The Empty Nesters Magical Mystery Tour *1/28* Link to New Girl's TR p141

[MEK]

What a fabulous afternoon at Honeymoon Island State Park!!! Seeing the bald eagles must have been so cool.

It was really one of the coolest things ever! I was totally in awe! Definitely one of the trip highlights and it made me glad that we decided to stay on Honeymoon Island instead of heading to Caladesi.

You didn't go swimming???

Nope. Even though it was a beautiful day and warm in the sun, it was cool in the shade. Plus, we never made it to the actual swimming beach. I sort of wish we had gone to that beach instead of the shell beach, but we didn't know which way to go.

Nice view from the private pier during your running.

I know, right? How cool would it be to live there?

 

[natebenma]

Great, great pictures on Honeymoon Island, especially all the bird pictures. The first one, of the mourning dove, I think, is spectacular. I agree the eagle pictures are just amazing. Such a majestic bird! Did you know that an eagle's nest is around 4-6 feet in diameter?

Love all the view pictures and the shells on the beach.

wow, so much to see along the coast!

 

[MEK]

Great, great pictures on Honeymoon Island, especially all the bird pictures. The first one, of the mourning dove, I think, is spectacular.

Thank you! I really enjoyed taking pictures while we were there. It would have been nice to have a longer distance lens, but I still managed to get some close ups.

I agree the eagle pictures are just amazing. Such a majestic bird! Did you know that an eagle's nest is around 4-6 feet in diameter?

I think I also heard that the nest are extremely heavy. We were pretty far back from it, so I'm not surprised it was that big. It was pretty impressive, to say the least.

Love all the view pictures and the shells on the beach.

wow, so much to see along the coast!

There really was so much to see. There seemed to be so many views. Every time I turned around. I don't think I would ever get tired of that scenery.

 

[Wood Nymph]

That was really lucky to get a chance to see two eaglets. Do you know whether the feathers on their heads will turn white when they mature, or will they stay dark?

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, it's amazing how we almost start our day exactly the same. Except replace "run" with "nap".

Even though I'm not a fishing fan, I do like the idea of fishing in March without the need of an ice drill.

Haha, so odd that the park closes at such an odd time. Not 6:00, not 6:30, not 7:00, no we close at 6:40. I think they should go even more random and just close at 6:47... sharp!

Such a beautiful park seemingly hidden from the world with all the birds and then... a blimp. Kinda funny actually.

 

[dizneeat]

All caught up again.

I just love all the great photos you took. That one boardwalk is looking so beautiful and I just love all the palm trees in your pics - I could use some sunshine right now. Thanks for sharing Mary Ellen.

 

[MEK]

That was really lucky to get a chance to see two eaglets. Do you know whether the feathers on their heads will turn white when they mature, or will they stay dark?

I am guessing they will turn white as the mature. Of course, I have done no research to either confirm or deny that.

Wow, it's amazing how we almost start our day exactly the same. Except replace "run" with "nap".

Awww - Come on Rob! Not you!

Even though I'm not a fishing fan, I do like the idea of fishing in March without the need of an ice drill.

OMG! I totally chuckled out loud at that one! Too funny!

Haha, so odd that the park closes at such an odd time. Not 6:00, not 6:30, not 7:00, no we close at 6:40. I think they should go even more random and just close at 6:47... sharp!

i'm guessing it was the time on sunset that day. A lot of parks in the US just say "Park closes at sunset". This park actually gave the time for those of us confused about what time sunset actually is!

Such a beautiful park seemingly hidden from the world with all the birds and then... a blimp. Kinda funny actually.

I thought the same thing when I was going through the pictures. It was like...Whaaaaaaaat? Where did THAT come from?

All caught up again.

Yay!

I just love all the great photos you took. That one boardwalk is looking so beautiful and I just love all the palm trees in your pics - I could use some sunshine right now. Thanks for sharing Mary Ellen.

So glad you like the pictures. Sometimes pictures just say it all.

