Washington Oaks State Park

Washington Oaks State Park has an interesting outcropping of coquina rock along the shore which is exposed at low tide. This is one of the few places where Florida can claim a rocky coastline. I took Cliff out mid-afternoon just for some sightseeing. Another cloudless day and very cold. So what do you do when conditions aren't ideal? You can leave your camera at home. Or you can just fool around with no expectations. I decided to try out my variable neutral density filter on the waves. I'm really fond of the effect. Usually what gets created is just a mush of softness, nice but not what I would call anything significant. Which goes to say you can't just point your camera and shoot. But it's worthwhile to practice your technique, see what exposures work and what wave patterns work for you.

First shoot of 2010 - downtown Jacksonville

2010 has come quickly along with some frigid weather. As I am typically looking for excuses not to get out the door, the cold weather was not helping. On Sunday my good friend from Scotland, Clifton Mair arrived and he was excited to head downtown for some urban landscapes. I met Cliff last year at John Paul Caponigro's Next Step Workshop. I would give you a link to Cliff's exceptional work but he does not have a site...yet (did you read this Cliff?). We headed downtown to the Southbank Riverwalk and the river was calm. As the sun set we headed back across the Main Street Bridge. I was struggling with my tripod on the bridge and didn't realize that at 5:30 there is a continuous stream of traffic crossing the span vibrating everything. I saw Cliff handholding and wondered what he was doing. I should have taken his lead and tried some long exposures with the lights. Next time. That's why it is always a benefit to get out with a friend so that you can share techniques and ideas. We tend to work alone on personal stuff and that keeps you doing the same things over and over. Resolutions: hang out with your friends, learn from others, try something new.

Art for healing at the Shands Cancer Center

In September several of my images were selected by Fogle Fine Art for placement in the new Shands Cancer Center in Gainesville. Today Dorian and I visited the facility to see the installed work. We were met and escorted by Tina Mullen of the Shands Arts in Medicine program, a very progressive and innovative resource that works directly with patients using art as an integral component to healing. The building opened on Nov 1 and is a gorgeous state of the art facility with some incredible art placed throughout the public spaces and in the individual patient rooms. Over 400 pieces were selected, which included photography from employees and local artists. It was obvious that a lot of care and consideration went into the choice and placement of each piece.

    

This project increased my awareness of extensive research linking the physical environment in hospitals and places of healing to the well being of patients. It has been shown conclusively that healing is positively influenced by what you see, and that images of nature are effective in creating nurturing environments. I am proud to contribute to such an outstanding institution and knowing that my images could bring comfort and peace to those who need to be healed.

Looking up at live oaks

Another "no fog" day out here on Hecksher Drive. I think someone needs to send our local weatherman back to school. He went on for 3 minutes about being socked in with dense fog and having to wait until mid-morning before it will clear. This morning there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Go figure. I made the best of the morning and headed back to Ft. George Island to walk one of the trails near the Kingsley Plantation. Since it was still early morning the sun wasn't bad for some tree canopy shooting. This is where you shoot straight up from the trail, using an "L" finder to save your neck. The last time I tried this it was drizzling and I didn't realize water droplets were covering my lens. Usually you can silhouette the branches and try to catch some color in the leaves. I was also trying to capture the Spanish moss hanging from the branches.

I find it fascinating to view tress like this. Maybe it's because we are not used to this angle, and everything looks different. Notice how each branch of leaves seems to give each other "space", and how the branches keep subdividing. The clear sky takes out all the distracting background.

Live oaks are one of the most charismatic trees around. I find the gestures of the trunks and branches to be very human-like, and the visual complexity of their forms are mind boggling. One of my favorite subjects for sure.

Blue Ridge Parkway road trip

We just returned from a quick get away to one of my favorite places in the southeast, Asheville NC. There is something about this area that always makes you glad that you visited. Certainly the good rates at the Best Western didn't hurt! We made the drive up in a day and stayed in Asheville 4 nights, then one night in Cherokee and the last in Pigeon Forge. Checking the weather forecasts, we knew that the weather would be fantastic for "normal" people - clear sunny skies, no clouds, with temps in the 60s and 70s. The previous week had rain and clouds which was just passing through. As we stopped at the NC state line we witnessed the best light of the whole trip as the setting sun broke through the dark clouds and lit up the trees. It was unbelievable! That was the last we were to see of anything close to a cloud the whole week.  

