These pictures were taken a while back and I realized I never posted them, so here are some of my favorites from a visit to Wynwood Walls in Miami, FL
I love art in most forms, even when I don’t always understand the meaning behind some of the artwork, still always try to appreciate the effort put into it by the artist. My first encounter with art on a grand scale happened when I first moved to Brooklyn, New York, many moons ago and had the great fortune of moving into an apartment building on Eastern Parkway was located directly across from the Brooklyn Museum which very quickly become my go to place on the weekends, beside the library, the Brooklyn Botanical gardens and Prospect Park.
One of my many pleasures is exploring street art whenever I can, but overall I am always game for a visit to museums and galleries or any kind of cultural places where I can learn something new, even as I get older I try to never miss an opportunity to learn.
It dawned on me today, after talking about the weather up north and in other far away (from me, anyway) cold places–Ireland, London, Seattle to name a few, that either I have it pretty good or we always seem to think the grass really is greener on the other side. Truthfully, we all have exactly what we need, when we need it.
I lived in New York for over twenty years and never complained about the weather there as much as I do here in Florida; but that is mostly because NY provided relief from heat when Fall, Winter and Spring arrived. There was the change of seasons to look forward to, the anticipation of shedding one type of clothing for another.
Life is a beach, Manasota Key, FL
During winter, of course, you bulked up with coats, layers of clothes, donned boots, and gloves, and hats and whatever else you needed in order to stay warm–leg warmers? I have not seen or heard of those things in years! And even though I did not like the winter months, especially when it snowed, I still looked forward to some of the things that came with it–ice skating (the children, not me), concerts, plays, etc.
Our side of Florida offers no such season changes, but it does allow for the occasional sweater or light wind breaker now and then, and a common outfit for this time of the year might be shorts, sweatshirts and sandals–a compromise I guess.
Most people assume it is hot down here all the time, not so. In the years we have lived on Florida’s West Coast, we have experienced temperatures as low as 30s and as high as the 100s; good thing the average stays in the 80s and the extremes only last for a couple of days. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes not. When it is cold up north during the winter months, our days are pretty good, cold fronts from the north produce really nice weather; mornings and evenings are nice and cool, sometimes even cold (for us) but daytime temps stay comfortable enough to sometimes warrant a trip to the beach.
Row, row, row...
That was the case this week, it started out with a couple of cold days and by Thursday it felt like Summer. So I took myself and camera to the beach, to verify what I already suspected. Our “snowbirds” (tourists) where there, not an empty parking spot could be found at the first three beaches I stopped at–Stump Pass, Englewood, Blind Pass and finally when I arrived at Manasota Key–I found a parking space, and all I wanted to do was to take some pictures.
Aah, yes, I still remember those days when I thought nothing of diving into 65-70 degree waters, brrr… thank goodness that was a long time ago. But still…what was I thinking?
And now… we dive into a New Year, 2012. Does anyone still remember how we were freaking out as the New millennium, Y2K, approached? It came and went along with 11 more years, yikes!!! Time sure flies…
Northerner in Florida, riding his motorcycle. It is 80 degrees outside today.
My day trip through Fishermen’s Village continues, I had a willing Northerner (New Hampshire) volunteer for this picture, I think it was because he noticed me trying to take his picture–on the sly. LOL
A replica of the Nina and the Pinta were on display
Fishermen's Village stage and outdoor seating
Everything looks so good in there!
That's all from Fishermen's Village... Have a Happy New Year!
Good thing he was gracious and willing; we spent a few minutes congratulating ourselves for choosing to live in Southwest Florida.
Verb, -eled, -el·ing or (especially British) -elled, -el·ling
Noun, adjective verb (used without object)
To go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship; take a trip, journey–to travel for pleasure.
To move or go from one place or point to another
To proceed or advance in any way
To go from place to place as a representative of a business firm
To associate or consort: He travels in a wealthy crowd
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about traveling. Not sure why, but suspect it has something to do with the impending holiday season. I cannot believe it; we are five weeks away from Christmas. The days are barreling through, toward the end of the year, at the speed of lightning, scary.
Anyway, I have been talking about traveling in “my mind” and that has set my brain in motion—I am now looking at every place I go to as a “travel” destination; convenient, actually. There is a good chance you will be reading more of these stories, as the year-ends; because I will be moving from one point to another very often.
Let the work begin!
Yesterday morning I got up early, thought I would head out of the house–with the intent of going to the park or the beach; take some pictures of birds, the water, boats—or whatever got my eye’s attention; then come back home to write a blog post or two. Well, that was the plan. Before I could get going, I heard some noise outside the door, peeked through the window to see what the racket was and suddenly—there it was, a change of plans. The County, in its infinite wisdom had decided to replace the aluminum culvert pipes around our neighborhood, with concrete ones, and today was our turn. That is fine, but could they have let me know ahead of time?
We need to move...
Not being one to miss an opportunity, I quickly got my Canon out; took some pictures, and went out to talk to the work crew, let them know I might be talking about them in my blog. The men were a good-natured bunch—all they said was “as long as what I had to say about them was good, it would be okay with them”. My response—“it would be all good—as long as I could get out of my driveway”. No problem there, they graciously moved all the heavy trucks and equipment, and I was on my way—to the spot I originally had in mind.
It is beautiful out here,,, the birds agree!
It was a beautiful day, at Gilchrist Park, sunny and bright. There were people out having lunch and reading books under the pavilion. Others were just sitting around enjoying the weather. I got into easy conversation with a woman who reminded me that there will be music on the park Thursday night. I made a mental note of that and went back home.
In addition, I now have added respect for the job those men do every day. It was nearly 90 degrees outside, while they plugged away at their duties. Tough job, but somebody has to do it, right? Glad it is not me.
Life is good!
On any given day, life throws surprises your way, especially in our neighborhood. One day you step outside to find turtles sunning in your backyard, and yet another day you see a bobcat chasing some other animal. Nevertheless, you take it all in stride; life is what you make it, so you learn to enjoy it!
Chica on the Move 