24 posts tagged “florida”
Tonight was Michael's band concert at school. As a part of the percussion section, Michael plays bass drum. He owns the required snare and bells. The band played about five songs before the Recorder Ensemble played a number of songs, followed by the Chorus who sang an exhausting seven songs. Maybe I'm biased because my kid was done, but it was really too long of a concert. I enjoyed watching Michael play and he did very well.
When I picked up the children from school, a brush fire was toasting up 776 in northern Port Charlotte. It had so much smoke that visible was reduced to zero and the sheriff deputies directed traffic in a U-turn at the Sports Complex, making El Jobean and Englewood inaccessible from Port Charlotte. After Michael's concert, we took a drive by the area and it was reduced to little piles that were burning themselves out. Smoke was still drifting over 776 but it was nowhere near what it was earlier. All these incidents keep happening when I have children with me and can't take the opportunity to photograph them.
I had to go to Fort Myers today for a legal/mediation thing because Bailey's father is incapable of adult discussion and would rather spend thousands on an attorney than act mature and (maybe) pay off some of those mounting child support arrears with his hard-earned part-time minimum wage Office Maxx money. So we had the obvious discussions that could've happened on their own for free if his head had not been lodged up his ass, changed the Agreement a little to compensate for any future incidents of his head/ass lodging, and moved on with our lives.
Anyway, I took some time to walk around downtown amidst the continued [re]construction. It brought back some memories.
This is where I used to work. Technically, I worked on the other side of this historical building, in a building that was built attached to it for the offices of the Clerk of Courts. As a minutes secretary, I would record the minutes of all Lee County Commissioner meetings, which would take place in this historical building.
The French Connection is a little restaurant where Tom and I had our first lunch date. It was also our first date that wasn't scheduled around the convenience of our evening college classes. We'd actually made time for each other. I didn't eat much because I was nervous. He ate fine. This is a popular spot for downtown employees to get a nice, sit-down lunch in a mid-range price that can offer a bit of quiet.
I parked in the Main Street Parking Garage "borrowing" Tom's city parking card and descended down this steep stairwell every morning. This is a couple blocks from the old Courthouse, where I worked, and is almost right across the street from the big antique shop that you can get lost in for hours at a time.
Tom and I had a lot of dinner dates, and a few lunches, at Ichibans Sushi Restaurant off of Dean St. They also deliver to the downtown area. As you walk down Dean Street, you're greeted by this open furnished courtyard. There's also a a bakery here.
The statues of Ford, Edison and Firestone engaged in casual conversation are at the entrance of Centennial Park along the Caloosahatchee River. It was around these gentlemen that Tom and I had our commitment discussion. We had scheduled to meet each other here for "a very important talk" and he arrived before me. I remember pulling into a front space and seeing him seated in one of the surrounding benches looking very nervous. Fortunately, our discussion was very different than what he had feared it would be.
The shelter area of this park is where the local drum circle meets every Saturday evening.
The Harborside Event Center is where Tom went on a lunch break during a wedding expo to find a vendor for my engagement ring... and did. I don't know if I'm supposed to know that or not, but I do.
I took more images than merely those that triggered memories, and you can see them in the Fort Myers, FL flickr set.
Exterior things always have an influence on me. I am sure everyone is affected by their environments to some extent but, for me, the impact is tremendous. My mood can fluctuate depending on my surroundings, memories can be triggered, and my energy level is stimulated or my nerves are calmed.
Water has always calmed me. I can bear an enormous amount of stress and expectation by just having a moment to gaze at the water. The mountains energise me and by moving up, down and through them, I can accomplish anything. I consider these two terrains and my dynamic with them when I think about where I am in my life and what I need to help me through the next couple of years.
Tom left today for Miami and will stay there on his MCSE boot camp until April 27. At the usual time, I'll be picking up Bailey from south Punta Gorda and I've decided to pick up a few geocaches that are newly hid by South County Park while we're across the bridge. One is in the park and the other is off Cooper. The Cooper St. one is part of a series of a specific type of caches that are really easy and fun park & grabs. Both hides are by 3birdfamily, of whom I am a big fan.
