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Beach Visit
As promised, here are some of my pictures from my visit to the beach. Once again, JC and I traveled about two hours to Cape San Blas, which is a barrier island off of North Florida. It has the most beautiful white beaches I’ve ever seen. They almost look like snow.
Right now, there is a lot of work going to rehabilitate the beaches and allow for the growth of dunes, which protect both the beach and the vacation houses.
Oil Spill
At this writing, this wonderful beach has not been touched by the oil spill. I can’t imagine the devastation that the oil would do to this area, which also provides a living for many fishermen and shrimpers.
Enjoy the Beach
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This is the view from our balcony looking down the beach.
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The waves at our location are usually gentle and friendly.
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What’s the beach without a dog chasing the waves. He’s not ours, but he was fun to watch!
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This was a picture I took looking out at the beach from the BBQ area. It didn’t matter where you were, it was lovely:~)
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I couldn’t resist this young Mockingbird who stopped for a visit. He still has his baby grumpy look.
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It’s illegal to walk on the dunes. In this case, however, the dune picked the walkway and so we got to walk on the dune.
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I liked this picture because of the shadows where the water had carved a jagged path. The sandcastle stayed the entire day.
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I believe this is a mama dolphin and her little one. I love the dolphins. May they stay safe!
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The fences are to help build the dunes. I liked the evening colors on these.
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Golden waves display themselves at the end of the day.
Time for Goodbye
I hope you enjoyed these photographs. I wish they could truly capture the magic of the beach, but I don’t think a camera has been invented yet to do that.
I promised myself to end this post on a positive note. I hope these pictures will remind all of us how fragile our environment is and our responsibility to maintain what we have been blessed to receive:~)
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful! I love the beach, and I love Florida. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I so need a vacation myself.
@ Linda — You are so welcome. I hope a vacation will come your way soon…we all need time to “vacate” our busy lives every once in awhile:~)
Glorious shots, Sara. I think your photos do great justice because I feel the breeze, smell the ocean, hear the dog barking, feel the sand between my toes, hear the birds and see the dolphins catching the sunlight. I had a beautiful mini-mental vacation. Thank you.
Yes, too tragic to think such beauty would be damaged. Heartbreaking.
.-= Talon´s last blog ..Distance… =-.
@ talon — I am so pleased the photos gave you a mini-mental vacation!!!
These pictures are gorgeous – a delightful way to start this gray Thursday in Virginia.
Pictures don’t do it justice – I might just have to experience it in person.
.-= The Exception´s last blog ..Anchors =-.
@ The Exception — Well, I like that these photos brightened a gray day. I hope the sun will be out soon and you go out and play.
Regarding the beach, I hope you will experience it in person. So many think of the east coast of Florida as the “vacation” paradise, but I’ve been to most of the beaches in Florida and personally the North Florida beaches are the best:~)
Sara, these are breathtaking!
I love how you remind us in the end that we have a role to play in maintaining the beauty around us. I do wonder about those dolphins. When it comes to man-made disasters such as an oil spill, it’s hard to be convinced that we’re doing our part, or that we even acknowledge that we have a part to play, in maintaining the balance.
I’m taking a personal day to visit as many museums as I can and you’ve just kicked off my “beauty appreciation” day! Thank you for sharing your talents with us.
@ Belinda — Thank you about the photos. It’s hard not to think about our role with the environment when you’ve been someplace so pristine, which is now threatened. I do hope they find a solution for the clean up and then actually deal with the dangers of oil drilling in the Gulf.
BTW What a great idea you came up with — using a personal day to visit museums and dedicating to “beauty appreciation.” You’ll come back and which museums you visited and what you favorite thing at each museum:~)
I’m delighted you stopped by for a visit:~)
Sara, these are gorgeous pictures. I love the dune walkway; the sand does look like snow. We are so blessed to live on this planet. Even luckier to have people like you who appreciate it the way you do and share it through your eyes.
.-= Davina´s last blog ..The Muse is My Master =-.
@ Davina — You are so NICE:~) Regarding the “sand snow,” I once put up a picture from this same beach and people thought it was snow.
I agree with you about how blessed we are to live on this planet. We better start making our blessing count or we might find ourselves in trouble!!!
Man am I jealous! It’s been years (wow, many, many years, if I admit it!) since I’ve been to North Florida. Panama City freshman year spring break 19 – 90 – something!
These pictures look entirely more serene and picturesque – though I wonder how long they will remain that way. Thanks for bringing the beach to me here in my cube! I particularly enjoyed the setting sun on the water one. What time of year did you go?
.-= Ted Hessing´s last blog ..How to turn Sweat into Gold =-.
@ Ted — Panama City is also very beautiful. It sort of has a “wild” reputation especially during Spring Break. I went to FSU ages ago and we had some very “interesting” times in PC…it was fun, however:~)
You’re welcome about bringing the beach to you. I just returned so I was there in May. It’s a wonderful time to go because it’s still usually cool and not as muggy as later in the summer.
