Damn Mississippi!

[thesummerqueen]

The south isn't THAT bad. The religous ordeal sucks monkey balls but i love the south. i love being southern and being around southerners, until the religion pop its little ugly head in. City doesn't sit well with me.

Southern cities aren't that bad either. I love living in Charlotte. I love the land. I just don't love the greater proportion of its people.

It doesn't get much more beautiful than the Appalachian mountains from the Shenandoah Valley down. I defy you to find a place in America more evocative of all that Celtic legend and myth could yield. Then in the summer when we've had enough rain, the plant life goes wild - lush and rich, the cloying sweet scent of gardenias and magnolias and honeysuckle heavy in the humid air. Right now the crepe myrtles are bowing on the sides of the streets, over-laden with white and magenta flowers. In uptown, Elephant's Ears wave lazily, interspersed with flagrant hibiscus and prim little begonias. It's sunnier here but the weather is mercurial - we get thunderstorms most evenings that drift away after only a couple hours, so you're left with large fluffy clouds reflected in the glass of the skyscrapers, painted like a watercolor landscape in the sunset. The nights are warm and breezy, and after a few beers people forget their political alliances and their religious needs and all they want to do is share their joint, or beer, or appetizers or whatever they happen to be doing at the time along the main streets in the city. People sit outside playing music - sometimes for money, sometimes for shits and giggles - and street magicians rouse of roars of laughter and surprise.

Even the "religious" are fun to be around some days - I used to go study on Sunday mornings at breakfast at a Cracker Barrel that must have been next to a old black church, because all the older ladies would come in with their big hats and big smiles and they were absolute peaches - hugs for everyone, a kind word or inquiry for surrounding patrons, a little chuck on the cheek and 'bless' for anyone they thought was cute. When the religious feel good, they're full of love and jolly southern kindness.

I have been yelled down in the street by women - women! - so they can compliment me on my outfit. That never once happened up north.

And don't get me started on the food. If you've never had Carolina BBQ, you haven't lived. I don't care if your beliefs demand you don't eat pork - if God had a favorite food, it was surely a slowly smoked pig doused in a vinegar sauce. Holy fuck. And that love translates to everything else - don't let Paula Deen fool you, it doesn't all have to be fried and fatty. In the more ethnically varied areas, we have all kinds of cultural food, and it's all fucking amazing - from the pizza all the way up to the Thai to the Ethiopian to the hippie vegan stuff. We take food SERIOUSLY down here. Presentation must be good, but above all it must make people exclaim about how good it tastes, so they sit a while and come back often. It's too bad the chain food places are so pervasive around the country, because the one-off restaurants here are fucking amazing. Cajun, bistros, diners that are way better than Cracker Barrel or IHOP, little Italian joints and restaurants devoted to hot dogs (with anything you could want on them).

I'm sure Rhythm could wax lyrically about FL and other areas where the swamps are primeval pits of mud and extant dinosaurs, with ancient plantation homes surrounded by ghostly Spanish moss.

[justin]

The south isn't THAT bad. The religous ordeal sucks monkey balls but i love the south. i love being southern and being around southerners, until the religion pop its little ugly head in. City doesn't sit well with me.

Southern cities aren't that bad either. I love living in Charlotte. I love the land. I just don't love the greater proportion of its people.

It doesn't get much more beautiful than the Appalachian mountains from the Shenandoah Valley down. I defy you to find a place in America more evocative of all that Celtic legend and myth could yield. Then in the summer when we've had enough rain, the plant life goes wild - lush and rich, the cloying sweet scent of gardenias and magnolias and honeysuckle heavy in the humid air. Right now the crepe myrtles are bowing on the sides of the streets, over-laden with white and magenta flowers. In uptown, Elephant's Ears wave lazily, interspersed with flagrant hibiscus and prim little begonias. It's sunnier here but the weather is mercurial - we get thunderstorms most evenings that drift away after only a couple hours, so you're left with large fluffy clouds reflected in the glass of the skyscrapers, painted like a watercolor landscape in the sunset. The nights are warm and breezy, and after a few beers people forget their political alliances and their religious needs and all they want to do is share their joint, or beer, or appetizers or whatever they happen to be doing at the time along the main streets in the city. People sit outside playing music - sometimes for money, sometimes for shits and giggles - and street magicians rouse of roars of laughter and surprise.

Even the "religious" are fun to be around some days - I used to go study on Sunday mornings at breakfast at a Cracker Barrel that must have been next to a old black church, because all the older ladies would come in with their big hats and big smiles and they were absolute peaches - hugs for everyone, a kind word or inquiry for surrounding patrons, a little chuck on the cheek and 'bless' for anyone they thought was cute. When the religious feel good, they're full of love and jolly southern kindness.

I have been yelled down in the street by women - women! - so they can compliment me on my outfit. That never once happened up north.

