Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Here are a few pups and bird shots from the Island and a few pics from a Saturday trip to the Venice Rookery.

Headlights

MAA ’12 is cranking up! BERT (our motorhome--Big Expensive Road Traveler) is getting serviced, stuff is being sorted and plans are being prepped.

April 13: Depart Pine Island
April 14 - 22: Heading North and West
April 23 - May 5: Chatfield State Park (near Denver) to visit family
May 6 - ?: We will probably stay in Colorado at least for a month, maybe more.

See you next week.

Tags: Bird photography, pet photography, Venice Rookery

Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Gatorland
Before dawn on Sunday, Jan and I drove the easy hour from Auntie’s place in Apopka to Gatorland located south of the Orlando area on the Orange Blossom Trail. Gatorland is a kind of touristy place, with alligators constantly swimming about, but a boardwalk above the ponds go through a rookery hosting all sorts of birds. A nice thing for photographers is that for a few dollars more, they will let you into the park two-and-a-half hours before anyone else. The morning was cloudy with occasional rain making the light soft and perfect for photography. We stayed for three hours shooting birds and a gator or two now and then. www.gatorland.com



































Kennedy
While Jan and the Kids stayed with Auntie, I participated in a client’s national meeting in Orlando, and one afternoon the entire group went to the Kennedy Space Center. It was my first time and a great experience reliving the NASA days of Mercury and Apollo.







Airboat Rides (or Up to My _ _ _ in Alligators)
On the way back from the Space Center, our buses took a short detour to Cocoa to eat fried alligator and fish and go out for airboat rides on the river.







Lacrosse Team Dinner
Auntie’s granddaughter Haley plays Lacrosse at Pfeiffer. The entire team had an outdoor dinner at Cousin Chris’s place near Orlando, and I took a few pics.

Headlights

MAA ’12 tentative departure date is set! We are pleased to announce that Motoring Across America 2012 is already in the planning and our tentative date of departure is April 13. More to come…

See you next week.

Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Boat Club
I took my camera to our monthly Boat Club meeting and took a few action shots.







Check out the website for more pics: http://www.pineislandboatclub.com/

Walk-Arounds
Here are a variety of shots taken from my daily strolls.





















Venice Rookery
Jan, the Pups, and I headed out at 5:15 Saturday morning to drive the 70 miles to the Venice Rookery. Here we spent two-and-a-half hours shooting birds and enjoying their nest building. If you like watching birds in action, this is a great place to go this time of year.
http://www.veniceaudubon.org/rookery.html











Myakka River State Park
Next we drove to visit Myakka River State Park in search of spoonbills. We found some, but they were too far away to shoot. Great park, though--we will be back. http://www.myakkariver.org/index.php



Raptor Center
From there we drove to Auntie’s in Apopka, dropped off our bags and the Pups, loaded up Auntie, and headed to the Raptor Center. Along with seeing some of the other birds of prey, we got to see a master falconer fly a pair of Harris Hawks. Great fun!

Headlights

MAA ’12 tentative departure date is set! We are pleased to announce that Motoring Across America 2012 is already in the planning stages and our tentative date of departure is April 13. More to come…

See you next week after a few days at “The Mouse.”

Tags: Pine Island, Bird photography, Myakka River State Park, Venice Rookery, Raptor Center

Contents

Rearview Mirror - Summary of the past week
Headlights - Our schedule as to where we will be heading

Note: click on any photo for a larger image/slideshow)

Rearview Mirror

Oregonians
A couple of RV friends from Oregon spent the weekend with us, and we had the chance to do a couple of boat and car rides around the Island.











NYC Pilgrimage



I had a quick trip to New York, where I had an engagement with a long-time client that went very well. Luckily, I had a free half-day, so I walked the few block from my mid-town hotel to the B&H Photo/Video Superstore. What a store! Anyone into photography, video, or anything to do with electronics will walk around in awe at the hundreds of displays and thousands of pieces of equipment. Besides that, the people behind the counter know what they are talking about! What a great time. Yes, in case you are wondering, I did make a small purchase. ☺

Walk Around Photography
Here are a few shots taken walking around the Island. You’ll note that Ozzie and Harriet, the osprey pair, are still at it.





























Racing Ducks
Saturday was the annual Duck Race--a fun, fundraising event for the nonprofit Calusa Land Trust. Here are a few photos from this event.

Headlights

MAA ’12 tentative departure date is set! We are pleased to announce that Motoring Across America 2012 is already in the planning and our tentative date of departure is April 13. More to come…

See you next week after a week at home on the Island.

Tags: Bird photography, Pine Island