BTW I like your site. I encourage everyone to read all your posts, but I must mention the one about chocolate. It’s great writing:~)
Ohhhh, how absolutely stunning. That sand is amazing!, Everything is amazing really and oh we so need to see this beauty and not spoil it. Those pictures are etched on my retina for the rest of this day. xox Wilma
.-= Wilma Ham´s last blog ..Wilma on How our words lift people up =-.
@ Wilma — Aren’t you nice!!! I’m glad I could share a bit of Florida beauty with you.
I like the title of your new post…I’ll be by later to check things out:~)
How beautiful….I do love the beach:) You captured the essence so very well…and got the bonus of dolphins:)
Thank you for sharing such a pretty spot….
.-= Joy´s last blog ..Monday Blessing: Dark…a Guest Post from Evita…. =-.
@ Joy — Thank you. The dolphins aren’t easy to catch because they stay pretty far away from people, but this mama and baby were actually rather close, near a sandbar. It was special. Although, one time we were lucky to see two wild dolphins leap out of the water at the same time, just like they in the Sea World shows!!! Everyone on the beach applauded:~)
I hope you have a wonderful weekend of peace and contentment:~)
Mmm, I smell sea air. OK, I didn’t really say that. That’s one of Blanche Dubois’ lines. And I hope I’m not tooo much like Blanche. But it was the first thing that hit me when I saw your glorious photos, Sara. The sweet smell of sea air. Your photos took me into a full-on sensory experience. Nice!
.-= Patty – Why Not Start Now?´s last blog ..Fortune Cookie Magic =-.
@ Patty — It does still smell sweet, with that slight fishy smell. I’m not sure I’d make a perfume out of it, but it is Eau de Beach and wonderful:~)
I’m glad the photographs took you to the beach…in your mind. May you have the same feeling of contentment I had while there.
Have a wonderful weekend:~)
Thank you for sharing these with us, Sara. They’re beautiful and give us a lovely glimpse into your time away there. I think I can smell the sea-salt briney air.
.-= Chania Girl´s last blog ..Moving House: A New Home for Living Happiness =-.
@ Chania Girl — I’m pleased you enjoyed the photo:~)
Enjoyed them? ENJOYED these photos??? They swept me away, so far and beautifully away, Sara. I have never been to that area, but it’s obvious I’ve been missing something special.
No wonder you never wanted to return — I’d not have, either!
The little mockingbird is so cute. He was asking you to come up and play, I think.
xo
@ Jannie — Thank you for your kind words about the photos. Just let me know if you ever want to come this way and I will direct you to our lovely beaches:~)
Don’t you just love baby mockingbirds? They have such cute faces!!! I was lucky this one stopped by for a visit at the beach:~)
Hey there loving the blog! I was wondering if you would be interested in exchanging links? I am looking add more great self improvement blogs to my blog roll. Let me know if you wanna exchange links
Success Demands Action: A Self Improvement Blog
@ Success Demands Action — I’m pleased you visited my site. I love it when new people stop by:~)
I’ll be out visiting soon myself and will definitely stop by your site…it sounds very interesting!!!
Hi Sara .. great photos .. I’d love to go there one day & just chill .. read and relax – looks glorious. Love all the photos – the little mockingbird – it’s his patch! Dogs have such fun frolicking around .. and the dolphins – yes long may they live .. as too our oceans .. all life is precious.
I sincerely hope they can sort the oil spill out soon .. it sounds horrendous for so many reasons ..
Thanks – happy memories over the weekend .. Hilary
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..Stirling Castle – with all its history, defences, wall paintings and tapestries .. and the Museum of Modern Art, NYC =-.
@ Hilary — I always love it when you stop by. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I loved the little mockingbird. He was so cute! At this beach, there are always lots of dogs…all were very polite and people friendly:~)
I was just talking to my daughter, the one who lives in London, about how different the beaches in UK are from Florida’s beaches. One time when I visited her, we went to a beach that had river stones, instead of sand. It was beautiful, but I remember the name. Another time, the color of the sand at the beach was unusual, it was almost a golden yellow.
Sara,
These photos are amazing! I love the colors and light you captured. I definitely could spend some time here. I love the beach and North Florida especially. The “snow” sand is something to see.
Thank you for sharing the sights and dunes and helping me to remember to treasure our beautiful land always.
.-= Angelia Sims´s last blog ..Some days =-.
*sigh*
just beautiful, sara!
.-= Fireblossom32´s last blog ..Hello, Dalai! =-.
@ Shay — Thank you, ma’am. I look at them and also sigh. I wanna go back!!!!
You’re right, there isn’t a camera that can truly capture what we see. The closest thing I’ve found is HDR photography.
@ Leeann — Thank you for your visit. I will have to look into HDR photography. I haven’t heard of it before. I briefly looked at some HDR photographs and they are stunningly real.
Thanks for the tip and sharing your thoughts:~)