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Posted on 02/24/2006 9:52:11 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
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Still round the corner there may wait |
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Home is behind, the world ahead, |
Nice pics. But so far we have no proof that ~you~ were there.
There's something about the Southland in the springtime
Where the waters flow with confidence and reason
Though I miss her when I'm gone it won't ever be too long
Till I'm home again to spend my favorite season
When God made me born a Yankee He was teasin'
There's no place like home and none more pleasin'
Than the Southland in the springtime
Well, that all sounds reasonable and I'm glad it's in writing too.
Now the place really is yours.
Aly once again in charge of the music selections.
Becky not worried about what music Aly picks.
Hey, looky there... a toll booth. Coming soon to a bridge near me...
Miami and Ruthy not knowing she's in the picture...
Out to key biscayne...
The girls next to a full scale sculpture of a Humpback whale tail. Yep... they really are that big.
Aly getting her first view of a real live dolphin. She was... impressed... :-)
Manatees. This exhibit is actually part of a Manatee rescue and rehab unit, that takes in injured animals from boat strikes and such.
I think there's a law that says tourists to Miami are required to get at least one picture of flamingoes.
...and Parrots.
You know... with an engine and some steering, this thing could be a whole lot of fun...
"Don't you dare take my --" Click. I think she's reaching in her purse for a gun.
Just a cool tree.
Cool tree being used for glamour shot.
The girls playing in the big pirate ship.
The pirate ship has water cannons on it, and some others on a dock platform... and they really work... how cool is that? Nobody leaves this place dry.
Waiting for flipper...
Flipper! This is actually the place where the TV series was filmed. The sets are still there.
The seal / Sea Lion show was really neat. I got some video of it too.
Of course... the main event... the Orca show with Lolita, and some Pacific Whiteside dolphins. I've never seen PW dolphins used in shows before, but they were great. Curiously enough they're native to the Pacific, and they're seen in Puget Sound. I've seen them out front of the house, and of course off the bow of a certain Coast Guard Cutter. I didn't take many pictures in this show. We were right in front and it involved massive volumes of water being jettisoned from the tank... and yep... we got suitably wet.
Miami skyline from Key Biscayne...
Mission accomplished... on to Saturday...
Heh... funny how that is.
But... there's a couple coming up...
Yep, you have to work at that.
"Corin how come you weren't around Jr. and the Mrs. for the last sixteen years..."
**waiting**
What great posts! (Despite the sneaksy pics of me in there.)
That's one of the prettiest pictures of the Miami skyline that I've ever since. Not bad, honey. :-D
And you already know I love that picture of Aly at the dolphin tank.
hehehehe...
*drums fingers on desk*
Cool pix so far...
Hehehe.....herding kittens.
SirKit had thought that Huntsville might be a place to look for a job. He could get something there if he wanted to. It is a nice looking place; somewhat hilly. My nephew and his wife lived there for a few years. He and their son were caught out on the road one day during a hugh storm that included some nasty tornadoes! Scared the bejeebers outta him. I think he and Kelly had to get out of the car and hit the ditch!
Now that is really convenient, gives a whole new meaning to home delivery.
Evening Folks, those are wonderful pics, thank you for sharing your good times with the Hobbit Hole, it's abundantly clear that 'a good time was had by all'. OB & LSA
SirKit and Clare saw three deer this evening, next to the road that goes along about 500' down the hill behind our house, There is a low point where the road crosses over a stream, and there are wooded areas on both sides. The deer were near the stream in an area near the road. We've seen some before in that area, but it's been a long time.
Thank you!
Stick around. Pics of Ramius coming up! :-)
We did have a very good time.
Watch out! Deer look cute but they make ugly marks on your car. I'm still amazed that we never hit one in all my years of growing up in Western PA.
On the way out to the Everglades. A forest of some of the weirdest looking pine trees I've ever seen. This place had burned, and the trees are greening back up. Except for the horizontal ones that got whacked by hurricanes.
Miccosukee. Say that out loud and try not to smile. Here is a security guard that's about to tell me not to take any pictures in here. Here we can see a vibrant native american culture in its most natural state: the traditional ancient indian casino. Gaudy, yet haunting and mysteriously tribal. It's important to take the kids to see other cultures sometimes so they can celebrate in the multiculturalism that makes this country great. Oh-- and also to get really cheap smokes.
The Everglades!!! There's really a lot of this. It even comes with its own hippie in a VW bus.
Shark Valley park. There's an alligator in the bottom picture if you can spot it.
Here's a gator that's a little easier to spot. He was just laying on the path. He's about seven or so feet long. There's a crowd of people around him. Notice that this one does not have me in the frame with it. (though... we did walk right by him, and he was content to just snooze there.)
It's important to read the signs in this place.
More gators... I swear, it's like the place was just crawling with 'em...
Little baby gators. These little guys are only about a foot long.
I don't know for sure, but I think this is a water moccasin. Dang... there's just all manner of deadly critters in this place. This guy was right next to the trail.
Note the sign again. Also note the big freaking alligator behind it. He can't read the sign from there so he doesn't know he's not supposed to get that close.
Here's another alligator. They should tell people not to get close to the alligators. Maybe put up some signs or something. :-)
Here he is again...
"Hey! I've got an idea... let's go down THIS trail... "
"No, really... It's fine... really... "
More everglades. It just goes on and on and on...
Limestone formations... with these really creepy holes in them with water down there.
OK!!! On to the airboats!!!
This is Jesse. Jesse is our guide and airboat pilot. Jesse is what's known as a "Good ole boy". He was a hoot. This is Jesse sayin' "Anybody here ever been in an airboat before...?" Then pushing off the dock and chuckling "heh... me neither..." Then he passed out cotton balls to put in our ears. He said it's for just in case a gator gets into the boat the screams of the other passengers won't bother you so much. Funny guy, this Jesse... :-)
Becky not too sure about this, just yet...
Jesse.
Some everglades.
It's hard to show the speed at which he was driving this thing through some pretty tight places. But we were movin'...
Some more everglades. In the bottom picture we had stopped and he asked if anybody wanted to get out and walk around, since the water was only about 18 inches deep. Apparently he was actually serious. He didn't have any takers.
This is Hitch, the bird. Hitch comes out and hitches rides on airboats, but leaves before they get back to the dock. "...and he's ain't paid for a single tour yet..."
Zoom zoom zoom... but he did stop frequently and shut off the motor and gave little lessons on the flora and fauna. Knowledgable guy, this Jesse.
Gator.
Jesse and Hitch. Hitch was riding on his shoulder.
Turtles...
A really, really BIG alligator. This guy was about twelve feet long. Jesse pulled the airboat right up nearby, for good picture taking. :-) The alligator was not amused by this.
OK... OK... here's proof that I was, in fact, there. Taken by a guy from Idaho that noticed my WSU cap and asked me to take a picture of him and his wife in this spot. So we asked them to reciprocate.
Jesse hands around this little alligator for us to take pictures with. I was surprised that it didn't feel like what I expected. The skin is soft, except for the little bony plates on the back. I really should have left the sunglasses on, though. What you see there is the "Seattle squint". It's what happens to us northwesterners when the sun comes out.
Ruthy getting cheeky with the gator. Lovable little fella, ain't he?
Jesse. (Note: we're not completely sure that this is his name, but it fits).
Well... there you have it... a successful smoochmoot, and gatormoot, and airboatmoot, and whalemoot, and dolphinmoot. It was a busy few days and we did a lot of stuff. Big fun was had by all. :-)
Dang... that's a lot of pics to load. Sorry about the nasty refresh folks...
~sigh~
Can we do it again?
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