random pics that YOU have taken.......

[legion]

My 7 year old:



My 3 year old:

[bugstrider]

Poppy bloom



Edwards AFB







A buddies retirement last flight as a Captain for Southwest. Holding TSA approved cutlery before the ceremonially cutting of the cake.



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[Racerbvd]

[bugstrider]

Why?!?!?!

Reminds me of this every time I see this thing

[Jolly Amaranto]

A family of black bellied whistling ducks on patrol.

[bugstrider]

Went to a party where they offered complementary valet parking. I violated my rule of “Never valet park”, because it was a rental car, I’d figured, “ why not, what could possibly go wrong?” . The time I don’t get insurance, I get the car back like this...

A black car, on a dark street I don’t see the popped front bumper skirt from the front fender. Upon closer inspection, I see this the next morning.

White paint transfers


Transfers and missing paint




A little rubbing compound and touch up paint, and the rentals company won’t be any wiser.

[944 S2]

[Scott Douglas]

I think I found my mis-fire.

[Racerbvd]

[daepp]

From my 3rd visit to the Grand Dame in 2010:

[daepp]

Out in front of ND - Point Zero - the exact center of the city!

[Baz]

Thanks for those photos, David - really nice job!

Random:

[Racerbvd]

[bugstrider]

Began reassembly of an old US made media blasting cabinet. Was old, grey and nasty. Told the powder coater to have fun and I honestly don’t care. I kinda half expected it to be some funky day-glow color, but alas the old reliable red.

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[MJHanna]

mmmmmmm

[Jims5543]

The Sunrise the Sunset Tour. Easter Addition (suicide vest free version)

It is a unique experience to watch a sunrise over the Atlantic then head over to the Gulf Of Mexico and see it set on the same day. That was our mission, we dreamed this up right after coming back from Wilmington NC just to eat at a restaurant my wife and kid saw on Diners, Dives and Drive Ins. So off we go!!

We tried to do this trip 1 week earlier and were stymied by booked solid hotels. We pushed it back to this weekend not initially realizing it was easter weekend, then not caring it was easter weekend.

Mother nature is hard to anticipate, she did her best to ruin the weekend regarding viewings, Conversely the weather... you could not ask for better weather. WE had a cold front come through Friday afternoon evening. I hoped it would clear out for the sunrise but it lingered, the good news is it brought a very nice surprise, temps in the 60's and 50's... in Florida... In April.

I told my wife, enjoy this, we will not see these temps again until October.

We woke up at 6 Saturday morning and wandered out to the beach, we kind of knew is was not going to be worth the 10 minute drive, we decided to go anyway.

We were greeted with an obstructed view of the sunrise. At least it was tranquil and relaxing, a nice start to a long day.



We went home, made breakfast, drank coffee then packed and packed the car for our trip over to St. Petersburg. Maps says 3 hour drive, we did it in 4.. LOL!! We made a lot of stops.

Early on in the trip we drove along a favorite local road. The oaks make a canopy over the road, it is really pretty along here.



We stopped for a pee break, in a town called Myakka, a really middle of no where town with nothing but a small convenience store. The bathroom was horrendous.

Trying to shake that off we moved on.

We stopped again in Sarasota before jumping on I75 to head towards the Sunshine Skyway. We hit up a Chic File and a car wash. We hit a LOT of love bugs and the E30 was a mess.

Off we went and over the Skyway.




We checked into the Hotel Indigo then walked around down town, we had our dog in tow, it was our first dog trip. St. Pete is supposed to be VERY dog friendly and it was. Tons of options for dinner many with outdoor seating and lots of dogs in attendance. The weather was more than perfect for out door dining, wife and kid were in sweatshirts.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and grabbed the E30, we had a 15 minute ride to the beach.

We got there with time to spare.


As you can see in the above pic, mother nature was once again not cooperating. It was really windy and chilly. The clouds made for some cool colors!






Mission accomplished!!

We trucked back to the Hotel for the evening.


Up the street was a farm to table market, Lucie, our dog was very confused about her new home for the evening.



We had her crate with us, except she was barking when we left the room, she NEVER barks. I decided to chill in the room with her and let the wife and kid go to the market. They were after late night snacks.

The next morning I was up early with Lucie, we went for a long walk around town.

[Jims5543]

Here are a few pics of the town as I walked around it this morning.




Lots of different style architecture from different eras of this town. Here we have a more New Orleans type of look.


I dig this old house, I think it is an office building now.


This is the backside of the hotel, it was built in the 1920's. Notice the windows stepping up. Inside as you walk down the hall, you go down a few steps and then back up. I forgot to ask why it was like that, I am imaging an addition was made, possibly adjoining two buildings. I have no idea.



A cool feature from the 1920's that has either be replicated or preserved are these cool water dispenser.



The vintage elevator was pretty cool too.




We could see the old girl from the room, as she beckoned us to drive her some more. We covered another 400+ miles on this trip, I was most impressed with the trip back, we used just over 1/4 of a tank of gas, getting close to 40 MPG.



I feel like we need to drive to Key West next....

Back to work, I have a Monday from hell ahead of me trying to get a head start.

[Baz]

Thanks for the photos and account of your trip, Jim. I enjoyed it. I did the sunrise-sunset excursion once with our local PCA region and it was fun. I think it was actually a rally. I know I have pics somewhere and will try to dig them up.

Random pic --- my teener at one of the properties I maintain:

[daepp]

Great road trip idea and photos, Jim - thanks for sharing!

[daepp]

Quick trip to Little Rock to spend Easter with our daughter and son-in-law:

We rented "Lime" scooters and explored parts of the city we hadn't seen before:

WWII sub USS Razorback!