Time And Video

I have been trying to get caught up with photos from my latest adventures but also thought I would give you a look at what I have been up to that slowed me down as I worked on them.

Some of you are aware I have a You Tube Channel that I use to host the videos I present on this and another site. You Tube has started a feature that allows you to create an introduction video for your channel. After putting up over 30 videos (not a huge number but a lot for me) I finally decided to put up an intro video so that viewers had a chance to understand my channel and maybe decide to look around.

I will confess that while I love doing video, I subscribe to the school of thought that wants to get beyond putting up a raw unfinished product, and so... it takes me a little while to put one together. One (wo)man shops usually work that way. But I hope you like what I've done and the channel intro is provided below.

Now to just find the time to upload my pictures from a recent Feather Horse festival. 

Hope this picture increases your patience while you wait...

My Cherrie amor...

So much has been going on lately that Alex and I decided to take a trip to our favorite place, the San Sebastian Winery in St Augustine, to just enjoy the atmosphere and see what new wines they had in store. As always click each photo for a better view.

It was your usual wonderful Florida day filled with flowers despite the heat.

I love San Sebastian Winery because they change the tours as they introduce new wines so each trip is an adventure.

It also changes with each tour guide because different guides decide to highlight different aspects of the wine production process. This time we got Mike who was a wealth of information in addition to being a fun guy!

I say that because he seemed almost as happy to pour for the tasting as we were to drink. And later when Alex decided to buy a few new bottles, the glow of the last few drops caused me to begin singing "My Cherie Amor" to cast my vote for some of their great Sherry. Alex made his purchase and pushed me into the upstairs restaurant to get a little food and let the tasting wear off.

We later rode our bikes into St. Augusting proper and stopped by the Visitors Center, a place we have passed a million times but never entered. We found out what we had been missing was considerable.

And then Alex caught sight of this little scooter shop.

He settled on this three wheel job and we spent an hour spinning around the City with Alex returning the favor and singing "My Cherrie Amor" with each turn of a corner.

What a guy and what a day!

Climbing the Stairway to Heaven...

Alex has talked to me for ages about going to the St Augustine Light House and I have avoided it as long as possible because as I have mentioned before... I am afraid of heights. I tried every trick possible to get out of going but nothing worked and it was off to a stairway to heaven adventure.

As always click each photo for a better view

We arrive at the site and the sign at the entrance gave an indication that the place is loaded with light house history, some of it dating back to 1586.

After paying for admission and a short walk down a path, we instantly arrive at the lighthouse in all it's glory. Looking at it, my eyes just kept traveling up, and up, and up.... If you look closely at the top there is a small ring that is the observation post which is where we are going to climb.

The tour guide told us the light house keepers were generally a strong lot because every two hours they had to climb 219 steps to the top of the tower carrying fuel in a 30 pound bucket to adjust the light. I thought about it and realized all I was carrying was a very light camera and the view would be more than worth it... So I took a deep breath and decided to give it a try...

I climbed a few steps and realized I didn't feel bad at all and decided to look up. There was this magnificent sight that reminded me of a sea shell or for the mathematically inclined a fractal. A beautiful sight indeed! I kept going.

Right about this level I could see the coast line and wondered despite the drudgery of the work, during the day the keepers must have enjoyed living in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The structure in view from the window is the keepers house which is large and roomy. It had to be because keeping the light house was a family affair. Everyone in the family was called into service to perform some function to keep the light house going.

Talk about a room with a view. You can barely see the top of the keeper's house now but there was the inlet, highlighting a crisp sunny day... also butterflies in the stomach, red alert!

And here is my reward. It is a wonderful sight with a clear view for miles of the entire inlet. I will admit that my heart was pounding and I stayed well back from the railing but it was more than worth it.

And to add to the excitement of the trip was a display of the various types of lens used at the light house. The Fresnel lens was the preferred model because it's separate section design made them lighter and also allowed the light to be seen for far greater distances.

You can see from the photos they were technological marvels for their time that are still used today in traffic lights and even the headlights of your car. And, they look like huge diamonds!

Going down was a lot easier than going up and as we did I congratulated myself on making it to the top.



And, as we drove away and could see the light house in the distance I realized how much I enjoyed taking the stair way to heaven.

Is it Possible to Wander Too Far…?

Last weekend we had a big laugh and also had to ask ourselves if it is possible to wander too far.

On our way back from the Kingsley Plantation we kept passing a power plant set out in the woods away from everything. The night before we had been in the area and Alex had even taken pictures of what seemed like a thousand lights lit up against the night sky. After we passed it a couple of times I decided we should stop and see if they offered tours.

Alex is always up for a new adventure and it is unusual for him to express reluctance to snoop around and take pictures but this time he kept saying “I don’t know…” but I pressed the point and we continued. There was this smoke stack that was huge and I wanted a shot of it in all its glory.

We pulled into the parking lot and looked up at the smoke stack which now seemed ten times larger than it had appeared from the entrance. As I searched for the identification outlined in the instructions at the gate Alex kept saying “I don’t know…” but I would not be denied. This was a chance for a picture and I was going to get one.

I walked up to the office door, opened it, introduced myself to the security guard and explained that we wanted to know if we could go on a tour and take some pictures. He in turn asked if I had some special type of identification and I said “No” But why should I have to have it! The recent rate increase and subsequent rise in my utility bill should be more than enough to allow me to wander around and take some pictures.

