Travel Theme: Distance

Ailsa's travel theme this week at Where's My Backpack? asks us to look at distance, into the distance, from a distance.  For the record, the word "distance" literally means "standing apart", from the Latin "dis" (apart) and "stare" (stand, of course).See, kids?  Latin is fun!Anyway.Pictures.This first shot was taken this spring at Milton State Park, which is probably about three miles away from my home.  If you walk down toward the southern tip of the park, which juts out into the Susquehanna River, you'll soon find yourself...well, still in the park and on the other side of the river, but directly facing the smokestacks of the plant one Ettore "Hector" Boiardi opened in 1938 in support of his canned pasta business.Yes, Chef Boyardee was a real man and no, he wasn't just some fabrication of ConAgra, which now owns the plant.  I haven't eaten canned ravioli in years but nevertheless, I'm delighted his iconic smokestack remains.Next we go to Little River in beautiful South Carolina.  My brother has a boat docked there, but I'm pretty sure he's selling it (or possibly has sold it by now), so I don't know if what once was his boat is still there.  Anyway.  I digress.  This photo was taken while looking out toward the bow of the boat (and beyond, natch!) from the hatch that opens out from the cabin.  That thin line of land is the spit that separates the Little River Inlet from the big ol' Atlantic Ocean.Next, we go to my beloved Boston and the gorgeous Park Plaza Hotel.  Often, when I stay in hotels, I will choose to take back stairways instead of the elevator.  I've always had a penchant for wandering the halls of any hotel I stay in (which can sound a little creepy but I swear, I don't peek where I ought not) because I like to go where most people ignore.  And most people?  Don't take the stairs and see this, spinning upwards into infinity.And now we head to Baltimore.  This picture was taken this summer at Artscape, a mega-art-music-comedy-groovy jewelry outdoor feast for the eyes, ears and wallet.  It stretches for blocks and blocks.  I could have spent a ton of money there (especially in some of the jewelry stands; I'll take one of everything, please) but kept it under control.  I did, however, take a trillion pictures.  This was near a railroad crossing.  It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day and all of Baltimore (including the iconic Howard Street bridge) stretched out before us.Please note that there's a mirror in the photo--almost dead center--so you can see what's in the distance behind.  Kind of a yin-yang of Baltimore industrial architectural photography.  Dig it.And finally, we end today's blog in Italy, because Italy, that's why.  This picture was taken while visiting a church on one of the hills overlooking Florence, just across the Arno River.  The Ponte Vecchio--which literally means "old bridge"--is that crazy, awesome structure in the middle of the shot.  This bridge, and the shops that are built hanging off the sides, has survived floods, Nazis, and nearly 700 years worth of weather (it would be nearly 800 years worth of weather, but it did have to be rebuilt in 1345).Damn.I mean...I'm happy if I get a DVD player that lasts more than a few years, you know?  I hate that we've come to accept planned obsolescence.Anyway.Again, I digress.Enjoy Ailsa's theme!  Maybe you could find a little somethin' somethin' to post and play along yourself.  ;)  Please enjoy some Dixie Chicks for your listening pleasure.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRJPShO0FsM]