Picking a Destination

Posted on March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Anyone who has been following this blog for any time knows that my travel goal is to visit all 50 states and not just as a layover on the way to someplace else. No I want to spend quality time in each state.

I was watching a travel channel program today and it hit my why I have such a problem with that goal. I mean , really, I set it. Why should it be such a difficult thing to work toward? The reason, because each state has so much to share. You just aren’t finished with a state with one vacation. Each state needs time to get to know it. Like a person… you don’t get to know someone by sharing a drink at a cocktail party.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been to Florida. I don’t always spend the time at Disney either. That’s a nice visit but not a priority for me.

But as I watched them talk about the Coral Castle in Homestead, FL I realized that I’m not done with Florida yet.

I haven’t ben to the Coral Castle, or the Miami Zoo.

I want to return to the Everglades and explore it in a lot more depth.

I haven’t spent any time in the northern part of the state or Panhandle and only touched on the sights in St. Augustine.

I’ve been to Hawaii twice but really want to get back there again. I haven’t been to Maui or taken the “Fast Ferry” between islands. I need to snorkel off Molokai and see Kilauea pour lava into the sea at night.

I can’t forget Alaska. My first visit was on a cruise ship . A nice trip but too tame for my taste. I want to set up a “base camp” maybe in Anchorage and explore out from there. I want to visit Fairbanks and see- no not just see-the northern lights, but photograph them.

One of the best trips I’ve done was with my sister to South Dakota but we didn’t get to see a pow wow or visit Sturgis or many other old west towns and there’s the whole eastern side of the state.

It’s hard to turn away from unfinished business. Every state I’ve visited needs a return visit to finish the exploration started on that first visit but if I always do that I’ll never get to the rest of the states. What a huge amazing country we live in!

Where Oh Where Has the Warm Weather Gone

Posted on January 9, 2014January 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s freezing everywhere! Even Florida is reporting record cold. Watch the price of orange juice soar now!

I thought maybe it was time for a little daydreaming. Warm sand, balmy breezes, glorious sunshine…believe me, I’d be headed south right now if I could – but I guess that wouldn’t save me since it’s cold there too. Anyway the next best thing is thinking about the warm and remembering.

There was Arizona. It was warm when I went horseback riding in Sedona.

Florida. It was warm when I visited with the Mouse at Disney

and when I rode the airboat at Holiday Park and hob-nobbed with the alligators in Shark Valley (Everglades).

And of course, Hawaii. It was nice there too. The first trip the native Hawaiians told us how hot and humid it was but to us northerners it was beautiful.

And the 2nd trip to Oahu was just as nice, snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, exploring the Polynesian villages, and getting blown around in the trade winds.

We nearly melted away climbing Makapu’u Point! But boy what a view!

I’m starting to warm up just thinking about these trips.

Gator Boys Memorial to J-Mart

Posted on September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Just a brief update.

At the end of last night’s episode (Big Croc Rescue) of Gator Boys, a short video clip, very short (10 seconds?) was played in Memory of their friend, John Martinez. The video was nice but short. I really thought they would do more. But maybe they just didn’t have time.

There were no still photos used so my pictures were not included but you can see those at www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com.

Rest in Peace, John.

D, E, F & G

Posted on September 15, 2013September 15, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

We are on a roll now. We can cover Delaware, Florida and Georgia. There’s no state starting with E so we’ll just skip right over that.

D is for Delaware

No. This teeny, tiny state ranks # 49 in size. I don’t know much about the state but when I search it on trip advisor there are just loads of attractions and things to do. A lot of it seems to revolve around the seashore, wine and food. They have a Delaware Wine Trail, a Delaware Culinary Trail, a Boardwalk Arts festival, a sandcastle competition, and for the lighthouse lover Breakwater/Harbor of refuge.

F is for Florida

YES! and YES again.

Florida is almost like my 2nd home. From Key West at the tip to South Florida (Miami/ Fort Lauderdale) on to Central Florida with Disney, Kissimmee and surrounding area the only places I haven’t spent much time is the Gulf coast and the northern section and panhandle. I seem to find myself going back there every year or so as I love the Everglades and other natural areas. I don’t need to visit Mickey and Minnie every time I go down.

There are an array of Botanical Gardens and parks, both State and National, there are lighthouses and forts, when I can tear myself away from the alligators and tropical birds.

I still want to see more of the Everglades.

There are 2 more entrances to the park that I haven’t been to. High on my list as well is Miami Zoo and a place, I think it’s called Bird Island.

Mermaids

G is for Georgia

Yes. I’ve been to Atlanta. I even went to a Halloween Party in Georgia.

I visited Stone Mountain

and followed “Homer” The Atlanta Braves Mascot around.

No, I wasn’t stalking him, I was “assisting”. 🙂 I went to the zoo and the huge Georgia Aquarium and rode a Segway. ( I even fell off!) And I watched the fountains in Olympic Park and visited the World of Coca Cola.

And I can’t forget that we had dinner at Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffle restaurant. That was a very full trip!

So I can check Georgia off the list.

So lets me see, what’s the tally now? 10 State in A – G and I think we’re tied up. 5 states visited and 5 still to go. Let’s see how it goes with H & I.

The Good and the Bad

Posted on September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The ying and yang, alpha and omega, black and white….life and death.

Always a balance. When something bad happens something good needs to come along for balance. I’m not a philosopher but I know that many people much smarter than I am have spent many hours contemplating this very idea.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I am caught in a BAD/GOOD situation.

The Bad first because without that I wouldn’t have the good.

The Bad is that a very funny, gentle, kind man, a former marine who served his country, has passed away at the very young age of 30. I had the pleasure of meeting him. He was a celebrity of sorts as he was involved with the Gator Boys show on Animal Planet. On the show he went by the name of J-Mart and I saw him do his alligator wrestling show at Holiday Park . I even wrote a post about seeing the show and shared some of my photos.

I now know his name is John Martinez. From the comments and the emails I’ve receive as a result of my blog I know my impressions of him were right. The loss of such a gentle soul makes me very sad.

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2013/09/gator_boys_alligator_wrestler_dies_john_carlos_martinez.php

Now the good, for me anyway. Because I wrote the post and because I included photos that were at least half way decent, I was contacted by the Broward New Times, Florida for permission to use my pictures. In return they linked to my blog. They even took some of my comments from the blog and used them in their obituary. That is wonderful promotion for my blog and for my pictures. What’s the saying… there’s no such thing as bad publicity? I get really excited that my blog got found and is , in a sense, being promoted by a publication like the Broward New Times, and then I remember that someone has died and I wonder if I should be so happy. 🙁

I also got an email from the Story Producer from Animal Planet. He too asked about using some photos. I don’t know what, if anything will come of that but it’s all so exciting until I remember why my photos are in such demand. And then I get sad again.

The whole set of photos taken at Holiday Park on that trip are on my pro website: www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com I moved them to the opening slideshow as a tribute to J-Mart.

As much as I love the attention my photos and blog are getting, I would gladly skip the excitement if J-Mart was still with us. For those who knew him as a friend, his family and to his fans, I am very, very sorry for your loss.