Travel with me......

[jjeling]

I missed a lot this week while I was on my cruise. It was a great time on the Westerdam of the Holland-America cruise line. We first traveled to the Grand Turk Islands, Grand Cayman Islands, and then over to Cozumel. It was an excellent trip and the weather was phenomenal.

I apologize for the many dust spots that will be in the images. Im glad my new camera is weather sealed, otherwise it would have been destroyed. Showing these images, I will not be removing the spots and they will all remain completely unedited to save some time. Since I will try and post most of them in this thread, let me know if a particular photo really intrigues you and I will remove the spots and repost the image in another thread. For those of you in Canada who are still dealing with some cool weather, I hope this will warm you up......

We started our trip out of the Detroit Airport at 3 a.m. That is where the images will begin...

I couldnt help but stare out the window and look at the airport staff prepare the plane for departure. The reflections of the people in the window were a great addition to the story...

The take-off was smooth and Detroit was clearly visible from my window. Once the sun came up, I was on the opposite side of the sun to get a great shot of the clouds through the window. It was a great prelude for the rest of the trip...Goodbye home....

[jjeling]

We landed in NYC at the Laguardia Airport, one of the busiest aiports in the country. Unfortunately, we got stuck in the worst terminal in the whole place. There were more people in Detroit than NYC. The terminal was poorly maintained and built. There was nothing too exciting until the department of homeland security decided to have a meeting next to where we were waiting. Afterwards, we all fell asleep during our 4 hour layover. When we woke up, the terminal picked up and our flight to Ft. Lauderdale was completely filled.

[jjeling]

Throughout my travels, Ive noticed one thing, the landscape the wildlife it contains is a great indicator of the climate. Always looking for an adventure, we arrived at our hotel in Florida. Way off the main drag and many miles away from downtown, there was no time to get into the city for a few pictures. There were no parks around either. On our way to the hotel, there was a fire on the highway. With a closer inspection, it turned out to be a new Ferrari, I wish I new the story of this.

Walking up to the hotel room, the ground started moving beneath my feet. Having not been in Florida since my early teen years, I knew what it was. These lizards are EVERYWHERE! They are crawling on the walls, trees, and sidewalks. You only notice the movement at first and can only make them out if you stop and really concentrate on trying to figure out what it is. Lizards need plenty of sun and heat to survive, and there is more than enough in Florida. They made great subjects during the last hours of sunlight before we stepped onto the boat. That night, I thought I would get a picture of the highway and signs above as a location indicator..

[Marko]

What a great trip JJ - Lucky bum

There's quite a variety of subject matter in which is fun play, and my faves are the last 2 shots in post 3.

[jjeling]

Thanks Marko. If you follow along, they will get MUCH better I promise. I think posting these images in this format will still allow for some surprise in what you will see when you open the thread.

[JAS_Photo]

Lol, I like the security guards on break.

[Mad Aussie]

Cool lizards

[jjeling]

When we first arrived into the port, cameras were not allowed to be used for security reasons. There were several boats leaving the port that day all headed for similar destinations. It was as much fun watching the people watch the ships leave as it was to see the ships themselves.

[jjeling]

Every night I walked around the boat to take pictures. It was nice to stand alone 10 stories high above the ocean. Without any trees or buildings to block the wind, the open ocean has an extremely stead breeze at times. Combine that with the speed of the boat while standing 10 stories off the water cruising at 20knots, it is enough to hold you up while leaning into the wind. Even with a tripod, the wind and movement of the boat made getting quality night shots from the top deck difficult and sometimes impossible.

[Mad Aussie]

I'm enjoying this and the commentary