I could use a few palm trees right now, as well. And some mangroves. And some sand. And a beach umbrella!

 

[englishrose47]

Hi Mary Ellen what a wonderful update !! I have no Laptop working at present and am waiting for the new one I just bought to get set up and me trained on Wiondows 8.1 I have been very busy at work as as I have had no aptop in weeks , very little time to drop in when at work. I am sharing this with you on your thread . I quit smoking November 12th , well I am using a E cig and have gone down 4 nicotine levels already . My health finally won out and I did it !!!

 

[MEK]

Hi Mary Ellen what a wonderful update !! I have no Laptop working at present and am waiting for the new one I just bought to get set up and me trained on Wiondows 8.1 I have been very busy at work as as I have had no aptop in weeks , very little time to drop in when at work.

ROSIE!!!!! So good to see you! I feel like its been FOR-EVER since I saw you on the boards!

Bummer about the computer, but I am surely glad you have another one coming. I am sure you will have Windows 8 mastered in no time!

I am sharing this with you on your thread . I quit smoking November 12th , well I am using a E cig and have gone down 4 nicotine levels already . My health finally won out and I did it !!!

OMG!

That is so awesome! Congratulations! That is huge! I am so glad you made the decision to quite. That is no small feat. Keep me posted on how it goes/ I am 100% sure you will be successful!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Honeymoon Island State Park!? Of course you can't resist a place with a name like that.

Huh, that is interesting to charge per person. We don't do that in Illinois or Wisconsin to my knowledge either.

Don't you love it when people like "that guy" just strike up random conversations with you? It's funny. Sometimes I'm all for it. Other times I'm like "um, okay then byeeeeee!"

Not every day you have a Yoga Goddess sighting!

 

[Poolrat]

Yup another place I never knew about. Pretty much moved down there the fall after I graduated and started working the next week. Not much sightseeing time. Guess I need to explore that area more.
What a great find in the eaglets, certainly a special sighting.

Hi Mary Ellen what a wonderful update !! I have no Laptop working at present and am waiting for the new one I just bought to get set up and me trained on Wiondows 8.1 I have been very busy at work as as I have had no aptop in weeks , very little time to drop in when at work. I am sharing this with you on your thread . I quit smoking November 12th , well I am using a E cig and have gone down 4 nicotine levels already . My health finally won out and I did it !!!

Great to see you posting, I heard the computer was dead. Great news about quitting smoking.

 

[rndmr2]

The Honeymoon Beach area is really pretty, the water is such a pretty color. You got some nice pics.

Really cool to get to see the Eagle nest.

 

[afwdwfan]

Looks like you had a great time at the state park! I'm not much into bird watching either, but we've never really had bald eagles around this area until the past 5 years or so. There have been a few around and I'm always fascinated by them whenever I see one. We actually had one sitting in a tree by a corn field this fall while we were shelling corn. No nest there so I'm not sure where they are nesting, but it kept flying around and coming back to that tree. It was cool just watching it! I'd love to see a nest with the young ones in it like that one!

 

[teekathepony]

What a great trip around honeymoon island state park!
Bald eagles are so common around here that I would be more interested in some of the other cool birds you saw, but no denying those eaglets are adorable.
Biking around the park and then a big cookout sounds wonderful! Too bad I have way too many years to go until retirement!
I have one of those fisheye attachments. Fun to play with but definitely not the one for quality.
Lovely day, and a nice relaxing rest on the patio sounds just right!

 

[ddstratton]

Beautiful pictures! Looks like a very nice little park.

 

[MEK]

Honeymoon Island State Park!? Of course you can't resist a place with a name like that.

I know, right? Such a cool name for a state park! Gotta love it!

Huh, that is interesting to charge per person. We don't do that in Illinois or Wisconsin to my knowledge either.

I wonder how many states do the multiple occupant charge. I guess its just a big money maker!

Don't you love it when people like "that guy" just strike up random conversations with you? It's funny. Sometimes I'm all for it. Other times I'm like "um, okay then byeeeeee!"