Day 2 we were up early and drove north on the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Tunnel Road entrance east of Asheville. The hotel is situated right on Tunnel Road which made everything super convenient. There was still some early morning fog and low clouds due to the moisture in the ground from the rain. This was the last fog we saw. The Parkway is great for stopping as there are numerous overview points and small pullouts along the way. Having no traffic to speak of also helped. It was clear that most of the leaves were gone. The Parkway runs along the ridge of the mountains (hence Blue Ridge) at the highest elevations. The foliage had peaked about two weeks ago, but there were still pockets of color, and also color in the valleys. As the sun rose rapidly in the blue clear sky, it blasted the landscape which made for tough shooting. It was definitely a challenge to find places on the hillsides or in the shadows to shoot. We stopped at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center near milepost 370. I purchased a replacement National Parks Passport that I recently lost on my last trip to Acadia (that's another sad story that I'll tell another time). We made our way to Mount Mitchell State Park, which is the highest point east of the Mississippi (Clingman's Dome in the Smokies being the second highest). In some seasons the road up to the peak is shrouded in fog, but it was clear today. At the top the view is magnificent, but the light was awful. So enjoy the view and quit complaining!

A nice picnic lunch and we were on our way back, stopping at each overlook and saying over and over again, "this must have been beautiful when the leaves were peaking." I mean we kept saying it again and again. It was bare trees and brown leaves for most of the trip back. At one overlook a cyclist told us to take a short hike on a train called Rattlesnake Lodge. He mentioned that there may still be some color on the tress there. Hmmm. So we found the trailhead and started the "easy" hike. Carrying what felt like 30 lbs of gear and the tripod was just not what I was looking for. The trail was ok but fairly steep, and the fallen leaves covered all of the roots, rocks, and nice obstacles to trip you up. We found the foundations of an old lodge and just a bit of color after about a half mile in. Was it worth it? My knees said NO. Onwards to a few more overlooks and this fortunate after sunset shot at the Cowee Mountain overlook...classic Blue Ridge.

Day 3 we wanted to head south east towards  Mt. Pisgah but found that the Parkway was closed due to the chance of a rockslide. They had already closed I-40 at the NC border with TN due to all the rain they were getting. The detour took us south, then west, then up the famous SR 276 though the Pisgah National Forest near Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock. I think everyone who has visited up here goes to these sights, I know we took our kids here 15 years ago. The drive through Pisgah was very nice, again little traffic and plenty of pullouts. 276 connects with the Blue Ridge near milepost 415, and then we drove west and stopped at the Graveyard Fields for a hike. Of course our 1 mile loop around the creek turned into a 3.5 mile climb up to the ridge and back. Holy crap I am out of shape! Having your heart beat at 170 bpm is not conducive to contemplative photography. We finally made our way back to the car and a bite to eat. It was clear that we would be getting back after dark. The drive back through Pisgah was great and the light became manageable once it set behind the mountains.

 Day 4 was shopping for Dorian and a return to Pisgah for me. I was hoping to catch some early morning fog in the valley but no luck for me. At 27 degrees and no humidity, the fog was staying away. I did catch some excellent light and some clouds made a brief appearance until 9:30 when the sun returned in full force. I decided to just drive around and scout out some different locations for a return trip. From 276 I proceeded to the State Fish Hatchery and a gravel road, 475B which ran up the mountain looping back to 276. It was primarily a one lane deal, very steep but manageable. I ran into a few rock climbers who had set up a campsite. A more "intimate" view of the forest is experienced from this road as I was right on the edge of the mountain closed in by the trees. It was a great new perspective. I joined back with 276 and then at the Pink Beds picnic area made a right onto another gravel road, 1206 which I followed for about 11 miles.

 

I made it back to civilization and pavement. My "off-road" experience was great but I was somewhat disappointed that I did not have the chance to use the 4 wheel drive...maybe just as well. That night Dorian and I attended a showing of artist's handmade books at Bookworks in downtown Asheville. Saw some amazing stuff.

Day 5 was a sleep-in day, packing and moving on the Cherokee NC at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We first returned to downtown Asheville where we visited several studios in the River Arts District. I'll have another post on that experience. One more drive up 276 onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and then towards Cherokee. We pulled off at several overlooks but the light was dismal, bright sun and haze, so we pushed on. For some reason we didn't realize how far we still had to go until after sunset when we saw the sign: Cherokee 36 miles. Now that doesn't seem like a long way but driving in the mountains in the dark on a twisty road it can be a challenge. Dorian got us through and we settled into our Best Western. Even had dinner at the local Asian buffet.

