Wildlife at the Tallahassee Museum

Well, you might know, my last day off while in Tallahassee and it's raining. It's going to rain all day.

I had planned to go to the Mission San Luis today, but with the rain, it's simply impossible.

Can you just imagine a museum with a wildlife trail? The Tallahassee Museum has it all. I'm not kidding. What a surprise when I discovered this nature trail and the wildlife within it. I'll be posting a few photos from the nature trail.

This White-tailed Deer was one of several I saw on the trail. I shot this from the boardwalk. This guy thought he was pretty well hid amongst the Palms and as he watched me, I was able to get this shot. He was a beauty!

This was another White-tailed Deer I saw out in the open in the Cypress grove. I'm pretty sure he was munching on some bark from that fallen tree. I must've seen 4 or 5 Deer in all.

Besides Deer, I saw Wild Turkey, a River Otter, a Bobcat, a Black Bear and a Gray Fox. Watch for future posts of these magnificent animals as I get them edited and ready for posting.

Judging from the rain we're getting, it looks like I'll be editing pictures all day.

Tallahassee Capitol Complex

I do apologize again! The hotel I'm at has horrible Wifi and it seems it's down more than up. I guess you get what you pay for; their Wifi is free. So I'm unable to post every night--only when I have service. Until I get back home, I'll post more than one photo whenever I can.

This top photo is of the Senate building at the Tallahassee Capitol Complex. It sits to the left of the old Capitol Building.

For those of you not from Florida, Tallahassee is the capitol of our state. This is the first time I've been here, so I'm doing the tourist thing, trying to get some sightseeing and shooting on my days off. My last day off, I went to the Tallahassee Museum. You can see a couple photos from that adventure in my last post. I'll probably be posting pix from both places in the next few posts.

This second shot is of the Florida Vietnam Veterans' Memorial and it is on the grounds of the Tallahassee Capitol Complex in front of the Old Capitol Building.

Inscribed on its walls are the names of the veterans from Florida who gave their life to keep us free and of those missing in action. The walls support a 40-foot American Flag.

The Anastasi

The Anastasi at the end of a long day diving for sponge. This is just one of many sponge boats docked at the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

The Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs is a must see if you ever visit this area. The sponge industry is responsible for building a Greek community like no other around. Here, one can see a free movie showing the history of the sponge docks and how it has developed this small Greek village.

As you walk up and down Dodecanese Avenue along the Sponge Docks, you'll see many boats like this laden with sponge. There are many of the best Greek restaurants and bakeries along the Sponge Docks with some of the best authentic Greek food around. You'll also find about 100 little boutiques where souvenirs can be purchased, and beautiful hand made doilies, scarfs, jewelry and soaps are being sold. There are also a few antique stores. The aquarium has a live shark tank that divers feed a couple times daily along with a petting tank. Everything is priced reasonably.

It's a great way to spend a day for very little money and have fun as well.

The Snell Arcade Building

The Snell Arcade Building, built by C. Perry Snell is one of St Petersburg's gems. It's on the National Register of Historical Places and the architectural style is one of many.

The architecture is partially Spanish-Moroccan, Gothic tracery, romanesque capitals, Egyptian half-columns, baroque brackets, classic running moldings, renaissance portrait medallions, multifoil arches and fanciful finials. Even with all of these very different styles, one would think it would be hideous. It's just the opposite. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown St Petersburg.

One part of Snell’s creation that no longer has it’s former glory is the arcade itself which was built as a passage from Central Avenue to First Avenue North. I agree with Lowe’s impression from the photographs, “To say that it was lavishly decorated is clearly an understatement” (p. 121). Perched high along the arcade were seven Venuses as well as a large mosaic tile imported from Europe that depicted a Baroque Venetian church. The name of the mosaic is Baldassare Longhena’s Santa Maria della Salute. The tiles were uncovered during a 1983 restoration and Snell himself removed the statues when he sold the building (Lowe, 2006).

Today, there are a few stores on the ground floor in the "arcade" and some offices on the first couple floors. The remainder of the building houses condos--one condo per floor!

Vinoy Basin From the Dali

Another view from the glass at the Salvatore Dali Museum. The metal framing throughout the windows is perfect for finding a picture within a picture.

In the background you can see the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel and the Vinoy Condomiums along with the Vinoy marina.

The downtown waterfront in St Petersburg, FL is one of the most beautiful waterfronts I've ever seen--and I've lived on the Eastern Coast all my life. There is no space wasted and no space not beautifully landscaped with it's manicured lawns and beautiful flowers all year 'round.

Another Interior Shot of the Salvatore Dali Museum

This interior shot of the Salvatore Dali Museum shows what I call the gridiron window. As you can see, it extends from the ground floor up to the roof. By reinforcing the glass with the steel, it is strong enough to withstand a hurricane.

I love the lines, curves and angles in this museum. Looking through the window, you can see Tampa Bay. While the old museum was built on the water, it didn't use the water as part of the design.

This is truly state-of-the-art and it reflects the artistry of the great master, Salvatore Dali.

Tampa Skyline - Blue Hour

A couple nights ago, members of my photo group went to Ballast Point Park in Tampa to make photos of the Tampa skyline from a different vantage point.

We took many photos, but after going through all of them, I liked this one the best. Tampa is a beautiful city.

Passe-A-Grille Sunset

Three friends and I went to Passe-A-Grille Tuesday evening to shoot Corey Ave and the downtown district. We started out on the beach just after sunset and had so much fun there, we didn't leave enough time to photograph the town before it got too late. This is one of the after sunset photos I made.

The following article about the History of Passe-A-Grille was taken directly from the Passe-A-Grille website. You can find the website here: http://visitpassagrille.com

"For 10,000 years, Indians hunted the praires and fished the waters of what later became Pass-A-Grille. The last group of Native Americans to settle in the Pinellas County area were the Tocobagas around 1,000 - 1,700 AD. This area was first visited by Europeans in 1528 when the Spanish Explorer, Panfilo de Narvaez anchored off Pass-A-Grille pass. Afterwards, the island was used as a camp ground for fisherman to obtain fresh water and to grill their catch. According to legend, it is thought that Pass-A-Grille derives it's name from the French Passe aux Grilleurs. In 1857, John Gomez self styled 'last of the pirates', began bringing excursionists here from Tampa which gave this area the distinction of perhaps being the oldest resort on Central Florida's West Coast. Zephaniah Phillips, the first homesteader settled here in 1886 and by the turn of the Century Pass-A-Grille had it's first hotel and a ferry boat service from what is now Gulfport. The town of Pass-A-Grille Beach was incorporated into the city of St. Petersburg Beach in 1957 and in 1989 a section of Pass-A-Grille was declared a National Historic District. "