Mark Rand

I was thinking of having the team, possibly a teenage one, in the Matagorda Bay area.

Coastal City could also be on the Gulf Coast. The states there are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Vibora Bay, Florida can’t be the only city there with supers.

One good thing about using Pittsburgh as the basis for Coastal City is that maps and references for it are easy to find. The following is from Wikipedia. “The Bridges of Pittsburgh play an important role in the city’s transportation system. Without bridges, the Pittsburgh region would be a series of fragmented valleys, hillsides, river plains, and isolated communities. “A 2006 study determined that Pittsburgh has 446 bridges, and with its proximity to three major rivers and countless hills and ravines, Pittsburgh is known as "The City of Bridges". The city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County may be the largest owners of bridges in the country in proportion to their size, possibly exceeding the larger but flatter City of New York, which has boroughs on three large islands - Manhattan, Staten, and Long - and the mainland, in addition to numerous small islands.” The local equivalents of the Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge, commonly known as the 62nd Street Bridge, over the Allegheny River and the Glenwood Bridge over the Monongahela River would be where the Erie Canal enters and leaves the city’s river system.

I had the idea of using a map of Pittsburgh, oriented so that the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers would be at the narrowest part of the bay. The various streams could feed either the bay or the rivers and the part of the Erie Canal in the city would use its rivers.

Coastal City takes up the eastern two thirds of Wayne County. The Erie Canal goes through the lower third of the city. Four regular bridges and four drawbridges span the canal. The NASA telemetry station is south of the canal. SUNY Coastal City and most of the University Medical Center hospitals are north of the canal.

Sodus Bay is renamed Coastal City Bay. There is a channel, that may be one of many creeks or a river, lined with factories. There is also a lighthouse, with two buildings, operated by the Coastal City Bay Historical Society, at the end of the 7,500-foot-long barrier beach. One building is the Coastal City Bay Museum. Frederick Douglass - Greater Rochester International Airport is the closest commercial airport to Coastal City. The other area airports are Wayne Air Force Base, Wayne County Airport (a general aviation airport preferred by business travelers), and Chimney Bluffs Airport (a general aviation airport near Chimney Bluffs State Park and the NASA telemetry station).

Unlike Sodus Bay, Coastal City Bay is the city's harbor, making it a Great Lakes port. Of course, there could be marinas and beaches in it, too, as well as plenty of marine life.

Okay. Coastal City Bay is on Lake Ontario in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.

There are a couple of bays in Washington State on the Pacific coast. Of course, they probably get a lot of rain due to the mountains in the east.

Coastal City is on a bay which includes its harbor. Both Wayne Air Force Base and a NASA telemetry station are nearby.

I'm considering using Coastal City from the 3E book Atlas Unleashed. Besides placing it on a bay, where would be the best place to set it?

Recently Lady Judith Ashcroft went riding with a friend at Silver Oak Ranch in Marshall and was introduced to Western-style riding. She has not yet decided to permit it at her club.

In my Justice Foundation campaign, Lotus, now 39, is the only member of the old team with it. Savant, now 62, is retired due to health problems and fading powers. However, he does, occasionally, help Lotus in the labs. The Sheriff's Department has moved their twin Hueys from Forgan Air Force Base to Lakeview Airport, where REACH Air Medical Services has a hangar that serves as a base for it's area helicopter, an Airbus Helicopters H135.

Within Marshall, a rural community in southern San Angelo County, there are several interesting places. One is the Silver Oak Ranch. There, one can rent horses, board horses, learn to ride Western-style, or go on trail rides. It is also an occasional filming location. Another is Marshall Park, the area's 5/8-mile harness racing track. They have year around racing, but are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and Superbowl Sunday. The third is Anderson Farms, a Christmas tree farm where you cut your own tree. If needed, they'll provide the saw. They also have hayrides, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, pony rides, and a petting zoo.

The book states that UC San Angelo has a 1.3 square mile campus and covers 1.200 acres. To me, that's impossible. I read it as the university's main 1.3 square mile campus covers 272 acres. The 1.200 acre number includes off-campus facilities, including the oceanic institute, located downstream from the Port of San Angelo, and the cruciform radio telescope array, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

I hope so. So far, I've been making guesses as to what happened in the past 20-years or so and basing the University Commons on Pittsburgh's Oakland, Squirrel Hill, and Shadyside neighborhoods.

The next school day, Jodie stops by Principal Swanby's office and says, "In light of what happened at the meet, I won't be swimming on the team any more." "Are you sure, Jodie?" Principal Swanby asks. "Yes, ma'am," Jodie responds. "Very well. I'll inform Miss Kramer of your decision," the principal says.

"Fortunately, we brought towels and changes of clothes," Sara laughs as the three mermaids climb out of the tank. "You're doing okay," Jodie." "Thank you," Jodie says as her mother passes out towels from Sara's tote bag. "You're welcome," Sara says.

"True," Nancy says. "That has happened to a number of non-athletic guys. Heck, Tim Clark, Cheryl's boyfriend, has been teased because he belly dances, looks like a girl, and, since second grade, has taken female roles on stage." "He belly dances?" Jodie asks. "Yeah," Nancy replies. "He always performs as a female. He's good, too." "And what does his mother and Cheryl say about that?" Jodie's mother snapped. "His mother, a nurse at an urgent care center, got him interested in it at the same time Cheryl's mother, a nurse at the same urgent care center, got her interested in it," Nancy responded.

"We're also called "Squeakers" by the privileged cliques because mice squeak," Nancy says. "Those same people refer to Sharon as "Pocahontas" because she's a Native American of the Cheyenne Nation."

"Are there any other mermaids I can ask for advice?" Jodie asks. "Cora Peterson," Sara suggested. "She's on the crew of the RV Pacifica, that's University of California San Angelo Oceanic Institute's research ship. She's a diver, an occasional pilot of one of their work/rescue boats, and is the main pilot of the DSV Sea Bat, their updated Johnson Sea Link-class deep submergence vehicle." Nancy adds, "I talked to her yesterday. She and a crew are prepping the Sea Bat for an ocean voyage." She pauses, then says, "Either way, expect to be teased by the "popular" girls, and, maybe, the cheerleaders and jocks. After all, what happened to you is the talk of the school." "Do they tease you?" Jodie asks. "Yeah," Nancy laughs. "They call me "Ariel". If it gets too bad, I just point out that I can easily outswim them."

As the three mermaids continue swimming, Jodie's mother asks, "Is there any way to remove that gene?" "No," Nancy replies. "There has to be," Jodie's mother wails. "She's destined for Olympic gold."

"Me, too," Jodie says.

"Yuck," Jodie says.

"What are you going to do about the school swimming team?" Sara asks. "I'll tell them, because of my temporary transformation into a mermaid, that I can't swim with the team anymore," Jodie says. "It wouldn't be fair. Then, I'll talk to Miss Kramer about taking mermaid swimming classes." "You'll need a monofin and fabric tail," Sara says. "You don't want them to see your real one." "Good point," Jodie says.