Day 6 started with bright sun and I had a feeling it was just not going to be a good day for photography. We stopped at the Oconoluftee Visitor Center just to see what was going on. I asked the ranger if there were any areas in the park that may be foggy in the morning. He gave me this funny look and said I was the only one who asked for fog. I told him I was a photographer and I'm weird. It was obvious from the parking lot that driving in in the Smokies was not going to be like driving on the Blue Ridge. The stream of cars making their way on 441 was impressive. It was like real traffic! We pulled out and got into the stream. Kinda kills the whole wilderness experience sandwiched between the minivans and SUVs. We decided to visit Clingman's Dome first and then head over to Cade's Cove. The road up to Clingman's was not as busy. From the size of the massive parking lot it was clear that A LOT of people visit this site. The best place for a panoramic shot is at the east end of the lot (where you enter). There are no trees blocking your view. We arrived a bit late in the day for a decent exposure of the hills. Pre-sunrise is the time to be here. Not this time for me.

Next stop was the Sugarlands Visitor Center where we watched the movie and enjoyed the nature museum. The place was packed. I thought kids were still in school! From here we proceeded to Cade's Cove. The traffic here picked up again. It seems that the cars bunch up behind a slower camper, so there were groups of 20 cars, then a gap, then another group. We pulled out several times for photos. Nothing like shooting on the side of the road with your face in the camera and your butt sticking out as groups of 20 cars race by you. Not good. I question just how much can you experience in the park riding in a car? The pullouts were empty, everyone was going somewhere. Well that somewhere was Cade's Cove. This is an 11 mile one way loop that goes through an old settlement and working farm. Very quaint and picturesque, if you can take out the continuous line of cars bumper to bumper for 11 miles! This was like being in Disney.

On the way back we stopped at a stream just to recollect ourslves. It was nice. To complete our experience for the day we drove to Pigeon Forge to find our Best Western. Those of you who have been to Gatlinburg know what I'm talking about. This is the ultimate in tackiness and commercial visual pollution. It's classic Americana, and probably worth some time photographing one day. How can a place so beautiful be adjacent to a place so vulgar? Only in America!

Day 7 and it's time to head home. Back through the park or try to catch I-40? We opted for I-40 even though we knew there may be a detour. Little did we know that the detour would take us 70 miles on a backroad! Lost 2 hours on that detour, but we made it to the interstate and back to Jacksonville safely. Now to go through my 1300 images to find some keepers.

Blue Ridge road trip gallery can be found here.

Big Talbot Island repeat

This is my 14th session for shooting on my Jacksonville project, and I headed back out to Big Talbot Island, one of my favorite spots on an overcast day, hoping to catch some interesting views and details off of Black Rock Trail. The trailhead creeps up on you quickly after you pass Simpson's Creek on Hecksher Drive. It's a 1/2 mile easy hike in. It's October 28 and the temperature was 87 degrees with a massive dose of humidity and gnats flying everywhere. I arrived about 2 hours after low tide at around 11:oo am.

 

It's hard to get situated and in the flow when amongst a bunch of giant trees lying dead on the shore. I was overwhelmed. Sometimes it's best to just sit down and take the site in. As I stood and stared, an armadillo walked out of the woods and down the trail. Funny how things start to happen if you just stay still for a while. There is a ladder leading down to the shore (thank you whoever build this!) and I started walking south. I believe the "black rock" is actually exposed limestone and coquina, which makes for an interesting shoreline. The sun was poking in and out of the clouds, and there were darker stormy clouds to the north.

As it approached 4:00 a fisherman was making his way back and asked if I was familiar with the area. "Oh sure, I've been here many times...why do you ask?" "Well, you know as the tide comes in, the point over there floods early and you cannot walk around to get back to the trail," he casually replied. Note: there is a 12-20 ft bluff running along the shore in this area. "And you know the tide is coming in fast so I'm heading out." "Great idea, and thanks for letting me know!" Now that little piece of information saved me a whole lot of aggravation. Walking on the jagged limestone was tricky enough when you can see where you are going. Not a good idea especially when you are carrying a whole bunch of camera gear, tripod, etc. So what would have happened if that fisherman didn't stop or wasn't there? Gulp.

More Big Talbot images from this day can be found here.

