Last ride before sundown.
Tag Archives: tourists
Winter Reprieve
GULF SHORES, AL; March 6, 2020 – It was 68° F, there was no ice on the water, but it felt as if there could have been. Young folks were down at the edge of the shoreline, a few wading, some playing volleyball, many just lying in the sun, determined to get a tan before the end of their vacations. But elderly folks sheltered themselves from the northerly wind behind a public building, soaking up the sun’s warmth, glad for the reprieve of shoveling snow back home.
Wading in the Fog
Visitors wade in the Gulf of Mexico at Gulf Shores, Alabama this afternoon. The fog added a kind of mystery to the beach that brought out a few explorers, including a Great Blue Heron almost lost in the mist.
Gulf Coast Beach in September
(Click on Photo to see a Larger Image)
We were here first. There’s plenty of room; do you have to sit so close? Or maybe the story is: Come! Join us we’ll all have a good time. But more likely it’s, “How’s the water, Mabel? What does George have in his hands?
I’ve often read that “great photos always tell a story.” But I don’t think a single photo can ever tell a complete story. Stories have a beginning, middle and end. A single photo can only capture a small fraction of the story. Without context, this is simply a photo of a group of people at a beach with a vast ocean of water in the background. Are they family? Friends? Recent acquaintances? Are they stranded on a desert island? What is the story?
Gallery Night, Downtown Pensacola, FL
Click on Photo to see a larger Image.
Every third Friday of the month, Pensacola, Florida hosts Gallery Night. Downtown streets are closed to vehicular traffic at 5 p.m. when residents and visitors are invited for free events, such as an art fair, and live music on the streets. Many restaurants offer sidewalk cafe’s in the shade of Live Oak and Sycamore trees.
I went to see the 26th annual Power of Photography show (a spectacular photography exhibit) and was pleasantly surprised to see all the activity going on in town. Vendors along Government Street offer for sale very nice arts & crafts, there is free music everywhere, and many businesses offer special prices on drinks. The official party ends at 9 p.m., but most bars and restaurants stay open much later in the evening.
The photo was taken outside Carmen’s restaurant on South Palafox Street shortly after the festivities began. I rendered it in brown tones because it just felt like an old-time community event.
Overweight Casual
Click on the photo to see a larger image.
Santa Rosa Island
The beach at Santa Rosa Island, Florida, yesterday, March 12, 2019.
Perdido Pass
Perdido Pass and the Gulf of Mexico on a cool, stormy November day. A few people were on the beach, but nobody was in the water.
Fountain Summer Hours
People waiting for the annual 2018 Cruz-In parade of antique and vintage vehicles through Montague, Michigan.
Social Comment
Even old people do it. Texting! Seated so close to each other, you would think they could just talk.
Now Hiring
Now hiring at the El Dorado Restaurant in Alamo, TX.
Nuevo Progreso
A sunny Saturday in Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico just across the border from Progreso, Texas. It’s a tourist town catering to Winter Texans who come south to escape the cold winter in the north. Primary businesses are pharmacies and dentist offices. Prescription medicines and dental work are less than half the cost for the same products and services in the U.S.
However, street vendors sell food and trinkets throughout the town. Many of the salespeople are very young children. Although they appear impoverished, popular legend has it that these children and their parents go home at night to beautiful homes in various communities in Texas and upscale neighborhoods in Reynosa, Mexico.
(Click on each of the photos to see a larger image.)
Little boy sells chewing gum to patrons in an outdoor restaurant.
Little boy sells backscratchers to patrons in an outdoor restaurant.
Little girl sells trinkets to patrons in an outdoor restaurant.
Troubadours perform in a bakery/cafe.
Man sells hooked rugs from a stall on the main street.
Man sells knit hats from a stall on the main street.
Waiter prepares flaming Bananas Foster table-side at Angel’s Restaurant.
Woman prepares nopales (prickly pear cactus leaves) for sale from her stall on the main street.
Taqueria food cart on the main street.
A Few Photos from the Week
Click on individual photos to see larger images.
Seagulls stake out their space on the Lake Michigan beach at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park near Muskegon, Michigan.
Birch tree reaches for the sunlight in the dense forest at the P.J. Hoffmaster State Park near Muskegon, Michigan
Ancient wood timbers and steel I-beams support an old railway bridge over the White River at Montague, Michigan
A field of wildflowers on a cloudy day in Montague, Michigan
An elderly couple enjoys an intimate lunch at Ferguson Park in Okemos, Michigan.
Hagrid’s place on the Red Cedar River
Unsigned package delivery in Okemos, Michigan.
Free Fishing Weekend
Families line the bank of White Lake for Michigan’s biannual “Free Fishing Weekend.”
The state of Michigan offers two free-fishing weekends a year. This year’s summer event occurred June 13th and 14th. The purpose is to encourage children and families to enjoy the great outdoors, especially the wonders of sport fishing. It is thought that people who fish are more attuned to the demands of the aquatic environment and will help to improve and maintain it.
Payton Ohs, with her mother, and brother, shows off her prized Bluegill early in the morning. (click on the photo to see a larger image.)
Families with their children traveled from around the state to participate in the White Lake Area Sportfishing Association fishing contest for children.
Jaxton Monroe, 8 years old, poses with his dad and their freshly caught Bluegill. (click on photo to see a larger image.)
Blue Hour Fishing
Fishing on White Lake during the blue hour, that hour or so after the sun drops below the horizon. This photo was taken with a Motorola Droid smartphone.
Sonora Street
Casual Sunday morning on Sonora Street in Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The photo could have been taken in the 1950’s, but it was only two weeks ago in February, 2015. As always, click on the photo to see a larger image.
Street-Side Bar
Tourists and locals relaxing at a street-side bar in Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico on a warm Sunday morning in February. The vendor is trying to sell a necklace to the lovely ladies. The man at the bar is not interested in necklaces.
Day-To-Day Photography 