ever see an upside down jelly fish????
really liked this shot
I will miss florida it really is one of my favorite places to visit. The sun, the water and the warmth
our last day in florida and the sunshine. sigh.
we went to the small aquarium near the tampa port
a stingray's face always makes me laugh
whooooo whooooo
Part of our vacation was my chance to meet in person an internet friend that I met about 10 years ago. we are both rubber stampers and belong to an yahoo group called 2000 stampers after the year we formed it. A few years ago holly moved to florida and opened a bead store and is doing great at it.
Bailey comes to work with her and is always a pleasant fellow to meet. If in the tampa area visit her store ebeads. lots of fun and great supplies and samples
while there she taught us a form of beading that we started with only fibers (a great way to use up our fibers) it is called kimihimo the lesson came in handy when we were waiting at the airport and kept us busy.
not great pictures but then again we were in an air boat and moving. 
look close and see he has his dinner.
these are beautiful big birds and often mistaken for eagles.
Can you see him?? he was hiding from us another alligator about 4 feet long.
And this last little guy was not so little. he was about 12 feet long and we of course kept our distance.
My brother loves alligators and crocodiles so he was thrilled to get see several on our trip.
Not the best picture but then we were driving through these mangrove patches on an air boat too. loved how they lined up like this. I think they must cut a trail every so often or these would grow into each other.
at points there was less then a few inches of water as we sped through the grassy parts.
This is my brother paul and my husband. we surprised him with an airboat ride through part of the everglades. 
My brother has never been to Florida and this was our first trip to the everglades. Next time we will spend more time and get further into the everglades its an amazing place to see. lots of birds and creatures. 
Mangrove trees are all over Florida wetlands. I always thought they were basically a weed but they aren't. they are a very important part of the ecosystem and become home to many species of fish, insects, birds, and other plants.
they grow and spread to huge trees. here is my husband holding onto one of the "feelers" that will connect eventually with the ground and sprout up another clump of trees. 
these two shots amused me. the above were all these wildlife photographers lined up in a row to get a shot of the birds. I took this from an observation tower. It amused me for a couple of reasons. One they were all in a row and two many of these people were shooting to capture something they could sell. The age of digital has made it so easy to capture a good photo I think.
Ding Darling National wildlife Refuge is on Sanibel Island near Naples Florida we arrived there around lunch time so the tide was not at its lowest and that is suppose to be the best time to go. There is a nice 4 mile drive that takes you through the refuge. I would love to go back and bike the trail early in the morning. was very pretty and lots of birds.
we saw mostly pelicans at this time of the day.
but there was also lots of cranes.
The sunshine bridge (taken as we were leaving Tampa from the dining room window) a beautiful bridge that we pass under as we sailed out to sea.
On our return we had a chance to be on the top deck as we went under it.
the ship was only a few feet under the bridge at its highest point.
It was a big hit as we went under it.
I found it very interesting that several birds at the zoo looked as though they were sitting like a human might or that they possibly had knees. And of course I can't remember a single name of these birds. grrrrr
But I did look into their strange sitting positions and found an answer on the san diego zoo blog. taken from that blog " the odd way his legs bend. Well, would it surprise you to know that birds’ joints bend in the same way as ours do!? So what looks like their knee is actually their “ankle” joint. Their knee is much higher on their leg, so high that you need to move aside their feathers near their stomach to see it."
does anyone have any clue what this looks like when in bloom???? I have looked and looked and can't find anything on it. I thought the seed pods were unique and liked the way the picture turned out but sure would love to know what it looks like in bloom. by the way don't put those seed pods in your pocket to save and take home to try to plant. they leave a nice red mark all over the inside of the pocket and when you put your hand in there all over you hand too. 
Mom went first and her cracker was gone before I even turned on the camera. I think she is telling the giraffe that it is all gone. wonder if he understands. 
Then it was my turn. I liked this shot with the tongue in it. Look how long that tongue is!!!!! and it feels like a giant cat tongue too rough. 
my bother went with us on this trip and one of the things he loves is alligators and crocodiles. Do you know the difference?? this is an alligator. I know because I read about them on the zoo's website and here:
One of the most unusual and gentle creatures around. I adore manatee. Every time I go to Florida I try to see them in the wild and have yet to have any luck. mostly because they hang out in murky water. But at the tampa zoo they had one of the best exhibits I have ever seen. the water was much clearer then most places so viewing was easier. the above picture is the top of the tank. this manatee just rolled around and around playing in the water it was fun to watch.
these are the best pictures in the world but I was impressed with my circular polarized lens and how it helped take them through the thick aquarium glass. 