Nothing like geocaching to pass the time.
There also a multi-cache in South County Park, as well as four brand new hides all by dominook (another florida geocacher I'm a fan of).
The visitation meeting spot itself is a geocache spot, but that was one of our hides.
I visited Stations 5, 7 and 12 today. 7 and 12 were very cooperative and friendly. I have nothing but good things to say about B Shift for both of those Stations.
Lt. Brad Wasmus is an old friend of Tom's. I had been out to Station 7 before on C Shift and even earlier today but had missed him. I was worried about the afternoon and whether rain would come in but the sky cleared up and the sun came out! It was nice to meet him and be able to photograph his crew. If he's interested, I'd be more than happy to provide a portrait on the house. Station 7 has an engine, plus the two airport vehicles: the rescue and the crash truck.
Station 12 was another great crew. Lt. Jim Wilcox had a positive attitude and the great energy of the guys made this a fun shoot. Station 12 has an engine, a truck, a rescue, a technical rescue, a hazmat and the black sheep.
Tom's going on a MCSE boot camp starting on Sunday and will be home the evening of April 27th. I have to get as much work done as possible since I don't photograph with children in tow. While it's hard to explain why I'm doing this project. I'm not doing it for the money. I'm not doing it to sell to the papers or magazines. If that happens, I certainly won't baulk, but my intent is really PR. It's good for them and it's good for me. They really need photos that are available to them, not promises of "year"books that are painfully delayed after firefighters have already paid for them. It gets my name out there more, and Google can certainly confirm that it's out there. I also learn more about the apparatus which is important for emergency scene photography. I need to know what I'm shooting.
After stopping by my attorney's office this morning in regards to my stupid ex being stupid, I went over to Station 16 for another shoot. This was one of the stations where I lost the majority of the images in a technical malfunction while transferring from the camera to the USB stick. I'm pleased with the results. Go to the Charlotte County Fire/EMS Station 16 set on my Flickr to see some of those photos. Below are a few more:
We ran two hours behind schedule since my ex-husband decided to play games to an extent where the police had to help return the boys. It's both fortunate and unfortunate that this happens so often that the boys aren't intimidated by the police. It's just a regular thing for them. I thank God that the police in my ex-husband's town have always been very helpful and concerned.
We left at 5:30pm Eastern time. We stopped in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at 11pm at the Days Inn. I had a heck of a time trying to find a hotel with a double room. A Holiday Inn north of Nashville tried to sell me the same suite we ended up in at the Days Inn for over $100 (before tax). The room we had was still expensive and over-budget but I got it for $80 so hey.
We left the southern Nashville suburbs around 10am and got home at 11:30pm with an eighth of a tank left. It rained from southern Georgia all the way down to North Port. Traffic ran smoothly, for the most part, and we didn't have any of the delays that we had traveling north.
Fuel was more expensive. In northern Florida, it cost me $3.55/gal. That's the most I've ever paid in my life.
Food costs for the return trip total $25; Hotel cost: $92; Fuel: $160; Total Return Trip: $277
Total Travel Expenses: $497
Total Trip cost with expenses during the week, including top-up cards: $902
If I didn't have to top-up my phone twice to deal with the problems my ex-husband caused, I would have been below $850.
Tom's taken Michael and Eddie to the Florida International Air Show again this year. They'll be gone all day as long as the weather cooperates.
I finally found the appropriate category for the Fountain of Youth in downtown Punta Gorda. It's an artesian well, thus it belongs in Artesian Wells. When it is approved by an officer, it will be Fountain of Youth - Punta Gorda, FL (WM3EXT).
There are a number of cemeteries in Charlotte County that I didn't know about. Who would have thought to look on the Public Works website for the information instead of, say, the Historical Society! The history is very unpleasant. These are cemeteries that have "historically served Charlotte County's African-American community", as the website phrases it. As a result, the records are poorly kept and the maintenance is next to none. With a horrific history that makes a reasonable person sick to learn, El Jobean Cemetery is historic and requires responsible documentation.
Tomorrow is Wednesday and I have to start researching Rennsalaer if I'm going to know what I'm waymarking and why when I arrive on Sunday.
