Retreat.

Introductions were made as I grabbed grocery bags and set them in the back of the white Mercedes van. A week prior, I agreed to spend twenty four hours somewhere in the mountains north of Beijing with friends of friends; people I'd never met.

The Po Shang house beautifully demonstrated minimalist and functional furnishing.

We talked and laughed. I grilled for the first and last time of the summer. We ventured through the village and mountains. We ate. Repeat.


Inside:

Waiting for me the next morning.

小白prior to departure.

Outside.

Tower to tower.

That evening we carried couch cushions outside, filling the silence with exuberance fueled by a night sky that remains unrivaled except for that seen on January 1, 2012 in the Outer Banks.

One of my favorite recipes- a dish made too rarely and for little reason.

1. Prepare several servings of Strangers and Acquaintances. Measure generously.
2. Good food. If you can't, find someone who can.
3. Mix company and food and garnish with good conversation. Speak freely.

9/17/11

6/27/11

Near Sicily.

We were on our way home.

I had to run downstairs to grab my camera.

I said I'd be right back.

It took half an hour.

We were never good with time on that ship.

Forever changed.

Forever smoldering.

6/17/11

Somewhere along the Med.

Grandfather Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Almost one month ago my mom and I climbed into my car and went towards Boone, NC. Not realizing that the App State kids were moving in, we skipped town and drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway towards Grandfather Mountain.

Along the way.

The Moses Cone Manor

Mile high pines.

They filmed part of Forrest Gump on the road to the summit.

I spend too little time with my mom, but when I do, it's short trips like this that make that time all the more memorable.

Away from Naples

Twelve days of awkward dinner company, free room service, guided "shore excursions", coerced relaxation, and (best of all) legitimate disconnection await onboard the "Mariner of the Seas." Any watch marked with "Get off the boat", "Dinner time", and "Meet everyone" would have been more useful than either my Easy Reader or Sub. Cruises are funny in that way. Days of the week become irrelevant, only to be replaced with concerns about whether or not one needs a tie for dinner that evening.

First port: Naples.

Leaving.

You don't need a numbered sticker designating your tour group to show you're a tourist while riding the ferry to Capri.

I woke up forty minutes after boarding. The hazy shadow in the distance now above us, our long shadows stood short at the foot of the mountainous isle.

There was a mixed party in the small harbor; yachts, fishing boats, and dinghies rocked gently alongside one another.

Our tour through the narrow streets of Capri took us past Kiton, Ferragamo, and Tod's. 

The beauty felt just beyond our reach.

Another nap, another ferry. Sorrento.

The streets of Sorrento.

Local treasure.