Get-away from New Jersey's Winter

     It could be worse.  I could be living in New England or worse yet----Canada.  But getting a chance to visit my daughter, her husband, and my four grandchildren down in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida at the end of January gives me a break from that SAD syndrome.  I was going to just make this a little field guide for Florida palm trees but that would mean many of my photos wouldn't fit with the blog theme so this will be a little of everything from my trip.

 

So nice to leave from Pomona. 

 My sister works there for the

 F. A. A. so I get a ride to the airport as she goes to work.

Newest golf course mower swings sideways in nearly an effortless motion.  Early in the morning from the backyard, you catch the greens caretakers doing their thing which I find to be more fascinating than the golfers.

           

We walked on a trail through a nature preserve which was supposed to be great bird habitat but we did not see one bird other than the red-bellied woodpecker which I can easily find in my own backyard in Jersey.  But not far from the protected natural area, at a children's park, life is easy for hundreds of white ibises.  There also were a number of domesticated, although somewhat mixed, Muscovy ducks.  Their extreme warty face makes them eligible for the title the "Ugliest Duck".   

 

A bird park with one bird!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Florida Football for kids-----no tackling here but it looks

like it would be a challenge to get him down.

 

 

 

It was a perfect day. Just warm enough to seek the shade. 

 That's what you want when you are escaping Jersey's

 frigid temps.

 

 

You do not have to
request a pose. Must be instinctive!

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Cleaning the windows because Annie and Tyler make nose prints 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Different bird from the

Palm Beach Zoo but with another warty appendage. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 Sweet! It was grandparent's day and I got to visit.

 

 

 

 

 I didn't get to see any orange groves.  But this exotic fruit

 growing on the church grounds made me happy.

 

 

 

 

I remember a time when you just did not

 see the Bismark palm in Florida but now

it is a popular dramatic accent to the landscape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take your pick I am having trouble naming this palm. 

  Royal palm?  Queen palm?  The fox tail palm also has bushy fronds? 

 

 

 

Cycads are not palms!

 

 

 

 

http://www3.nd.edu/~fboze/cycads.shtml

 

 

 

http://www.florida-palm-trees.com/palm-tree-pictures

 

There are mansions in South Jersey that are open to the public but none as opulent as the Flagler Museum.  They mention Atlantic City's golden era with rolling chairs which may have been an inspiration but the rolling chair that you see here is a bit of an upgrade.

 

http://www.flaglermuseum.us/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit sparse here.  It was the servants bedroom.

 

The well landscaped yard had blossoms of every color

including this yellow one with a guest nestled comfortably.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

..a flower from the allamanda bush:

Calliandra,  probably in the mimosa family:

 

 

 

 

A Jersey girl transplanted in Florida:

A princess indeed!

 

Can you tell who is dancing the fastest?

 

 

How lucky I was! 

Got to have lunch with the cast of  "Singin in the Rain" and got a "Singin in the Rain" umbrella as a special memento.  The lunch featured a bit of tap dancing that brought back memories of my own tap dance lessons. 

 

http://jupitertheatre.org/shows/singinintherain/

 

 

January Beach Day

With a beautiful day and the temperature at about 51 degrees in Atlantic City, NJ,  it was perfect for getting some vitamin D to counteract the lack of sunlight here in January. 

 

 

 

 

After hurricane Sandy the destruction is not evident unless you know where to look.  The marshes have odd things that have washed up.  As you drive by you probably won't notice what the storm brought into the marsh unless you stop and get out to get a closer look. The marshes along the Black Horse Pike  entrance to Atlantic City may have had more of this floating debris lodged into sensitive estuaries.  On the beach that I visited in front of the Taj Casino there were different shells including some winkles that I wouldn't normally find and maybe a few more bottles washed up. 

 

So where are those surf clams?

I used my little Fuji camera and with no view finder.  You couldn't see anything of the image on the LCD screen that you were trying to capture in the bright sun.

 

The Revel is still spectacular but if you get up close you notice that the gleaming panels are noticeably streaked and dulled.  I hope that all they need is a good washing and that the surface is not damaged.  Some columns have been encircled with bungee cords.  Maybe upon inspection someone might have noticed a loosening of some panels. 

Happy New Year's Day 2013 with Bling

 

All I can say is that gaudy sells---- especially during the outgoing year of 2012 when fashion and in particular handbags, could not have been more bedazzling.  So can a little extra bling be so bad?   Not in this area of South Jersey.  We welcome 2013 with an extra helping of bling and pageantry with the Philadelphia Mummer's Parade.  The parade is over a hundred years old and features performers adorned in feathers, glitter, mirrored studs, and colorful fabrics.   There are the comics, the fancy brigades, and the string bands marching up Broad Street.

 

The costumes are bright and showy but the people that appreciate the Mummer's Day parade will never say that they are gaudy or tasteless.  I tried to get someone to travel on the train with me to see it live but  nobody wanted to leave the comfort of their home.  So I took a few screen shots off of the television.  I remember when I was a kid and the all male rule was still in existence.   I loved seeing the drag queens that were allowed to strut their stuff back then.

 

 When they dropped the all male rule my sister was tapped to perform with the Palmyra String Band.  She went on to be Pinocchio and one other character.  It was a new life for my parents and their young daughter.  After the New Year's Day Parade, the spring and summer were filled with invitations to travel around the Northeast.  They made real friends where ever they went because they were invited to stay in the resident's homes in the towns where they visited.  I am twenty-three  years older so I wasn't a part of this fun-filled time.  I believe this string band has since disbanded.

 

My sister as Alice, in the 1983 Mummer's Parade:

 

 

A photo straight from the television: 

 

 

 Gaudy:

Extravagantly bright or showy, typically so as to be tasteless.

Synonyms garish - loud - showy - flashy     :(   A little background on the parade:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN8oJby0yr4   A shop in the Taj Casino on New Year's Eve featured an overload of bling:    Handbag Bling:             Not a part of the minimalist movement:     I believe this was the winner's performance.  Fralinger's String Band.  Please change the setting to 720HD for best viewing:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsz1glON7IU