The security guard gave me the strangest look and then replied “This is a nuclear power plant and there is NOTHING to see here.” I stood there for a moment just sort of letting the words sink in and then replied “You’re Right!” and hurriedly rushed for the door.

Back at the car I relayed my recently acquired information to Alex who responded that he thought I knew, as we even more hurriedly drove away. The tower I thought was a smoke stack was a cooling tower.

And so, in our never ending search for adventure… we almost had a chance to meet Homer Simpson!

Sherlock Holmes and The Two Detectives...

I sometimes think that we are a little odd (me and Alex) with our constant wandering in search of adventure. I say that because we never seem to meet a stranger and think that everyone has a story to tell as long as you are willing to take the time to listen. I personally subscribe to the theory that life is lived between two doors. You open the first door and start walking... and then you reach the other door and life ends. I really believe that is true, and I have resolved that as long as I am walking between those two doors it makes sense look around a bit, and if possible take a picture.

That said, I am overjoyed to be able to invite you to view one of my favorite passions. I love mysteries, but not just any kind of mystery. The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes kind of mystery. I am a sucker for Holmes and never tire of reading the Sherlock Holmes Anthology or watching a Holmes movie. And, if you add the mindset of Holmes himself it is more than exciting. He is a walking brain that is only happy when he is struggling to put it to use.

You can therefore imagine my excitement roaming around Springfield when we discovered the Karpeles Manuscript Museum and learned their current exhibit was “The Detective (Sherlock Holmes), The Detective Scholar (Dorothy Sayers) and The Spy (James Bond). Right here in Jacksonville were copies of their original manuscripts. We simply had to go...!

To add to the adventure we were going to do a little handwriting analysis of the writers. We did some research on the subject because pressure and slant tell you a lot about a person. We were now ready to take off and dig into the psyche of..."The Detective!"

Deep stuff huh...?!

The museum... no long lines or crowds even though admission is free. Back to our being odd, because we welcomed the solitary aspect and viewed this as opportunity for us to roam around and ask questions. Crowds mean competition and it was apparent we would have none.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)

Conan Doyle as a medical student was the assistant to Doctor Joseph Bell and it is widely believed that Bell was the person who inspired the character Sherlock Holmes. In a strange twist you could almost say Conan Doyle was actually Watson observing Bell.

Let's first view the handwriting of Dr. Bell. There appears to be deep pressure but not as much slant except for his "t's"

Conan Doyle's script on the other hand does not seem that different from Dr. Bell's except that there is not as much pressure.

Funny, but what actually got me started down this handwriting analysis rabbit hole is that Conan Doyle frequently received suggestions from readers about things he could use in the Holmes series, and one reader suggested having Holmes analyze someone's handwriting to solve a case. Conan Doyle corresponded frequently with the reader to understand the concept of handwriting analysis but abruptly stopped when the reader one day made the mistake of analyzing Conan Doyle's.

Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey)

Dorothy Sayers strokes appear to exert moderate pressure and also have a slightly more right slant.

Ian Fleming (James Bond)

Ian Fleming's notes from "You only live Twice" seem to have pressure but not nearly as much as Dr. Bell's, and yet a lot more flair than Sayers.

I'll leave it to you to dig deeper into how each of them is different but we asked tons of questions. The caretaker could see he had some willing snoopers and gave us the grand tour of other exhibits not currently on display. The next three photos are part of our tour.

And then a friend of the caretaker came by to help him close. He had a guitar, and right in the middle of the building was a stage with a piano. Alex could not resist and offered to play a few songs with him while I sat in the balcony.

Would you like to hear them play? Of course you would...

We closed the afternoon convinced that we learned a lot and also accepted that yes we truly are odd, but in a pleasant sort of way...

Adventures in The Okefenokee Swamp

Awhile back we decided to strike out close to home and visit Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. It is just enough across the Florida border to give you the impression of taking a long trip but is just down the road.

Just before we entered Georgia we stopped at one of the inspection stations and talked briefly with the wonderful officer Penny. He is the first line of defense against illegal fruit and other contraband being brought into the state of Florida. He was a wealth of knowledge in addition to being entertaining.





And there on the horizon... Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. You can't miss it as you are truly in the country and it is the biggest draw around.





The Eastern part of the Park offers a re-creation of a early swamp farm. It is characteristic of what is called "cracker" houses with high tin roofs and a long front porch.





The home kitchen is large and open. Notice the huge iron cooking stove. I'm sure many a meal was cooked in just this manner.




We decided to take the hiking trail off into the swamp. The sign pointing to the trail did not tell us what to expect but we were feeling adventurous.

Our reward was this tower, two miles into the depth of the swamp which would allow us to take a bird's eye view of the entire area.

The view from the top begins to give you an idea of just how large the area is.

The next day we ventured off into the western section of the park (The park is so large there is an Eastern and Western gate entrance). It is both wild and beautiful.

Wild, with tons of Al E. Gators (Alex' joke) everywhere you looked. We took a boat out to get this shot. I kept telling Alex to move the boat closer and he kept reminding me that the ranger said they can jump!

The road back home after an hour in a small boat alone. It was fun but we also were glad to see the dock because we had truly ventured into the wild.