The secret beach spot here in Naples that my friend, Lacey, told me about.
Oh yes...I found it.
And she was right. It was just me. All alone. Well, with the exception of a rare passer by, my beach B/F/F's (the birds), and the shells...
Oh yes...and of course GOD was there too.
Everywhere he was indeed.
To say that I had a glorious afternoon would be an understatement. I loved rolling up there with my beach parking pass on my car window - confirming that I am a Naples resident now and that there is no need to stuff the meter full of quarters now (.25 cents for 10 minutes - ACK!). I proudly parked my vehicle at the southern most parking access and smiled as I got to drive past the meters and park in the "locals" parking area. It doesn't take much to excite me.
Lacey had instructed me on which beach access to park at and then she told me to walk out onto that beach and begin walking even further south. Which I did. When I first got out there though, I began seeing signs like these everywhere...
Needless to say, as a photographer, I don't follow instructions very well. LOL!
The reason for the private property signs...??? Well, they were there for these BIG, bad, mama-jamma's...
These are multi-million dollar homes that sit right on the sea line. Right on the edge of the ocean - overlooking the gulf. And yes, these are homes - not hotels. And trust me...these are the "smaller" homes. Because my wide angle lens is broken and in the shop being repaired, I couldn't get good images of the HUGE sprawling homes like I wanted to. These puppies are the "smaller" ones on the beach. (if that is even possible)
Homes on the gulf here will run you approximately $20 million dollars. (give or take some additional pocket change) And if that doesn't fit your budget, how bout' maybe considering a house one street over on gulf shore blvd. It will run you oh say...a mere 10 million maybe. I don't know about you guys but a cardboard box is sounding real good right about now. Put it straight in the sand on the beach and it will be perfect actually. :)
Yes, these homes are stunning to "look at" and they are even more fun to go by and try to guess what the homeowners do for a living. However, in the end, just give me a small 2 bedroom cottage shack on the beach with as few rooms to clean as possible and that would be my dream home. No joke! A fixer upper that would require "our" finishing touches. A dump that we could make our cottage by the sea. Yup...when I'm old and all the kids are gone...you'll see me peddling on the streets of Florida so that I can continue to save up for my dream lot for my dream cottage. Hee hee! Gosh knows the land/beach front property alone would take me my whole life and then some to save up for. A girl still has to dream though, right?
While on my walk, I saw many, many birds. Lots of my beach B/F/F's were out and strutting their stuff for my lens.
It cracks me up how they are never scared by my existence. They don't even flinch when I walk up...
These were some rock formations that were out there. It's rare to see rocks like these on the shorelines of our beaches. Reminded me of the west coast or something.
More struttin'...
I loved this next succession of shots...
Like little ducks...all in a row. The sailboat in the top right corner just made the shot even that much more fun.
Again...in a row...
This little dude just followed me down the beach as I walked. Jumping on top of the wood stumps as we went. Cracked me up...
These birds are great because they stand on one leg most times when resting. This TOTALLY cracks me up. Anyone know why they do this?
This guy just appeared to me as though he "thought" he reined as "king of his castle..."
And this dude...he sat - perched with his wings wide open - the whole time. He literally sun bathed like that. Never moving. He made it look like he was ready to take flight the whole time but he just sat there completely still. Hilarious!
This image below just yearned to be shot. The roughed up, tattered and torn nautical ropes, the barnacles on the wood stumps...just all of it. Loved the "beachy vibe" it gave as the water came rushing in on top of it.
When all was said and done. I had followed Lacey's directions to a "T" and walked all the way down to the southern tip of the beach. It took me about 20 minutes to get down there. Well, really more like 40 because I kept stopping to take pictures. Either way, when I got there, I ran into a pack of dolphins again. I tried with all of my might to capture them but each time they popped up, I missed them on camera. Talk about frustrating. Either way, I sat down after my walk down there and spent some time just taking in the sights. At ground level, this is what I saw. Just a coconut and me...
The view was magnificent. I was in complete awe. It was such a secluded area of beach that no one was around. It was extremely peaceful and provoked many thoughts. I had two dear friends who I've met via blogging that were extremely heavy on my heart yesterday. I spent some time praying for them and their families. Unfortunately I came home to not good news from one of them. However, I know those prayers did not go unheard for their family. I am confident that God has his hand in all of this and that he has the master plan. After some time alone on the beach, I turned to look back at the path I had traveled to get there. This is what I saw...
