Summer is here

27 June 2009 // Filed under Places

And that’s a good thing!

Here are some adventures I’ve had this spring… To think I thought I had to go to Chartres to walk the labyrinth! There are two right here in Delray Beach and they are based on the Chartres Labryrinth.

At the Duncan Conference Center, you can enjoy them at your liesure, or be part of monthly guided meditations.

These two were envisioned by retired Duncan Center director, Father Steve Fregeau, and were designed by landscape artists, Steven and Michele Benner. A labyrinth, they say, is a symbol, a tool, a passion, or a practice, which can provide gentle relief, meaningful purpose and quench the desire for calm, insight and peace. I walked the labyrinths on World Labyrinth Day, May 2, as part of a worldwide effort to create a “rolling wave of healing labyrinth energy in unison as the earth turns.”

Actually, it was a very peaceful and centering experience. Different from a maze, a labyrinth has no forks in the road or confusing dead ends. A unicursal, the path never crosses over itself and culminates in only a singel cul-de-cac — its center — where “walkers” are invited to rest awhile, meditating, centering, quieting, before taking the same path out.

I learned that on life’s path, I cannot get lost. It may turn and seem confusing at times, but the way is distinct, and like Theseus, the thread is there, and all you have to do is walk along.

To go back to my site, here’s the link: Travelers Palm Inn

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-06-27  ::  Christine

More about Sebring

24 April 2009 // Filed under All Season + Photo Ops

Follow this link to Travelers Palm Inn:

We took a day trip to Sebring this winter. All of us enjoyed the day, and we had fun taking photos at Highlands Hammock State Park.

The park was established in 1935, and is one of the four original state parks created by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is part of Florida’s Statewide Greenways and Trails System.

On 9,250 acres, It has a dense, subtropical jungle of hardwood trees, cabbage palms, ferns, bromeliads, orchids and other airplants.

Due to the diversity of the plant communities, many varieties of wildlife are found here including Whitetail Deer, River Otters, Pileated Woodpeckers, Red Shouldered Hawks, Barred Owls and Swallow-tailed Kites. Florida Panthers, Bobcats, and Bald Eagles may also be seen on occasion. I, however, only encountered a spider…

Please visit Travelers Palm Inn for information on vacation rentals.

(more…)

1 comment  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-04-24  ::  Christine

Back to Homestead

10 March 2009 // Filed under Places

This past Saturday, we toured the Nike site in the Everglades. This is one of four in the area, and each site has two components — a command center as well as a launch area. THe launch area includes three launch pads, each with a building large enough to contain three missiles, along with a bunker. A fourth building on the site was used for assembling the missiles.

After touring, we decided to hike a short path, before heading home. The Everglades was crawling with critters!

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-03-10  ::  Christine

Playmobil FunPark

13 January 2009 // Filed under All Season + Kids

I’ve passed this place zillions of times.

Here’s the address:

8031 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens,

Phone – 561-691-9880

It was the day before Christmas, and we wanted to do something with Zoe, Hannah, Max and James (ages 6 through 3), and we decided to check this place out. We all enjoyed it.

My son, Ted, grandsons, Max and James and I were playing with the knights and dragons. One little girl wanted to take over the castle, literally. She wanted to move it off the table. Her dad was not in favor. STTOPPP ITTT, he said. Of course, he was fairly well ignored.

Later, my son remarked that he rarely heard a dad whine at his kid. Here’s some photos…

1 comment  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2009-01-13  ::  Christine

Looking for Utopia?

9 December 2008 // Filed under All Season + Places

I am.

For many northeners, South Florida is the next best thing to Utopia, especially in the dead of winter.  Heating up those bones after being chilled to the bone is a wondrous experience! At least, that’s what my visitors at my vacation rental, Travelers Palm, tell me.

At the turn of the 20th century, one group headed to Florida to establish their Utopia. You can still visit the site — it’s an easy drive and on the west coast of Florida.

OK. Maybe the facilities aren’t exactly five stars luxurious. But, I have to say, Koreshan had something to do with the stars in a way. Go see for yourself — here’s the site.

