Then we spent most of the rest of the day at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  We encountered a great variety of sea birds, and even a Bald Eagle. Most of the photos were taken at Ding Darling, but several of the Osprey photos were taken across the street from my friend’s house.

After the Kennedy Space Center, I drove across Florida and down to Sanibel Island, where a High School friend of mine lives.  I arrived pretty late, but we still managed to get up early the next morning to enjoy the sunrise near the Sanibel Island Light along with many early birds.  It was fun watching…

After the bird-shoot, I continued on to Cape Canaveral where I took the tour of the Kennedy Space Center, including the Apollo / Saturn V center. I also got to see the big Space-X Falcon Heavy rocket on the launch pad.  While less powerful than the rockets that sent man to the moon, this is the most…

After spending the night in the Prius at a Walmart near Cape Canaveral, I woke early to catch the sunrise, and found a good spot on the A. Max Brewer Pkwy, near the bridge that had a view across the Indian River to the Vertical Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, which was 9…

On my way to Cape Canaveral, I stopped at the University of North Florida Student Wellness Center, in Jacksonville, just in time for the sunset.  It’s a beautiful new building, and the sunset really brought it to life.

At Patriot’s Point, In Charleston, SC, I visited the unique Cold War Submarine Memorial, which is the hull of a submarine half-buried in the grass, making it look like it is starting to dive. Then to the USS Yorktown (aircraft carrier) the USS Clamagore (submarine), and the USS Laffey (destroyer), which are all docked together.  There are…

Still, on the first day, I made it to Willmington, NC.  I parked near the Riverfront Park, where I took a stroll along the Cape Fear River, and shot some sunset photos of the Battleship North Carolina.

My first stop on my trip to Florida was Raleigh, North Carolina.  I first visited their very nice Museum of Natural Sciences, by Verner Johnson In the same neighborhood were some nice historic houses, including the home of Fannie Heck,who was the president of the Women’s Missionary Union from 1890 until her death in 1915. The State…

After the New River Bridge, I headed to another type of bridge, the Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County, Virginia (map link) .  Route 11 actually passes directly over this natural bridge, and I crossed over it without even knowing it.  They have non-descript fences on either side, so it’s hard to know that you are crossing the…

After spending a night in a flea-bag motel, I continued on to the New River Bridge, in West Virginia (map link). It is named after the New River Gorge, which it spans across. With an arch 1,700 feet (518 m) long, the New River Gorge Bridge was for many years the world’s longest single-span arch bridge,…