Key West Pictures, Part 4

The is the last segment of Key West pictures. I think 30 pictures spread over 4 posts is plenty of pictures for our one day excursion to Key West on January 23rd.

On our way back to our boat, I stopped to take a picture of one of the marinas.
This is the boat that we traveled on from Fort Myers Beach to Key West and back.
From the boat, I got a picture of this sea gull not long before sunset.
The beginning of the sunset on January 23rd, as seen from the boat still docked in the marina at Key West.
The sun is almost gone. You can still see some of it to the left as it is dropping behind the building.
Seconds after this shot, the sun completely disappeared behind the building, just as the boat was pulling away from the dock.
The last picture I took that day was of D and myself. Can you tell that we got some sun while in Key West?

Mirror Project Picture #32062

Another picture accepted at Mirror Project.


One of the things I don't like about Mirror Project, is that the maximum file size of a submitted picture is 30k. Because of the quality of my photographs, I usually have to shrink the pictures down quite small. However, it is still fun to have my pictures posted somewhere where people from all over the world will see.


By the way, this picture can also be seen a little bit farther down this page. I posted it on January 22nd under the title of "Niña Shots". It is at the bottom of the post. You'll know which one it is when you see the bottom pictures. And for those of you that don't know, you should be able to click on any picture on my blog to see a larger image.

Photo Friday: Vanity

The challenge for this week's Photo Friday is "Vanity".

This same image was submitted to Mirror Project quite a while ago - number 28502. (Click on the picture to view a larger size, and see a little more detail.)

Thursday Challenge: Door

The theme for this week's Thursday Challenge is 'Door'.

This shot is from a restaraunt in Fort Myers, Florida.

Key West Pictures, Part 3

The popular Duval Street...it may not look like much from this picture, but there are plenty of places to keep you busy along this strip!
Just an interesting car that the artist in me had to get a picture of.
The sign by the sidewalk that let me know I was in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. I was a little surprised when I saw the building it was housed in...it looked like someone's place of residence.
This is building of which the Hard Rock Cafe was in. We went inside to get a drink, but after sitting at the bar for a few minutes without anyone attending to us (they were not even busy, we were the only ones sitting at the bar), we got up and left.
Since we didn't get good service at the Hard Rock, we went to get something to eat and drink at the famous Hog's Breath Saloon. This is the outside of the place.
I think this shot of the bar turned out really good. This was the inside bar, which doesn't serve anything during the day. The outside bar does all the serving during the day hours.
Yep, I act silly sometimes!
At this bar, I ordered a burger and a Havana Hog Punch. I can't remember what alcohols were in the drink, but it was delicious!
That is a real rooster on the roof above the outside bar. I am told that there are chickens all over the island. I did see quite a few of them roaming around the streets.

Key West Pictures, Part 2

D took this picture of me while we were sitting on the outside balcony at Crabby Dick's waiting for our lunch.
After we ate, I took this picture getting our reflection on the mirror inside the restaurant. This image will eventually be submitted to Mirror Project.
I just had to get my picture taken with the pirate statue inside Crabby Dick's. ARGH!!!
The southernmost point in the United States. From this point, it is only 90 miles to Cuba. It is also one of the most photographed sites in the USA.
My little brother likes lighthouses, so this shot is mainly for him. It is across the street from Ernest Hemingway's house.
And this would be Ernest Hemingway's house as seen from across the street. There is a fee to tour the house, but I didn't do it. Maybe the next time I go.
Another shot of Hemingway's house, but from the side. He had a collection of cats that had six toes, but we didn't see any running around when we looked over the brick wall.

Key West Pictures, Part 1

Today was my birthday, so D treated me to a trip to Key West, Florida. It was a fun time! Below is just some of the pictures I took during our little excursion earlier today. I am not yet sure about how many pictures I will post, but I am almost positive that there will be at least two more parts to show off some of my pictures.

This is the view from the back of the boat shortly after we left Fort Myers Beach.
This was the view from the side of the boat shortly after leaving Fort Myers Beach. It was somewhat difficult to take a picture even with the horizon with the boat swaying back and forth.
Just before arriving in Key West, this was the view from the side of the boat. Notice the color difference in the water from Fort Myers Beach to Key West.
After arriving in Key West, we headed for Duvall Street, the main drag on the island. Along the way, we spotted this building with a Wyland mural painted on it. If you would like to see more of his art, visit his website! There is a gallery of his stuff on Duvall Street also, as well as plenty of other art galleries.
I figured the first place we should stop is Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe for a drink. This was the sign above the bar where I sat.
I thought I would get a picture of me inside the bar holding an island drink. D and I both got a drink called, "Trip Around the Sun," and it was very tasty! I suppose that was a good way to start our short day on the island.
After leaving Jimmy's place, I had to get a picture of the signs outside the bar.

