This was quite a while ago - but here are a few shots of some of the wildlife we encountered down at the Everglades National Park.
Here's my best tip about the Florida Everglades National Park ...
DON'T GO in the summer! Dang near 100 degrees outside. Pure sweat, and a nasty sticky feeling. AND ... Mosquitoes every where you turn.
In fact ... I suggest staying out of Florida entirely all summer long.
Unless, and only on this one condition, that you are going to a beach somewhere. That is the only reason any human should be in this state during the summer. To play in the glorious waters that completely surround this place.
That's my honest, but humble opinion.
Take a look at this turtle ... Not one of the prettiest animals we've seen here in Florida. But I guess I should really like this one, because it looks funny - just like me.
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I have caught a tremendous amount of the Tour de France this year. WAY more than I've ever seen. And, it is so exciting to watch this sport, and see the talent these guys have.
My favorite part of all ... though ... was at the end of today's leg. On national television (the Versus channel), Armstrong called himself an 'Old Fart'. But, he couched it by saying he didn't do too bad coming up with a 3rd place finish.
I loved the comment!
And, I'm thrilled that even old farts like myself can still enjoy this GREAT sport.
“I might have a few more notches next year,” Armstrong said by telephone late Saturday. “But right now I need a few more notches to beat him.” Then he added one French word — chapeau, meaning hat’s off to Contador. And wait until next year.
“While it’d be great to win at nearly 38 years old, it’s virtually unheard of in this game,” he said last week. “So you’ve got to understand and respect that, too.”
Since Christy is such an avid photographer, and she has slightly created an interest in taking better pictures for me ... I thought these comments from some Photography Greats might inspire you.
4. “ Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. –
5. “ Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow. –Imogen Cunningham
Never stop photographing. It is very likely that your best photograph has not yet been captured.
8. “ I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good. –
9. “ Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. –Ansel Adams
We were able to stop into this cool museum while my Mom was in town. It was a bit spendy to get in, but turned out to be an excellent stop.
I don't know if you know this artist ... Salvador Dali ... but I'm sure you've seen some of his art, even if you don't recognize his name. He is probably most well known for all kinds of stretching and melting type of images. And I can't even find the one that I remember the most - with stretched out animal legs. He was actually VERY POPULAR even while he was still alive - so ... he wasn't a starving artist type.
Like these: The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida
OR The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida
OR The Persistence of Memory (This is one of his most popular pieces) Museum of Modern Art, New York City
AND The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (this picture, in the museum, is OUTSTANDING - it's about 17 feet tall, and it's just overwhelmingly cool!) Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida
All the images above are courtesy of Wikipedia.org
Unfortunately, they strictly prohibit use of cameras (of any sort) inside the museum, so I can't show you anything inside.
I will say this about the museum ... apparently there are about 16 master works by Dali. Which means he spent over 1 year of his life working on each one. This museum has 7 of them. I think they said no other museum has more than 4 - and some museums only have 1. So, this place is pretty well endowed.
Anyhow, I got this short video of the front of the museum - which gives a great sample of his art legacy. The bench looks like he would have created it. And it gives you a great view of the natural setting for the museum. It's a pretty nice place. And it's a short video.
This is a little bit longer clip - which shows more about the tarpon feeding at Robbie's Marina.
This is a small, little, out-of-the-way place. But this was a definite highlight of our trip to the Keys. If you make it down, you should definitely check this place out. Just remember - Mile Marker 77 - because it's barely marked as you drive by on the highway down to Key West.
As a few of you know ... we actually made it to the Florida Keys a couple weeks ago. That was one of our long term goals of coming to Florida.
Anyhow ...
I wanted to get up a couple of shots from our trip. These are just from the pool we got to enjoy while we were down there.
The greatest thing is that my Mom picked up some sweet snorkeling gear for while she was here. Thank you ... by the way! And here, in the pool, you can see the girls trying it out. Kait is, pretty much, like a fish when she gets in the water.
We've even used the snorkel gear since then - over at Anna Maria Island over the 4th of July weekend. We even saw an eensie, teensy octopus while we were there.
