In the last 3 or 4 years, it seems that my artistic side has begged to emerge. I now have a secret project on every vacation: paint something. Usually a subject surrounds me and just begs me to paint it. On my Recent trip to Acadia National Park, it was the rocky coast of Maine. I found a perfect spot, on a rocky area right off the Shore Trail, and went to work on Great Head, right across a little Bay from where I was sitting on a big rock. The results I’m posting.
While amateur, like all my “works,” the elements and the essence of my experience, have been captured to my satisfaction and that’s my goal.
Comments Welcome! I want to eventually be able to have others post their vacation paintings as well. I started with watercolor pencils (easy to carry) sketched the scene with colors i saw, and then rendered it into a watercolor with brushes and water and addtional color when i returned home. Here it is! Beclecto Watercolor of Maine Vacation Painting
Planning a vacation in Florida this year? Don’t leave without a visit to Ft Desoto Park at the southern most tip of Pinellas County. Ft Desoto is the flagship of Pinellas County Parks. Its huge, and encompasses many “bests” for outdoor recreation in Florida. The boat ramp, with massive capacity, A campground with a waterfront camping experience that is very hard to leave, one of the best dog beaches in the country, a fishing paradise, with or without a boat, kayak and canoeing that cant be beat, beaches that go for miles, 2 fishing piers, facilities galore for shady picnicking, parties and more, a paved, walking, biking, rollerblading walkway around the entire park, plus a real fort! Pinellas County also works very hard to make every bit of the park accessible for all to enjoy. WOW! The Campground at Ft Desoto is a camping experience that many long for. The waterfront sites are always in demand and for good reason. If you brought your water toys, kayaks, etc, you can pull them up on shore right at your site, jump on anytime and go out and catch trout for dinner. *best spot for trout? paddle out to the floating bouys to the left of the island, anchor on the edge and cast in to the channel, its a cant miss spot! Sunsets are beautiful and there will be tears on the day you leave! Well built, clean restrooms, showers, laundry are located conveniently near each site. Reservations can be made online 7 months out and there are pictures of EACH site! Visit The official site here
The Beaches at Ft Desoto have once again in 2009 been voted NUMBER ONE in the country!
Ft Desoto Beach As Far as You Can see
There are massive paved parking areas and you are also allowed to pull off the road at many points for a more private beach experience. Pavilions abound for parties or reunions. Many beach weddings are performed as well, with the facilities to back them up.
The park wide paved trail, is enjoyed by many biking, walking, roller blade users.
Paved Trail at Ft Desoto Park enjoyed by walkers, bikers, and roller blade lovers(photo by Jake LeClaire)
The trail provides a great way to observe the many water birds that live and feed in the area. Winters are a wonderful birding opportunity because so many species call Ft Desoto their Winter home!
Birdiing at Ft Desoto ParkKids find many interests at Ft Desoto
Can’t wait to hear about your trip to Ft Desoto Park in Pinellas County Florida! How many fish did you catch? What kind of birds did you see? What kinds of people did you meet? Please post your comments!
Treasures abound in Acadia National Park located on Central Maine’s wonderful rocky coast. Located within minutes of Bar Harbor it is home to some of the most dramatically beautiful scenery on earth. Dozens of Hiking trails and carriage roads beg to be walked so that they may serve up legendary scenic rewards that will take your breath away!
One the best “first walks” is The Shore Path. Jump on it at Sand Beach and let it take you on a fairly low impact trail along the coast from Sand Beach to Otter Point. One has complete access to the rocky shore and many folks enjoy a picnic sunning on the rocks and enjoying the sounds of the birds and crashing waves. Hang on to your sandwiches however, the seagulls are fearless and will be happy to snatch your lunch!
More fabulous walks are found on the the “carriage roads” of Acadia. These roads were built by the benefactor of this great national resource, John D Rockefeller jr. They are perfect low impact walking paths. Wide enough for a vehicle (though no vehicle are allowed) these well maintained gravel trails wind up and down through beautiful woods, dramatic shorelines, and mountains. They are well marked and documented in park literature. Walking the carriage roads still requires a good park map as they cross each other occasionally and cross other trails. In winter the carriage roads double as cross country ski trails. There are also stables at Acadia and some trails are open to horseback riding and.. Carriage rides!
A pretty feature of the carriage roads are the carriage road bridges. Each is architecturally unique, made of stone, and beautiful.
The only Carriage Road Bridge made from cobblestones
The Hiking trails are more rugged and some are quite challenging.
Consult your guidebooks carefully. Some end cliff-side with iron ladders attached to the cliffs for descending! A good guidebook is essential for hiking these sometimes rugged trails. This is a great one, written by a local who grew up hiking the trails of Acadia.
At the height of all of this wilderness grandeur is Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac is the highest peak on the Atlantic coastline and views are stunningly gorgeous! Sunsets are sublime here, with rocky steps to sit upon and wait for the colorful ending of the day.
If you are heading to Maine for the fall leaves, you will be in for a treat at Acadia and all of the Maine Coast. Enjoy!
Please come back and leave some pictures!
Binaural Beat technology is the use of different sound frequencies to product different effects to the human consciousness. Basically, the human brain goes through many frequency cycles during each day. Different frequencies produce different effects to the human consciousness. Using this information, it has been discovered that the receiving and operating frequency of the brain can actually be altered with sound waves. The most powerful brain frequencies are under 20 Hz. Since the ear does not respond to frequencies below 20 Hz, Binaural Beat Technology came about which uses the inner wiring of the brain to produce the frequency with perfect accuracy.
How is this done?
By Broadcasting two separate frequencies in each ear. For example, if you wanted to tune your brain to a 7 Hz frequency, you could play 200 Hz in your right ear, and 207 Hz in your left ear. The brain will compensate for the difference between the two and produce a third tone that will be exactly 7 Hz. This will result in your brain frequency being lowered and tuned to the desired 7 Hz operating stage.
All of this is designed to tune your brain to various brain wave states.
