Moving Pictures

Like the song says - Waking up in Paradise. You would think that coming from an urban area with all the activities and perks, and moving to a somewhat small town would be boring. That's what I hear but from people who are not willing to venture out into their own surroundings. Not one of my problems. I travel back and forth every weekend and this particular weekend I decided to take in some local culture. I headed to Stuart's downtown to get a bite to eat on a hot Friday night and found myself enjoying great food, great bands, and a beer or two at the Dancin' in the Streets celebration. The 27th annual event is a huge fund raiser for the downtown events organizers and a huge fun raiser for me. Even more exciting to just stumble upon it. The setting was perfect for this event. I had never noticed Memorial Park before. Takes a few seconds to drive by but it is much larger than I expected. They ran a temporary fence around and were charging around $18.00 ...

I have never liked living here. It's not so much that the area is not to my liking. It's that I despise the accumulation of circumstances that brought me to this place in utter defeat 10 years ago. When I first arrived I was overwhelmed by the closeness of condo living. I still refer to my house as a box in a wall and as cold storage for my belongings. The one and only benefit I discovered was there is no porch and no yard. That tremendous disparity between what I wanted, what I was accustomed to, and what I was forced to endure, forever altered my mindset into believing the entire planet was my back yard. Within a short walk (for me) I soon discovered a tiny oasis of preservation. The Pine Island Ridge. A minuscule strip of nature left natural among the thousands of Lego like dwellings linked by the manicured, denatured, uniformity of the golf course that meanders between them and the tamed landscaping all around. When I first arrived this pathway was my only Solace. ...

Festivals, events, and conventions are a great way to add color and popularity to my photos but what I like to do is get out and experience some nature. Granted a lot of it in these photos has been paved over and drastically altered. These photos are from my first real bike ride at my new house. In total I did about 36 leisurely miles on a beach cruiser.  I was looking for a sand beach to launch my kayaks. Sure I could have asked but whats the fun in that. I knew of three boat ramp locations so I thought I would check them out. I actually went all the way to Downtown Stuart before I decided the weather was about to close in on me. My new Panasonic Lumix is waterproof so I was not desperate to get back but Florida summer rain storms can bring fireworks and I've already experienced lighting up close and personal. Why push my luck. This is just day one and I have miles upon miles to explore. The rest of this set can be found if you [click here]