Ft. George Live Oaks

Yesterday the weather continued to cooperate with drizzly overcast skies so I headed back out to Ft George Island to visit some of my favorite live oak trees on Edgewood Drive near the Kingsley Plantation. The mosquitoes were out in full force and got to me through my clothes...geesh they must have been hungry. I saw about 3 people out there and had a perfect time. I left my lens cloth at home and had an issue with the drizzle, especially while trying to take a series of the tree canopy looking straight up. Water droplets on the lens are not very flattering to the final image. Need to go back for another round.

Power plants and wetlands

It's interesting to me to see the coexistence of power plants and industrial facilities in natural places. The contrast of function and the effect that each has on the senses is both similar and dissimilar. Many industrial facilities end up being constructed in remote areas. In most cases the structures are large and the impact on the environment both physically and visually is significant. As I was driving out to the Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve, I passed our JEA coal plant and the cooling towers. These kinds of structures always strike me emotionally, in a way similar to a giant sequoia or redwood. To see a towering structure of such size and presence is ominous. You can feel the energy contained within. I know I will be returning to these structures for further study. Access is somewhat limited but there is a road that allows you to drive by fairly closely. Avoiding the dumptrucks and other large vehicles is a bit of a challenge...just keep your eyes open.

 

Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve is a state park which I had never visited before. When I arrived there was one person setting up his kayak. After about 15 minutes of quiet, another group arrived with their coolers, lawn chairs, fishing poles and crab traps. They were wondering what I was doing. I guess everyone has a right to enjoy the park. It was time for me to find another spot.

 

Cloud Gazing

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon downtown, first meeting with a group from the organization Docomomo for a tour of the Police Headquaters and the former Daniels Building (both by William Morgan) and then heading out to the Springfield neighborhood to scope out some shots. It was incredibly hot and miserable (don't we all love to complain about the weather?). I decided not to wait for the sunset and as I was driving home I remembered that we were going to take my mom out to dinner at the Blue Bamboo. Seems like my memory is being challenged these days. As I drove into the driveway I was eyeing this incredible set of clouds overhead. The sun was beginning to set and these clouds began to light up. Dorian was in the yard with a neighbor. I parked the car, said a quick hello and grabbed the camera out of the trunk. For the next 20 minutes I was entertained, while Dorian contained her annoyance (thank you dear!) at our late dinner engagement. Funny how the most interesting shots of the day come when you least expect them.

      

Southlight Gallery

I'm a member of a small group of visual artists who have taken up residence downtown in a deserted Gold's Gym. We call ourselves the Southlight Gallery, and we enjoyed a "soft" opening at Jacksonville's Art Walk last night. The space is incredible with 20 ft ceilings and plenty of space (over 4000 sf). The interior needs some TLC as the previous tenant seemed to have gone out of their way to leave a mess, ripping out the doorframes, wrecking the tile floor, and tearing out all the baseboards. We hope to have things ready for a grand opening for the November Art Walk on November 4. With the glut of unused retail space downtown, there is a movement to allow artists to take up temporary residence for the cost of electricity and insurance. This is a real boom to all of us who would love to have prime downtown locations, but until now had no way to afford it. Oh the advantages of the recession!

I'm hoping to use the gallery as a place to install work and to receive comments from the general public. I think we all need that kind of feedback, as it is someone out there in the public that hopefully will end up purchasing art for their office or home. I'm looking forward to working with the other artists on making the gallery a success.

   

We should be here for a few months (at least) so come by and see us at the next Art Walk on November 4th. We are located at 100 N. Laura St in the Jacksonville Bank building.

Treaty Oak study

Most residents in Jacksonville are familiar with the Treaty Oak, a massive tree situated in a small park on the South bank.  It's a wonderful tree and there are always people there enjoying the shade from the overhanging branches. Today I was trying to catch the Harvest Moon from the Acosta Bridge and the clouds rolled in and blanketed the sky. So I spent some time with this beautiful tree. I realized that many of the forms were human-like, and upon careful study you could find arms, legs, hands , and entwined appendages. I lost the light quickly and will return on an overcast day to discover more about this magnificent creation.

This was officially Day 10 of my Jacksonville 400 project.

Jacksonville 400 - Day 8

Today I decided to take a break and head north to take in some scenics at Little Talbot and Big Talbot Islands. The clouds have been incredible during the morning and early afternoon due to the heat and humidity and I wanted to capture some of them on the shore. As I drove north west I could see the sky clearing before me...wouldn't you know! I did manage to find one cloud hanging around. I did not stick around for the sunset in discouragement. I am going to return to the power plant for some shots, maybe this weekend.

