Writings and Adventures of Lang Buchanan

Destin, Florida

Down here on the Florida panhandle enjoying the sun and sand. Also, working on words a bit. There was a storm coming this morning and I was on the stretch of beach west of Destin. Quite deserted area and no high rises. I really like this picture. Tell me what you think.

Cedar Key Again and VA

I went down to Cedar Key to do some writing and to visit with my cousin Jamie. It was great and we had a good time exploring the area. She lives in Argentina and is up here for a while with her friend. We caught up on family stuff. Her son Aaron is the nicest kid and I hope to see him later in August.

Cedar Key is a lazy fishing town with a great atmosphere for being creative. The pictures are high tide, low tide, fiddler crabs by the thousands, mud flats at sunset and the house is in Port Royal, VA. Diane and I went there recently while on a random excursion. It's actually a tavern dating back to 1759. George Washington frequented it quite a  bit and John Wilkes Booth walked by it on his way to a farm just outside of town, the one he was captured and killed at. At first he tried to hide in a house on the river, which is just a 100 yards to the left of this building but the lady felt uncomfortable and asked him to leave. He left, and the rest is history. Or his story.

Scripps Aquarium, Torrey Pines, Salt Mine

More pictures from my trip out west. I rented a car and drove down to my uncle's below San Diego. The first three pictures are at the aquarium in Loyolla. The leafy looking things are seahorses that mimic the kelp around them--Seadragons they're called. Then there is a jellyfish thing that traps its prey in its double scooped mouth. The whales are out front and welcome you to the aquarium. The golf course is the 18th at Torrey Pines, where Tiger just won the US Open. Lastly is the salt mines near Chula Vista, which is where my relatives live. The salt is collected from massive ponds, pretty cool.

Trip to Banks Lake and Sapelo Hammock

Here are a few pictures from south Georgia. The first few are Banks Lake, a cypress-tree laden lake near Lakeland, which is around the corner from Moody Air Force Base. The one of me on the golf course is at Sapelo Hammock course in Shellman Bluff, on the banks of the Sapelo River. I have some property on the course and it is a beautiful area and one of the last unknown coastal areas. When the world catches wind of the fact that hurricanes struggle to come ashore in the area, prices will skyrocket. I am in front of one the nightmare par 3's and by the way, I hit to the left and took a four on the hole. The last picture is at the dock in Shellman Bluff. There is a great little hole-in-the-wall restaurant there called Hunter's Cafe. 

Cumberland Island Georgia

Diane and I will be camping on Cumberland for the next few days with a group from my school. Walking down the beach and digging for fossils will be super!! I will have some pix soon so check back. Jason just got back from Sundance so hopefully he will have some good news about the movie. www.fourlionsmovie.com

Coming back from Cincy

On the way back from Cincy I got off the highway at exit 99 on I-75. If you go back down under the bridge that goes over the river, there is a lost world down there. The bridge is waaaaaaaaaaay up above you and to get across the river you have to take a one-lane bridge. But the big attraction is a bar/restaurant on the water. It is called the Riptide and is open Wed. thru Saturday and on Friday and Saturday nights, they have a live band. Cool place and if you're on the way up 75, it might be a nifty stop.

More Cedar Key

Sitting down in Cedar Key, Florida, enjoying the view and working on words. I am trying to finish up Cry of the Quetzal, our novel about the Quakers who left Alabama for Costa Rica in 1950. I have about 40 pages to go and Diane is coming behind me with her edits. We love the book and hope our readers do too. I took some cool pix of wood storks today and will post them later. On book stuff, I did a book signing at the Avenue Borders in Cobb County recently and it went very well. Sold about twenty books, which is a good thing. Diane and I have a few more coming up. I will be at Smythe's books in Dunwoody,GA on Nov. 3 and we will be at Borders, Dec 1, Mall of GA store, and Dec 8, Kennesaw,GA from 2-5 on each. Also, the Johns Creek Borders asked for me to come by on Nov. 10. And we will be in Griffin at the Next Chapter bookstore in downtown, from 12 - 3pm. Drop by if you can.

Back to Cedar Key. It is a lazy fishing village just below the mouth of the Suwanee River. A while back, it was the western end of the first trans-Florida railroad so there is lots of history here. From indians to spanish shipwrecks and on to Civil War skirmishes, it has most time periods covered. If you ever want to experience Old Florida, this is a place you can do that. They have a few good restaurants, a small library, bookstore, etc. and some very nice art stores full of local stuff. Right now, with the market crunch, there are lots of places for sale so come down and buy one. Then you can invite us to visit.

Trip to D.C.

I went to D.C. with Diane a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time and saw many monuments. Diane and I were discussing why some people are more remembered than others; we decided it was because of their words. Each monument to a president -- Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR -- had quotes that defined our nation and our resolve to bring justice to the common man. We think those in Congress and the White House should walk down from their hills on occasion and read the thoughts of those who made our nation better. We also did a book signing and ate dinner at a beautiful restaraunt overlooking DC. One image is from the spot where MLK gave his I Have A Dream speech.      The soldier in white is at the Korean War Memorial, the most haunting of all.

Winter Stuff

Hello everybody. Hope the new year is going well. Diane is in the Cayman Islands enjoying the sun and I am freezing here in Atlanta. Went to the Atlanta Writer's Club meeting today. It was pretty good. I read a passage from Micah's Child and I think it was well received but it seems that if you aren't a big name writer, folks don't notice too much. You find out who your friends are when are trying to move up the food chain of writers. Riverwood studios really likes our screenplay so we will see what happens with that. And we are still waiting on word from publishers about the Fat Boy book. I stopped at my buddies antique mall in Stone Mountain to drop off some birdhouses and driftwood me and my dad made. A few weeks ago, he had bought some copies of Micah's Child from me and he has already sold most of them.

Have been watching for the International Space Station going over. It is inspiring to see it pass overhead. Some people I know get jazzed about it too but most just say," Who cares?" I guess I do, that's who. It's no wonder we are producing a nation of idiots, falling further behind the world in so many academic categories. Makes me want to just live in the woods and write. I wouldn't have internet then but probably a good tradeoff.

florida and christmas

Hey, hope all is great for you and your family. I went diving for shark teeth yesterday and found a few makos but no big meg teeth. Going to walk down the beach later and soak up some sun. I will post some pictures when I get home. Working on the Quaker book too. Can't wait to finish it, I think everyone will like it. The lights on Siesta Key are nice if you are ever down here during the holidays. Take care. Mike