6 Apr 2014 - Charleston, South Carolina

A pair of Great White Egrets who got their nesting done early...there are 3 babies there!

The Angel Tree in Charleston, South Carolina

Some branches of the Angel Tree are propped up by metal rods, others just lay across the ground.

One 'bloom' of the Wild Wisteria

The Wisteria will cover an entire tree...or group of trees

The Rhododendrons are is full, glorious bloom.

After 3 wonderful days in Daytona, we decided it was time to hit the road again. Every time we go there we're reminded of how much we enjoy being at that beach. We got Sunrises in Daytona and Sunsets in Naples.

Mom and Dad loved Daytona and our very first trip there was with them. They would go by bus with a company that specialized in Florida trips...18 hours straight driving with quick rest stops for a glass of juice and a bathroom run...and took Wayne and I on one of those trips. My most vivid memory of that trip is walking down the beach with Mom and commenting to her that when the cute, extremely muscular guy walking towards me (with his girlfriend) got beside me I was going to turn around and take a photo of him. In true Bette form, as soon as he got within a few feet of us, she stopped and said to him, "My daughter would love to have a picture taken with you, okay?" I was mortified but didn't have any problem sliding up beside him to get my picture taken. I have no idea where that photo has gone but the image is ingrained on  my brain forever.

My trip to St Augustine was incredible, to say the least. Wayne opted to have a day to himself on the beach and I had no problem having a day to myself taking photos. I knew the Alligator Farm had a very good reputation as a research facility and had a boardwalk of sorts, where birds roosted but I really didn't think it was too big a deal. I got there as soon as it opened and was surprised it was almost downtown St Augustine. There was a photographer ahead of me who had a huge lens and he seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere so....I followed him. We walked past a couple of albino alligators and some small monkeys in another enclosure and then we hit the boardwalk. The first thing I saw was a pond with some of the biggest alligators I've ever seen...anywhere. Then I heard the noise of and looked into the trees that were literally hanging over the boardwalk.

I've said a couple of times that I must have a good heart...as in healthy...because this was one more of those times when the shock would have dropped me if I did have a problem. The trees were loaded...loaded with birds and they were all wanting to impress a potential mate, or if they'd found one, help build a nest. The Wood Storks were pushing aside the Great Egrets for space. The Roseate Spoonbills were trying to wrestle sticks over the heads of Blue Crested Egrets and on and on. I couldn't even lift the camera to my eye for about 10 minutes until I took it all in. Once I started talking photos, I couldn't stop. There were some pairs of birds that I could have reached out and touched as they were all trying to build (or roost) in any spot that would hold a nest. It was magic and while I'm sure I'll get there again, I'll never have that first experience again.

The focus of our first stop was in Charleston, South Carolina....John Island to be exact....so that I could photograph the Angel Tree. I'd seen a photo of it in the Naples newspaper in a story about a local photographer Dennis Goodman who I'm hoping to take some photo lessons with next year. We did get to the tree, and I did get some photos but unfortunately it had poured rain most of the afternoon it was very dark. The tree is 500-1500 years old and although it is only 65 feet high, it has spread so much that it's shade covers 17,000...yes, thousand....square feet. The whole island is filled with these wonderful big oak trees and many of them still drape the long entrances to the old plantations.

While we were driving along Hwy 17 towards Charleston, I noticed that many of the trees and bushes were covered in a vine which had a beautiful purple flower that hung off the vine, almost like a bunch of grapes. Some trees were saturated in the vine, up the entire trunk and over every branch. Wayne stopped the and went to pick one and it turns out to be a wild form of Wisteria. In some areas an entire section of a wooded area would be covered. I think it's like a parasite--it eventually kills the tree but it sure is beautiful in the meantime! Between the wisteria and the Rhododendrons that are in full, glorious bloom (in every colour imaginable) it was a joy to be driving down this road, on this day.

I'm tempted to give in to my Civil War curiosity and head into downtown Charleston tomorrow. Fort Sumter is on a small island in the bay and is the spot where the first shot, that started the Civil War, was fired from. Then there is the Plantation/Garden area on the outskirts of Charleston. Or, I bet there are some fascinating old cemeteries......

Next stop is Corolla Island in North Carolina. There are still wild horses on the island which are descendants of the horses brought over by the Spanish. You can take a tour, or rent a 4-wheeler and try to find them on your own. I suspect we'll see if there's a 'photographer's tour' available  rather than flounder around on our own. Either way it should be very interesting.