My Jacksonville 400 project gallery can be found here.

Jacksonville 400 - Day 7

Headed downtown again for some evening shots. My plan was to re-shoot the under structures of the Acosta on the south bank and then head over to the north bank to the part of the River Walk that crosses the railroad tracks. The sun always manages to set too quickly and the time left for any ambient light is short. Before I knew it the darkness took over and I had to head home. There was a strange purple glow form the people mover fluorescents. It may have been from the blue mixing with the yellow tungsten lights. Some neat stuff under the bridges, and unfortunately a lot of homeless people wandering around.

 

My Jacksonville 400 project gallery can be found here.

Jacksonville 400 - Day 6

I've made the trip downtown 6 times now (actually 7 if you count the total bust when it rained) for my Jax project. This Saturday was my most fruitful outing. It seems that I am getting into the swing of things. It takes time to find a path, and some diligence to keep on it. Right now I am taking a lot of the obvious shots, the landmark buildings, what I call the "stock" views of the city. There is a lot of work in doing so, as one needs to capture the sense of place, spirit, and lighting. This takes repeated attempts as the weather does not always cooperate and the light in the morning or afternoon usually favors certain views of the buildings. Take for example the skyline from the Acosta bridge. This is the classic Jacksonville sunset shot, it's been done thousands of times. So what will be different in my version? The light, the clouds, the time of day? I resign myself to taking what is present at the given time and moment. There are no other choices. Here is what I found on Saturday September 19 at 7:45 pm. I had to wait until they turned on the lights for the Jacksonville Landing sign. Is this the shot?  No but it will do for now. It is a pan of 3 - 21 mp images, so I'm going to make a big print.

After walking around on Saturday, which was so incredibly hot and humid, there were many times when I was ready to just pack it in. I'm glad that I stuck with it. I arrived around 2:30 and first hit the South bank River Walk, then headed to the new courthouse construction site, then around Hemming Plaza, and finally back to the south bank and the Acosta Bridge to catch the sunset. Six hours. I found that I needed walk-around time just to be comfortable and to start seeing things that could be easily missed, or having the light and clouds change. Just being awake and present at the right time and place allows the serendipitous to happen. I love the weekends downtown because Jacksonville is almost abandoned. I have the whole city to myself so it seems. A few people passing by with smiles. Almost like being out in the woods.

 

My Jacksonville 400 project gallery can be found here.

Jacksonville 400 - the start

Freeman Patterson told his class that the best place to find images is right where you are. I've lived in Jacksonville all my life and you would think that I would pay a little more attention to the photo ops here in my backyard. When a friend visited me two weeks ago he asked me if I have Jacksonville "covered." You know, all the classic images of downtown, the riverfront, the bridges, the parks, and the beaches. "Um, well, the last shots I did of the riverfront were back in 2004 when I first got my camera." Not a good answer. So why do I find myself traveling all over the country when there is plenty of really good stuff to shoot right here? Go figure.

My new project is called Jacksonville 400 (quite an arbitrary number). My goal is to assemble a collection of 400 images by the end of the year that are interesting views of Jacksonville. This means I will have to get myself out of my little office and out shooting ( good thing), and get up early more often than I really want to (a bad thing). We'll see how it works out. So far I've been out two days out in the morning. I missed the sunrise by about 45 minutes...there's nothing like driving in your car watching the sky explode with color, knowing that your destination is 30 minutes away. I know, you gotta get to bed early to get up early.

 

I'll keep updating my progress here, and collecting images in my pbase gallery. Let's see what I can come up with.

Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

A little off the beaten path between Jacksonville and Savannah is the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge converted from a WWII Army airstrip. It includes about 2600 acres and a paved road from which numerous hiking trails are connected. Of course I was after some interesting trees. As soon as I arrived the drizzle started, and increased to a light rain soon after. At a certain point the rain begins to interfere with the sharpness of an image, so I drove in and basically waited for about an hour. One thing to remember when the humidity is hovering around 90%, taking a camera from a cold air conditioned car to the outside is like having a glass of iced tea at the pool -  instant condensation on the lenses. It took another 15 minutes to stabilize the moisture. It's also handy to have your lens hoods on as it keeps the water droplets off the lens. Nothing like discovering that your last 20 shots have nice round globs all over them (been there, done that).

