Florida...and the Gifts from the Sea

In January, I vacationed in Florida with my mother for a relaxing end to a long semester taking classes and a hectic holiday.  In the winter, the colors here soften and the air is cooler, but it's perfect photography and exploring weather. I'll never get tired of walking on the sand and listening to the surf in this quiet part of the state, called the Treasure Coast.

The view from where we stay is practically hanging over the water. From the living room, it looks like you're on a cruise ship. I took some of these photos from that balcony.

Above, we took a tour of the Jupiter Lighthouse, which is on the easternmost part of Florida's Atlantic coast.

The beach was the first place I headed to after getting my DSLR camera two years ago. Somehow, it never becomes cliche to take photos there.  Sometimes, though, the best part is discovering something like an Osprey nest, or a Pelican flying overhead, a living starfish enjoying a shallow bath, or a row of beach fencing covered in early Spring blossoms. Those are like the little "gifts" that you get from exploring the same place over and over, that only those who take the time to look will really see.

Trip to Maine, Part 1: Portland Head Lighthouse

My sister and I headed to Maine a week and a half ago and we had a blast. We made the most of the 7 hour or so journey there, stopping along the way to take in some of the sights. I'd been to Maine many times, but there were still a few places off the highway that I hadn't seen yet. One of them was this lighthouse.

This is the gorgeous Portland Head Light, located just south of Portland, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. We stopped here after about 3 hours or so to rest and get some photos. I tried to be a little creative with the above. Below is the classic scene. You can see it on just about every postcard of Portland. Sure, it's been done...but you can see why!

It kind of looks like a postcard, but this is actually how it looked. The red and white lighthouse is really striking against the rocky coastline and the sky was that perfect shade of blue.

And it's the same scene on the welcoming sign when you enter this charming town, too.

Frank's hotdogs give visitors to the light an excuse to picnic on the lawn, overlooking the ocean. The man in the red suspenders was so cute.

We could see another lighthouse off in the distance, which I learned is called Ram Island lighthouse.

Here you can see that the Portland lighthouse looks out to the Ram Island light. There were quite a few people there, considering it was a Thursday afternoon. You can tour the lighthouse and there is a little museum inside, but it was beginning to look a bit stormy and we decided to get back on the road and on the remaining 4 hour journey we had ahead.

I would really love to make a summer trip to Portland and explore the city itself. If anyone has been there or has any tips I would like to know! I'm thinking of staying in the Old Port section of the city, the travel guides claim it has the best shops and restaurants. It's only about 3 hours from me, so it would be a great weekend adventure.
My sister and I decided on taking the Coastal Route, route 1, on the way up to Bar Harbor, so the rest of our journey was very scenic. More to come...

Take Time to Sit by the Sea

Nobska Light, Woods Hole section of Falmouth

Side of a cafe fence, Woods Hole.

Waters off Falmouth, Massachusetts. Clear and greenish blue and full of rocks.

Cormorants. A nice fisherman told me what they were. He was shocked that living in Rhode Island, I had never seen them. He said they were "like pigeons," and laughed when I took pictures, but I had never seen them. Beautiful, geese-like birds, they soared looking for fish like giant bats.

Kenny's Taffy ad Fudge shop. Onset, Massachusetts.

A worthy message. Onset, Massachusetts.