[photo walk] Florida railroad museum

Once again, it's not about the photography but about the socialization.



The boys and I had been to the Florida Railroad Museum years ago for A Day Out with Thomas. I should have remembered that it wasn't an exciting trip and that I only had 2 blurry photos of the boys in the club car. I didn't remember and signed up.



Since Parrish is about an hour away, Jeff had suggested carpooling for those in Pinellas County. I decided to suggest a carpool group in New Tampa. Not having done this before, I got to the parking lot early but no one showed. Or maybe I missed people by sitting in my car reading Little Women.


I drove alone and played my music loud. I got to Parrish a bit after 10. Then we waiting in line to exchange our online vouchers for actual tickets. We had little time to shoot before they were boarding the train. The open coach filled first. I was disappointed to have position the middle car which had air conditioning. We sat for about a half hour. I sat with Bob. I had only met him once before and thought we would talk. But he didn't talk too much. In fact, he fell asleep when we were moving and rocking.



My disappointment disappeared once I realized there was little to photograph. The trip goes through scrub and only I a few places is it cleared that there is a view. And most of the time, those views are empty fields. We did go by one area that had a recent controlled burn. The colors are what made it interesting, the green foreground, the red burned leaves and the blue sky.



Another area of some interest were tomato crops in front of the power plant. Mostlythe sky is what holds the interest.



We continued to Willow. A small town without a town. It is on the map but we drove through it without knowing we did. There, we saw the old abandoned trains. They stopped long enough to let us shoot but did not let us off the train.



We went back the way we came. Knowing it held little interest was a comfort since I did not have to keep looking for something interesting.




We got off the train and went to shoot the cars we missed before we left.the red caboose was OK. Someone had said it was better than the orange caboose at Heritage Village but I am not sure. I took some hand held HDR. It didn't seem worth the effort to get my tripod.











Then we went to Linger Lodge. The hype was more than they place. and when 70 of us showed up, they couldn't handle it. Inside is filled with stuffed snakes and fish and other wild life. It was dark in there so I didn't try many shots. Even at 1600 ISO, my shutter speed was very low.







We had finally finished eating when I noticed it was after 3! I had to be home so dad to go to church. I paid and rushed home to find the power out. I was there just past 4:30 but dad chose to stay home. The power came back on at 5:18. The a/c worked all evening to get back down to 80 inside.

[photo walk] gulfport

We had a Friday morning photo walk in Gulfport. Jeff had suggested it. I had never heard of the place. It is near St. Pete Beach but inland from the inter coastal water way. It is a small community filled with art and craft items. There are plenty of cafés and bars. Because it was off-season, the place was not crowded. We had our pick of free parking.

















It was cloudy and rainy but cleared up in time for the walk. We met in front of the Gulfport Casino Hall. This relic has been turned into a spot for dances and other gatherings. There were 9 of us and we split up and walked around the streets.














There are plenty of brightly painted cottages and interesting businesses. One manager invited us to come into her bar & restaurant and take photos. Since they were cleaning, we could only go upstairs to the patio. It was nice to take some shots from one storey up but not worth the trouble.





















We had lunch in a spot Jeff recommended called the Village Pub. They were going for the English Pub atmosphere. It is a small place with Guiness on tap and bangers & mash on the menu. I got the fish chips and it was good. Dessert, the Brown Derby, was very good.

thursday odds & ends

I planned to stay home today.

I tried to stay home today.

I knew I would last until about 1:30 or 2:00 before I had to get out. So I decided not to fight it and left the house about 11:30. My intention was to go to lunch and then Whole Foods to see if they had frozen salmon filets.

But first I had to install my new iPhone car mount from Pro Clip. I had first looked at these about a year ago when I got my iPhone. I didn't want to spend the money, about $80, so I opted for a mount from Arkon. That was a waste of $40. The rubber gasket started to split with in a few weeks. And lately, the suction cup would fail during driving and the whole thing, with my iPhone, would fly across the dash. The Pro Clip System is two parts specific to your car and your device. First you install the mount to your car which was easy enough. Then you screw in the swivel to the mount. The only problem was not having enough light and trying to work with tiny black screws. But it only took about 5 minutes. And it feels really solid. I love that I no longer have to stretch to reach the iPhone. And it no longer sits on the dash, under the window, getting really hot. In fact, being in front of the vent helps to keep it cool. Someone asked when the heat is on but I don't think it is a problem. First of all, there is about an inch between the mount and the vent so the air is easily diverted. And when the heat is on, it is usually coming through the lower vents since heat rises. When I do get a new device or car, I am thinking I can just switch out that part of the system.

