Snapshots from Paradise

Two weeks in Florida will put a smile on your face.  I won't bore you with too many words.  If you dread going to visit someone only to have them whip out photos from their trip, you might want to skip this blog post and go floss your teeth or something.

A pretty front yard

 Robert, the family parrot, out for a morning walk with his owners.

Sunrise from the hotel balcony.

Sunshine on the palms after a rain.

A fairly big tree in St. Petersburg.  For frame of reference, the tiny speck of orange at the base is my husband, Joe - sitting in a swing!

 A pelican hanging out on the shores of Tampa Bay.  I was very close to him while taking this shot.  He was underwhelmed.

Famed artist Dale Chihuly created this stunning glass sculpture for the entrance to his gallery in Old St. Petersburg.  The angle of my shot created the impression that the palm behind it has a pink glass trunk.

Just down the street from The Chihuly Collection, and very "Old Florida", this is the front entrance of the recently restored Vinoy Hotel, a St. Petersburg waterfrong landmark since 1925.

 This original urn bears the name of the hotel and is one of a pair standing guard at the entrance.

A vintage photo from the 1920's, looking out the front entrance of the hotel, and a photo taken by my husband from the same spot, below.

The front facade of the hotel, showing one of the beautiful towers.

 And the stunning, massive art-glass chandelier in the recently refurbished hotel ballroom - created especially for the space by Dale Chihuly. The chandelier looks to be at least 10 feet long.

 Even a cloudy day on a Gulf beach is worth the trouble.

Grapefruit growing in my sister's back yard.

 And a typical Florida citrus stand.

 A bag of Sweet Valencias came home with us to North Carolina.

Easing the pain of having to leave Florida.  We stopped for the night on Jekyll Island and St. Simons.


A Jekyll Island sunset, below.  I caught this picture of Joe with the Jekyll Island bridge in the distance.

 

And with my little camera gasping for breath and begging for mercy, we took these morning shots of the Methodist Church at Epworth-by-the-Sea on St. Simons as we were leaving for home.

Yesterday was Countdown Friday

THE COUNT WAS 23