6400 Sandalwood and Walkies

[scottobear]

Went for walkies...not sure for how long, but it was pretty close to 4 hours, I think. I took a slow, leisurely pace up Las Olas to Riverwalk and the library, watched the boats come in, grabbed a milkshake and people-watched. I really needed a nice day out and about and that fit the bill. There weren't very many to watch due to it being Sunday, but there were a few. Foot traffic was light enough to allow for easy maneuverability, and parts were so quiet that it was jarring to me. I'm so used to hearing a vehicle's engine or other street noise out there that it was rather eerie. There were parts of town that gave a real "28 Days Later" vibe. Even the singing fountain was quiet, save for the rush of the water... it was a very peaceful day out. I'll toss a few images from my journey behind a cut.

A few pictures:

The "28-days effect" I was talking about. Nobody on foot, buildings rising way up above, making it feel open and claustrophobic at the same time. I wanted to have a machine gun loaded with super ball ammo to fill the stillness with some motion. Funny how all the atoms in the air and other matter are all moving so fast, and yet everything seems so at rest.

The singing fountain, in daytime. The wind was blowing, so some mist was whirling around the lip of the water, making the seating area pretty moist. There wasn't really any place dry to sit on the edge, but the mist was cool and refreshing.

A couple shares a smooch while I'm taking pictures of the fountain.

A close-up of the concrete slabs on the fountain. Full of fossily goodness.

View of the low bridge from the South, looking North (12th and Las Olas) So much scrub plant-life!

View of the low bridge from the North, looking South (12th & 2nd) Note the chair in the water! I think it blew in from the patio set. On the far right, just below the bridge, is a little restaurant that smelled vaguely of propane and marijuana, the last time I walked past it. I wonder what sort of food they serve there?

Maybe some more pictures tomorrow. Still have the library (I stopped in to look at DVDs and pick up tax forms) , the water bus and misc Riverwalk images.

---

Hmm.. I wonder if the pleasant scent of sandalwood is part of the reason that folks made sandals out of them? The prayer beads that I got from sedef smell so good! (Contrary to last night's curry in the trash.. I couldn't wait to get that stuff outside of the same 4 walls.)

Comments

[sedefendendo.livejournal.com]

wow , just wonderful pictures, makes me miss home!

you must do that again, just very peaceful and healing!

and i myself think sandalwood is a yummy smell!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

Newtlikes sandalwood, too.

I agree.. walkabout always makes me feel better, and returns some tranquility to my heart.

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

Wow....how come you stopped carrying this one for awhile? Is it kinda bulky?

Nice pix Scotto!!

I forgot what the singing fountain does? I remember you posted about it once before...does it whistle?

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

Good Morning, Sleepyhead!

Thank you! Well, The palm cam was a tiny, tiny thing, buy I got tired of the poor quality. My other camera is rather bulky, but I can live with it, for better results. (The images lost a lot of clarity when scaled down.. the once in super-duper mode were really nice, but size prohibitive.)

The singing fountain plays music (usually sinatra, or classical... ) and the water/lights cycle to the sounds played through the speakers. I would still like to play a little Jimi Hendrix or Grateful Dead through there, just to see what visuals fly through.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

You've got a good memory! The last post was about a year and a half ago!

http://www.livejournal.com/users/scottobear/1162007.html

[rejectomorph]

Empty Sunday streets! I know what you mean about the strange conjunction of openness and claustrophobia. When I was younger, Los Angeles was seldom like that in daylight. Even Spring Street, the main financial district, usually got at least some foot traffic (and quite a few cars) on Sundays, despite the imposing bank buildings which lined most of it being closed. Only on major holidays, when the stores on adjacent Broadway and Main Street were mostly closed, did the street become truly deserted by day. But when the financial district moved west into the area around the Bunker Hill urban renewal project, it began to develop that vacant yet stultifying atmosphere on every weekend. I always found it disconcerting, and avoided the place. I preferred the older streets, where I at least had the company of assorted derelicts and the homeless, and the occasional group of puzzled Asian tourists taking snapshots of the vacant, decaying office buildings.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

While wandering through some of the back-streets today, I did see a few homeless laying down on bus-benches and park lawns.

It amazes me how such a large patch of real estate, covered with buildings can empty out so completely outside of business hours.

There's something attractive about all of the synthetic buildings, but no people there. It's easy to imagine some great plague or mass exodus took them all away, leaving it all to the animals. An empty city, before decay has set in is so antithetical to what a city represents in my mind.

[jamaicanjungle.livejournal.com]

Loving the user pic. By the way, what state do you live in again?? LOL

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

thanks! check out the plate maker at -

http://www.acme.com/licensemaker/

[sida-al-hurra.livejournal.com]

Oh, it looks so warm.

I love the smell of sandalwood--I just bought some very strong sandalwood soap that dries my skin out like no other, but smells so good.

Have a good day, Scotto.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

It was very mild out yesterday.... I'd say it was at optimum walkies temperature.

Hope you have a great day, too!