Needless to say, when I awoke to the sounds of a massive thunder storm rolling in off the ocean this morning, I put the kids om the bus and went back to.this.same.spot. I just couldn't help it. I felt a pulling to go back so I did. I carried an umbrella in one hand and a towel in the other. There was one other nut job on the beach with me. We passed at some point and I wondered what thoughts were filtering his mind at that moment. Was he there to regroup, to calm his inner being, to think thru a major decision, etc.? Truthfully I felt that he had to be there for some reason other than to walk thru the rain. Maybe this elderly gentleman felt the same way I do about the sea. That it is his place to seek answers, listen to God, to set himself straight. I didn't know but I prayed for him as he passed. Prayed that God would give him direction if he was there seeking it. Wisdom if he was lacking it. Guidance should he need it. I then sat down just long enough to blog a few words from the moment which most of you probably saw earlier today. (found below this post) And yes the beach was gorgeous there in the sunshine yesterday. However...today in the rain...this area of desolate beach - this magnificent creation of Gods - was even more stunning.
I've found that not only are things long walks on the beach with God good for my spiritual soul but they are also good for my 1000 lb. hippo hips. Yes, the trudging thru the sand does a number on your calves and leaves you feeling like you've just run the 500 meter dash 100 times over again. I'm enjoying this insignificant state of exercise. It is an "exercise" I can handle because I don't associate pain with having to do it. Ha ha! In fact, I look forward to it. So...until my next walk on the beach, enjoy your weekend. Florida is experiencing a "cold" front over the next couple of days. You know...seventies...70 degrees. Yeah, a cold front. Come on now...you gotta' laugh! Instead of our normal 85 degrees, we are getting 70-75 over the next couple of days. And they really call that a cold front. Seriously! I hear ya'll laughing with me. I better go break those winter coats out of storage, eh? NEVAHHH! :) xoxo, Angie
I'm at the beach. Blogging by the seas edge. There is a massive storm brewing out off the ocean as I type. It takes great talent to hold an umbrella over my head and type on my phone at the same time. I have mad skillz. :) Ya'll knew that already though, right? Although very eerie to be on the beach completely alone as the storm rages at my feet, it's a great way to calm the nerves and put life into perspective. This place...this gift...rain and all...is such a beautiful sight. We needed it. Florida needed it I mean. It's only the 2nd time that it has rained in a month since we officially moved here. I just had to capture the storm as best I could with my iPhone at this moment. For now, I'm back to letting the storm rage on and attemping to always love life while riding it out, rain and all.xoxo, Angie - Posted using BlogPress from Angie's iPhone
PS...Check back tonight or tomorrow for some awesome sites from my secret beach spot location yesterday. Yes, I found it. :)
I spent the day by the shoreline with my Mom again today. Living this close to the beach is really putting a damper on my to do list - especially my Christmas shopping. The term "beach bum" is sounding like a pretty good description of my lazy self right about now. I'm totally owning it - proudly.
I'm furious at myself because of all days that I decided to leave my camera behind at home and not take it with me to the beach, every bird in town was there as were 4 dolphins at our feet - right up at the shore line today. It was a gorgeous sight. The pelicans were there - tons of them - skimming the surface with their wings - soaring mere inches from over top the oceans wave caps. It was utter craziness and the whole time I was camera-less. Big Pappa-less. I'm such a dork for leaving my camera at home. I sooooooo know better. So for now, you'll have to feast your eyes on images that were taken last week. Stale shots as I call them. Old news. Ha ha!
Gorgeous colors...
I'm scared to even want to ask what this is...
Beautiful flowers...just beautiful...
These gorgeous sites were all taken at the Naples Botanical Gardens last week...
Again, I have no idea what these are. They were growing off of some palm tree there at the botanical gardens...
Everywhere we looked...they had plants planted in everything. These next few pictures were taken in the "children's botanical garden" area.
