Weedon Island Preserve Observation Tower

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We walked across boardwalks over a mangrove marsh to get to the Observation Tower at Weedon Island Preserve.


Here's a view of the boardwalk from the top of the Observation Tower. You can see the roof of the Natural History Center and the Progress Energy Plant at the horizon.


The fishing pier seen from the Observation Tower.


Take the time to stop, look, and listen as you walk along the boardwalks. You're bound to discover some wildlife, like this crab.


Ibises in the salt water marsh. They are funny looking birds with long, curved beaks.


These fruits are actually miniature mangrove plants in the making called propagules. They will continue to grow longer to look like giant string beans. Eventually the propagules fall into the water and are carried away by the tide. Those that land in a place to take hold and root become trees. The roots capture more silt and debris to form islands.


Fortunately for me, there are signs along the trails to explain such details. Now I know what those big string beans are that we find at the beach in the summer.

There is always something new to discover here.

More photos of Weeden Island Preserve.

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Directions from Tampa
Drive across the Gandy Bridge and turn left at San Martin Blvd. Keep a close eye out for it as soon as you're on the St. Petersburg side of the bridge.

Preserve Hours: Daily, 7am - Sunset
Natural History Center Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 10am-4pm (closed Monday, Tuesday, and holidays)

Night Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-119

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Here's a view of Space Shuttle Discovery on the launch pad shortly before lift-off. Alfonse took photos from across the Banana River on the NASA Causeway about 6 miles away.



The space shuttle launch lights up the evening sky. Nothing can prepare you for how bright the light gets. Night turns into day.



Here you see the space shuttle doing the roll maneuver that inserts it into low Earth orbit. The contrail reflected the colors of the sunset. The colored area of the cloud looked like a rainbow.



The white dots are the solid rocket boosters dropping.

The glowing sunset colors in the contrail was very unusual. It was one of the most visually spectacular launches ever. The launch was visible hundreds of miles away in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami.

More photos of the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-119.

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery Seen in Tampa

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It was a very quiet Sunday evening in our neighborhood, except for me, hooping and hollering in the backyard with my camera. The space shuttle first appeared as a glowing red point of light going straight up. The contrail behind it glowed with bands of sunset colors. It looked amazing, even from 130 miles away!


The wind started tearing the contrail apart right away.


The white cloud is what was left from the space shuttle roll maneuver that puts it into orbit.

The Ringling Estate and Art Museum in Sarasota

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The John and Mable Ringling Estate is a large campus that includes the Art Museum, Circus Museums, Ca d'Zan mansion and the historic Asolo Theatre. The Ringlings are famous for their part in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.


The circus overwintered in Sarasota, Florida in the early 20th century. The number of people, animals, and equipment that moved with the circus was enormous. It was like moving an entire town by railroad. When you think of a circus the first thing you picture is the performers and their animals, but there was so much more going on behind the scenes. There was a different set of tented stables for the performing horses and work horses. A large group of animals was part of a menagerie kept in its own tent as a traveling zoo. There were blacksmiths, carpenters, mechanics, cooks, set designers, and costume designers to name a few skilled workers that traveled with the circus.


The calliope is a steam powered organ. It is in the Circus Museum along with a lot of other colorful wagons and animal cages that were part of circus parades.


There were trams to take you around the park. This tram stop is in front of the Ca d'Zan mansion. Ca d'Zan means "House of John" in Venetian dialect. It was the winter residence of John and Mable Ringling and was constructed in the 1920's. It is an enormous Venetian style palace by the water.


The place is so ornate that it's gaudy, but when you think of circus people living here, it fits. This photo is of a room used as a dance hall.


The ceiling depicts couples dancing. Each segment has different characters in colorful costumes. If you look closely you'll find that one of the couples is John and Mable Ringling in costume. You can tell that the mansion wasn't just for John and Mable. The rooms on the lower floors were for entertaining a lot of people.


This facade faces the waters of Sarasota bay. The floor of the terrace is made of colored marble. There are so many details to marvel at. After we left Ca d'Zan we got on a tram headed for the famous Ringling Art Museum.

We were in awe when we stepped into the Art Museum's courtyard.


Here's a gilded room in the Art Museum. As amazing as it is, we didn't make it through the entire Art Museum. There is so much to see here.

You can get a map of the grounds at the ticket counter. I recommend picking out the things you want to see most and going there first. It's hard see it all in one day. You can also plan your visit using the web site http://www.ringling.org/.

As we were leaving I heard circus music playing in my head. I thought of a sign in one of the Circus Museum buildings that reads "May All Your Days be Circus Days."

Hours:
Open Daily 7 days a week 10am - 5:30pm
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Days

Admission:
Adults $20
Children (ages 6-17) $7
Children under 6 Free of Charge
Discounts for Seniors, Teachers, and Active US Military personnel

Parking is free.

More photos of the Ringling Estate and Art Museum in Sarasota, Florida

Fort DeSoto

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Today we visited the old fort at Fort DeSoto Park. Construction of the fort began in 1898. The fort is built into the side of a hill, and is not visible to approaching ships. Grass, trees and other plants cover the artillery area. It was meant to defend Tampa Bay during the Spanish American War. No shots were fired here other than practice shots. Houses and administration buildings were once nearby. All that remains of them are the foundations.


Storage of artillery materials was in the lower level inside the hill. One of the chambers has historical photos, maps, and drawings.


The data booth is behind the cannons.


You can walk along the top of the fort and look down on the cannons.


The things that look like little green houses are for ventilation of the storage chambers below.


A view of the fishing pier from the top of the fort.


A view of the beach from the top of the fort.

