Florida 2011

Do a trip report here....go to another city and want to relate it to what KC is doing right or could do better? Give us a summary in here.
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Roanoker
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Florida 2011

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If pictures are missing, see them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/115393943@ ... 429087306/.

My husband, son and I left for Florida on April 28, 2011. We stopped by a museum in Kentucky the next day. I liked the real animals on display.
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Well, this one wasn't real, thank goodness.
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Guarding some temple, I guess.
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Back to the real and harmless.
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Odd friends.
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Cute little guy.
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Most impressive about the museum what what was behind it.
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Beautiful place.
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Almost like an impressionist painting.
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Son on bridge.
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All the bridges were nice.
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Last edited by Roanoker on Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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Continuing with our stroll along the beautiful pathways behind the museum, we find spring flowers galore.

First glimpse.
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It's as if they are whispering secrets to each other.
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This is where they hold their conventions.
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Leaning closer to hear.
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A veritable forest.
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I didn't know these things came in odd colors. Kinda pretty.
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They've got the trees surrounded.
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Shadows and light.
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They make a nice stream even nicer.
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There's the host museum.
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They follow you on the path.
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But there are other things to see.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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Still strolling behind the museum.

Mushrooms can be pretty.
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Garden atmosphere.
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Worth singling out.
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Blue can be beautiful.
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Not real. Still nice.
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Real. But what?
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Don't fence me in.
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Almost black.
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Nature's lace.
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You knew somebody would have to tend to all this.
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Tulips were planted across a street that was off-limits. I wanted pictures. So my son took these.
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I think he did a good job.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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It is now May 1, 2011, and we have descended on Epcot Center. (We drove.)
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Epcot awaits.
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Oh, happy day! They were having a flower festival!
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Fountain. And the famous ball.
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Memory stones.
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That ball holds a fascination for me.
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Nice angles and shapes.
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The monorail always puts on a subdued show.
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We certainly lucked out with the weather. Clouds would have muddled the crisp edges.
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Ubiquitous flowers.
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Closer.
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Stepping back a bit.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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It is still May 1, 2011, and we are still at Epcot.

"The Land" is still there. I'm glad.
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The ever-changing balloons featured in the "Land" building.
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Some glassy building. It must be part of "The Land," where they grow things.
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Ducks love Disney World.
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They apparently like marigolds.
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Backing off a bit…
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Always love the flowers.
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I don't know if the butterfly house was a temporary thing, but it was fun to visit.
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Bambi characters acted as greeters.
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Found a butterfly! Aren't the colors pretty?
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And another! This one thinks he is a zebra.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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We're still in and around the butterfly exhibit at Epcot, on May 1, 2011.

Flowers were on full display.
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Another butterfly.
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Back to flowers.
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Just one.
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Disney does it up nice.
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This butterfly made of flowers heralds the butterfly exhibit behind it.
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How many petals on this one?
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This scene is enhanced by foreground flowers.
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These animals are made of sand.
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What a nice setting for a sign.
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This visitor got in free.
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I suppose this one did, too.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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We're looking across the lake at Epcot.
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You don't see these in Missouri.
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You do see these, I see some now.
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Taking a nap.
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How did those dark purple flowers get in there?
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I liked this display.
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In the Canada exhibit, I think.
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If I were a duck, this is where I would like to live.
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Can't get enough of this scene.
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Like a fairy tale.
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Baby ducks festooned the garden pool.
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These plants/flowers look unreal.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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One last shot of the fairy-tale scene.
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Explanation sign.
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I suppose a visit to Epcot is a mock visit to other places in the world. England?
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Austria?
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Netherlands?
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European government seat?
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Holland?
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Son and husband, resting from their "European" travels.
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Shores of Europe.
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Someone asked son to take their picture. (He returned the camera.)
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Busy fountain.
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And my favorite, flowers.
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Re: Florida 2011

Post by FangKC »

Nice photos Roanoker.

Some of these photos make me wish Penn Valley Park was nicer, and that it had a botanical garden.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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FangKC wrote:Nice photos Roanoker.

Some of these photos make me wish Penn Valley Park was nicer, and that it had a botanical garden.
Thank you, Fang. The excellent landscaping at Epcot makes me wish the flora around my house was better. :(

We're still strolling through "Europe."
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I think we've wandered over to Morocco.
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I wonder what that woman is studying.
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From the inside of one of the buildings.
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We've moved on to China. Love those pagodas and sculpted trees.
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Bonsai tree. Many were for sale. Very nice.
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We're looking across the lake from China to see America.
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We are at the American section for lunch. So is this bird.
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Re: Florida 2011

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We're still at Epcot. And they are having a flower festival.
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We're in Norway.
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Lion King in flowers.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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Different shots as we took in Epcot. (If anybody cares, this cropped image is within an enlarged, small section of itself with a Palette Knife filter applied.)
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Chinese village, I guess.
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Hope you don't mind all the lilly pad pictures. The pads fascinated me. I think they are beautiful. (The background is a section of the lower pad.)
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More. (And the background is a small section of the image's black water.)
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Stone versions of slaves and warriors were buried with Chinese royalty to make the afterlife more bearable.
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Umbrellas are much more pleasant.
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Back to the pads. But now we have a blossom! Pretty.
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These three shrubs have been fashioned into playful pandas.
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Flowers are always welcome. White flowers are frequently overexposed, but these turned out nice.
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I took a lot of pictures of the Epcot lake. Here's another.
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Notice the grass and a flowers on the roof.
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A blue sky always makes a good background. But the photographer usually makes a fool of herself.
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Re: Florida 2011

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I took a lot of pictures at Epcot, and we are still there.

