Lead On

This is one of my entries in "Name Your Place Contest ".

This has been a favorite park of mine since we moved here 7 years ago. This is Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin Florida and is well worth the price of admission. Not only do they have a million miles of wonderful beach without all the tourist attractions and vendors but they also have a wonderful nature trail that loops around for 3 miles and allows you to view great horned owls, osprey, eagles, and pelicans nesting but you can also expect to see some of the native snakes and turtles and tortoises. If you have questions about any of it they have ranger guided hikes or you can stop in to the nature center. It has a wonderful display of native plants and animals, very informative staff and one of the biggest elevated porches I've seen complete with deck chairs so you can take a load off after your walk.

For those interested in geocaching there is at least one box in the park. You can find out more here [link]

This park has been in the top parks of the U.S. for many years and I was very disappointed to find it becoming more and more commercial with a big push towards booking weddings. I have seen as many as 3 at a time occurring on the beach in one of the prime spots and had to laugh at the cacophany of music. There was a steel drum band, someone with violins and the third one had accordions playing. I'm sure it would make for one of the funniest wedding videos ever.

Thankfully this day wasn't one of those days and with the temperatures in the high 40's I was surprised to see one at all. We watched as the photographer took many pictures and then when everyone left we assumed they were done and I snuck in to take some shots. That sky was just too beautiful and seemed to be begging me to do it since it was lined up so nicely. Well one thing led to another and I took pictures of the arch and the flowers and the interesting arrangement of colored sand on a table by a vase. It was at that point that I realized there were people behind me and I was horrified when I turned fully and realized that all the guests were seating themselves. I made my apologies and skeddadled out of there pretty quickly! I guess the pictures they had been taking were pre-wedding!

3 shot AEB Photomatix HDR