And don't get me started on the food. If you've never had Carolina BBQ, you haven't lived. I don't care if your beliefs demand you don't eat pork - if God had a favorite food, it was surely a slowly smoked pig doused in a vinegar sauce. Holy fuck. And that love translates to everything else - don't let Paula Deen fool you, it doesn't all have to be fried and fatty. In the more ethnically varied areas, we have all kinds of cultural food, and it's all fucking amazing - from the pizza all the way up to the Thai to the Ethiopian to the hippie vegan stuff. We take food SERIOUSLY down here. Presentation must be good, but above all it must make people exclaim about how good it tastes, so they sit a while and come back often. It's too bad the chain food places are so pervasive around the country, because the one-off restaurants here are fucking amazing. Cajun, bistros, diners that are way better than Cracker Barrel or IHOP, little Italian joints and restaurants devoted to hot dogs (with anything you could want on them).

I'm sure Rhythm could wax lyrically about FL and other areas where the swamps are primeval pits of mud and extant dinosaurs, with ancient plantation homes surrounded by ghostly Spanish moss.

well someone painted a lovely poetical picture today y'all ever been to landsford canal or lake wylie? the sights are beyond beliefs. you, david, and anyone who else who wishes to come should should come with me to a couple places to fish and hike. I really wanna show y'all Landsford (My escape from it all). island hopping, trails with rich history, state park, some fishing, all kind of stuff. we could get some food and drinks and go to the park area. there is some nice wildlife as well. they even have a bald eagle.

[thesummerqueen]

lol, I'd love to go fishing. Daddy was a country boy from Ohio, but he made sure we were city bred even though he taught us how to fish and all that. David is, however, pure city. He'd suffer the fishing if I asked him, but it's not his idea of a good time - although he likes hiking well enough. If it doesn't happen sooner, we'll go fishing in the fall -


Because, y'all, if you've never been to the mountains down here when we've had a decent amount of rain, you're missing America's best kept leaf viewing secret. Fuck Vermont. We have better beer here.

Anyway, Justin, if David ends up getting a better job (read: one that lets him off on weekends) I'll make him go with me, and you and I should fish in Linville Falls while he goes to play with his camera.





We complain about the asstards that 'rule' over us, but there's a reason people stay down here.

[Autumnlicious]

I went sea kayaking last weekend through the Monterey Bay.

At one point I wanted to simply don scuba gear and go inspecting the kelp for life.

5 miles of ocean traversal.

So freeing, especially when one is enthralled with the near unimaginable diversity of life right under oneself.

[justin]

lol, I'd love to go fishing. Daddy was a country boy from Ohio, but he made sure we were city bred even though he taught us how to fish and all that. David is, however, pure city. He'd suffer the fishing if I asked him, but it's not his idea of a good time - although he likes hiking well enough. If it doesn't happen sooner, we'll go fishing in the fall -


Because, y'all, if you've never been to the mountains down here when we've had a decent amount of rain, you're missing America's best kept leaf viewing secret. Fuck Vermont. We have better beer here.

Anyway, Justin, if David ends up getting a better job (read: one that lets him off on weekends) I'll make him go with me, and you and I should fish in Linville Falls while he goes to play with his camera.





We complain about the asstards that 'rule' over us, but there's a reason people stay down here.

David would like Landfors then. he would get a kick from the picture taking he could do. i would take y'all to some really awesome spots. He may not be much of a fisher but get him a camera, a beer, a smoke, and food while we fish and he would be plenty busy lol.

and most certainly Linville falls. love new places

[Rahul]

Texas Hill Country



Blue Bonnets in Texas



Tubing down the frigid, spring filled Guadalupe river

[thesummerqueen]

Charlotte at sunset:



And on a clear winter day:



The Falls in autumn:



Bits of Reedy Creek Park at dusk:





I'd have more but apparently I haven't updated my flickr (which allows me to change photo size) the way I have my other photo sites.

[Faith No More]

This is the awesome part of the south my family comes from.



The one great thing about the area though is that since the population is so small and sparse, there is almost no light pollution, and the night sky is beautiful. I was down there when the Hale-Bopp comet was visible, and I could see it with my naked eye.

[Rahul]

The one great thing about the area though is that since the population is so small and sparse, there is almost no light pollution, and the night sky is beautiful. I was down there when the Hale-Bopp comet was visible, and I could see it with my naked eye.

You're from the panhandle? My sis-in-law is from up there.

I remember Hale-Bopp. That was awesome. Heck, you could see it in the sky before the stars were even visible. And it just hung there for months.

I was in bootcamp when it showed up. You could see it with the naked eye even in the city. Just incredible.

[Faith No More]

You're from the panhandle? My sis-in-law is from up there.

Not me personally, but both my parents were born and raised there. My family roots are firmly entrenched in the Texas panhandle.

I was actually the first naturally born yankee in my family.