People are entering the Mexican exhibit. The background is a small section of the image with the Palette Knife filter applied. And a drop shadow.
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This is part of the massive door.
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The obligatory flower.
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This is just one of many pictures I took of birds walking around and flapping their wings.
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For the Flower Festival, pots of flowers floated on the lake. (This is another image within itself.)
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(Ditto.)
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(Yet again. You'd think I'd come up with something else.)
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I wonder what he is saying.
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These fake flowers had a background I didn't like, except for the grass. I'm taking an online course in Photoshop and learned how to use
the Quick Selection Tool and the Quick Mask, among other things. I used these to cut away the old background. I replaced it with a
section of the grass and applied the Dry Brush filter.
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Can you imagine anyone using all those flowers as ground cover for trees?
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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A longtime Epcot attraction.
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While waiting to get in for the Energy ride.
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I will always snap a picture when that monorail train passes by. Can't help it. (Still waiting to get in.)
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An exhibit on the inside.
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I had to leave out a few baby ducks when I cropped this one.
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Doing what parents do, given the chance.
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Awww.
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These things stand in front of The Seas exhibit and shout, "Me, me, me."
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I love this sea wall. (Cropped the photo with selected pen-tool paths.)
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Couldn't get the whole thing in with just one picture.
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They actually have a real aquarium in there. I fussed with this one to bring out the stingray's color. Probably overdid it.
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This one looks just fine left alone, except for a simple crop.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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We are still gazing at creatures in the aquarium at Epcot's "The Seas."

The jellyfish were nice.
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So were the fish.
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The underbelly.
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This fish is fake, but still nice.
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I didn't have all day to wait for the posers to leave.
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I retained a reduced version of the original image and put it on a background of itself with a Colored Pencil filter added and faded, along with a drop shadow. (This is how retired people waste their time.)
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Tree pods. Not terribly attractive or interesting. Just different.
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I took way too much time getting rid of the ugly background. The results are not great. I should have used the pen tool.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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These are the last pictures from May 1, 2011 at Epcot.
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This is the only picture from 5/2/11. We wanted to visit the Space thing (Kennedy, Canaveral, whatever), but the price seemed to steep
for what we were likely to see. So we drove away.
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The next day, we visited the Corkscrew Swamp.
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Bird sculpture. We would be seeing a bunch of live ones before too long.
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These were real, behind glass, but we'd see real ones later on in the swamp.
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This is a picture within itself. I should have made the ground go up to my son's feet, as he appears to be floating in air. Well, his right
foot was off the ground.
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Here is a lizard that would be easy to miss. He blends in well with his surroundings.
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The path took us through all phases of the swamp. Here we have trees.
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Here, it is a prairie of sorts.
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And you could always look up.
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Re: Florida 2011

Post by loftguy »

Nice excursion, Roanoker. Glad that the ground outside is not powdered white. Otherwise your shots of such beautiful blossoms might be too painful to enjoy.

Also glad that the mystery of "what do retirees do?" has been solved.
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Re: Florida 2011

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loftguy wrote:Nice excursion, Roanoker. Glad that the ground outside is not powdered white. Otherwise your shots of such beautiful blossoms might be too painful to enjoy.

Also glad that the mystery of "what do retirees do?" has been solved.
Thank you, Loftguy. I appreciate your kind comments.

We are still walking through the Corkscrew Swamp. Not many flowers on this trek. This will have to do.
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This terrain is considered to be a prairie.
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This picture was portrait-oriented. I put it within a larger version of itself and cut pieces away.
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Leaves came in all shapes and sizes. They like the sun.
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These are called air plants.
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Dunno what this tree stuff is.
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I guess these are flowers.
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Now that's a vine!
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This red sap looks almost like drops of blood.
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More of the path through trees.
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This little guy tried to hide from us.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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We're still walking on the path at the Corkscrew Swamp. Queen Anne will suffice as a flower.
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Ferns galore.
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There were many signs. This one was significant because it supported a swamp resident.
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I was nearly eaten alive by deer flies. All of the rangers wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves and hats because of these little monsters.
And they draw blood.
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The swamp is home to many cranes and alligators.
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The cranes can go anywhere.
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Here are two of many varieties.
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Another shot of the path.
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These many pods seem to form a flower.
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Just a plant.
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Crane terrain.
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Roanoker
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Re: Florida 2011

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I believe my son had grabbed my camera at this point and put a telephoto lens on it. I don't like to mess with the thing.
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Well, maybe I still had the camera. This is more like something I would shoot.
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I'm pretty sure he took this one. It looks too close.
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Lunch is served. Or grabbed.
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Yeah, the telephoto would have been good here.
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The cranes came in all colors.
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Baby alligators! Eight of them can be seen here. My son should have put his hand down there for scale. :D
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I think the camera was back in my possession.
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This is a portrait picture within a larger version of itself. I clipped a bit away from the edges to make it blend in better. I almost didn't need
to do any clipping.
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The path is taking my son over the prairie part of the swamp.
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