Rose Tree Park

This park is a place which I have driven by many times on the way to work over the years, but had never really explored before. However, recently I visited the park to check out a picnic area for a reunion my friends and I are planning. So for any tourists coming to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, I have a few thoughts on why they should make a stop at Rose Tree Park.

The history / old architecture buff will love the historical buildings within the park. The Leedom House, in my photos below, is beautiful and features columns, a classic architectural detail in my opinion. It also has an arched walkway through the structure, a nice feature not seen very often.

There is also the stone-faced Rose Tree Tavern in my photo below, dating back to before 1750. The tavern was moved a few years ago from where it once stood, near the road, to further inside the park grounds. I'm curious to see whether or not it will be restored fully, up and running at some point. Even at its current state, boarded up windows and all, there is something interesting about it. It really gives the sense of how old it is, connecting you back to its earlier days.

Another old structure in the park came into sight from certain points near the picnic area. I didn't see any mention of it online, so I don't know anything about it. However, as someone who loves old buildings, it caught my eye. As you can see in the photo, it is a lonely, old structure...mysterious and hidden from view. You won't see it from most points in the park.

Rose Tree Park features a fourth historic building, standing along the left side of the driveway leading towards the picnic area. At the moment, I don't have a photo of it. However, it is a stone-face with columns along the porch. This and the Leedom House are currently in use at the park.

Another reason to visit Rose Tree Park is the scenic aspect, which includes an expansive view toward the rear of the park. The landscaping brings out the natural features within the park, such as in the photo below, which I took a few years ago. The fence seems to bring your eyes right to the tree's foliage.

I took the photo of this gazebo during my recent visit to the park...very pretty addition to Rose Tree. I would love to have one of these myself!

Here is another photo I took a few years ago...partly scenery, partly the entertainment venue of Rose Tree Park. During Summer 2009, I met up with some of my friends for one of the many free concerts held here. These free concerts are held all Summer long each year, and I'm looking forward to a few this year as well. So, for the music lover, this is a great place for Summer entertainment without worrying about budgets!

The Fabulous Greaseband is who my friends and I saw last year. They played 50s, 60s, 70s...a great variety! I definitely recommend seeing them...they rock!

Last, but not least...Rose Tree Park is very patriotic, featuring a huge American flag and memorials for fallen police officers and firefighters. I took the photo of Old Glory as viewed though the trees a few years ago, and the firefighter memorial photo was taken during my recent park visit.

So, these are the reasons why Rose Tree Park is worth a visit...history, scenery, free concerts, and patriotic displays. I'm looking forward to the reunion my friends and I will be having there this Summer.

An Outer Banks Rental

This week, I tagged two of my Facebook friends associated with the Outer Banks in this beach house photo (above) which I took during June 2004. It was one of my favorites that I only saw in passing on the way to the Cape Hatteras Motel, and again to head for home. So I didn't catch the name of it anywhere at the time and wondered about it whenever I look back at my vacation photos. All I did remember was that it was near the original location of the Serendipity beach house (in my photo below), which is known for use in the film "Nights in Rodanthe." Particularly, it was slightly north of that spot and on the sound side of Highway 12.

It didn't take long at all to find out the name of the very unique beach rental. Someone saw my photo on one of my tagged friend's pages and sent me an email about it. The beach house is called the Green Lantern and is rented out by Midgett Realty. Midgett, by the way, is apparently one of the surnames on my mother's side and through her father. We have a lot of Outer Banks ancestry, which explains my family's great interest in the popular travel destination.

Back to the beach rental, one I'd love to rent if I could get enough family members together at the same time. I'm hoping to find out some reviews on it by former renters as more people see my photo of the Green Lantern. Reviews, as well as more detailed photos of the property on the Midgett Realty Web site would be very helpful in getting family interested. It's just a matter of our varied schedules of course. That's why my family's Outer Banks visits have been very spaced out.

I first went there with my family when I was very young, five or a little older. We ran into tropical storm Dennis. At one point when the storm had calmed down a bit, we were out on a sand dune. The wind was still blowing enough to make the sand feel like it was stinging! I also remember the wind's ghostly howl around our relative's Hatteras Village house.

The next time I visited the Outer Banks was not until June 2004, what with work and school schedules. The original plan was to visit in September 2003, yet a variety of things came up. It was a vacation worth a little bit more of a wait in the end. It was the first chance I had to really use the new camera I had at the time. I took a mix of b/w and color photos of scenery, boats, waves, the lighthouses, and even the cemetery stones of ancestors. The 2004 trip was party for ancestry research purposes anyway.

My cousins and I wanted to go to the Outer Banks as a first-time vacation together. Plans were a little too last minute for 2009, and money has been tight of course with this economy since then. But maybe sometime in the near future, it'll work out. I wonder if in some way, I can make it sort of a journalism adventure. I am definitely more into this path than during my 2004 Outer Banks vacation. I only took photos at the time, no writing about the experience. Also, I didn't capture certain aspects of the time spent there...documenting the restaurants, noting any opinions on them, taking photos of them. So I want to do that as well next time...full coverage of dining out, taking in the attractions, capturing images both in photos and videos. I want to do the same for the ancestry angle of the next visit as well.

