October 27- November 1, 2018
A week later, still on Highway 19
September 28, 2018
Headed home from north Florida and stopped for a driving break at the Waccasassa River bridge. For all intents and purposes in the proverbial Middle of Nowhere.
(09/23: see Editors Note at end of post)
September, 20, 2018
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Editor's Note, 9/23:
Upon further research, it turns out caboose 0795 is owned by the Levy County Historical Society, when they bought it from a private owner in 2016 and moved it to it's current location. In 2016 they had plans to restore it but very little has been done. There is a proposal before the County Board to move it to the Pat- Mac Wayside Park, just down the road at 5230 SE HWY 19/98 in Gulf Hammock.
The building and caboose are on the Gulf Hammock Wild Hog Canoe Race property, end point of an annual canoe race on the Waccasassa River that has been going on for more than 40 years.
Now you know.
Various and assorted images, in no particular order, from Apalachicola, in Florida's panhandle...
August 25-27, 2018
Day 1:
Day 2:
August 23 & 25, 2018
Many years ago, when I was but a young boy, traveling was not as easy as it is today. Families had big lumbering cars called station-wagons. Windows were cranked, keys were turned, mirrors were manually adjusted and car air conditioning was an awesome new thing most of us didn't have.
Most difficult of all, if you needed to communicate with someone, you searched the road until you saw a blue sign. You approached it and sometimes even had to wait in line, hoping you had change. People could be looked up and then numbers pushed. The connection was usually scratchy and, if you talked more than three minutes, you needed more coin.
We all know what happened to these old devices: they joined VCR's, photographic film, Blockbuster, maps, and manual transmissions, lost as detritus in time.
Fortunately, a few of these old relics still exist, mostly hidden in out-of-the-way places as reminders that The Good Old Days required effort. Here, from Apalachicola, FL, is a historical relic:
Apalachicola, FL
August, 2018
August 16-17, 2018
On a pier someplace in south Florida...
Tallahassee evening Storm Clouds from beginning to end...
July, 2018
My new "little" camera is a French- made DxO One, replacing my venerable little Canon. Pardon me while I wander into camera geekdom: the DxO One is a miniaturized pro- quality camera that shoots RAW, JPG and "Super RAW." It weighs 3.8 ounces, is just under three inches tall and, according to the manufacturer, the lens is made "with six aspherical elements, offering an exceptionally high level of precision while also optimizing acutance."
What makes the DxO unique is that it has a built-in Lightning connector that plugs into an iPhone. The iPhone becomes the viewfinder, focus tool, setting adjuster and flash for the DxO. Click on one of the links in this blurb for more about the camera.
The very best thing about the DxO is its size and portability: Chase Jarvis said it, "The best camera is the one you have with you."
As with all new toys, there is a learning curve. In this case it is fairly steep because the DxO is radically different than any other camera I have used.
The learning curve:
Augusta, GA:
Atlanta airport:
Home:
Upper Tampa Bay Park.
4th of July.
Temperature right at 90 degrees and at least 1000 percent humidity. Nice day for a stroll in the park.
June-July, 2018
Various and Assorted;
(all these, and more, are full-size at my 2018 Gallery)
Starting with the Bahamas and The Infamous Birthday Cruise...
Moving on...
These last two were taken with my new DXO One camera (camera guys, look it up). Definitely a learning curve.
January - June, 2018
January - May, 2018
(This is the thirteenth post in a series about a cross- country train trip we recently completed)
(Click here to go to my Galleries for full-sized images, the ones below are thumbnails)
Last of the San Francisco images:
Starting with two scenic's
Then some more walls:
And a street scene
And, finally, two more night scenes
That's it for the city. Now on to our last stop: Napa!
December, 2017
(This is the twelfth post in a series about a cross- country train trip we recently completed)
(Click here to go to my Galleries for full-sized images, the ones below are thumbnails)
Miscellaneous San Francisco...
Store signs:
Wall murals:
Building fronts:
Musee Mecanique
(Penny Arcade Museum):
Etc.:
San Francisco is a beautiful city, but it can also be a very disturbing city. Looking out the window of the <very nice> Hilton we stayed at, less than a block away are the not-so-nice Hotel Mentone and Coronado Hotel. Look carefully at the sidewalk in front of the hotels. Those are tents and tarps belonging to homeless folks who cannot even afford the Coronado and Mentone. It is an encampment that has obviously been there for a while. Within a block of a very nice hotel and blocks from one of the richest shopping areas in San Francisco.
December, 2017
(This is the eleventh post in a series about a cross- country train trip we recently completed)
(Click here to go to my Galleries for full-sized images, the ones below are thumbnails)
A quick stroll through Chinatown.
One of my favorite parts of San Francisco. Always alive and vibrant. This trip seemed like we were visiting old favorites instead of heading off in new directions...
December, 2017
(This is the tenth post in a series about a cross- country train trip we recently completed)
(Click here to go to my Galleries for full-sized images, the ones below are thumbnails)
Chinatown is next...
December, 2017
(This is the ninth post in a series about a cross- country train trip we recently completed)
(Click here to go to my Galleries for full-sized images, the ones below are thumbnails)
A walk around San Francisco's Union Square...
December 9, 2017
(This is the eighth post in a series about a cross- country train trip we recently completed)
(Click here to go to my Galleries for full-sized images, the ones below are thumbnails)
San Francisco:
December, 2017
(This is the seventh post in a series about a cross- country train trip we recently completed)
(Click here to go to my Galleries for full-sized images, the ones below are thumbnails)
The last, fifth day of our journey took us through Utah, including a stop at the Biggest Little City in the World, over the infamous Donner Pass, and down into California to just outside San Francisco.
Side Note: 'Mid-morning pulled into Reno to an underground platform. The conductor made an announcement that we would be here for a few minutes for those that wanted to stretch their legs and for the smokers (Amtrak trains are completely non- smoking and the infrequent stops are the only opportunity for a few puffs). He warned everyone getting off the train, however, that whatever they did, DO NOT GO UP THE STEPS. Wander around the platform, look down the tracks, but DO NOT GO UP THE STAIRWAY. Because, he explained, if you went up the steps you would be in a casino. And you would have just enough time to put two quarters in a slot machine, come back down the steps... and see that the train had left.
Next stop: San Francisco, courtesy of our family Uber driver!
December, 2017
Getting from here to there, our cross- country train excursion, was an amazing trip. I have been posting images and the story through a series of blog entries. The images in the blog are thumbnails... cut down images to fit in a blog. As such, they lose a lot. Now you can see them in my Galleries as full images. Click here to go to the From Here To There gallery. I'll continue to add images, all the way through the days in San Francisco and in Napa.