I was going to try Evos for lunch. I have never been there and since I am trying to eat better, it sounded like a good idea. But the parking lot was full. It is my fault for trying to eat at 12:30. I found a spot in an adjacent lot and thought about walking over then decided I should patronize these shops. I went to Jimmy Johns. I had never been here either. It was kind of loud inside and rather over whelming with the menus boards on the wall. I quickly found a vegetarian sandwich that looked good and placed my order. The standard is french bread but I probably should have opted for the whole grain. The service was quick and the sandwich was tasty. I opted to omit the avocado spread so the sandwich did seem to missing something. Maybe some spicy mustard next time?

Nicholson House used to be in International Plaza. It is a quirky gift shop where people love to walk around and giggle at the silly things offered for sale. I missed the store and decided to walk through. It is a lot smaller and still just as crowded. I saw some greeting cards made from photographs from Tampa. Each card was $3 for a 4x6 mounted on 5x7 embossed card stock. The photos were crap. Seriously. The exposure was off and they lacked contrast. I could do as well or better with my iPhone. So how do I get my cards and photos in there for sale?

Next I went to Whole Foods. I haven't been there in almost 2 years. It is so far away. And now with Nutrition S'mart so close, there is little reason to go there. Their deli section is impressive but nothing I wanted just then. They did not have any wild Alaskan salmon. The only frozen salmon filets they had were a product of the UK. What? No thanks. I did find some wild Alaskan salmon burgers and decided to give them a try. I also got a couple of Amy's pizzas for those time I really want pizza. I got a few Cliff Bars to try. Good Guide claims they are one of the better bars and Publix does not carry them. I decided to try the Oregon Chai since it was on sale. I usually get Tazo Organic Chai because it is $1.50 than the Oregon. I found some dish soap with an almond scent. Yum! I almost picked up some foaming hand wash but put it back when I saw it was $10! Whole Foods does credit you $.10 for each bag you bring in and use. But they ask if you want the credit or have it donated. You fell like a schmuck asking for the $.20 so of course you yes to donating. So... you bring in your own bag, Whole Foods saves money since they don't have to use their own. Then the credit they would have given you goes into their charity fund which then gives them tax breaks. Very clever on their part.

I got home and tried one of the Cliff Bars. Hmm... When I was single, I used to bike. A lot. On some of my longer rides, I ate (choked down) Power Bars. They were so thick and dense that I could never smoosh them in my bag. And I needed a half bottle of water to get that bar down. They could never be mistaken for candy bars. Cliff Bars are a definite improvement over Power Bars. But they are still dense and thick. Not something I will grab for a quick snack but a good idea to keep one in my photo bag for those longer walks.

Bonnie got me to sign up for Words for Friends. We played last night and I beat her. OK, she resigned but I was leading with one tile left that I couldn't use. She started another game but I went to bed. It can be addicting and distracting and challenging. I have never really played scrabble before.

Bonnie also got me interested in the Brain Balance Program. I am reading the book. I am skeptical. Especially when they program, which is 1 hour for 3 days a week, for 12 weeks, costs $6000. That is $166 per hour.

The boys got home with a note that they will be taking a different bus in the afternoons. Scheduling this school year and been a challenge.

[photo walk] heritage village & botanical gardens

I hadn't heard of this place until a few months ago. I was interested and scheduled a photo walk. I picked up Todd and Sherry since it is a long drive from Wesley Chapel.





The park is actually a series of parks all connected through foot paths. And google isn't too clear where the actual address is so we had people end up in 4 different locations. Cells brought us all together.





Heritage Village is a series of restored old buildings from around the area. Some of the buildings are open to the public. The area is shaded but it was still pretty warm.























The botanical gardens have seen better days. Most of the high maintenance plants and flowers have been removed with budget cuts. There wasn't anything interesting to see as far plants are concerned.







There is a art museum but it has closed. All of the outdoor sculpture is gone as well.









The wedding garden is still kept up but the fountain has been blocked up.

I would like to go back but just spend time at Heritage Village and skip the gardens.

We went to Crabby Bills in Indian Rocks Beach for lunch. Good food, slow service.

[photo walk] university of tampa

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We had a Saturday morning photo walk at the University of Tampa. It was nice being down there when the campus was virtually empty. We almost had the place to ourselves along with a couple of unknown photographers. We walked around Plant Hall shooting with the morning light. At 0:00 am, the opened up Plant Hall so we went indoors. I wandered all the way to Fletcher Hall which looks to be the old dining hall from when it was a hotel. I would have done better to have my tripod.























The plan was to walk across the river and have lunch. Since I parked closer than most, I offered to take Frank and meet them at Five Guys. It was really nice to get to talk to Frank one-on-one and get to know him. We didn't have to wait at the restaurant too long before everyone else showed up. Five Guys is a burger joint. They do have grilled cheese sandwiches and a veggie sandwich that is just made using the veggie toppings of the burger. I had a burger.





