Chris Wage Photography 

St. George Island beach, Florida. August 21, 2012.

While we were in Florida, I got bored (read: drunk) enough to go into the surf with my camera and try to apply my rollerderby photography skills by attempting pan shots of the waves in motion. It .. kinda worked, but not really. This one turned out okay, even though it wasn’t much of a pan.

Apparently the waves in this area are currently nearing 12-17 feet, thanks to tropical storm (soon to be hurricane) Isaac. That’s big. Here’s hoping NOLA pulls through this one.

Sunset, Cape San Blas, Florida. August 22, 2009.

The obligatory vacation beach sunset photo from a few years ago. T-minus 24 hours till I head to the beach for the first time in far too long.

Red Door, Nashville, TN. August 11, 2012.

Sunlight tries its best to penetrate the smokey interior of Red Door in East Nashville.

Cicada. Nashville, TN. August, 2012.

Not a periodical Magicicada (the only periodical brood out right now is Brood I, the Blue Ridge Brood) like we had last year, but a cicada nonetheless. Lots of these and some other black and white variety out this summer.

Cait at the St. Augustine Light. July 23, 2011.

A snapshot from my last trip to the beach, in honor of my next, in a mere 4 days! Also, in honor of lighthouses, which are cool.

License plates on display at Layla’s Bluegrass Inn. Lower Broadway, Nashville, TN. August 6, 2012.

Downtown Nashville, TN. August 6, 2012.

Carmac Falls, Evins Mill, TN. July 22, 2012.

If you’re looking for an easy daytrip this summer, consider Evins Mill. A short 1.5 hour drive from Nashville, Evins Mill is a cool old mill they’ve turned into a resort. On the property are Carmac Falls, and $20 a person gets you a nice bagged lunch and access to hike down to the falls. The hike is actually a bit treacherous. Usually when the owner/guide warns me the difficulty or time required for trails, you know, I scoff, because their speech is typically geared towards retirees with families. This trail, though, is legit — a pretty steep and narrow decline with not much more than a rope to give you something to hang on to. My parents went a few months before and someone had broken their leg and had to be evacuated out, so be careful.

Also, a word of advice: bring water shoes. The base of the falls are a great little swimmin hole, but they are full of treacherously slippery and sharp rocks. Also a fish tried to kill me and I stepped on a snapping turtle. Nature! Seriously, though, check it out. It’s a good escape during this brutal heat.