Diet And Travel

On day 11 of our Florida trip we headed out of Ocala Florida towards Georgia. We were breaking up the drive back home to Maryland. And I just had to make a stop at the Savannah National Wildlife refuge. This refuge is located on the borders of Georgia and South Sarah Fogartya right off of Rt 95.  I make a point of visiting the wildlife refuges wherever we touring.


If you look hard near the bottom of the photo you will find a gator half out of the water.


"Take only memories, leave only footsteps." Chief Seattle


It seems like gators were going to follow us home from Florida. We saw a lot of alligators at this Savannah NWR.


The wildlife drive in one area of the refuge had these beautiful trees covered with the Spanish Moss.


Egret of all sizes.. the larger Great Egret and a few Snowy Egrets.


Some white blooms and lily pads in the background in the refuge's wetlands. I heard Savannah Georgia has a wonderful riverfront walk and touristy area but hubby and I enjoy seeing the wildlife and the less crowded areas.

Florida Day 10,

On this day we were in Ocala Florida and during this day we visited the Tuscawilla Park. It is Ocala's largest and oldest city owned park. The mossy oaks look gorgeous and provide shaded areas through-out the park.

These photos may look familiar to some of you,  I have shared them on my other blog. I just wanted to share this park on my travel blog so it is a repeat.


"Not all those who wonder are lost."  J.R.R. Tolkien


Ocala is known for all it's gorgeous horse farms. So, it is fitting that there were horse sculptures in the park.





I like this statue, it could be hubby and I in our golden years.


The abstract fishing pole is one of the many sculptures seen in the park.


We walked the pathway around the lake checking out the birds, the lake and all the sculptures. I hope you enjoyed our visit to the park. If you are ever in the Ocala area it is worth a visit.  Thanks for your visits and comments.

Florida Day 9

The early morning of day 9 of our Florida trip was spent near Crystal Springs and Fort Island Gulf Beach. We did a little walk and I did some birding on the beach.




Lots of Black Skimmer, gulls and terns.


We also visited the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.  Awesome variety of  native birds and animals. They also have a nice display of Manatees.




It looks like this is the place to be, the native birds on the outside are actually trying to find a way into the park.


We were able to watch the manatee be fed at this time. I have to admit after seeing the Manatees in the wild, I was a little sad to see these in captivity.


Apparently this  famous hippo "Lu" a favorite at the Homosassa Spring wildlife park was once an animal actor back in the 1960's. He is the oldest hippo in captivity. I hope you enjoyed this post and images. Our next stop is in Ocala Florida. 

Florida Day 7-8

Day 7 we did not do much sightseeing, so I am skipping to some scenes from our walk around Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland Florida on Day 8.



Lake Hollingworth and palm trees on a foggy morning


Some of the locals seen at Lake Hollingsworth.


The path around the lake.


Want to go water-skiing?



I like the bottlebrush bush, lilypads and a Limpkin.


The spanish moss covered trees along the walking path, some locals being fed. This is a pretty Lakeland neighborhood, pretty lake with a nice walking path. Thanks for the visit and for your nice comments.

Florida Day 6

On day 6 of our Florida vacation we decided to return to the Circle B Bar Preserve in Lakeland Florida.  It is a huge place and we did not cover much of the preserve during our first visit. The following are various scenes from our hike on the preserve.

Please click on the photos for a larger image.


There was some early morning fog when we first arrived.


The spanish moss covering the trees is gorgeous.


One of the ponds with the fog and sunlight.


A gator swimming in the lake.



I loved the shape of the trees and the pretty spanish moss. If you are ever in the area I would highly recommend visiting the Circle B Bar Preserve. 

I am sharing some photos taken during our Florida trip, this is Day 5.  Due to another morning activity we just had the afternoon at Gatorland in Kissimmee.


Do not worry the gators do not eat tourists.


 A few of Gatorland's alligators.


The Breeding Marsh is all about the Herons, Egrets, Wood Storks and Anhinga.


A view of the rookery and the lookout tower.


Egrets at the breeding area of Gatorland.


A view of the breeding marsh from the top of the tower. Gatorland is a popular tourist attraction in Kissimmee.  My main reason for visiting there was to see all the birds and their nest..  I hope you enjoyed this quick look at Gatorland. 

This post continues with our Florida vacation day 4.

On this day we did a lot of driving to the Viera Wetlands near Melbourne Florida  and then back to the Cape Canaveral National Seashore.

Click on the images for larger viewing.

The first three photos are from the Viera Wetlands, the marshland, an American Bittern and a gator.

The next few photos are back at the Cape Canaveral National Seashore





The Turtle Mound composed of oyster shells, the tallest shell mound in Florida.

The view from the top of the mound.

Me and my shadow on the Cape Canaveral beach.

Day 3 of our Florida vacation, we were still on the east coast and visiting various wildlife preserves..like teh Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.


The Haulover Canal at Merritt Island NWR



The Manatees are wild and free.




Some of my birds from the Merritt Island NWR wildlife drive.

Our Florida vacation.. day 2 on the east coast..We spent time at the Merritt Island NWR and Cape Canaveral National Seashore.

The top two shots are from the Merritt Island visitor center.

Following scenes are taken from the wildlife drive at the Merritt Island NWR.







Above White Pelicans in flight.

Cape Canaveral National Seashore.

Thanks for visiting, have a great day!