    

It was easy to just pull off the road and hike in to catch a great tree. But standing there for just a minute must have sounded the dinner bell for the mosquitoes. At the marsh near the entry to the park were thousands of white ibis off in the trees. At one point they all took off and filled the sky...camera was in the car. This is a great birding area and listed on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail.

More images of the Harris Neck NWR can be viewed here.

Sidney Lanier Bridge - Brunswick, GA

     I've seen this bridge many times from I-95 right outside of Brunswick. From Harris Neck NWR, I stayed on US 17 to experience coastal Georgia. There is so much lost cruising on the interstate. If you're not in a hurry, taking the side roads is always more rewarding. The day continued to be very overcast. The base of the bridge on the north bank is very accessible, with a part of the old bridge remaining as a fishing dock. Nice planning. There was a family fishing there and no one else in sight. I'll certainly head back up to re-shoot and to see if the bridge is lit at night. It's a remarkable structure.

More images of the Sidney Lanier Bridge are here.

The magical trees at Wormsloe

Today I drove to Savannah to meet with my friend Jeremy Woodhouse who was taking a southern city tour for stock images. While researching great places to shoot I came upon the Wormsloe Plantation, which is the colonial estate of Noble Jones, one of the original English settlers who came with James Oglethorpe. What attracted me about the site was the avenue of trees at the entry which is 1.5 miles long. The overgrown and ancient live oaks provide an impressive presence as you approach the property. The long tangled branches reach out overhead forming a tunnel. The weather was hot and humid and luckily overcast, as the intermittent rain fell throughout the day. The mosquitoes and yellow flies were in full force. The place was virtually empty, I saw maybe 4 other people there in 3 hours. I had a perfect time, Jeremy was there all of 5 minutes as he shot the obligatory view of the avenue and was off for downtown.

PS: I give credit for the recommendation of this site to Robert Hitchman whose excellent publication, Photograph America, is my first source for great shooting locations.

More Wormsloe images can be viewed here.

Zipcar Rentals - Why didn't I think of that?

Just when you think that no one can come up with any more creative solutions to transportation in the city, enter the Zipcar rental system. We were just in Boston to help my son move and he arranged for us to get a Zipcar for the day, and then two other times for runs to a picnic and to Costco. The cost? $7 and hour, which includes gas. How does it work? You apply for an account. As an MIT student you get a discount. This has all your pertinent info. Everything is done online. Zipcars are parked at most major parking garages, near the dorms, etc. Just a few cars per spot. Reserve online and pick up at the designated time. Key entry is with your card through a sensor on the front windshield. This unlocks the car, the key is always inside. Drive your car for the time you reserved. If you are running late you can call the reservation system and increase the time if there is no one waiting for the car. If you are late...major penalties, like on the order of $75. Need gas, there is a gas card included, just return the car with at least 1/4 tank. Problem with the car, just call in, to report a dent in the door at pickup or to report that your car is not available. Whoever came up with this is brilliant. Sorta like FedEx, a change in the paradigm of how we think of a service like car rental. I can see that this is the future of rentals in the city. Instead of a 6 day rental at Avis ($465) plus all the associated gas and parking fees (say $150), the Zipcar ended up costing less than $200.  Ok, enough of the advertisement...try to rent one if you can. Boston is also home for the Institute of Contemporary Art. We found the exhibits to be excellent and were surprised to see the entire works of Shepard Fairey (the creator of the Obama Hope poster). The building is also quite unique and we enjoyed the quality of the interior spaces and the views of the waterfront from within. There were also very nice public spaces on the exterior facing the water. Worth a visit.

      

     

The nature of Acadia

 

There is something about Acadia National Park that draws you in. It isn't the throngs of tourists crowding the roads and beaches, the screaming kids at the visitor's center, the ravenous mosquitoes, or the rainy summer days (I do happen to really love crummy weather!). There is something that connects you to the rocky coastline and deep forests, crystal clear lakes, and breathtaking vistas. Two days is not enough to take this in, but we do with what we have. When planning these trips it's always hard to anticipate what the "mood" will be when the end of the week approaches. We always feel rushed to return home, to tend to "things", to handle business. Why? I wish I had reserved a few more days of my life to enjoy this place. Will there be another time? I hope so.

      

Acadia image gallery

"High season" in Acadia (July 4 - Labor Day) means you will have to deal with people, kids, and high prices. There are a few decent places to stay that won't break the bank. I found a nice clean room at the Sunnyside Motel and Cottages just at the turn when you enter Mt Desert Island on Hiway 3. It's about 10 miles from the park entrance.