travel

Bricks, Shadows, and Stairs…Oh My!

/ Michael Glover / 10 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I took a drive to a charming little town that I haven’t been too in awhile. Mount Dora. Located in central Florida just North of Orlando, this beautiful small town has a lot to offer those who visit. There are shops, art galleries, restaurants, and parks just to name a few things. You can spend hours just walking around seeing the sights. There are lakes in the area where you can catch a fish or a beautiful sunset. At 184 feet above sea level, it’s not exactly a mountain, but that contributes to the name. I’ve included a link to the city’s official website, which goes into detail about the history of this beautiful city.

As I was walking around, this alleyway caught my eye. I really liked the pattern of the bricks on the walkway and on the building. The light was hitting it just right and creating some very interesting shadows across all of this texture. The stairway to my left just seemed to add something to an already photogenic scene.

To enjoy a larger view, please click on the image below!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and I encourage you to join the conversation by writing your thoughts below as I truly like to hear from all of my visitors! 🙂

Lufty Baptist Church

/ Michael Glover / 29 Comments

Just inside the park boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a church that up until my last visit, I had never even seen before. Perhaps because of the foliage on the trees during the different times of the year? Maybe. Who knows for sure. On this particular occasion, the trees were bare. I spotted the church to my right way up on the hillside. I had to turn around and come back to a side road that went in that direction. With the church now in front of me, I found a small parking area to stop and get out. As I ascended the hill, the tall building loomed overhead blending very well into the surrounding forest. The small wooden sign next to the pathway stated that this was Lufty Baptist Church. Established in 1836. Reconstructed in 1912. It is in an area of the park known as Smokemont, on the North Carolina side. Although the church was closed in 1939, it is open to park visitors who wish to see the inside.

To enjoy a larger view, please click on the image below!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and I encourage you to join the conversation by writing your thoughts below as I truly like to hear from all of my visitors! 🙂

 

The Old Homestead

/ Michael Glover / 26 Comments

In the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains National Park, just outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, there is a place where time has stood still. The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a 6 mile one way loop road that will take you on a journey through lush forest and flowing mountain streams. Along the way you will find 2 waterfalls, grist mills, log cabins, and other historic buildings. Your senses of sight and sound will become overloaded. Around every bend there is something to see and rushing water can always be heard. Nature is at peace here. Different types of wildflowers bloom throughout the seasons to add splashes of color here and there.

The subject of this photo is known as “Jim Bales Place.” This charming piece of property has been preserved for future generations to enjoy. It is just one of many stops to get out and stretch your legs and enjoy the surroundings.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and I encourage you to join the conversation by writing your thoughts below as I truly like to hear from all of my visitors! 🙂

 

The Falls Behind The Trees

/ Michael Glover / 29 Comments

Today’s post brings a different kind of view of a waterfall. Let me just say that I am a huge fan of waterfalls. I have seen a lot of them, some more than once. And while nothing beats seeing one up close, sometimes it’s interesting to get another perspective. With that said, I present to you Toccoa Falls.

This beautiful waterfall is somewhat hidden in this picture. If you look behind the trees on the left you will see a waterfall that has a vertical drop of 186 feet. This view in particular is from the parking area. The sound of the rushing water leads to the excitement of actually taking in the visual. A short walk up a beautiful pathway is all that is required to get to the base of the falls. The water flowing over the rocks grabbed my attention as I noticed the falls in the background.

Toccoa Falls is located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa, Georgia. For some history behind this scenic location you can view this article on wikipedia.

I hope you like color…

/ Michael Glover / 28 Comments

 

…because today’s post features a lot of it! 🙂 We find ourselves at the 2012 Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival where flowers abound. There are so many of them to take in that it’s hard to really see it all in one day and truly appreciate the effort behind it. Breathtaking aromas and eye-catching colors await your visit. The displays they setup are absolutely amazing. A lot of work goes into putting on this festival and it’s definitely something to see. Over 100 topiaries were created with more than 75 of them representing Disney characters. The festival runs a little over 2 months with May 20th being the last day. For more info about the festival you can go here – Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Today’s images are just a small sample of what you will find there. My eyes are drawn to vibrant colors so these two scenes stopped me in my tracks! Up first we have an image I like to call “Roll out the Flower Carpet.” The orange and purple flowers leading to the doors welcome the viewer as if to say come on in.

Up next we find “Radio Flower” – a little red wagon with color spilling all over. I think this was positively one of the coolest displays I have seen at the festival. So much attention to detail makes this scene worthy of a picture.

Well that about wraps up today’s post. I really hope you enjoyed reading about the festival and viewing the pictures as much as liked sharing it with you. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have as I always appreciate hearing from my visitors!