Salt Life needs Mountain Life…
Beach or Mountains ??? which do you prefer ….?→~≈↔^/’…❓
Both places preach.. one with waves.. one with wind..
I’ve always been an outdoor sportsman.. at least I used to be..
These days work and ministry keep me busy..
but that part of me is still alive somewhere in there..
I lived in Florida for twelve years..
and I got used to the salt life..
I had a kayak.. and I’d fish the hidden corners of Tampa Bay.. mostly alone.. but sometimes with my friend Jimmy..
Bishop Harbor was my favorite..
I’d take whole weekends and just disappear..
camp on those tiny islands.. fish day and night..
no clock.. no noise.. just water and sky..
a kind of backwater solitude I still miss..
I also did a lot of freshwater bass fishing down there..
I’d bounce back and forth between saltwater and fresh..
Florida gave me both flavors.. and I never got tired of either one..
For a few years I even lived in a beach house on Anna Maria Island..
At high tide the waves from the Gulf broke about fifty feet from my back porch..
When I wasn’t working or fishing or swimming..
I’d sit out there.. play my guitar.. sing into the night..
and just watch the water drift through its moods..
In the dark I’d lay in bed and listen to the waves crash..
a steady sound that felt like the world breathing..
It was a sacred season in my life..
My roommate Nathan was there too.. a good friend..
He died of an overdose a few years later..
Good times.. memories I still smile about.. and I miss him..
But I also love the mountains..
I grew up fishing and exploring the North Georgia mountains..
Every summer.. me and my friends.. sometimes my dad or my uncle or both..
would drive ten miles off the main road on a gravel trail
to get to our camping spot on the Tallulah River..
It was quiet.. beautiful.. hidden away from everything..
We pitched tents.. built fires.. fished.. talked.. laughed..
and mostly fished haha..
And yes.. I catch fish 😁🎣
Even when you don’t catch anything.. it’s still great..
but I always catch them..
I fish for people now …..t`
Up there we always ate what we caught..
trout for breakfast.. lunch.. and dinner haha..
By the end I didn’t want any more fish for a while..
but I always looked forward to going back..
year after year.. from a kid into an adult..
those mountain memories run deep in me..
So therefore I can’t choose..
I’m part tides.. part timber..
Both preach..
Both shape me..
It’d be like choosing between your mother and your father haha…
…….🌊⚓❤️→⛰️🌲❤️→❓→👩👦👨👦’…….~≈<3→/\^<3→?→||’……….🌊🐟🏖️<3→⛰️🌲🏕️<3→🤷♂️→👩🦰❤️👨🦳’…….~≈→<3→^/\→<3→?→(M+F)’…….👬→<3→🥹→⏳→👀👋🌤️→🧠💙’…….<3→…→⏳→^↑→∞→[]💙’……`~°•▪︎-¡-.○}`-.
Fragments of Loia 