photography

Fun Times In Florida 2018 and Happy New Year

What have I done over the past year? As we say hello to a new year, I’m viewing photos to remind myself. In Spring we visited St. Augustine when my son’s girlfriend came to visit.

My two sons and I went down to Merritt Island to watch the SpaceX rocket launch.

We headed to Merritt Island to watch a rocket launch.

We ate at our favorite local restaurants that have water views.

Breakers restaurant on the beach — Breakers Beachside at the end of Flagler Ave.

We went boating, fishing, and swimming along the ICW / Indian River, with a stop off at Disappearing Island to float a bit.

floating in the water — A view of the Ponce Lighthouse from sea level

And of course I collected bunches of shells and took many photos of my favorite islands.

I took a few trips to Smyrna Dunes Park to get exercise and search the beaches for new seashells.

We even took the boat inland to the St. John’s River for a ride to Blue Springs.

A visit from a friend bought us a gift from the sea. He found this huge horse conch while boating.

large horse conch shell — A friend of my sons found this huge horse conch

For the first time, my boys went out shrimping and we were loaded with shrimp!

My walk in the Mosquito Lagoon where apparently there were alligators! What was I thinking????

I met some fellow walkers along the beaches and received this sand dollar gift.

sand dollar on beach — Sand dollar gift, which I placed in the sand to get this photo

So here’s to more time to walk the beaches and enjoy life – wherever you live. Thank you to my loyal and occasional readers, and

Happy New Year!

The Boardwalk at Smyrna Dunes Park Nears Completion

A photo visit to Smyrna Dunes Park in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

One afternoon, on one of our cooler Florida days (60’s), I headed to the New Smyrna Beach peninsula and got my 2018 Smyrna Dunes Park pass for the year. I asked the woman at the gate about the boardwalk’s progress, because I hadn’t been there for months. I was told that soon (possibly May) the entire walkway would be finished, which is earlier than planned.

Passes are only $20 (or pay $10 per visit), and the area is perfect for walking and sightseeing, swimming and fishing. It seems that the biggest draw is for dog-walking. Nearly everyone has a dog on a leash and those dogs look very happy!

Dogs are not allowed on the boardwalk other than early AM and just before sunset. Signs are posted. Dog owners must take the sandy paths.

Those who like to fish will appreciate the new fishing pier.

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.16.14 PM — Dunes and Inlet beyond and Ponce Lighthouse

The boardwalk that heads directly toward the Inlet is nearly finished. There is one sandy area that must be crossed, and I’m not sure why that little section is not done, but maybe something special is going in there.

Still, I was happy to be able to get to the stairs leading down to the Inlet beach. Last time I visited I couldn’t get there on the boardwalk.

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.14.57 PM — View of dunes while walking the new boardwalk, looking toward Ponce Inlet

Lots of people kept going out toward the ocean on the boardwalk you can see in my photo below. It was a very windy day and not exactly perfect for beach-walking. I was alone by the time I reached the stairway.

New boardwalk that leads to the ocean — Looking north toward New Smyrna Beach from the boardwalk at Smyrna Dunes Park showing the newly re-done walkway leading to the ocean

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.15.13 PM — Jetty seen from boardwalk near stairs

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.15.05 PM — Posts where old walkway met the beach

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.16.05 PM — End of boardwalk at stairs leading to Inlet and Jetty

The jetty rocks are fun for kids to climb on, and it’s a favorite place for fishing. I’ve never been very coordinated so I stayed off the rocks. I did walk down to the jetty in search of seashells, but found none.

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.13.07 PM — New stairway to Inlet beach area

I took a short video of the sand blowing along the beach. My legs definitely got sand-blasted, but it was a great day for collecting unique shells. I collected a Baby’s Ear seashell, which I’d never found before.

Pictures of Beaches on The East Coast of Florida

Beach photography taken on and near New Smyrna Beach in Florida.

This is a quick post with some photo collages of past pictures of the beaches I frequent on the East coast of Florida.

Location: Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, backwater islands of the ICW near Edgewater and Oak Hill.

Ponce Inlet Beach

Low tide at the inlet

Sea greenery

Island beach at low tide

Sea grass and tiny shells

Saltwater river beach made up of tiny seashells

Clouds building for the afternoon storms

Ponce Inlet jetty

Storm at the Coast

Beach at the Inlet

We vacationed at a house on the waterway one year and although the house was not to our liking, the location was perfect. The sunrise photo was taken there. Continue reading