I think it will be a fun experience whenever we finally get to the Outer Banks again. At least three of us going will be taking a lot of photos, so there will be plenty of great memories no matter where we stay!

The Space Shuttle

As I write this, I'm waiting for the news to cover the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis for its STS-132 mission. I tried to arrange going to Florida and getting tickets for a viewing tour for this particular launch. In the process, I found out a lot of useful information...just in case I can find a way to see one of the two remaining launches. Talk about coming down to the wire, after so many years of wanting to see a space shuttle launch in person!

So, here is what I found out. These aren't necessarily "little known" tips for viewing a launch...just things that were unknown to me as a would-be first-time visitor to Florida. The first thing is that the best place for viewing a launch is on the NASA causeway. Not being familiar with Florida myself, I would have wanted to get there with a tour company that sells tickets for the causeway viewing area. I found one company that gives a listing of particular tour bus pick-up spots, some of which are accommodations. That's one convenient option...staying at one of the hotels that also happens to be a pick-up spot. I made a note of all such places just in case things work out for one of the final two launches.

Getting tickets from a tour company for the causeway view seems to be easier than trying to buy them through the KSC Web site...at least in my case anyway. On the day I tried to buy launch viewing tickets for the causeway, I made a mistake in the hour that tickets would officially go on sale. I woke up thinking that tickets went on sale at 8 a.m., however, they would go on sale an hour later. When the time came, I went onto the Web site and saw that it was set up sort of like being in a virtual waiting line. Visitors would be picked at random for their turn to buy tickets, and I only had 40 minutes to hope I'd be picked. So, I decided to try another option and that led me to Google searches of space shuttle launch tour companies.

For next time, my two biggest pieces of knowledge...accommodations on the tour bus pick-up route and buy causeway viewing tickets through the tour company. Beyond that, the hardest part will be getting to Florida and back. If I fly, I'd need a rental car...and I don't know if I could afford both of those plus accommodations and shuttle launch viewing tickets. Of course, I am unfortunately a long way from Florida by car. The other thing is that both of the upcoming and remaining two launches will be within my Fall semester. I'm not sure how it will work out in getting to see either launch, however this is a long-time goal. It would mean seeing a part of American history involving people I've always felt were heroes, the astronauts.

The photo I used for this post is one I took at the Wright Brothers museum while visiting the Outer Banks in 2004.

Dreams of Ireland - Becoming Reality?

Whether I go to study abroad or for travel unrelated to education, my first choice is Ireland. This is because of all the ancestry I have going back there on either side of my family. I also love castles and the scenery in books, or used in film and TV.

I've been looking into study abroad options for a few years now, and thought it would have to be for no more than one 12-week semester. A full year program anywhere would be way out of budget. However, a single semester could be $15,000...still over budget. So it comes down to Summer programs, and I found one offered through a college in Ireland that also directly relates to my communications major. I can take something in visual arts or a course on Ireland in film and TV. That one would be perfect, because I love film locations in many films. Some of my favorites are the scenes in films with stories set in previous centuries of the U.S., the British Isles and Europe in general.

There is a lot I'll have to do in order to get ready. I don't have a passport yet, but I don't have to apply for this program until sometime during the coming Fall semester. I also have to decide if I really want to do the whole study abroad thing. I figure that to travel just as a citizen rather than as a student, it will cost more money. I'd lose out on the student rates. Of course, planning to go as a student, there are all the application processes involved. I'd also be the oldest person going with a group of other students. But being 10+ years older than everyone else I'd be going with isn't really a big deal. I just want the chance to go to Ireland and elsewhere. The entire group would have in common wanting to see famous sites, and it might be a first time visit for someone else besides me.

The other thing is that maybe I can always go back for an at-my-own-pace visit throughout Ireland. Something I'd also love to do is to visit Scotland, England and Wales...all of which I also have a great deal of ancestral ties to. I'm not sure if there would be time to get all of those in during a study abroad experience. If there is time, it will only be a bonus to the whole experience.

Just going to another country is full of firsts for me. I have not only never left the U.S., I have never flown anywhere. I never actually had a reason to travel by plane, since none of my travel experiences required it. I've never done any major travel on my own; or even with a group, without any family or old friends also being there. It will definitely be an exciting time and I hope that I'll be able to visit Ireland soon...for study abroad or non-study-abroad travel. No matter what other country or countries I get the chance to visit, Ireland will always be my favorite.

Wildlife

Since Spring has arrived, I've been out taking photos of wildlife seen on my campus. Well, actually, wildlife encounters this year started with the first day of classes when I was just leaving my neighborhood.

There is a wooded area in my neighborhood, and people have seen deer grazing along the edges every so often. Yet I had never seen a deer there...only deer tracks in the front yard on a rare instance. So when I saw the deer I captured in the photo below, I was surprised...and I only had my camera with me that day in case I wanted to take photos of things around campus.

