{PHOTO} Sitting In The Park Enjoying The Fall Foliage

Sitting In The Park

This is one of those pictures that immediately evokes a memory. Every time I look at this, I think of how I took this out of the need to do SOMETHING while my husband and I waited, on this bench's twin, until the company we rented the apartment from could come save us from being locked out. After grabbing some grub we ended up just sitting here.

Waiting..........and waiting.......and waiting some more.

I also think of how we were just sitting there and heard a noise behind us  - which I immediately assumed it was some massive creature. Turns out, it was a homeless person crawling among the bushes picking up trash.  Nothing to worry about - like the mountain lion I had imagined in my head.

My brain always goes to crazy scenarios.

{PHOTO} NYC Crosswalk: A Foray Into Black and White

NYC 5th Avenue Crosswalk

"As we drew near New York I was at first amused, and then somewhat staggered, by the cautious and grisly tales that went around. You would have thought we were to land upon a cannibal island. You must speak to no one in the streets, as they would not leave 'til you were rooked and beaten. You must enter a hotel lobby with military precautions; for the least you had to apprehend was to awake the next morning without money and baggage, or necessary raiment, a lone forked radish in a bed; and if the worst befell, you would instantly and mysteriously disappear from the ranks of mankind." - Robert Lewis Stevenson 

A foray into black and white, not my usual medium. Despite being taken in 2010, this picture looks like it could be any decade. My eye always goes straight to the guy in the long coat walking across the crosswalk. Too bad there weren't any random cars from the 40's or 50's driving by to really complete the retro tone.

{PHOTOS} A Local Icon: Ron Jon Surf Shop

I don't think I've had a family/friend yet visit Brevard and not also want to go to Ron Jon's for a souvenir, including a shirt (the usual), a surfboard (for the bold), or a sticker (for the person who doesn't want to pay the Ron Jon prices). It started as this little shack where you could rent surfboards, body boards, etc. as well as buy some shirts, shoes, and bathing suits but later became the neon behemoth you see today. The colors are beautiful and it is definitely best seen at night when the lights are bright and appealing.

I visited it on a whim, after getting lost trying to find the Cocoa Beach Pier, and it was definitely well worth it. I even meandered next door to the Cocoa Beach Surf Company, which I had never visited before, to see their indoor aquarium, hotel, restaurant, and Starbucks.

Ron Jon Surf Shop

Volleyball "Sand" Sculpture

Skateboarding "Sand" Sculpture and Entrance

Surfer "Sand" Sculpture

Ron Jon Surf Shop Entrance

Ron Jon Surf Shop Entrance with Permanent Wood-Side Station Wagon

Looking a little like South Beach

The view of Ron Jon's from A1A

Cocoa Beach Surf Company - Aquarium

Eating dinner in front of the fishies

View of the restaurant

{PHOTO} A Short Walk Off a Long Pier: Cocoa Beach Pier

Many moons ago (well, three months ago), I decided to head over to the Cocoa Beach Pier at sunset to try and see what pictures I could take. I was rushing to get there before I missed the "good light" because I get off of work at 4:30PM & the sun is well and gone by 5:30PM, due to it being winter. Unfortunately, despite living here most of my life, I still have no idea where anything is. I drove weeeelllll past the Pier and then ended up circling back. The good news is, this forced me to drive by Ron Jon's Surf Shop (the neon behemoth) and I decided I would head over there after the Pier. Today, I share the Cocoa Beach Pier pictures. I will show the Ron Jon's pictures in a later post.

S Ance Viewing from the Beach

Just in case you wanted to do some "S Ance Viewing". I hear it's totally worth the quarter.

Sunset & City Reflections

I love that you can see the reflection of the beachline behind me in the windows. Also, don't ask about what that sign means. I honestly have no idea.

Beachline Skyline

The sun, as it drops behind the buildings along the beach.

Path to Forever

I feel like you could just walk....and walk....and walk all the way to perfection here.

Just a Lil' Nap

Roll me over when I look "done", please.

Look, I'm Surfing!

In high heels, nonetheless.

Through the Doorway is the Beach

Just step on through the circus looking colors to somewhere calm and beautiful.

Daily Dose of Ocean

A tradition around here - go to the beach for the sunset hour. Even though we live on the East coast of FL, therefore the sun sets behind us when facing the ocean, it doesn't deter from the beauty and peacefulness.

{PHOTOS} Art Can Be Anywhere You Look

While in NYC, Hubby and I realized we needed a few toiletry items and went down to the local Duane Reade to get them. When we returned to the apartment, the door was locked - as in not even the key in our hand would unlock it. We made several calls to the leasing company to ask for assistance & they said they couldn't be there for at least an hour, so we decided to walk down to Katz's Deli and kill some time (and get some good GRUB)!

The lesson we learned along the way? Anywhere you go in New York City, art can be made out of the normal, every day, mundane item. 

For example, this picture is a roll-up door for an empty shop. Who knows how long this art work will last, especially in the city where anything can be here this morning and gone by tonight, so I thought I'd take a picture for posterity of this wonderful piece of art.

And here's the door in context with it's surroundings. Absolutely beautiful.

{PHOTO} NYC In Silhoulette

Taken from a rooftop in SoHo, the NYC buildings silhouette with the blast of blue sky in background and the sun's rays. It was nerve-wracking on the roof taking this photo, but well worth it for this end result.

{PHOTOS} Stuck in Purgatory (aka Atlanta Airport)

At the beginning of December, Hubby and I took a trip to New York City for several days so we could see the Christmas decorations. We were absolutely pumped to get there and try to get as much done as possible, since there wasn't a lot of time. 

Unfortunately,

Mother Nature had other ideas.

The day we flew up to NYC, it was severely raining and there was major wind. Enough to shut down the NY airports as well as Newark, NJ. Once we arrived in Atlanta, there we stayed......

And stayed.....

And stayed...... 

What was originally a 55 minute layover turned into close to 7 hours. Hubby had a pass to Delta's Sky Club, so we meandered over there to kill the time. I didn't have a pass, so we were expecting to pay $50.00 for me to enter, but for some reason (for which I am STILL grateful) the attendant checking us in waived my fee and we hung out in the Sky Club with free snacks, drinks, and the most important thing - charger units provided for free for our cell phones! 

Eventually, we left Atlanta airport and got to NYC. We left home at 7AM and arrived in NYC at 12:30PM. It was a loong loong day, but I did get some nice pictures in Atlanta!

I promise to also share my photos in New York in the next couple of posts.