Just Chillin' at Honeymoon Island

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It was a beautiful day at Honeymoon Island in Dunedin, Florida. People were enjoying the bench swings at the beach at the north parking lot. Further down the shoreline you can see a group of people shelling. It seemed like you could see every kind of blue imaginable in the water and the sky. The hustle and bustle of the working week was washed away by the beautiful scenery and the sound of waves breaking on the beach.

We saw rocks all over the beach so, we turned around to head to the south beach parking lot. We hoped to get away from the rocky terrain.


Here is the view to the south (from the beach at the south parking lot). You can see the white sand of Caledesi Island and the high rise hotels of Clearwater in the distance. There's a ferry to Caladesi Island from Honeymoon Island. The two islands used to be connected until a hurricane seperated them in the 1920's.


We rediscovered the rocky terrain in the water along the shore. You can see people teetering along as they try to walk over the rocks to get in the water. Once you get past the rocks the sand is smooth, and there is a sandbar nearby.


Here is a live whelk found at the sandbar.

The beach was beautiful, but the rocks made it difficult to get in and out of the water. Alfonze developed a technique of laying down and floating over the rocks using his hands to "walk" over them. I had a hard time walking on the rocks, even with beach shoes on. Despite the inconvenience of the rocks it is still a nice beach and I would come back again. The facilities are modern, clean, and well lit.

I'd like to go to Caledesi Island, which was voted #1 Beach in North America this year by Dr. Beach. It is only accessible by boat. Honeymoon Island will be a great place to explore in the winter when we are walking rather than swimming at the beach.

More photos taken at Honeymoon Island

Related Links:
Caladesi Island State Park
Honeymoon Island State Park

STS-124 Shuttle Discovery Launch

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We picked a spot across the Indian River from the launch pad near Kennedy Point Park in Titusville, Florida to view the launch of Shuttle Discovery.


Shuttle Discovery clears the launch pad.


The space shuttle cuts through the clouds.


Close-up of Shuttle Discovery.


The path of Shuttle Discovery from the Earth to the roll that aligns it for LEO (Low Earth Orbit).

Travel Recommendations

We opted to spend the night in Titusville rather than fight traffic at 5:45pm, right after Kennedy Space Center closes. Titusville and the immediate area around it called The Space Coast doesn't really have the infrastructure to support the massive amounts of people who travel there for shuttle launches. Restaurants are also over capacity, so we take a cooler loaded with food and water. It is great to have a Sunpass for this trip in particular, because you can drive through the tolls and pay electronically instead of having to stop to pay cash. The Sunpass is a fantastic time saver when all the toll booths are backed up after shuttle launches. I highly recommend avoiding the Bee Line Expressway (FL-528) after a shuttle launch. The toll booths back up for miles and there are no rest areas between Titusville and Orlando.

Road Directions to Gulf Coast After Shuttle Launch

When we do drive home after a shuttle launch we go north of Titusville taking either U.S. Route 1 or I-95 north to SR-46 to drive east towards Sanford. Near Geneva take Oviedo Road (SR- 426) south to FL-417 south. FL-417 is a toll road that takes you around Orlando International Airport and ends directly at I-4, which takes you west to I-75 (today's Dixie Highway) and the Gulf Coast.

Visiting Kennedy Space Center

The best time to visit Kennedy Space Center is on a non-shuttle-launch-day. Traffic is usually no problem in and out of Titusville. If you want to Mapquest the Kennedy Space Center, look up Orsino, Florida.

Related links:
Kennedy Space Center
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
NASA: Space Shuttle
Sunpass

How to Clean Sea Shells

Materials:

* protective eyewear
* rubber gloves
* bucket of water
* tool to remove barnacles
* small brush for scrubbing
* plastic bowl for bleach solution
* plastic tool for use in bleach solution
* mineral oil or baby oil
* soft cloth for polishing shells with oil

How to clean sea shells:

1) Use protective eyewear while cleaning shells. Barnacles tend to fly off unexpectedly, and bleach can injure eyes.

2) Scrub with a small brush in water. Remove barnacles with your fingers or a small tool.

This is assuming there is no live animal inside the shell that needs to be removed first. I don't harvest live mollusks. Some places in Florida limit how many live animals you can take. Others prohibit it.

Don't dump sandy water down the drain or toilet. Sand will clog drain pipes. Dump sandy water out in the yard.

3) Soak in a 50/50 solution of bleach and water. Use rubber gloves to protect your skin from the bleach. Use plastic tools for moving shells around in the bleach solution. There is no set amount of time. Usually a few minutes is all it takes to remove the outer layer of debris on the shell.

Take care to dispose of bleach solution properly.

