Stories–the prelude

So here we are at Natural Tunnel State Park in Virginia marking time.  We think we saw all the “Attractions” yesterday and we aren’t expected at the Jonesborough Storytelling for another day.  What to do?
“Talk to Randy” seemed a great opportunity.  Randy rode in last night on a leg of The Ride East, his cross country Adventure tour on by totally tricked out BMW.
Randy is a natural storyteller and has a wealth of experiences to draw from.  We had a nice chat last night, but Patty was otherwise occupied. We started again this morning as the tent fly was drying and began with,
“Monterey Bay Aquarium!!! How could you leave a place like that?”
Well, I haven’t LEFT it; this is just a 5 week cross country trip I have been promising myself and preparing for since I was eight.”
After this adventure, Randy will return to his post as chief photographer for the best aquarium in the universe.  He has stories of the founding of the place, his ten years as the first dive officer and eventual transition to photographer, as well as stories of the talented people who staff and volunteer there.  They were grand stories, warmly and eloquently told.  He thankfully delayed his departure and we visited all day.  He even included a lot of good advice about photography which might help this blog and a mini tutorial on PhotoShop Elements. It was grand.