Afterwards, the group left to walk back across the bridge. Frank and I went back to my van. I saw an old DeSoto in the parking lot and we took some shots of that. Then I took Frank back to UT so he could ride home with Jeff & Theresa.












For the rest of my photos, please see my flickr set.

[photo walk] trolley rides & car barn tour

Oh man! What a fun night. Even if I got no photos I would claim the evening a success.



The trolley ride was OK. The trolley barn was interesting. The company was way too fun.



We started out at the first trolley stop near Centennial Park. We got aboard a trolley and they took us to the car barn. We got to see one of the oldest trolleys in existence. Sherry laid on the tracks for a fun photo op. I was using my camera’s live view instead of stooping down and that was overheating my camera chip. There wasn't much to see inside the barn. Or maybe I was just too hot to find much of interest.































We went back to pickup some late arrivals. Then continued onto Channelside. Since we were just there a few days before, there wasn’t much I wanted to shoot. Norm & I went into Wet Willies and got large margaritas. We were soon joined by others. The place has great colors for hdr.







Jeff introduced me to Bob who shoots with an Olympus E-3. The only two Olympians in a group of 300+ photographers! Jeff used to shoot with Olympus back in his film days. Olympus was late to the game with good auto-focus and dSLR cameras.

Jeff took the group down to the Dick Greco plaza. Norm, John, Sherry & I started to follow but it began to rain so we used that as an excuse went back to Wet Willies for another round.

John wanted to shoot from UT. The four of us got on a crowded trolley and headed towards the convention center. We had to walk the rest of the way. We got about halfway there and Norm decided to turn back. I went with him. We got back on a trolley and found more of the group. They stopped at Channelside again! but Norm & I continued to Ybor and Tampa Bay Brewing Company.



The drinks flowed. The conversation flowed. It was a fun night. They couldn’t provide separate checks so the $300 bill took quite a while to straighten out. We could have had more drinks while we waited!

[photo walk] dade city

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Dade City is an old town. It is the county seat but it's not the biggest town. I have been there a number of times but only once to photograph it. The last time I shot it, I had only had my dSLR a few months and was just getting into photography again. I walked around on Easter Sunday (while my dad thought I was at church) shooting mostly architectural details. Shops were closed so I didn't go inside the many antique shops.



I scheduled a photo walk and was a little concerned that people would just see the out of touch old town and not the quaintness. It does not generate the tourism like the towns along the coast. Only 6 of us signed up. I didn't expect Jeff to enjoy himself.



I had planned to take the historic route but no one wanted to follow a plan. Maybe I will do that myself another time. Dade City is small so we wandered about. The architecture is varied from the Olde City Hall to the post war era bank to the recent court house. Most shops are unique, the only chain, Beef o' Brady's, is local to Tampa Bay.



The hardware store is an old one. And inside you could find just about anything you would every need. And loads of stuff you didn't think of until you saw it. They had used baseball gloves for sale.

















This is the new county courthouse. It's relatively new. It's a nice building but not very detailed.



Doyle had to leave early. He probably didn't want to watch us eating while he had to wait to eat his diet food later. We talked about eating at Lunch on Limoges but Jeff looked at thought it was too hoity toity. We went to Kafé Kokopelli. It is an interesting place. The building is covered in vines and the entry is in the rear of the building. The interior is a mix of reused building materials and newer decorative items. They used old doors to make banquette seating and old French doors to create seating areas. The food was casual and good.





Sherry and I went into another antique store on the way to our cars. This one had very nice, pricey antiques which had been restored. They also worked on clocks.



For some reason, I like taking photos of fire hydrants. Sherry noticed. I like the way this one had different colors of paint peeling.





Jeff said he did have a good time and wants to schedule another walk on Saturday.

[summer break] day 1

Our first day of summer break. Only 67 more to go. It's a Thursday which means pool, lunch & groceries. Dad is here now and he buys most of the groceries on Tuesdays & Fridays. Since dad is here, the boys have a choice about staying home or coming with me. Both boys came with me.

Only a few women were doing water aerobics at the pool. They said hello but we did not join them. Ryan wanted my attention and Andy seemed content just to be in the water. The water did feel good.

Lunch was Wendy's and Chick Fil A. Ryan has been trying new things and recently decided he likes Arby's curly fries. But only occasionally, he had them on Wednesday after his moving up ceremony at school.

The boys looked at books and toys at Target. There are loads of Toy Story 3 items to tie with the release of the movie in 2 weeks. Andy spent his time recording the sounds of the toys on his digital recorder. Smart kid.

