Tis the Season . . .

Photo taken during the Murder City 5th Annual Christmas Lights Walk.

Sloshing through St. Augustine

This weekend was our annual trip to St. Augustine to see the beautiful lights and the boat parade. We meet up with friends who ride there on their scooters. We are all old friends from our bicycle riding days. Some still ride, and some a little less often. That would be me. Have to change that in the new year. I am still trying to figure out a good way to carry my camera and a tripod.

On the trip up we stopped at Fort Matanzas. To get there one takes a small ferry across Matanzas Bay(about five minutes or less). It's a small fort but very picturesque. We lucked out with having re enactors there to fire the cannon.

The second stop was to the St. Augustine Light. We actually paid for the opportunity to climb the 219 steps to the top. Its worth the effort for the 360 degree view of St. Augustine and the Atlantic Ocean.

Soon after heading towards the old town of St. Augustine, the rains came and never really stopped until after we left the next morning. We decided to forego the boat parade and went to dinner at Schooner's, a seafood restaurant north of St. Augustine. After dinner three of us drove around town to see the lights.

Photography in the rain can be a challenge, so I only used my Sony RX100 and also my Canon G10 infrared converted camera. With raingear and an umbrella it was manageable. Starting home Sunday morning it was still raining but decided to park and walk around town anyways. Overcast and wet streets usually make the photos better. In an effort to discover some new areas we walked south to the National Cemetery. There were fresh wreaths on each grave stone. Quite a beautiful site. Talking with a lady who was there we found out about a program called "Wreaths Across America." Every December a fresh wreath is laid on the graves of service men and women in the National Cemeteries across the country. The motto is "Remember, Honor and Teach."

St. Augustine National Cemetery

Lightner Museum Courtyard Infrared

Avile Street - Sony RX100 In camera HDR

Discovering a Hidden Gem amongst the Suburban Sprawl

A friend told me about the Everglades Trail along Shingle Creek in the Hunter's Creek subdivision. This is the headwaters for the Everglades. The beginning of it is just across the street from my office off of John Young Parway. I had been there once before and thought it was a nice trail so I went back to check it out again. Of course I had a camera with me this time. I didn't bother with a tripod because I was just exploring and it was high noon. Not the best time of day for photography. I saw several birds, turtles, squirrels but missed the otter that others said they saw. Maybe next time I will get there early and see more wildlife. The best part is that this trail is only four miles from my office. Could be a lunch time getaway.

Shingle Creek - the headwaters of the Everglades