4) Rinse the shell in water and scrub more if necessary. Then allow the shell to dry.

5) Polish with mineral oil or baby oil. This will bring out the color of the shell. Don't use food oils used for cooking, because they will eventually become rancid and smell bad.

Here's an example shell.

Before: This crown conch was covered with mud. Underneath the mud was a thick layer of algae. I used a bucket of water and a fingernail brush to scrub it. I dug out the mud that was packed inside the shell with a small screwdriver. Bleaching removed the outer layer of algae, but the shell still looked dull. Some color was showing through the inside, so I persisted with the clean up. I tried sanding it with fine sandpaper, but stopped. I didn't want to ruin the fine details on the shell.


After: I continued to soak the shell in water after bleaching, and scrubbed some more. After allowing the shell to dry I started polishing with mineral oil. The texture of the shell made it hard for the mineral oil to soak in, so I held it over a bowl and dumped the mineral oil all over the shell. That is when the color finally started to show up.

After: The top of the shell was a dull beige color before the mineral oil bath. I was so amazed when the stripes appeared. I'm glad I didn't ruin the details with sandpaper. The crown looks like fine porcelain.

Related links:
Seashells.org
The Shell Factory, Fort Myers, Florida
The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel, Florida

Sea Shells from Fort Desoto Park

Sea Shells by Sunshine Skyway Bridge

We found these shells at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge south rest area.

Funny Sign in Ruskin

Now hiring sausage biscuits.

Tomato Festival in Ruskin, Florida

Here are some cool old tractors. These photos are from the heritage area at the Ruskin Tomato and Heritage Festival.

Water pumps.

Spinning, weaving, and knitting.

Blacksmith

Skins and tents.

Lithia Springs Park, Florida

Lithia Springs is the source of the Alafia River.


The swimming area at the big spring.

One of the smaller springs. The water is clear blue-green and smells sweet. There were many different kinds of fish. They must be used to being fed by people, because a group of fish swam towards us as soon as we came to the edge. Alfonze remembers swimming in springs like this when he was a kid. Back then he saw water moccasin snakes with heads as big as your fist slithering into the water. (((Correction: Snakes with heads as big as a 10-year-old's fist.)))
Maybe that's why the smaller springs are fenced off now with no swimming signs posted.

The banks of the Alafia River look like another world. It looks dark and sinister compared to the springs. We found a sign by the river that said "Don't feed the alligators!"

Light shimmers on the surface of the spring water.

Palm trees strike poses that look like cobra snakes.

The water from the springs smells sweet and is clear, but it was slimy to touch. I'm not sure I would want to go swimming in it. I was fascinated with the natural terrain around the springs and the Alafia River. You don't have to walk far to get to those areas.

The entry fee to Lithia Springs Park is $4 per car.

Click here to see more photos from Lithia Springs Park.

Big Whelk Shell Found at Fort DeSoto

We found some great shells at Fort DeSoto today. The shell on the left is a whelk and is over 7" long. The shell on the right is a fighting conch and is about 4" long. The whelk was buried in the sand. The whiter, sun bleached part of the shell was all that was sticking out of the sand. Both shells were unoccupied. We found a lot of shells today that I've never seen before.

Emerson Point Preserve on Snead Island

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This view is from the observation tower. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is in the background and a boardwalk through the marsh is in the foreground.


Boardwalk through mangrove marsh.


Blanket flower.

Wild pointsettia.


I was impressed with the variety of wildflowers.


View of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge near the head of the Beach Trail. There are a lot of small beaches in nooks and crannies among shade trees along the Beach Trail. It's a quiet, secluded setting. You feel like you're on your own private beach, even though there are other people along the trail.


Fishing off the Beach Trail.


A mangrove tree growing in salt water. The roots look like stilts. Mangroves are island builders. Sand and debris get caught up in the roots. Material accumulates to support other plant life, and voila! The island gets bigger.


Strangler fig. These trees seed as parasites on the bark of other trees, usually palm trees. The roots grow and touch soil. The strangler fig eventually covers the host tree with root shoots. Creepy, isn't it?

This was an interesting place to explore. There is no admission fee. I think it is one of the best kept secrets in Manatee County. It's not on any of my maps, and there's scarcely any information on the web about Emerson Point Preserve. I thought something interesting might be out here because there is an Indian mound noted on a map and it looked like there might be some cool sandbars or beaches at the point of Snead Island.

The Portavent Temple Mound is at the first parking lot near the entrance. Stop there to get map of the park and see the ancient Indian mounds. The Portavent Temple Mound is the largest Indian mound in the Tampa Bay area.

