Florida Day 10

Florida Day 10,

On this day we were in Ocala Florida and during this day we visited the Tuscawilla Park. It is Ocala's largest and oldest city owned park. The mossy oaks look gorgeous and provide shaded areas through-out the park.

These photos may look familiar to some of you,  I have shared them on my other blog. I just wanted to share this park on my travel blog so it is a repeat.

"Not all those who wonder are lost."  J.R.R. Tolkien

Ocala is known for all it's gorgeous horse farms. So, it is fitting that there were horse sculptures in the park.

I like this statue, it could be hubby and I in our golden years.

The abstract fishing pole is one of the many sculptures seen in the park.

We walked the pathway around the lake checking out the birds, the lake and all the sculptures. I hope you enjoyed our visit to the park. If you are ever in the Ocala area it is worth a visit.  Thanks for your visits and comments.

Eileen's Random Travels

Eileen's Random Travels..a photoblog post.

Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue!

Life is a journey, not a destination! Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson

A shore excursion to the Mendenhall Glacier

Also seen in Glacier Bay a Holland America sister ship. Our Cruise Ship was on the Amsterdam.

Crusing Glacier Bay, Alaska. Our cruise was from Seattle to Alaska on Holland America's Amsterdam.

 I hope you enjoyed, thanks for the visit and comments.

Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue! 

Eileen's Random Travels

Eileen's Random Travels..a Photoblog post


Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue!


Arches National Park was one of the many National Parks we have visited over the years. The red rocks and formations are an amazing sight to see.

The Landscape Arch, a rock formation at Arches National Park. This arch is known to be the longest natural arch in the world.

Above are the Three Sisters or the Three Gossips.

Elephant Rock also seen at Arches National Park.  This park is a must see if you are visiting Utah.  I hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for the visit and comments.



Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue! 

Florida Day 9

Florida Day 9

The early morning of day 9 of our Florida trip was spent near Crystal Springs and Fort Island Gulf Beach. We did a little walk and I did some birding on the beach.

Lots of Black Skimmer, gulls and terns.

We also visited the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.  Awesome variety of  native birds and animals. They also have a nice display of Manatees.

It looks like this is the place to be, the native birds on the outside are actually trying to find a way into the park.

We were able to watch the manatee be fed at this time. I have to admit after seeing the Manatees in the wild, I was a little sad to see these in captivity.

Apparently this  famous hippo "Lu" a favorite at the Homosassa Spring wildlife park was once an animal actor back in the 1960's. He is the oldest hippo in captivity. I hope you enjoyed this post and images. Our next stop is in Ocala Florida. 

Eileen's Random Travels

Eileen's Random Travels..a photoblog post.



Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue!

These are some images from one of my favorites places the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

A pretty view of the  Grand Teton Mountains and clouds.

Oxbow Bend, a Teton reflection.

Colter Bay in the Grand Teton National Park.

The Grand Teton Mountain range is a gorgeous sight to see. I hope you enjoyed, thanks for the visit and comments.



Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue! 

Cape May, New Jersey

 

 I am sharing an overnight visit to Cape May/Atlantic City, New Jersey earlier in July. It was a pretty day to visit Cape May and the beach, I think I even got a little sunburnt.

A mosaic of the Cape May wildlife: Top Row is the Purple Martin house, Halloween Pennant Dragonfly, Carolina Wren. Second Row : Black Crowned Night Heron, Muskrat, Bunny, Third Row: Least Tern, Oystercatcher, Black Skimmers. Bottom Row: Blue Grosbeak, Mute Swan, possibly Forster's Terns.

For my Skywatch shot, the Cape May lighthouse and the Purple Martin birdhouse.

You have to look closely for this fence, just a white string tied to the area closed sign. This is to protect the birds nesting on the beach and dunes.

Another sky shot,  hubby and I sat on our beach chairs watching the waves. A few dolphins swimming by and the planes with their advertisements.

The Least Terns recognizable with the white spot on their foreheads. LOL, do birds even have foreheads? My birds posts are just for fun and I hope the serious birders do not find my post on the birds, their birdie parts and or how I type their names unacceptable. I guess they are skipping the part, that I admit I am blogging just for fun, I am an amateur photographer and I must admit sometimes I might miss a spelling error or put a dash on a bird's name when it does not belong.

Which leads me to bird slang, are you a birder or a birdwatcher? Maybe you are a twitcher or a dude.  Definition of a Dude: a low-keyed birdwatching hobbyist with a lack of devotion or enthusiasm.  A dude, really? Why bother birdwatching if you are not enthused with the birds? I love all the birds and wildlife, my favorite thing to do is go out and look for any species of wildlife. Maybe I am not understanding the definition of a Dude, could I be a dude-woman? I found this link with bird slang check it out Bird slang

A fence scene and a happy couple walking down the trail to the beach.  I hope you enjoyed our Cape May visit.

I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments.

Florida Day 7-8

Florida Day 7-8

Day 7 we did not do much sightseeing, so I am skipping to some scenes from our walk around Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland Florida on Day 8.

Lake Hollingworth and palm trees on a foggy morning

Some of the locals seen at Lake Hollingsworth.

The path around the lake.

Want to go water-skiing?

I like the bottlebrush bush, lilypads and a Limpkin.

The spanish moss covered trees along the walking path, some locals being fed. This is a pretty Lakeland neighborhood, pretty lake with a nice walking path. Thanks for the visit and for your nice comments.

Eileen's Random Travels

Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue!

 I am sharing some New Mexico images from Oct 2013. After leaving Carlsbad we headed to our next stop on our loop around southern New Mexico.  Hubby and I enjoyed a one night stay in the spa city of Truth or Consequences. There are several local hot springs and the first bath was built in the 1800's.

Our hotel was the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa, the stay included the private hot springs soaks. We had reserved a private room with small sized hot spring pool.

There is a story behind the name Truth or Consequences, originally called Hot Springs. The city changed its name to Truth or Consequences to the title of a 1950 radio show hosted by Ralph Edwards. Ralph announced that he would air the program from the first town that would rename itself after the show. Hot Springs won the honor. Ralph Edwards visited the town during the first weekend of May for the next fifty years. This weekend became an event with a beauty contest, parade and a stage show.

The water levels seemed extremely low during our visit. Thanks for dropping by and for your comments. Have a happy day!

Check out NC Sue's Wordless Wednesday  Thanks Sue!

Florida Day 6

Florida Day 6

On day 6 of our Florida vacation we decided to return to the Circle B Bar Preserve in Lakeland Florida.  It is a huge place and we did not cover much of the preserve during our first visit. The following are various scenes from our hike on the preserve.

Please click on the photos for a larger image.

There was some early morning fog when we first arrived.

The spanish moss covering the trees is gorgeous.

One of the ponds with the fog and sunlight.

A gator swimming in the lake.

I loved the shape of the trees and the pretty spanish moss. If you are ever in the area I would highly recommend visiting the Circle B Bar Preserve.