That's how I felt. Like man - just let us go see the park. It's not like we have all day. We are on a limited time frame. We aren't snowbird, ya know!

Not every day you have a Yoga Goddess sighting!

How funny/weird was that? I guess the Goddess needed her own bench to meditate.

Yup another place I never knew about. Pretty much moved down there the fall after I graduated and started working the next week. Not much sightseeing time. Guess I need to explore that area more.

I have this theory that when you live somewhere you just aren't as inclined to see all the touristy areas. You kind of figure they will always be there waiting for you. I know I do the same thing where I live.

What a great find in the eaglets, certainly a special sighting.

It was really amazing! Such a great tribute to mother nature. So cool!

Great to see you posting, I heard the computer was dead. Great news about quitting smoking.

I was SO excited to see a post from Rosie! I hope she learns her new computer soon and is back in action pronto!!!!!!

And the smoking thing is super awesome!

The Honeymoon Beach area is really pretty, the water is such a pretty color. You got some nice pics.

The water on the gulf coast is so pretty. It's really more a blue/green compared to the Atlantic Ocean. Really neat! Glad you like the pics!

Really cool to get to see the Eagle nest.

The eagles nest was so amazing, especially when I got to use the scope. So very cool!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The Eagles beat the Cowboys, so...yes. Yes, I did.

The state park I am referring to is called Honeymoon Island State Park. How could we resist a place with that title?

I'm a little worried about the pictures we're going to see now...

Well worth ignoring the “Residents Only” sign.

The lesson, of course, is to always ignore all posted warnings.

I took a few pictures while I was waiting for Denny and “that guy” to finish talking.

Did he have a button from the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor?

One of them had a really nice scope. It was set up to peer directly into the Eagle’s nest. OMG! So cool! The view was amazing and I was so jealous I didn’t have a better distance lens because it was impossible to get really close to the nest. The perimeter was all roped off.

But here’s what I got

I think the eagle pictures are awesome! So cool!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Love the pictures. Honeymoon beach looks lovely. I really need to visit the west coast of Florida soon.

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a great update Mary Ellen! How neat that you guys chose to be in the right place at the right time to see the eagles in their nest. One year, there was an eagles' nest in the woods/pasture behind our house and it was hte neatest thing to see an eagle soar right over our house.

Shell beach was, indeed a shell beach, wasn't it? Very cool.

What a lovely place to spend a day! Lots of great pictures and lots of great memories.

 

[MEK]

Looks like you had a great time at the state park! I'm not much into bird watching either, but we've never really had bald eagles around this area until the past 5 years or so. There have been a few around and I'm always fascinated by them whenever I see one. We actually had one sitting in a tree by a corn field this fall while we were shelling corn. No nest there so I'm not sure where they are nesting, but it kept flying around and coming back to that tree. It was cool just watching it! I'd love to see a nest with the young ones in it like that one!

There is just something so cool and majestic about the Eagle and those Eaglets were so darn cute! I just found the whole thing so interesting. It's so cool that the Eagle goes back to that same place to make its nest every year. And who even knows if its the same eagle.

What a great trip around honeymoon island state park!

It was really a lot of fun. It was a lovely park with so many things to do.

Bald eagles are so common around here that I would be more interested in some of the other cool birds you saw, but no denying those eaglets are adorable.

That's cool that you get to see them all the time. It makes me wonder if they migrate as far south as Florida from where you live. If so, those eaglets sure had a long fly home last year.

Biking around the park and then a big cookout sounds wonderful! Too bad I have way too many years to go until retirement!

That group did look like they were having a ton of fun!

I have one of those fisheye attachments. Fun to play with but definitely not the one for quality.

Not at all, which is kind of a bummer because you have to take a bunch of pictures before you get one to two good ones.

Lovely day, and a nice relaxing rest on the patio sounds just right!

It was great to have a little siesta time!

Beautiful pictures! Looks like a very nice little park.

Thank you! And it was a wonderful park. We really enjoyed spending time there!