Crossing the bridge

The Walnut Street Bridge (also known as The People’s Bridge). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

~ Isaac Newton

A sign indicating the High Water Mark on the Walnut Street Bridge. (I can’t imagine seeing the Susquehanna River this high!)

I’ve been Away again.  M and I went up to Lancaster and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to attend his high school class reunion and to visit with family.  I can’t speak for M, but I had a good time.  He probably did, too.  It’s just that I can’t speak for him.

It’s a horse’s bridge too, although I’m not sure the how the horse feels about crossing it.

On Sunday, after visiting with M’s father who lives near Harrisburg, we decided to go to City Island for a walk and a look around.  I am fascinated by the bridges that span the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg.  I’m not sure how many there are, but Wikipedia has entries for four bridges (the Walnut Street Bridge, the Market Street Bridge, the State Street Bridge, and the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge).  The entry about Harrisburg claims there are over a dozen large bridges, many over a mile long.

View of the Walnut Street Bridge from City Island.

The Walnut Street Bridge links City Island to Riverfront Park in Harrisburg.  City Island is a mile-long island in the Susquehanna River, and is used for sports and leisure activities (including swimming).  The bridge was built in 1890.  It was closed to motor vehicles after Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and portions of the western span of the bridge, connecting it to the western shore of the river, collapsed in January of 1996 as a result of flooding and a large ice floe from the North American Blizzard of 1996.

View of the Market Street Bridge and other bridges beyond that from the Walnut Street Bridge.

As you can see, we lucked into a gorgeous afternoon for a walk.  We parked at City Island, walked over the Walnut Street Bridge, rambled around Riverfront Park a little, and then went back to City Island to walk around there.

Looking the other way.

We checked out the canoe and kayak rentals while we were there, too.  M and I would someday like to go kayaking on the river for the sheer fun of it.

Looking down.

I have never been kayaking.  We’ve gone canoeing several times over the span of our marriage, but kayaking is something I haven’t tried yet.  I would prefer to learn how to use a kayak in a pond where I don’t have to worry about a current.  I hope to find such a place here on the Eastern Shore since Back Creek, where our dock is located, is another area we’d like to explore by water.

Taking a break under the bridge. (Market Street Bridge)

I’ll bring you some more photos from Harrisburg tomorrow.  There is something else I want to show you, something that happened before I went Away.

Sunset last Friday

No, it’s not the sunset.  Or the crab that follows.

Hanging out on the dock enjoying the sunset.

Did you hear about the rocket launch that took place Friday night from Wallops Island?  I’ve mentioned Wallops before.  Anyhow, NASA launched LADEE, a spacecraft designed to investigate the moon’s atmosphere.  M and I found a great beach across the Chincoteague Bay, about 10 miles from Wallops Island, where we could watch the launch.  It was amazing.

My photos of it, however, are not amazing.  They are really bad.  But I’m going to show them to you anyway because one of the many things this blog does is keep a record of things for me.

Bright!!

I was not at all ready for the first shot.  There were several other people on the beach with us, one of whom was doing a countdown.  Well, I don’t know if it was the beer he was consuming (seemed like he’d had quite a few) or if he wasn’t paying attention, but his countdown was off by about five minutes, and the only warning I had was a flare of bright light across the water.  Good thing I powered up the camera a minute or so before that, thinking I should start getting things adjusted or I would have missed it entirely.

Flare in the sky.

It was bright, it was fast, and we were only able to see three of the five stages, but it was amazing.

Squiggle. During the second stage (I think).

It was definitely worth the 40 minute drive and staying up late.  I’ve never seen anything like it, and might never again see anything like it.

Last night’s sunset reflected on the hood of the car.

That’s about it from the Wabi-Sabi Ranch and Beyond for today.  Thank you for visiting, and walking across the bridge with me.  Thank you for putting up with my bad photos, and thank you so much for your patience as I keep trying to catch up with ya’all.

It’s a Mum time of year.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