Wilmington

Well, the COVID bivalent booster I had planned for this morning was a bust. My 11 AM appointment at CVS was summarily canceled. That should have been a clue. I rescheduled it for noon. I showed up and they said they did not yet have a protocol for a second bivalent booster. Ummm - stick a needle in my arm? And why was I able to schedule it through their website? Just for fun, although reasonably I did not expect a different outcome, I tried a Walgreens. They were even less uninformative and actually quite unpleasant. Short story, these are like the ghost appointments we used to make back in 2021. The only difference is you can actually make the appointment. It is just that there is not a vaccine waiting at the other end. I’ll wait for another opportunity later in the trip.

I tried to do a few things this afternoon, but rain eventually sent me back to my room. I did manage a short visit to the Airlie Botanical Garden . I usually avoid botanical gardens as they are frequently a bit too curated to be interesting. This one was not different. It was very pleasant, but even the azaleas and camellias that should have bene blooming were mostly past prime. The live oaks with Spanish moss were nice, but I am as much over them as I am over the plethora of ‘gators I have now seen.

At least no one hassled me about my camera. Like many of these places, they have an event and commercial photography policy that promises extra fees. You may recollect the big fight I had with the kid at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham. I have learned to put the camera in a small regular pack rather than wear it blatantly around my neck or take a big camera pack when checking in. It avoids questions and no one checks on what is actually happening on the grounds.

The weather app kept threatening thunderstorms, but they kept being pushed back. I decided to go out for dinner at one of the restaurants on the riverwalk. The Pilot House is a Wilmington institution and had received excellent reviews from a number of sources. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing, but I was unimpressed with both the food and the service. Given how the day was going, I decided to take a walk on the boardwalk, then head back and just chalk it up to one of those days.

I was already in the parking lot, about to get in my car, when I noticed a gorgeous creature who looked like a nymph risen from the sea. She was actually with her boyfriend - and parents. Apparently it was prom night, which explained other young people walking around in fancy dress. After I admired her and her dress, her mom noticed my camera and lamented that they only had phone photos. I offered to take some images for them and they agreed to let me post a few on my blog site. We had a very fun, and I think successful, photo shoot on the boardwalk. The wind was both a blessing and a curse, but the coming storm added drama to the sky. I hope they are pleased with the images.

The storm finally did come in with a vengeance, both rain and lighting, so I am glad I did not try to stay out for a sunset that never materialized.

I have one more day in Wilmington which promises to be full sun. Not exactly great for photography either, but I will see what I can do.