If you ever the chance to vacation in Naples, you should definitely visit the Naples Botanical Gardens. It's a great place and a very lovely adventure for the day. Make sure to take a camera along too. :) And because I get soooooo many emails on a daily basis inquiring about Naples in general (as well as Bonita Springs which is just 15 minutes from Naples), I thought I'd post this link to a video of Naples for you guys who are considering a vacation here. You can find the video HERE: Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades - Videos - Florida Vacations - Visit Naples, Marco Island & Everglades. Hopefully this will help sway some of you to come and visit us down here. :) With an average year round temperature of 75-85 degrees and a beach that was rated as one of the top 10 in the country by Travel magazine, and rated one of the top 10 Florida beaches by the travel channel...you surely won't want to pass up coming this way. To our neck of the woods. I've got some great shopping boutiques I can take you to as well as a quaint little cupcakery that I'd love to introduce you to as well. Wink wink! ;)
If I ever had a little beach cottage right on the seashores edge, it would totally be this exact color. Trimmed in bright white just as this one is. I was just telling my Mom today that someday when my kids are grown, my ultimate dream would be to have a small 2-3 bedroom cottage overlooking the gulf or the Caribbean somewhere. I would paint it this color and decorate the interior with nothing but seaside decor - basically white upon white with a hint of sea blue, maybe some aqua/turquoise and then more white all over - everywhere. I can envision sitting outside on a wooden porch soaking up the sunset skies at night while taking in the white wave caps as the day turns to darkness. Then, I can see myself out on that white porch yet again come sunrise watching the sky turn from black to brilliant oranges and yellows. Yes, that is my ultimate dream - to start my days while sitting seaside in my own little turquoise cottage.
This particular little house just happens to be an open shelter within the Naples Botanical gardens here in Florida. Either way, I just had to have a photo of it when I saw it. I took the kids to the Botanical Gardens on Wednesday because they got out of school half day for an early dismissal day. Thus where the butterfly images came from in the post below this one. It was a fun day that entails tons of pictures. I'll share more in the coming days. For now, I had to share this cottage with ya'll. I am oozing love for this color - it screams Caribbean, Bermuda-esque, tropical, and so forth. LOVE it!
Then, I would totally have two hammocks out front of my turquoise beach cottage - right off the front porch directly as you stepped down into the sand. I'd tie them to two swaying palm trees and then sit out there and read my books, bead, blog, whatever. Can you imagine? Oh to dream...
Although our new home is only a 5 minute drive to and from the beach now, there is still something to be said for living directly in the sand, facing the ocean, everyday, night after night. To wake and to sleep at the sound of the crashing waves has been something that I've dreamed of from the time I was just a little girl. For now though, I'm soaking up the sea with daily visits here in Naples and mere drive bys when I can't stop for moments long enough to sugar my toes in the sand. I cannot even begin to explain the sheer cleansing that living here has brought me in just 2 small weeks. My soul clean, my mind defogged, my creativity inspired and ignited beyond all imagination, my humiliations left hundreds of miles away, my want for a new beginning...new chapters prominently placed front and center right before me. I find myself eager to get back into the gym here in the new neighborhood as I'm discovering new found energy. I feel my heart yearning for good runs down the beach, sweat beading from my skin and loving every minute of it as I remind myself of the temps in the teens back in Indiana. This move has definitely been a realignment for me. A much needed awakening. My soul had lost its way in the past year. My energy was stolen from me along with many securities. Here though...I've found an "Angie" who was lost long ago. She is ready to make her way. Make her mark - even though it requires me to soar up high and way outside of my comfort zone.
This week's FOTO FIND FRIDAY theme is "hats." This is my submission...
This is an old photo that I took of Kenidi back in May of this year. It was taken when we were in Naples, Florida over Mother's Day weekend with another couple friend of ours. At one point, my friend Tamara handed me her point and shoot Canon camera and had me take some shots of Kenidi with it while we were eating at the Tommy Bahama restaurant for dinner. Kenidi is wearing Tamara's sun hat so we were all laughing at how cute she looked with it and her crooked white shades. Tamara had me snap a couple of pictures for her and then I forgot about them. Fast forward to last night when Tamara sent me these copies as she was uploading 600 and something photos off her card onto her computer. She ran across these and sent me the pictures from that evening. Too funny! Thanks Tamara. Love these! I also love that you helped me come up with a last minute theme for today's FFF. Ha ha!
