Groovy; dig it, birds!

 Well... Thanksgiving is over. Birds were pardoned and bellies were filled. Shopping has been had and Christmas lights are officially up. 

I was with family over the weekend, and we ventured out to a place called "St. Armand's Circle". Allegedly, it is part of the place John Ringling took a liking to, when he decided to grow roots in Sarasota. 

Lots of not super high end shops in this block of land, but the stores aren't cheap either. I mean, there are branded places like Huk, Chico's and the mall kiosk turned full store.. one of those "enter your favorite design here" shirt places. What was also available were mom and pop stores - boutiques, tea spots, hot sauce / pepper sauce place... list is on. There were also one off ethnic restaurants - Greek, Italian, themed bars (looked at a 1920s speak easy joint for a minute). There was even a life sized chess set to play with. Too bad no one wanted to try a round with me.

We didn't add a lot to boost the economy, but we decreased our waist size half a notch in our belts as we walked around. As no one could decide where they wanted lunch, we ended up back in the car and drove a couple miles down the road to Longboat Key. A little dive of a fishing pier shanty that is allegedly known for it's hamburger, not it's seafood. So a burger with onions rings, 2 orders of fish n chips and an order of clam strips was had by the group I was with. 

I was more interested in taking pictures of the webbed foot life on the water, so I have plenty to add to this post. The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T7i DSLR Camera, where most snaps were using the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens. I'm linking broad links so that anyone interested in the camera / lens can choose the bundle they'd like to pick up, if they choose. I know there's an updated Rebel, but I'm not interested in it right now. I'm still getting to know my current iteration.

And I do have to say the Bluetooth / Wi-Fi connectivity from the camera to my phone (download the Canon app) has been a godsend these days when everyone demands they see the pictures immediately. They want "professional" shots and those pictures to be texted to the phones the second the timer goes off. 

The string lights pictures were taken with the kitted lens. 

All photos not edited. WYSIWYG. I just added my name to them. 

I've got far too many more pictures, but I think this is probably over kill. The pelicans were being fed scraps from a fishing boat that had just pulled in and were cleaning the haul. Red snapper is what was caught and pieces thrown to the pack of waiting pelicans, ibis, seagulls, and blue heron. 

It was an interesting adventure, to say the least. We went the longish way back to the house I was staying at, so we passed through a bit of a beach area. Coquina, Anna Maria, Siesta Key... places I've not heard of nor visited, and I've been in Florida a decade already (well... shit...). Everyone asks if I know of such and such or have been to X and Y. Sadly, no, as it's not my scene to really go adventuring and looking at places I've never heard of, since the first time I ever stepped foot in Fort Myers was when we moved here.. in 2011. Sure, I've been to Orlando for the theme parks, but that was twice when I was younger. Otherwise, Florida ain't my bag. Why go looking for things when the things really aren't calling you? 

Gotta make the best of it as it comes, it looks like. So when I get asked for a party, I go, and if we go driving somewhere, I'll have a camera. But otherwise, I stay more local than a lot of people would probably prefer. I'm waiting on a big lottery win from a dollar scratch off. Then I'll go places (like ship back to Boston). Unless I find a better employment opportunity, then I'm all in. Trust me, I'm looking for work and it seems like it's been in all the wrong places lately. But it's not stopping me. I'm willing to network if you know anyone! 

Until something major happens, I'll just post again here with other updates...

Cheers.