Bailey's fever broke and now she's dealing with cold symptoms.
Seriously, what's on that plant? Michael and I walked Pennington Nature Park since we were in the neighbourhood after a freecycle pick-up. It's a 3/4 mile path in a small peninsula in the Elkcam Waterway that's protected and maintained by the Peace River Audubon Society.
As I was sifting through history editorials written by Lindsey Williams in the hopes of finding out more information on the before-mentioned Harvey House along Retta Esplande, I realised what I really want to get out of waymarking, especially posting. I'd just broke 100 waymarks, but I didn't feel right about posting anything for the sake the getting the numbers up. I didn't like the lower quality in some of the waymarks and the ones that I could not rewrite to improve, I removed from directory view. It's acceptable to post visits to your own posted waymarks, but I don't feel comfortable with it unless I have something personal that should be shared on the page. I'll be posting Notes instead of Visits for these personal sentiments. I only intend to post visits to waymarks posted by other people from this point forward. My visits now reflect this and I have removed from view the waymarks that I considered unnecessary. My bottom line is that I want someone to go to waymarking.com, fill in the 33950 zip code, and get a list of quality waymarks.
Bailey is still battling her flu. I'm afraid she'll be home from school tomorrow, something she is not happy about at all. Eddie, on the other hand, is jealous and has been trying to convince us that he's also sick, just without any symptoms.
Here are more images from Pennington Nature Park:
We waymarked and hid a geocache on Friday, we rested Saturday, and then waymarked and hid a geocache on Easter Sunday. I couldn't tell you how many total waymarks I picked up this weekend. I have a couple more items that don't have a category.
This first one might be the start of its own category when finding a way to unite it with the previous paver remnant. I'm still holding my breath on Woman's Clubs, which is still in the officer recruiting phase, so a new cat endeavor isn't really on my agenda. The potential is there, though.
This fountain is in downtown Punta Gorda. Twenty years ago, the retired residents and snowbirds would line up for blocks to fill jugs from this supposed Fountain of Youth. Let it be known that it contains a dangerous amount of radiation and should never be consumed. There are no lines now. This doesn't fit into the Fountains category, which is only for free-flowing water fountains, like those that shoot water into the air to be pretty. It's not a Converted Fountain, since at no time was it a free-flowing fountain and it is not used for an entirely different purpose. It's still functional as a spigot of radioactive water. It begs the question on whether there should be a category for attractions or features that are now found to be dangerous, like old x-ray machines that used to sit on street corners so you could wiggle your feet in and see your skeleton back in the 1950's because nobody realised how dangerous playing with an x-ray can be. That's just an example off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more out there. There has to be.
The Harvey House is an unfortunate entry because I've not been able to bring up any information on this homestead. It is very historical and just as duly notable as Villa Bianca, A.C. Freeman House, and the Trabue Law & Land Sales Office. Unfortunately, without any information to back up this little wooden sign staked out front, there's nothing I can build a waymark on. I'm going to have to call the Historical Society for help. Perhaps the information just isn't published on the internet.
Bailey must have picked up a bug from her father's house. She's sick today with a fever. She kept me up all last night vomitting. Due to getting barely any sleep, I was slow to get everything going. Michael was late and he was mad at me for it. I can't blame him, but it's not far-fetched for me to be dragging. These things happen sometimes.
Of course, Easter was Easter. The kids got their baskets and we had the nighttime egg hunt.
My goal is to get as many interesting, notable and historic waymarks out of Charlotte County and North Port as possible. I won't be doing the McDonald's, the Burger Kings, the Wendy's and so on. There are more images in my photos section of my efforts on Friday and Sunday.
One of the geocaches has been published and was found a day later. The other one is still under scrutiny, based on a terrain rating of 1 instead of 1.5 and something in the clue field that wasn't a real clue. This is the same reviewer that told me I couldn't name a cache after a business and then approved a series of Hooter # caches for another cacher. Whatever. Both caches are fire-related. The second is very difficult and I don't expect many non-firefighting cachers to get it, if/when it's published.
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