Thaw: Snow is pretty, but stoppit.

So, we've had worse winters here in the DC area (I'm looking at you, 2010), but few that dragged on quite as long as this one has.  This is surely true across at least two-thirds of the U.S., this year.  Today is St. Patrick's Day.  Baseball starts in two weeks.  SPRING officially begins in about three days!  And Winter had the audacity, the sheer rudeness, to dump nine or ten inches of SNOW on us, this morning.  It's not okay!

So.

Here are a few photos from warmer times and climes, a balm against the icy Thing That Wouldn't Leave...

Rehoboth Beach, DE - 1997

Rehoboth Again - 2001

Pensacola, FL - 2011

One More Rehoboth - 2001

Kill Devil Hills, NC - 2010

Lancaster, VA - 2010

Key West, FL - 1991

Islamorada, FL - 2000

Ft. Jefferson - Dry Tortugas, FL - 2000 - Photo by [Maris]

Gonna Need a Bigger Boat - Barbados - 1993

Sapphire Bay, St. Thomas, USVI - 1995

There.  All better.  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to have some new material for this happy little place, like, soon...

McKayla Maroney Is Not Impressed With My Photo Blog

 Not impressed with hanging off the American Shoals lighthouse.

 Not impressed by Cape Lookout lighthouse.

 Not impressed by Camaro convertibles.

 Not impressed with Fort Jefferson OR its lighthouse OR its cannons.

 SO not impressed with Texas.

 Another lighthouse.  Not impressed.

Mile Zero in Key West.  Not impressed.

 McKayla is not impressed by big, billowy clouds with faces in them.

 Not impressed by trains.

 

Joe and [Maris] got married.  Not impressed.

And one bonus shot (not at all mine)...

McKayla Maroney is not impressed by Mars.

Thanks for playing along.  And before anyone gets all toe-y on us, we LOVE McKayla Maroney.  We hope she's deeply proud of her gold and silver medals from London, and we hope to see her in Rio.

The Sun Sets . . . For Now

It got harder to leave Key West each time we did it. This should be the last batch of pictures from our Happy Place until we get a chance to make the trip again. We've already decided that when we lose the house, we're making our way down there to be homeless at the south end of Route A1A. Above - Sunset from Mallory Square.

Our 2002 trip had to be pushed back from October to December, thanks to work stuff, but it was cool to see the visual juxtaposition of Christmas decorations and tropical foliage. [Maris]'s shots!

Until we meet again, La Mer...

Sunset #2 - Mallory Square.

Schooner Liberty returning from its sunset cruise.

Mallory Square's daily Sunset Celebration is part boardwalk, part craft show, part street theater and all party. Above, legendary Will Soto prepares to start his long-running tightrope/juggling daredevil extravaganza (as seen from the Schooner Western Union).

Key West Lighthouse, as seen from about a quarter of a mile offshore, aboard the Western Union.

Key West's waterfront, from Mallory Square to Fort Zachary Taylor Park.

Under full sail on the Western Union. Perfection at sea.

(sigh)

Approaching An Odd End In Key West

Nearing the end of my Key West material, I have a few more odds and ends here. We'll wrap it up with some sunsets and whatnot next time. Above - Fronds!

Carnival cruise ship "Inspiration" under an ominous thunderhead in 2001.

In 2001, we were in Key West about a month after 9/11, and enhanced security was in evidence all around us, starting with the presence of 110-ft. Coast Guard Cutter "Sapelo," above - keeping a close eye on the cruise ships and the Mallory Square sunset celebration.

There were also numerous daily fighter exercises in Fall 2001. Here, three F-15s head home, just in time for happy hour.

Our beach. Just as we like it - empty.

Remembering to check the sky behind me whenever I'm watching a great sunset, I caught this thunderhead lurking behind the Ocean Key Resort (and clearly dealing with some mid-level shearing winds). That little post sticking up from the roof is one of the web cams capturing the setting sun and Mallory Square. www.keyscams.com

Storminess!

Pumpkins and Palm trees! [Maris]'s shot!

In another [Maris] photo, we have little pastel houses and the Key West Lighthouse, in December 2002.

Yes, Joe should have brought the tripod, but he didn't. Hand-held 1/4-second exposure of the Christmas-lit gazebo at La Mer in December 2002.

And finally (for now) -- The obligatory shot of the southernmost point in the continental US, as shot by [Maris].

Back soon to finish off the Keys for a while. :(

Gone Fishin' At Olde Towne Beache, KW

Key West's pelicans are as laid-back as its people, but they have to eat. So, they fish. Key West's seagulls are not laid-back (no seagulls are), and they have to eat, too. In the shot above, there's a gull floating between the fifth and sixth pelicans. This is a common sight, as there is at least one seagull assigned to tag along with each group of pelicans. They follow the big guys around and scavenge for whatever bits of fish fall out of their beaks after each dive. It's the circle of life!

"We've been floating for 30 seconds, guys. Don't you think it's time we got up and did some fishing?"

Key West's cats, many of whom are descended from Hemingway's famous six-toed feline, are pretty laid-back, but they have to eat, too. This cat is thinking about going after one of those plump pelicans. Ha ha ha - no he's not. You should see what he did 12 seconds after this frame was shot.

Seagull pretending to be laid-back.

Frigate Birds are probably laid-back, too. I just can't get close enough to one to know for sure.

Glide, glide, glide...

"I see a fish!"

((SPLOOSH SPLOOSH, GOBBLE GOBBLE))

Three stages of a pelican dive in one frame. What could be better? ("Oh, and we totally see you, gull. Little freeloader.")

How about SIX stages of pelican flight/diving? This group was showing off a little bit, I think. Possibly just to taunt the cat on the beach.

Thanks for looking. See you again soon...