The Florida Keys - Post 2

Next up, down Highway 1 was Crane Point in Marathon. It's a beautiful nature center with trails detailing the local flora and fauna as well as the building shown below, which was owned by George Adderley, a Bahamian immigrant who originally lived on the property. I arrived just in time to hop on a guided tour led by the lovely couple, Dinata and Andy. We traveresed the property in a elongated golf cart while Dinata gave insightful information interjected with bouts of humor by her husband Andy. There were Butterflies, Strangler Trees and even a snake, which much to my revulsion, Dinata tried to wrangle.

 

The drive continued to Seven Mile Bridge. There are actually two bridges here. The original railroad bridge built by Heny Flagler was damaged in a hurricane in 1935. It was then repaired and made into an automobile bridge, then again damaged by another hurricane in 1960. It has since reopened as a pedestrian connecter to Pigeon Key. The newer, bigger  automobile bridge was built in 1978 and strectches the full 7 miles from Knights Key to Little Duck Key, and has remained free of hurricane damage thus far.  It totals about 2 miles in distance on the pedestrian bridge to Pigeon Key, and yes I walked it... and back. The pics are below, and I think you will agree, it was well worth the blister and leg cramp.

Once on Pigeon Key, you get the feeling that you have entered the compound occupied by The Others on Lost. Slightly clinical and disurbing, but tropical, beautiful and isolated.

The next stop was at The Turtle Hospital. Anyone who knows me, knows that the way to my heart is through a Sea Turtle (well, Elephants, good music, and pasta work too). Sadly for me, since it is a working hospital, tours are at set times and are heavily booked on weekends, so I didn't get a chance to actually take the tour and see the Turtles, but I did get to snap the adorable ambulance below (thankfully it was not away on a Sea Turtle emergency). Next time. I mean it!

Check back for the final installment, KEY WEST!

The Florida Keys - Post 1

This past weekend called for a little birthday trip, so I headed down to the land of The African Queen, Bogart and Bacall, Seven Mile Bridge and Ernest Hemmingway. Thats right, after landing in Miami and picking up the rental car (Monty became his name), I drove the Florida Keys. Coral Castle was the first stop. Super bizarre, diminutive, Latvian immigrant Ed Leedskalnin reportedly created this 'castle' for his 16 year old love out of carved coral formed limestone. Creepy, actually.

Next stop was the Seashell Beach Resort on Grassy Key, just north of Marathon. Resort is a STRONG claim, but it had an amazing waterfront area with a dock and beautiful rockers to sit and watch the ocean ebb and flow. Blue Moons on the dock at night are a strong reccomendation. There are only 10 rooms, and it is really quaint and lovely place. Dinner this night was at a yummy seafood place called The Island Fish Company. The Cocktails were better then the food (and on a personal note, people should really avoid letting their children run through a restaurant as though they were carrying the Olympic Torch) but the alfresco dinning on the water was well worth a few sub par calamari.

Stay tuned for more photos from this trip over the next few days!

Stockholm, Sweden - Post 3

As far as music goes, Sweden has been really good to the world. Robyn, The Knife, Lykke Li, Erik Hassle, Peter Bjorn & John, Koop, Kleerup, Sally Shapiro, Axwell, Roxette, Ace of Base... ABBA! I mean seriously, the list is endless. Some of my favorite artists are on this list, and so I was well aware of the contribution that Stockholm has made to the music world long before I went. What I was unaware of was how inspired I would by the visuals that Stockholm gives off as well. It's extremely beautiful in the most cosmopolitan of ways, and yet still maintains its sense of history and heritage. It combines modern, retro, and classic together in a clean space surrounded by nature. Everywhere you look there is some sort of art installation, from the subway stations to public spaces, it seems that Stockholmers love to be surrounded by beauty. I don't blame them.

Stockholm, Sweden - Post 2

This city had no shortage of amazing things to photograph. 

Stockholm, Sweden - Post 1

I flew to Stockholm this past weekend (via Helsinki on Finnair, which explains the first two photos) to visit my friend Fredrik. I cannot believe that I waited this long to go and see for myself what a beautiful city it is. Made up of 14 islands, Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden and its largest city. It was founded around 1250 and is constantly rated as one of the top cities in the world to live. Fredrik was my tour guide and we went to the Moderna Museet to see an exhibit by American artist Lee Lozano, as well as Skogskyrkogården, (an achitechurally beautiful cemetery where many famous Swedes, including Greta Garbo, are buried), and City Hall. We walked through Gamla Stan, shopped at the Galleria, went for a 'fika' at Cafe Rival (you ABBA fans should like this) and spent the mornings eating such a well balanced and delicious breakfast that I wasn't even really hungry until dinner time. Fredrik also walked me through this years Melodifestivalen so I am now totally up to date on Eurovision for 2010. Anyway, enough with the chatter - you came to see photos right? Well, I took a lot, so I will break this up into a few posts, so please come back and see the updates!

Lady GaGa - Telephone

Here it is. What do you think, does it live up to the hype? I think it is kind of epic. The cinematography is genius, Beyonce is looking great, and Jonas Akerlund just gets better.