Niña Shots

Here are some more shots from my little personal field trip to the replica ship of Niña last Friday:

   
 
 
 
 
 

Photo Friday

"Pink" is the topic for this week's Photo Friday challenge.

This picture was taken in Mentor, Ohio, in January or Febuary of 2005.

Thursday Challenge

The topic for Thrusday Challenge this week is: HIGH.

This image was taken in Spring 2005 in Cape Coral, Florida.

NIÑA replica

When I visited the replica ship of Nina, I received a sheet of paper that gave some specifications and a little bit of history about the original and replica ships:




    NIÑA


Length Overall - 93.6 feet
Length on Deck - 66 feet
Beam - 17.3 feet
Draft - 7 feet
Sail Area - 1,919 sq. feet
Displacement - 100 tons

The original 'Niña', 'Pinta', and 'Santa Maria' used by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage across the Atlantic were common trading vessels. The 'Santa Maria', which Columbus never liked, ran aground and sank on Christmas Eve 1492 in Hispaniola (now Cape Haitien). She was a Nao, a type of cargo vessel. The 'Niña', and 'Pinta' were Caravels, and were used by explorers during the Age of Discovery. The 'Pinta' returned home and disappeared from history without a trace, but the 'Niña',; there's a woman with a past.

The 'Niña' was Columbus' favorite and for good reason. She was named 'Santa Clara' after the patron saint of Moguer. A Spanish vessel in those days had an official religious name, but was generally known by a nickname, which might be a feminine form of her master's patronymic, or of her home port. 'Santa Clara' was always called 'Niña', after her master-owner Juan Nino of Moguer. Vincente Yanez was her Captain on Columbus' First Voyage, and he later discovered the Amazon on an independent voyage.

Built in the Ribera de Monguer, an estuary now silted up, of the Rio Tinto. 'Niña' made the entire First Voyage, bringing Columbus safely home. She accompanied the grand fleet of the Second Voyage to Hispaniola and Columbus selected her out of seventeen ships for his flagship on an exploratory voyage to Cuba, and purchased a half share in her. She was the only vessel in West Indian waters to survive the hurricane of 1495, and then brought back the Admiral and 120 passengers to Spain in 1496.

She was then chartered for an unauthorized voyage to Rome, and was captured by a corsair when leaving the port of Cagliari, and brought to an anchor at Cape Pula, Sardinia, where she was stripped of her arms and crew. The Captain, Alonso Medel, escaped with a few men, stole a boat, rowed back to 'Niña', cut her cables and made sail. She returned to Cardiz in time to sail for Hispaniola early in 1498, as advance guard of Colubus' Third Voyage. She was lying in Santo Domingo in 1500, and we last heard of her making a trading voyage to the Pearl Coast in 1501. The 'Niña' logged at least 25,000 miles under Columbus' command.

In 1988, an American engineer and maritime historian, John Patrick Sarsfield, began building what was to become the first truly, historically correct replica of a 15th Century Caravel. John had discovered a group of master shipbuilders in Bahia, Brazil, who were still using design and construction techniques dating back to the 15th Century.

It was in Valencia, Brazil, using only adzes, axes, hand saws, and chisels, in addition to naturally-shaped timbers from the local forest, that the Sarsfield 'Niña' was built.

Jonathan Nance, a British maritime historian and main researcher for the project, produced a sail plan for the ship, which represents the 'Niña' as she would have appeared during the eight recorded busy years of her life following her departure from the Canary Islands in September 1492.

In December 1991, the 'Niña', left Brazil and sailed to Costa Rica on a 4000 mile unescorted maiden voyage to take part in the filming of '1492'. Since then, the ship has visited over 250 ports in the U.S. She is the only 'sailing museum' which is continually 'discovering' new ports, while giving the public an opportunity to visit one of the "greatest little ships in the world's history."

Replica Ship

On Friday, I went to one of the parks in downtown Fort Myers to get a look at the replica ship of Nina, one the the ships used by Christopher Columbus on his first trip across the Atlantic Ocean. Here are four pictures from the day. I took a lot more, but those will be in another post. Plus, I will give a write-up of the history of Nina later.