If you'd like to participate in the foto find Friday hat theme this week, please blog a post on your own blog that has pictures pertaining to hats. Also, please make sure that you mention and link back to this AGD blog when you place the post on your own blog. We need you to make sure your link takes us directly to that specific post on hats (and not your blog home page). Also, please make sure that your post includes the info that links back to AGD. If those two things are not there, your link will unfortunately be deleted and you'll have to re-post it the requested way. We are looking forward to seeing your submissions. Have fun with it! Much love, Angie
I was sitting on our coach in the great room this morning, playing with the settings on my camera, and realizing how dirty our windows got over the summer while we were away. The sun was shining straight in the windows at that moment and you could really see all of the dust and grime that had accumulated over 10 weeks. Gross! During my moment to myself with the dusty windows, I sat and stuffed my face with a few bites of sweetheart coffee cake from Roselyn's bakery (really from Marsh but you Midwesterner's will understand all of that) and sucked down some grape juice with them. I sat and flipped through some new coffee table books that I found while away. This is a busy day as we prepare for two different ice cream socials at both Brennen and Kenidi's schools. We are meeting their new teachers today and getting to tour Kenidi's new school for the first time ever. The back to school festivities are beginning and as I said on crackbook facebook this morning...let the chaos begin.
When admiring the photographs within the new coffee table books, I began to look around and for once...I realized just how much of Bonita/Naples are here with us inside our home in Indiana. I have worked really hard to make this house reflect our surroundings while in Southwest Florida. I strive to give this house that "beach cottage flair" that we love so much which in turn helps us feel like we are still at the beach when we've long since left.
The reminders of Bonita Beach/Naples are everywhere - in every square inch of our home in Indy. These are just a couple of small reflections that tie our stays in the South over the past 10 years into "home." On a day like today, when we are up against lots of lines on the to do lists, it is nice to have a haven that helps slow down the soul amongst all of the hustle and bustles of returning home. Our oyster colored couch in the great room (Yes, that is the real color name - thus why I fell in love with it in the store) while looking outside my dirty, filthy, windows this morning was my haven. I was surrounded by many memories of our beach trips and that makes my heart really happy.
Life is good in Naples. That sign pretty much sums it up. There is no other place on the face of this earth that can set my soul back to "all clear" the way being next to the seaside does. Praying for a smooth transition and peace today as we visit the school. Also, praying Kenidi's new teacher fills the big shoes and expectations I now have thanks to the bar Mrs. Alison set this past year. (We miss you already Alison!) Praying that as Brennen becomes the BIG man on campus (5th grader this year), he'll cherish his last few months in elementary school. I know I will. It breaks my heart to think that this time next year, he'll be entering the middle school. I'm not going to dwell or think that far ahead though. Nope, not gonna! All in all, I'm just praying that God holds our hands as Brent and I once again leave our babies in the care of someone else day in and day out over the next 10 months. (their teachers) I'm praying for the best possible fit when it comes to both of their needs within the academic range. Rev Run's wisdom on Twitter this morning said "Take your day into your hands. Control your feelings and emotions now or they will definitely control you." And yes...our family loves watching episodes of RUN'S HOUSE on Mtv. I personally find Rev. Run's wisdom incredibly enlightening and inspiring. Thus, why I follow him on Twitter along with Anthony (Tony Robbins), Jack Welch (C.E.O of GE), Stephen Covey, Denny Coates, etc. I love how when I log into my Twitter account, wisdom from Rev. Run's words and the others are jumping off the page at me immediately. Words like these from Rev. Run..."I heard someone say...Stress is an ignorant state. It believes everything is an emergency! BREATHE...NOW SMILE...ahhh feels betta!"
So, as I ladle up his words of wisdom and all of the other motivators on this day like I do all others, I'm also going to realize that "although I cannot tailor or make the situations in our lives, I CAN tailor or make the attitudes to fits those situations." (~Zig Ziglar)
Instead of crying about the fact that our summer is now over, I'm just going to smile because it happened. Thanks Rev! :) xoxo, Angie