Directions to Emerson Point Preserve from Palmetto, Florida:
Go west on 10th Street West, cross the bridge to Snead Island, right on Tarpon Avenue, then left on 17th Street West which ends at the Preserve entrance.

St. Petersburg in Sunset from Bahia Beach

Driving Home from Tennessee

Signs promoting Rock City and Ruby Falls are all along I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga. One of these days I'd like to stop there and take a look.


Spring colors along the highway.


Driving through the mountains.


Houses on top of a mountain in Chattanooga.

Redbud Tree

Here's a close up of the flowers on a redbud tree. We went for a walk this morning along a stream near Abigail's house. The M&M sisters ran around looking for frogs. We could hear them croaking, but couldn't find any. It was nice to see spring flowers like tulips and daffodils.

Nick-A-Jack Lake Rest Area on I-24

It's Grandma Apple's birthday, and we're on our way to Nashville from Florida. Nick-A-Jack Lake is just past Chattanooga on I-24. Part of I-24 goes into Georgia for a few miles, then back into Tennessee. Nick-A-Jack Lake is nearby after returning to Tennessee. The rest areas are gorgeous. There's one on each side of the highway. This is the westbound side.

Here's a scenic view from the bottom of the hill at the rest area.

There are picnic shelters and tables available. A Tennessee visitor information station is in the parking lot.

The redbud trees were in bloom all over the South. Wisteria vines were in bloom near Atlanta. They grew like weeds all over the trees along the roads. Wisteria has light purple flowers that hang from bunches like grapes.

Sonic Boom

Shuttle Endeavor landed in Florida tonight. We watched NASA TV on cable to see the approach to Florida from the Gulf. Then we went outside to look for it. We saw the previous shuttle come in for a landing from our backyard. Whether or not we can see it from Tampa all depends on what approach it takes as it comes down. The sky was clear and we saw some airplanes, but not the shuttle. As it approached Florida's west coast just south of here we heard the sonic boom. There were 2 booms, like a double click. It was a low-pitched, soft boom-boom. I was outside and felt it in my chest.

Shuttle Endeavor Reaches the International Space Station

Shuttle Endeavor reached the International Space Station tonight around 10:45pm. They are showing live footage on NASA TV. First the shuttle did a roll maneuver to enable the astronauts on the space station to see the underside of the shuttle to inspect the heat shield. Then the shuttle docked with the space station. They seemed to go through endless checkslists to check the seals before opening the hatch. Once they opened the hatch to let the shuttle crew onboard the ISS you could tell the veteran astronauts from the rookies. It was funny. The veterans started floating around to get aquainted with the people and surroundings. The rookies floated through the door and hovered in one spot.

STS-123 Shuttle Endeavor Launch

This is the first night launch in 5 years. It is scheduled for Tuesday morning 2:30am EDT. We opted to view the launch from the grounds of a hotel across the Indian River. We met a lot of interesting people. Many were seeing a space shuttle launch for the first time. Two former fighter pilots who work at Johnson Space Center in Houston explained what was happening before launch. There were a lot of aircraft flying around Kennedy Space Center. Some were weather planes flying in and out of the clouds. There were several space shuttle training aircraft making passes at the runway. One of the pilots we met explained that if the training aircraft had any trouble trying to land, then the launch would be scrubbed. Otherwise, the space shuttle would also have trouble landing in case of an emergency after lift off. There were fighter aircraft flying around the area and helicopters with spot lights checking the coast line.

I was not prepared for how bright the light from the launch was. The shuttle launch turned night into day. I hurried to close the iris on my old Minolta camera before taking more photos.

The shuttle looked like a brilliant star that lit up the entire area. It was moving so fast that the low rumbling sound of lift off took a few seconds to reach us after the shuttle was off the ground.

Then shuttle Endeavor disappeared into the clouds. There was a brief moment when the clouds and vapor trail were lit up like a mushroom. It was eerie looking.

The hotel parking lot was a mess as people piled into their cars to leave. We were glad to go back to the hotel room to spend the night rather than sit in traffic.

I highly recommend avoiding SR 528 (Bee Line/Beach Line Expressway) after a space shuttle launch. We didn't know any better the first time we saw a launch. It took us 2 hours to get to Kennedy Space Center from Tampa, but it took 6 hours to get home. Now our strategy is to either drive north of Orlando, then head south toward Tampa, or to spend the night in Titusville. We also bought a Sunpass, which lets us drive through the tolls instead of stopping to pay cash.

Seeing a space shuttle launch is a spectacular sight, but the best time to visit Kennedy Space Center is not on a shuttle launch day. The new technologies developed at NASA are fascinating. Come the day before or after to take tours and see the sights.

Related links:
Kennedy Space Center

NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day

NASA: Space Shuttle

Sunpass