Here’s the real deal according to this Utopia — We live inside the globe, rather than on it.

Now a state park in Estero, Fl, the Koreshan Unity Settlement was founded by Dr. Cyrus Teed, who brought his followers to Estero in 1894. This settlement was to be the New Jerusalem, a Utopia, where members lived communally working for the good of all.

Here’s how Dr. Teed, in charismatic fashion, proved his viewpoint that we live inside our Earthly globe rather than on it. He said, take a look at the horizon; you can clearly see that it actually curves upward – wow. I never saw that!
His followers believed that he was immortal, so, when he died, they laid him out on the banks of the Estero River, waiting for his awakening. After several weeks, his remains were placed in a bathtub, just in time to be washed away by a hurricane. I guess you could say that he did, at least, make a clean getaway in the end.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2008-12-09  ::  Christine

Delray Beach

5 December 2008 // Filed under All Season + Events + Places

In January, Fotofusion comes back to Delray Beach. The Palm Beach Photographic Centre hosts this annual event for photographers – it’s one of my favorites.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2008-12-05  ::  Christine

The Rodeo

27 November 2008 // Filed under Events + March + Photo Ops + Places

A day at the Rodeo

Cowboys in Florida are called Cracker cow hunters. Want a taste of the Old West? Just head to Okeechobee! Just west of Lake Worth, and about an hour away, we had a very nice day trip, took photos of the rodeo and the carnival. For dinner, we stopped in Indiantown. Unfortunately, we did not see Miss Ida…

It’s coming up — check it out — March 15.

http://www.okeechobeecountyfair.com/okeechobee-county-fair-schedule.htm

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2008-11-27  ::  Christine

Nike Missile Base in Homestead

27 November 2008 // Filed under Photo Ops + Places

I went with my friend, Carol, on an overnight photo shoot to Homestead Miami. We were on a mission, so to speak. I had visited a Nike Missile site years ago, and wanted to return for photos. I had only a general idea of where it was. Thanks to our Bed and Breakfast hostess, whose exhusband had worked on one of the Nike sites, we were able to locate it. Since this was spur-of-the-moment, it was too late to get permission from the state, and we wondered if we would get arrested for trespassing. Carol, who is the smart one, brought some cash for bond money, just in case. As it turned out, though, the place is a favorite spot for paint ballers and, at its entrance, was a hot dog stand!
Our mission for this day’s “shoot” was to photograph derelict buildings… Here is a link — http://ed-thelen.org/loc-f.html

And a short bit about the Nike Missile Program — During the height of the Cold War in the mid-1950s, the U.S. Army began building the bases, which were to be the last line of defense against an enemy air attack. Rings of these bases, or batteries, were built in rural farmland around major metropolitan areas. The bases had two sections, separated by a half mile and sometimes in different towns. One section was the Control Area with radars and computers, a mess hall and administrative building. The other section was the launch section, where missile components were received and assembled. Once assembled, the missiles were fueled and stored in underground magazines. Both sections had barracks. The bases were guarded and operated around the clock.

There were two models of Nike missiles. The Nike-Ajax and the Nike-Hercules. The Ajax were 34 by 4 feet, with speeds up to 1,600 mph at 70,000 altitude. The Hercules reached speeds up to 3,200 mph at 100,000 feet, and could shoulder nuclear warheads.

The program was deactivated in 1974, but continued in some of the Florida bases through the 1970s.

I’m not sure that touring and photographing a missile site is for everyone, but we enjoyed the outing, as we visited other picturesque (non-missile) South FLorida sites as well. For those of you who have made a reservation at my vacation rental in Lake Worth and want to go on this day trip, I suggest that you make an early start and get there before the paint ballers. It’s also a good idea to call the State Parks and Recs ahead to ask for permission to visit the site.

Views of the site

Inside

Up close

Checking it out...

Paint ballers at the Nike site

On a trip to Homestead

13 comments  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2008-11-27  ::  Christine