Route A1A To Key West

In October 2000, [Maris] and I drove from the Mid-Atlantic to the Florida Keys for a week in Key West and a week in Islamorada. 15 rolls of film later, we reluctantly headed home. This is the first part of that trip. Above, the requisite shot of Seven Mile Bridge, with the old bridge that once carried Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad visible to the right. Parts of the old bridge were blown up for the movie "True Lies." [Maris] shot; I drove. Good times!

Back Country waters - looking north from the Overseas Highway.

Okay, out of sequence here - two shots of the Cape Florida Lighthouse at Key Biscayne, about an hour before the Overseas driving starts.

I know, I know. WAY out of sequence - here's a better scan of my 1991 shot of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Key West. Couldn't help myself. I love this shot.

In 2000, we found an open window at St. Paul's, and a stained-glass photo op.

Key West Lighthouse!

Yours truly at the End Of The Road in Key West. [Maris]'s shot!

Another nice one from [Maris]'s camera. World-famous Sloppy Joe's, where Hemingway drank. The stuff on the roof will be used during the Fantasy Fest Parade, scheduled for the following week.

Even photographed through a screen, the beach at La Mer Bed and Breakfast is simply perfect.

The schooner "Western Union" as it passes the daily sunset celebration at Mallory Square in Key West.

Even with haze, the Mallory Square sunsets are almost always photo-worthy. Here was our first as Mr. & Mrs., but certainly not our last.

More to come. Thanks for stopping by!

Lights! Camera! Whatnot!

More lighthouse action. Above - Point Lookout, MD - 1999.

There's something irresistible about short, pudgy lighthouses. This is Piney Point, MD in 1999, complete with creepy fake plastic keeper looking out the cupola.

Long lens, weird light and weirder developing all conspire to make this print less than ideal, but for what it's worth, here's Spring Point Ledge Light in Portland, ME in 1998.

It's a pretty rare thing to have an opportunity to photograph one lighthouse from atop another lighthouse. That's what's happening in the shot above. This is New Cape Henry Light, shot from the top of Old Cape Henry Light, at Fort Story, VA in 1999.

Here is what happens when a lighthouse is subjected to war and neglect. This is Cockspur Island Light in Georgia, and it needs some work in this 1999 shot.

In the "difficult to find and not in the best of neighborhoods" category, this is Lazaetto Point Light in Baltimore, MD - 1999. [Maris]'s shot!

From the "reachable only by boat" category, here is Smith Point Light in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay waters. It's a little difficult for me to believe this was taken in 1999; it feels like yesterday.

Okay, gang. Gang? Hello? Anyone out there? Oh well. Anyway - back soon (after some more scanning) with Key West and beyond. Thanks for visiting!

Flora, Part Two

More flowery planty stuff. Above: Hibiscus - Baldwin, FL - 1999.

Okay, this is a terrible composition, but we were on a budget and didn't feel like paying to get on the grounds, just for a better shot of the Hemingway House in Key West in 2000. Love the tropicalness, though.

Crazy Cactus Tree - Fort Jefferson - Dry Tortugas, FL - 2000.

I guess I just really like lush tropical greenery. It's a weakness. This is Naples, FL in 1999.

Um, some kind of roses (?) - Chestertown, MD - 1998.

Bougainvillea - Naples, FL - 1999.

Cotton! [Maris]'s favorite kind of farm! This is somewhere on Virginia's Eastern Shore in 1999.

Weird flowery stuff - Rt. 28 near Dickerson, MD - 1999.

There. Thanks for looking! More lighthouses and other fun stuff coming...

More Lights On The Subject

Before we get into some Key West fun, I have a couple more batches of pre-2000 lighthouse photos, starting close to home with an early morning 500mm shot (above) of Sandy Point Shoal Light in the Chesapeake Bay off Sandy Point State Park, MD in 1998.

Even closer to home is the "lighthouse" on the Potomac River at Fort Washington, MD in 1999. Oh, it's still a navigational marker, still has a light and a bell on it, but come on. I kid. We've seen lesser towers than this one. By the way, that brownish hue near the top of the first photo is NOT muddy water - it's a light leak. My beloved Minolta. :( Also, the splendid composition in the second shot comes to us courtesy of my very own partner in artistic crime and everything else, [Maris].

This is a lighthouse photographer's nightmare. The Drum Point Lighthouse has been beautifully restored and moved from its home on the Chesapeake to the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons Island, MD. The people crawling all over it are just a fact of life in the Summer, so we kind of had no choice but to include them in this 1998 shot. {dark, dark muttering}

Yes, I know you can hardly tell that this is even a lighthouse. It is Jones Point Light, on the Potomac in Alexandria, VA in 1999, and the better shots, in which its cupola is more visible, were victims of the aforementioned dreaded light leak.

Not all lights were built in permanent towers on land or rocks. There was also a fleet of lightships, which stood guard over nautical hazards, often in locations too deep to allow construction of permanent lights. This is [Maris]'s 1999 photo of the Overfalls, now residing at Lewes, DE.

Looking like a big black jungle gym, the Reedy Island Rear Range Light still stands over Taylors Bridge, DE. Or, it did in 1999. I assume it's still there.

Back soon with some more assorted flora and lighthouses, then it's off to The Keys!

Flora, Part One

Flowers. Foliage. Photosynthesis. Whatnot. Prettier than trains, I guess. Above: Azalea - Germantown, MD - 1999.

Banyan Tree - Key West, FL - 2000.

Er, "Flowering Tree," Key West, FL - 2000. I don't care what it is - tropical = cool.

Pink Dogwood - Irvington, VA - 1999.

Red Hibiscus - St. Augustine, FL - 1999.

Funky stuff on Clingman's Dome, TN - 1998.

Fan Palm at La Mer in Key West, FL - 2000 (Photo by [Maris])

That's all for tonight. See you next time.

Elsewhere In Florida

There's much more to Florida than lighthouses, theme parks, oranges and hurricanes. Here are a few more non-lighthouse-related images from our 1999 excursion through the Sunshine State. Above - Traffic Light on NW Boca Raton Boulevard in Boca Raton, FL - [Maris]'s shot!

Another one of the few sunrises I've seen in my [large number] years. This is at St. Augustine Beach in February of 1999.

Again, I can't ID this carrier. It's at Naval Station Mayport in mid-February of 1999. Anyone?

Had to crop out some cars, but we love, love, love this shot of Ancient City Baptist Church in St. Augustine.

Um, Daytona International Speedway - Daytona, FL. (You might have guessed.) I was not a NASCAR fan when we arrived, but believe me when I tell you that unless you have been there, you really have no idea how cool this is. Another [Maris] photo.

As a rail fan, one who has stood next to freight trains roaring past at 75 mph, I can attest that the sound and vibration of 43 stock cars coming off a banked curve at 180 mph is something you feel in your stomach and never forget. It's even cooler if you're new to the sport and don't really care who wins.

Okay - we'll be careful, but is that a BEAR? Are there really bears in Florida? This is somewhere near Ocala. [Maris] shot this one - made me back up and everything!

No - not the best photo of a wild bald eagle. But it's the first one I ever saw, so here it is. There was a pair of them hunting over a lake (pond? creek?) near St. Augustine as we waited to shoot Florida East Coast trains.

The Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They put space shuttles and their fuel tanks and external rocket boosters together in that building. 'Nuff said.

Juvenile and adult little blue herons - Daytona.

Gotta have a sunset, right? This is over the Gulf of Mexico, shot from Fort De Soto Park near St. Petersburg.

Thanks for stopping by. More Florida, more lighthouses, more birds and trains and who knows what - coming soon...