Here is a more cropped version I have, in order to see a closer view of its face and antlers.

This is one reason I have my camera with me whenever I leave the house anymore! Otherwise, I would have had another, "I wish I brought my camera with me" moment.

Anyway, now for wildlife encounters at my college campus. On one day just a few weeks ago, the geese were honking so loud, I was expected a whole flock to land in the grassy across the driveway from where I stood. I never did see any geese until I went into the building, walked halfway down the hall and exited through the front lobby doors. Then I just sat on a bench outside, watched for a while, taking photos here and there. Here are some of my favorite geese photos...some from that day, some from other days since.

All of the above photos were taken while sitting outside the front lobby of an academic building, just across from the campus library. Of course, the geese don't just fly over...they are geese wandering the campus grounds in various places.

Here is one more bird photo I took while sitting near the beautiful mansion on campus.

This curious Robin, while still looking right at me after I took this photo, tilted its head to one side but I didn't get that shot. I wish I had managed to zoom in on this one just a little bit more.

Besides the bird population, there are the numerous squirrels roaming around...on the ground, up in the trees, etc. So I have a few photos of them as well. The one in the first photo had managed to climb to one of the highest branches on a very tall tree by this point. I should mention here that my college has a brochure with a map of trees featured on campus. Some of the tall trees on campus are of the tallest tree species in Pennsylvania. There is a Web site about that listed on the brochure, but I'll have to add that later on...maybe I'll make that a separate blog post after exploring the map of trees some more.

Just like the Robin, this squirrel seems to spy me as I take its photo!

Well, that's all for the campus wildlife encounters...for now anyway. This past week, I saw a raccoon and a fox (on different mornings) while entering the campus. Also, a deer was walking along the edge of one campus parking lot. There is a rumor of an albino deer being seen on or near campus, according to what one professor told me. I've also seen a stray black and white cat twice.

As far as future wildlife photography goes, I would really love to visit America's national parks out west. I want to see wildlife in its natural habitat...wildlife I've never seen in person, except for bears at a zoo. There is also a wolf preserve in Lititz, PA that I want to visit. I love wolves, as you can see, and also did a paper on them recently for my environmental communications class. So, if I start out with a visit to the wolf preserve soon, that will be another blog post as well.

Winter's Wrath

The winter weather was one reason for the lack in photo outings in recent days...two heavy blasts of snowfall in a row. And I remember thinking, after this past December's snowfall, "I hope that's the most we get this Winter season." So, I'm obviously not big on snow. It makes for pretty scenery in certain settings, but other than that, I'm just not a Winter weather person. I guess that's because I want to get out there, get around easily and comfortably, and go on road trips.

I did manage to take a great number of photos to document the snowfall...sometimes photos were taken looking out the front window or from just inside the back room. Then I took more photos once a path was cleared in the yard, and still more once I could go places. Not roadtrips, but just in getting rides to campus and back, since my car wasn't able to get back on the road again until Feb. 21st. Anyway, a bunch of my blizzard photos are in a slideshow on my Youtube channel...here are a few of them.

These next two were taken on campus...one was just to compare the snow pile heights to the vehicles, and the other, huge icicles at the old mansion.

I think the icicles on the mansion looked pretty in a way...almost like an enchanted Wintry scene in a movie.

Well, with all the Winter weather, I'm ready for Summer and taking photos of things that express that time of year. Watching the Olympics this year as made me think of sports photography. What I'd really like to do is go the one of the NJ shore points and take photos of people surfing. I don't have any sports photography, but I think surfing would be a nice start to that.

Around Norristown

Due to recent weather and other various reasons, it has been a while since I've been on an outing for photography. Most recently was on Feb. 1st, when I was scheduled for day one of a tutoring project with classmates from my social justice class. The tutoring would be at a K-12 school within the Norristown area, and having arrived in the area an hour or so early, I decided to take some photos. This includes the one above, which I took because I thought the stones and wrought iron detail of the window looked interesting together.

The first set of photos below were taken within the downtown part of Norristown. That steeple has to be one of the tallest I've seen in areas outside of Philadelphia.

I'm not sure what this castle-like structure is, so I'll have to find out. It's very impressive, though...and reminded me of photos I've seen of Eastern State Penitentiary.

The following photos were taken outside of the tightly-packed downtown Norristown area and into the parts on the opposite side of route 202, where many Victorian houses could be found.

Still further out from the downtown part of Norristown, I came across this old abandoned building. It had a number of "No Trespassing" signs hanging on it, so I took the photo below from a little parking lot across the road.

There is a farm off in the distance behind this house and its large barn...maybe originally part of the farm property long ago. Whatever the case, this is another building I'd love to learn more about. Some people actually go and explore the inside of old, abandoned buildings since, in some cases, people can get permission from whoever the owner is. It would be interesting to know what they find, and see what photos they take, in their ventures.