would be more awe-inspiring than others. I've personally noticed on museum visits that some artifacts seem to carry some mystical quality — a hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-the-neck quality.

In pop culture, I got this sense from Raiders of the Lost Ark, when I was a kid. The powerful mystery that the story attached to things like the Ark of the Covenant was a feeling that I never got from going to church or reading the Bible.

I got this kind of feeling the other day during a meeting at the Kentucky Horse Park which included a very-preliminary tour of "A Gift from the Desert — The Art, History, and Culture of the Arabian Horse," the jaw-dropping exhibit now under construction, that is scheduled to open in May 2010, to coincide with the World Equestrian Games, here in Lexington.

The feeling came from hearing some of the lore surrounding The Standard of Ur, which is over 4,000 years old and valued at $50 million — though it would more accurately be described as priceless. In particular: The Standard features what are considered to be some of — if not the — oldest existing illustrations of horse driving. That is to say: Horses pulling things designed by humans. Also, let's not fail to note: It's from Iraq.

There's something that is just eerie to me about such an ancient thing, and its juxtaposition against this modern world, and our struggles and complications.

I've heard that the Standard, which is housed at London's British Museum, was widely assumed to be unlendable, because of its astronomical value. But the substantial cachet of our own Kentucky Horse Park may have proven otherwise. Because of the particular efforts of the staff of KHP's International Museum of the Horse, the Royal Standard of Ur will reside on Kentucky soil for the exhibit. No doubt secured beyond belief.

And there's something just amazingly cool about that. It gives me tingles.

Check out this interactive, zoomable image from the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Oscar and Mr. Mustard

Clark County Jamboree!

Lucy is hunting the Wiley Griffula

Open studio $1 portrait by Maxine

Open studio $1 portrait by Maxine
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

A popular thing at this last UK Reynolds Bldg Open Studio (always an
occasion of delight and charm, btw) was the $1 Portraits Room.

Maxine did mine, and when she realized that I was the WRFL Trivial
Thursdays guy, she added the musical notes (thanks for listening!).
Later, with genuine concern, Maxine slid the drawing to me and
pronounced: "This looks nothing like you… I'm sorry!"

I disagree. I think she captured curiosity and zeal, pouring out of my
eyes.

(Also? Maxine and a nearby classmate were so funny that I was grinning
the whole time. So it was extra-challenging.)

Santa photos at busters!

Comebon down for holiday happy hour and Santa pix til 8!

Rock m roll santa at busters

It's the Mo Pho studio in effect with sant at busters

Meanwhile back at tha Carter

Here it is. The dirty truth about what goes on after those Mecca 1st Monday cocktail nights at Gumbo Ya Ya @ Bar Lexington.

I want a cookie

I want a cookie
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

Amazing cookie jar collection at an undisclosed location so that they
remain safe.

The Gypsy Queen — Burning Man 2009

The Gypsy Queen — Burning Man 2009
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey

For longer than I could have imagined possible, I've been intending to work through my Burning Man 2009 photos. One of the main desires: to post my photos of an amazing journey with a bunch of madcap, delightful North Carolinians who built and crewed The Gypsy Queen, a desert version of an actual Alaskan Salmon boat.

To have captured even a sliver of their delight, adds to my own immensely.

A toast then — to the crew of the Gypsy Queen

(click the photo to get to the entire set on Flickr)