This is for Jeff, who mentioned the fortunate placement of the sun in my earlier sunrise photo from Fort Walton Beach. I wish I could say I planned it! 😉
An Accidental Success?
Tag Archives: Florida
This Morning’s Gift
Sunrises have gotten sort of cliche for me lately, but the chance for a sunrise at the beach still manages to get my attention. We spent last night at Fort Walton Beach, FL and I got myself up this morning to see what I was presented with. I gladly accepted this gift of a beautiful sunrise. The crescent moon, Venus and stars were an unexpected bonus!
Being Knotty
For some reason, I have a thing for ropes and knots. I can’t tie a decent knot to save my life (even my shoes!) but I do like photographing them, especially those along docks and on boats. This is a small collection of photos from our recent cruise plus time in Florida.
The Good Seats
Kathy & I had stayed home for a few weeks when it was time to venture off again. We just returned from a swing through Florida that included a cruise with friends, a few days post-cruise with those same friends, then a few more days with other friends.
Our first stop enroute to Fort Lauderdale was Daytona Beach. We had some extra time so we decided to take a tour of the speedway. I haven’t followed NASCAR for many years, but it was still interesting to take the tour and visit the museum. This is just a sample of the photos, but I’m just getting started on looking at them!
These seats are located on the main straightway, on either side of the Start/Finish line. No idea how much they cost, but they are kind of low. Regardless, they look like they would have a close-up view of the action.
In Praise Of Small Airports
On our most recent trip to Florida, Kathy & I decided to fly, rather than make the 9-ish hour drive down unpredictable I-95. As a result, we had the very pleasant experience of using the Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB). What a nice airport and a refreshing change!
The Melbourne airport is modern and clean with everything you would expect in an airport – except crowds! With the exception of the occasional charter flight from the UK or elsewhere and a few non-daily flights, the airport appears to be largely a private and corporate plane base. There are a number of Northrup Grumman plants nearby as well as a number of space-related companies. Other than that, the commercial activity appears to be Delta flights to and from Atlanta, and American flights to and from Charlotte. It was quite a contrast to the madness of the Charlotte airport!
We arrived to a nearly empty terminal, found our checked bag in “Baggage Claim” (there is only one!) and found a pleasant covered spot to sit while we waited for the free airport shuttle to our hotel. On our return trip, the shuttle drivers at the hotel assured us that there was no need to arrive 2 hours ahead. Skeptical, I took him at his word, and sure enough when we arrived just over an hour before, we walked right up to a check-in counter, staffed by a real person, and turned in our bag. We then proceeded to the TSA checkpoint, where there were more TSA employees than passengers. We breezed through TSA Pre-check and waited in a mostly quiet waiting area. No clueless wandering passengers, no repeated announcements about maintaining possession of your carry-on, none of the drama of Charlotte. And no crush of impatient passengers trying to board. Nice!
Kathy & I decided that we could return to Melbourne any time. We found the hotel to be very nice, staffed with friendly people and in an excellent location on the beach. We’ll also take a look at other small airports we could fly to for a few days’ getaway!
The Ocean Blue
We’re packing up and getting ready to head home, but it’s been a very nice visit to a new (for us) place. We spent time with friends, had some beach time, ate some good seafood and even got to see a rocket launch! I didn’t take any photos of the launch because it happened at 3 am and would have only showed an orange ball against a black background! But it was great to see, since it was the closest we’ve been to one (we’re about 30 miles from Kennedy Space Center).
I’ll have some more photos and stories once I get home and get the files into my computer. Processing photos on my tablet is a bit cumbersome. And takes away from my beach time! 😉
A Bridge Not Too Far
We had dinner at a restaurant with perhaps one of the best restaurant names ever: Squid Lips! It overlooks the Indian River in Melbourne. I loved the way the late afternoon light hit the causeway, and interrupted cocktail time long enough to grab a few photos.
Another Angle On Sunrise
Sunrises without clouds can be boring, even at the beach. So after watching the sun come up into a clear sky, I happened to see this angle on the building and realized that it made for a pretty graphic image. Just another angle on sunrise!
Postcard From Melbourne, Florida
Kathy and I are in Melbourne, FL enjoying a few days at the beach with our friends Jo Anne & Brent. I’m trying something a little different (for me) this trip and am planning to act like a tourist and take photos only with my phone. Took this on the beach before the occupants returned. Over-processed in Lightroom Mobile, which I suppose most tourists don’t do. 😉
A Short Stop In Key West
After our two cruises on Celebrity Equinox, we boarded one of Celebrity’s newest ships, Celebrity Apex, for a 7 night cruise to the Western Caribbean. The first stop was Key West, Florida. Not exactly an exotic Caribbean destination, but certainly an interesting place to spend some time.
This was our first time sailing to Key West, but we had visited there previously, flying down for a few chilly days in February 2015. I think we must have experienced record low temperatures on that visit. It was sunny and warm this time, however!
As a cruise port, visited during the day, Key West is pretty much like any other cruise port except the natives speak English and everyone takes dollars. It’s a different world in the evenings, as we experienced previously. No, it’s not all the wild and crazy scene that Key West might be known for, but it is definitely more of a party atmosphere.
One example would be our visit to the Sunset Pier Bar. We arrived in the morning, and at that point the bar was closed. There were a few people taking selfies on the pier, but for the most part it was deserted. It’s a completely different place at sunset, which is what that part of the island is famous for.
Kathy & I spent a few hours walking around town, ending up at Blackfin Bistro, a favorite lunch spot that we remembered from a previous visit. We had a lovely lunch of fresh fish and veggies, along with a nice glass of wine. Afterward we wound our way back to the ship to prepare for departure and sailing to our next stop, Belize.