I have been working to process and catch up with my photographs. With all the photo walks and events, I am very behind. I did get a collection of images taken in March finished today.

The boys have been going out after dinner to ride their bikes & razors. Ryan is quick about it, making one loop around the village and back home. Andy rides a little longer but not much more than 15 minutes. We recently moved things around in the garage. I wanted to get rid of the bike ramp that they no longer used. But I pulled it out and they use it again. Figures.

[photo walk] tarpon springs

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We went to Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs. I had only been to Tarpon Springs once before, 10 years ago. I don't know if things have changed much as my visit was with Gail and the boys and we didn't stay long.







Once we got our groups together (Jeff had posted a different meet-up spot for the NPPF group) we started walking around. The group did not stay together though Doyle, Bridget and I were together most of the time.





Sherry & Doyle commented that some one always gets a shot of this particular sign. I got Sherry, Doyle & Bridget to pose for me. Hmm... I wonder if it is true?







I can see why Allen & Mike do not like Tarpon Springs. It really is a touristy spot and not many birds besides greedy seagulls. But I like checking out the small and fun details around areas like this.











The weather was hot. Doyle & I took refuge in the Candy Barn. They had loads of all that candy we grew up with. I was good and got nothing.











Doyle suggested these next two shots. And he used to hate getting his picture taken!




(That's really a shell and I cloned out the rest of the wind chime. Content aware fill FTW!)

The sponge museum is really, really, cheesy. I am glad we were there during the off-season. I don't think I could handle of a bunch of tourists going gaga over the cheeps tchotchkes.













After that, we decided to head to the restaurant. Jeff and a few others were already there and seated. Doyle just had tea. (How long is this diet going to last?) I got a crabby patty. We never saw Sponge Bob.

even the school procrastinates

OK. That may be a little unfair. But it sure seems like they wait until the last minute to get everything done. Or maybe there just aren't enough school hours in the day. Either way, it makes for a few busy weeks. Hmm... I wonder if it is so we will appreciate the slow days of summer?

The school organized an ESE talent show for late May. I didn't know it was going to be ESE only and wondered why they decided to dance to thriller with only 2 weeks to practice.

I arrived at the school early. I wanted to set up my tripod and get a handle on how to shoot in low light. I would have liked to set up my tripod in an aisle but knew it wasn't a good idea. I opted for the back of the theatre in the middle. Soon, the student videotaping the program, set up his camera a few feet away from mine. I thought I should offer to move but decided it wouldn't make much difference being so far back.

I could barely see anyone on the stage with my wide angle zoom. So I had to switch to my telephoto zoom which is not as fast. I also had to crank up the ISO to 800. (My pics are not good. I just can't seem to find the motivation to work on them. And they need a lot of work.)

The students were entertaining. A few brave guys got up and did solos. They ranged from OK to please stop but they all had great passion. Andy's class was last. They had some great costumes. Andy's hair was sprayed red. Two weeks later, his scalp is still stained. The kids had fun. And everyone got a medal.

Andy came home with me and we stopped at Chick Fil A.



On Wednesday, I met Ryan and Miss Kato, the behavior specialist, at the middle school for a tour. Andy had a tour last year but I was not told the correct time so I missed it. It was nice to finally see all of the school. I think Ryan was impressed with the size of the media center. It is at least three times the size of the one at his elementary school.

We found out that the regular wheel includes art, music, Spanish and PE. Ryan seemed happy with that. We also found out that he won't need to change for PE if he is wearing t-shirt, shorts & sneakers. I am so glad he had finally decided to wear sneakers again.

Mr. Fowler led the tour. He did not show us any classrooms so we wouldn't disturb them. We did go to Andy's class. All four classroom buildings are similar.

Ryan and Andy came home with me and we stopped at Wendy's and Chick Fil A.

I had walked early on Thursday and had planned to edit photos and then go to the chiropractor. I got a call from the school. It was Miss Leah saying that Andy had $20 but couldn't find it. Huh? It turns out that they were going bowling and I never knew. Since I was dressed, I got in my car and went to the bowling alley.



OK, so I stopped at Starbuck's first. But I still beat them to the bowling alley since the bus was very late. Once they got there, they decided to eat first. We went to Ci-Ci's pizza. Andy had 5 slices of cheese pizza. I had 2 slices of spinach and 2 slices of garlic. Much better than my last trip when I tried the macaroni and cheese pizza.



We went to bowl but didn't get to finish the game. The bus had to be back to take the high school kids home.







Andy came home with me and we went to Chick Fil A. Yep, Chick Fil A three days in a row!

This last week Andy had a picnic n Wednesday and I had Ryan's iep on Thursday. Busy!