We usually come to Fort DeSoto Park to go to the beach. Winter is a good time to walk around or ride bikes. There is a snack bar and gift shop near the fort. Bike and kayak rentals are also nearby.

More photos of Fort DeSoto historic site.

Admission
$0.35 per car
Parking is free

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

We picked up some visitors from the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, had lunch at Clearwater beach, and went to Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA). The animals here have been found injured, are rescued, and then rehabilitated to be released back to their natural habitat. CMA's specialty is with dolphins, sea turtles, and sea otters, to name a few species. Those that can't be released become permanent residents here. What makes this place different from other zoos or aquariums is that each of these animals has a name and a story.


We walked downstairs to look in the windows of the big dolphin tank. This dolphin is one of four permanent residents. His name is Nicholas. The white marks on his back are scars from sunburn. He was stranded as a calf with his mother Noelle on Christmas Eve 2002. His mother did not survive. Nicholas was too young to have learned how to hunt on his own, and has since been a resident here.

Nicholas and a trainer during the dolphin show.

Nicholas looking through the window at Winter. She was very chatty. They say that she is the most vocal dolphin here.

Winter is the most famous resident at CMA. She was found wrapped in a crab trap when she was 3 months old. She lost her tail as a result of her injuries. Winter learned how to swim side to side like sharks do. She has been an inspiration to handicapped people around the world.

A prosthetic tail was developed for her. The new technology developed for the tail has helped improve human prosthetics.

A sea turtle diving. A sign with the name and story for each animal was by their tank.

We enjoyed seeing the animals and seashell displays. Our guests from Ohio had never seen dolphins up close. It's fun introducing people to new experiences.

Admission Fees
Adults $11.00
Children (age 3-12) $7.50
Seniors (age 60+) $9.00

Parking is free.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium also offers boat tours, behind the scenes tours, and dolphin photo ops.

Florida Whelks and Hermit Crabs

I never get tired of going to the beach. Every season is different. We went to Fort DeSoto Park's North Beach today and found a lot of large mollusks and hermit crabs. I usually don't see these larger specimens so close to shore during warm weather months.

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Here's a large whelk out for a stroll near the shore. The water was too cold for me to want to walk in. A lady vacationing from the state of Washington waded into the water to get it.


It took the whelk a few minutes to totally retract into its shell. Cold blooded animals move slower when they're cold. We all took pictures and then put it back in the water.


We found a lot of large hermit crabs near the shore. This one has a horse conch shell for a home.


Here's one at home in a whelk shell. This is the biggest hermit crab I've ever seen. It looked like a small lobster.



We stayed to watch the sunset and then went home.

More Photos of Fort DeSoto Park in Winter

Winter at Fort DeSoto Park

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The water was a beautiful clear blue-green. The winter had cleansed the ocean from the cloudiness of the fall season. The weather is changeable in winter, as if Mother Nature can't decide what shoes to wear. It can be cold and windy at the beach. We lucked out today and had calm, sunny weather. I carried my flip flops and walked in the cool water.


There are less people around in the winter and you can see more wild life. There are many different species of birds that hang around together. If you approach them slowly they'll accept your presence as that of another big goofy bird.


Here's a turnstone sandpiper. It was turning over stones and shells to find munchies.


Wade into the water for a closer look. It's much easier to get a good look at the pelicans when people aren't swimming in the water.


The sea washes up different types of creatures and seashells seasonally. We found a lot of dead sea urchins scattered around the shore. Here's a sea urchin in the water.

It was a nice day for walking on the beach.

More pictures of Fort DeSoto Park in Winter

Bok Tower Gardens

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It was a beautiful sunny day in December when we visited Bok Tower Gardens. Christmas carols rang from the carillon in the Tower and the sweet fragrance of camelias drifted through the air.


At first I mistook the camelia blooms for roses, because their smell and appearance are similar.


The intricate details and colors of the Tower are amazing. The exterior is made of colored marble. Scenes of trees, flowers, and wildlife are depicted on colored ceramic tiles. Adam and Eve are in the tile scene at the balcony.


Marble eagles stand like sentinels around the crown of Bok Tower.


There are many places to sit and enjoy the setting.

The hill that Bok Tower stands on is at the highest point of elevation in Florida. You can see the ordered lines of orange groves for miles.

Bok Tower bears the name of Edward Bok. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, and editor of "Ladies Home Journal" magazine during the late 1800's. Nearby Pinewood Estates was the Bok family's winter residence.

Bok became enamored by the natural setting around the hilltop and wanted to preserve it. Bok Tower was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge after its completion in 1929. The estates were donated to the American people after Bok's death in 1930 as a sign of gratitute for the opportunities they had given him.


We had lunch at the cafe by the Visitors Center and then set out on a path towards the Pinewood Estates' manor house.


The mansion was decorated for Christmas.


A grand old oak tree shades the back of the house. I was impressed with how much of the architecture and decor was Spanish, considering Bok was from the Netherlands and owned a business headquarted in the Northeastern U.S. I asked one of the docents about the Spanish influence and she said that Bok traveled to South America often and admired Spanish styles.


A fountain on a patio near the entrance covered with painted tiles reminded me of the painted tiles at The Columbia restaurant in Ybor City.


I felt a little like Alice in Wonderland walking through a grove of tangerine trees cut into identical topiary shapes as we left Pinewood Estates. I thought about the words of Edward Bok over the entrance to the grounds as we departed, "Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it."

Location
Lake Wales, Florida is about an hour's drive east from Tampa on Route 60.

Admission Fees
Parking is free. Admission to the grounds is $10 per person. Admission to the Pinewood Estates manor house is $8 per person.

More photos of our visit to Bok Tower Gardens and Pinewood Estates.