Weeki Wachee Springs

After a week in the busy, metro area of Miami - Ft. Lauderdale, it was time to continue our tour of "Old Florida".  We drove west, over Alligator Alley, returning to the Gulf side of Florida.

Weeki Wachee Springs was on my "to see list" because it is the home of the mermaid shows, a roadside attraction since 1947.  Similar to the changes at Silver Springs, tourism at this attraction had become severely reduced and the Florida state park system has converted this tourist spot into a state park.  I was impressed to see that Florida is working to keep certain areas of "old Florida" existing for new generations.

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens, Coral Gables, FL

Another day trip in the Miami area was to the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens. 

Everglades National Park

With a week scheduled in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area, we planned several activities with our good friends Nancy and Verlin, who were escaping the winter snows in PA and visiting Florida family and friends.

Merritt Island, Florida, Part 2

Leaving the high tech world of NASA and entering a wildlife refuge tends to "ground" me.  I know technological development has an important place in our world today.  However, what I love the most is "getting back to nature".  And, there is no place better to be "grounded" than at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. 

Merritt Island, Florida - Part 1

Actually, today's maps show 2 large barrier islands extending along the Atlantic shoreline from Titusville to Melbourne, Florida, as Merritt Island. 

Perhaps, best known worldwide as the home of NASA's space launches,

Favorite Photos of 2015

Today is cleaning and packing day, so what better way to procrastinate than reviewing photos from our travels this last year.  Here are my top 10 favorites.

Dawn at Monument Valley

Sunrise at Monument Valley

Classic view of Monument Valley (seen in many Western movies)

Devil's Garden Hike, Arches National Park

Double Arch, Windows Area, Arches National Park

Approach to Double Arch, Windows Area, Arches National Park

Turret Arch, Windows Area, Arches National Park

Mountain view from exit of Park Avenue Canyon, Arches National Park

Gunnison National Park, Colorado

Trichocerus Cactus 

Hope you enjoyed some of my favorites from 2015.  More photos from our travels can be seen at Smugmug.com   Next Horizon Photography

Gary

Manatees, and more manatees!

A goal for this trip was to see manatees.  What are manatees?  Not exotic sea mermaids, as some sailors may have thought (during a very, very, long voyage and, perhaps, after some rum....). Manatees are very large aquatic mammals living in several areas of the world. 

Silver Springs - a True Florida Icon

Silver Springs, located near Ocala in central Florida, has been known and used by humans for a very, long time. 

" Old Florida" - the theme for this trip

Likely there are many definitions out there to define "Old Florida".  Some might think of times before the rise of super theme parks, others the very early, pre-history human inhabitants or the visits by European explorers long before the Mayflower.

Family Holiday on the Florida Gulf Coast

Having family time between Christmas and New Year’s on the Gulf coast was great.  We had a diversity of activities to keep all three generations engaged. Jesse’s first priority was the beach (even though it was cool and windy).

“Semper Gumby” (always flexible)

Computer issues have plagued us for the past couple weeks.  But Gary has persevered and spent hours both reading and online “talking” with the experts, and now we seem to be back to “internet normal”.