the poet and i had a rather good weekend in the city. we ate at a new favorite Mexican restaurant and watched an Antonioni film that neither of us had ever seen before and it was STUNNING. The Red Desert. watching Monica Vitti's neurotic collapse was a little tedious, but the cinematography - just WOW.

on Saturday, we went to the City Market to acquire some produce, then went on an excursion to Watkins Mill. we have been before, but were in the mood to go again. now a state park, it was once a working farm and huge woolen mill. you can walk all around and pretend to live there. especially good when you are the first there and there are no tours yet!






then we drove into Excelsior Springs, where i have wanted to return for about 3 years. it is an old resort town, with crusty old places, lots of red brick. it is not quite as crusty as when we were there last, though. one of the old hotels has been restored for Affordable Senior Living. the other one is near collapse, sadly. i could have walked around there for hours, but the poet was flagging. my images are not very good, but here are a few. somehow, i feel self-conscious and rushed when feeling my companion is either bored or tired, and it is hard to make good pictures in that state.




while we were driving in the town, sometimes i could see a tall brick smokestack and the roof of an old brick building peeping over the trees. i insisted we find it. it might have been an insane asylum!! it was difficult, but finally i found a broken driveway and drove up it, much to the poet's distress. heh. it was an old school! probably the high school. it was huge and formerly handsome. this is a side view. the poet climbed to the top of the fire escape for the view, but i could not. (dizzy). i did look for open doors, though! there was a sign in front that it was due to become elegant condominiums. i laughed. it was a wonderful day.


sunday was stormy, so we stayed in, cooked more food and watched another great film - The Sea Inside. then we went to see if the creek flooded and i came home. King Tubby is still alive, but he is pitiful. it is gray again today, but i won't notice, because my head will be bent over the artTable mostly.