That's what we've been up to. The traffic on I-95 North was at a crawl for miles and miles. We thought there was an accident somewhere up ahead until the lady at the Welcome Centre told us it was all the Snowbirds (American as well as Canadian) heading home from Florida. The woman wondered where the heck Florida put all these people?

Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

1 Apr 2014 - Packing to go home

Fort Meade, Florida

BACK OFF!! GET YOUR OWN SANDWICH!!

Fort Meade, Florida

The trucks pull in, filled with grapefruit and dump them onto a conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt fills these cages and then..POOF..grapefruit juice!

Hello Daytona Beach...I've missed you!

Low tide on Daytona Beach

All good things must come to an end and our time in Naples is done. Lucy the Landlady came over Wednesday night to give us back our deposit, talk our ears off, and thank us for taking such good care of the condo. She could obviously smell the bleach and cleaning solutions we'd used on the place in preparation for her visit...but still didn't reduce the cleaning cost on the deposit.

We'd had a fairly quiet week previously and I know that at one point I wrote 'stayed home...just lazy' on the calendar for one day. I did get to the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday morning for one last day (photos posted on FB) and it was obvious a good number of snowbirds had left Naples as it wasn't crowded at all. It has been unseasonably hot in Southern Florida this winter and honestly, both Wayne and I said it was almost getting too hot to be at the beach. We've always headed home from the beach around 3 pm but any time after 1 pm is really hot now...especially if there is no breeze. I think I was in 'organize and pack' mode anyway.

Thursday - on our way North.

I knew we had brought far, far too much stuff with us and combined with the amount of stuff we have acquired in Naples to bring home, packing the car was like doing a complicated jigsaw puzzle. Wayne is an absolute master at it after all these years of moving and travelling but we are loaded to the gunnels! I can't remember the route we took from Orlando to Naples but Gertie took us back on another route, off the Interstate, and it was so nice. Note to self: we went Hwy 31 and 17 and that's the route to take from Orlando to Naples next year.

We drove through the 'heart' of Florida's citrus farms and passed endless 18-wheelers filled with oranges or grapefruit. We went through a series of small towns and at Fort Meade stopped for lunch at a wonderful park built by the town in 1972. It consisted of 2 very small lakes connected by a land strip that had gazebos, small piers, tables and barbecues, all under huge old trees dripping with Spanish Moss. The town gets a overwhelming vote for also having clean, clean washrooms to boot! We like to travel with a cooler and have lunch at rest stops or parks and as soon as we drove into this one, geese from all around the parking area started to congregate. I walked away to look at an Osprey nest and when I turned around they were all following, hoping I'd share my lunch. Clearly, many others have shared!

We got to Bartow, just down the line from Fort Meade. As we slowed down going through town I spied a citrus processing plant. The sound of my screech signaled Wayne to do a 'U-turn' as I needed a better look and a photo to go with it. I've never seen anything like it and couldn't begin to estimate how many pounds, or garga-pounds of grapefruit were there but it was L-O-T-S! Mind you, we nearly got arrested as Wayne had pulled right into the plant lot so I could get a real close-up and the security guard was there to let us know we were trespassing. The little old grey-haired lady wasn't at all mollified by Wayne's charm and we got out fast. He said it was probably the best day she'd had in years!

About that time we decided we take the Interstate to Daytona Beach and then go along Hwy A1A and take the ocean view drive to St Augustine. It was a great decision except that we made the mistake of stopping at Daytona for a quick walk on the beach. Well, the sun was shining, that wonderful Daytona breeze was blowing, and we felt like we'd just taken this big, deep breath and didn't want to let it go. All that to say, we got a hotel room on the beach, went to an old favourite restaurant for supper and can't wait to see the sun rise from our balcony in the morning! Actually, I'm going to head to St Augustine early in the morning and visit a zoological park and Wayne will enjoy the beach. However, we may have to stay an extra day so that I can do the same thing.

The weather is certainly cooler here and it reminds me of why I love Daytona....always did and always will...but this is not the place to be in January and even some February's. It's just that bit further North that makes it cooler but at this time of year....it's delightful. Mom and Dad used to love to come here in April. In all our travels I have yet to find the soft, silky sand that makes up Daytona Beach. In short, I'm glad I'm here!

I know the deep-freeze is ending in Ottawa but I'm content to meander my way home vice driving like mad. There are still a few nice, warm beaches and other places to visit...perhaps the sun will get real hot, in a real hurry at home and entice me but I'm thinking the snow is still pretty deep in my back yard!

That's what we've been doing. Hope all is well at home and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx