My LOVE Of Palm Trees!

Once again I am WAY behind on blogging!  But I thought I would jump right in with some posts and try and schedule some as well so you might be seeing a lot more from me over the next few days and weeks!  Many of these posts will be about our trip now that we are back I'm already missing Florida. 

In case you are just tuning in...I won a trip to West Palm Beach Florida at the end of last year and we were supposed to go in March and we had a family and work emergency and we were so lucky that they worked with us to reschedule our trip!  I will NEVER forget that!  The folks at Garden of Life are truly amazing!

Went we went to West Palm Beach we stayed at The Breakers.  I have never stayed at a 5 star hotel so this was a completely amazing experience but with the winter we had here up north - I was so excited just to BE in the middle of 85+ degree temperatures, too!

The theme to this post will be PALM TREES.  There are few things I LOVE more than water falls and palm trees when it comes to landscape and/or nature...there certainly were palm trees at ever glance down there!  There were also a lot of salamanders and lizards, too!

It only rained for a few hours the one evening while we were sleeping. 

In the first photo you will see the historic brick and entrance to The Breakers with the amazing gardens and golf courses surrounding it.  In the next photo another angle from the beautiful grounds.

We stayed on the 6th floor of The Breakers which was part of the Flagler Club.  It was like staying inside of an INN within the hotel.  We had incredible breakfast, snacks, beverages, and other consumables throughout the day and evening as a part of our Flagler Club stay.  More on that in future posts, tho.

One of my favorite parts of the Flagler Club Level was the outdoor terrace - again I will be blogging about that more in the near future.

Today - in this post - it's all about the Palm Trees!  YAY!

This palm is located in the back of the hotel near the beach.  You can see that they had coconuts still in the tree.  They used the coconuts in their own drinks.  One of my many personal goals was to have raw coconut water straight from the coconut which I was finally able to do the 2nd to the last day we were there.  It was fabulous!

I loved the walk way where I was standing taking this photo.  In the evenings it got breezy but the breeze was terrific.  Most days and nights I wore dresses.  I'm not a girlie-girl but I kind of liked it and the dresses I found to wear while we were there.  I will share some of those pics at some point, too!

This next photo was taken on the one side lawn.  EVERY WHERE you looked at The Breakers there was something you could look at, appreciate, and enjoy!  This area had a delightful lawn with gardens and fountain.  Behind where I'm standing taking the picture were pillars and over hangs with comfy chairs, tables, and places to meet and greet and soak up the sun it a casual setting.  If you were to walk thru the court area there was another fountain as well as stores/shops and paths to get to other places in and around the hotel.  Surrounding the hotel were two golf course - on either side - and behind the hotel was the ocean!  They had their own private beach and within the resort they had 9 separate pool areas.

This last photo is off to the side of the hotel behind where I am standing there are other lawn areas, the walkway off to the side facing the ocean, the pool areas off to the other side, and gardens everywhere.  Looking forward is one of the many entrances.  Off to the left there is a hidden playground for the kids, an activities area, the Italian Restaurant, and a Barber Shop...among other things.  Off to the right are shops, the main hotel and lobby, and other historical treasures of The Breakers.

I'm so very grateful I was able to experience this trip.  It was wonderful to get away for a while.  More on this trip over at the TRAVEL BLOG we have set up, too!

Taking A Stroll: Sun Dials, Fountains, Bridges, Water Fronts, Landscape, and Statues

I'm going to try and take more 'strolls' as well as take more photos while on my strolls and post them here.  Last week I started doing this and found some neat discoveries in nature as well as local history.  Since I am a transplant I will have to do some research on some of my findings.

My first photo posting today is of this Sun Dial.  It's located in our downtown area in Warren, PA, between 3rd and 4th Avenues on Hickory Street.  It's fairly large and surrounded by greenery and landscaping in a small park area.  We have over 20 small parks throughout the city.  Many of them do not have much going on.  Others have markers or trinkets depending on who maintains them.

Next up I walked over to the middle of downtown and took a photo of our fountain.  I remember this being a bit controversial because the deer in this fountain are NOT native to our area and that was the whole purpose of the fountain project.  This is located at The Point - that is where Pennsylvania Avenue and 2nd Avenue meet.  It was put in a few years ago during our Streetscape Project.  There is a Northwest Savings Bank Logo near the fountain indicating that it's referred to as Northwest Plaza.  It's not far from where I work.  I see this everyday.  The fountain is only active in the summer months.

This is a photo of Hickory Street Bridge - also in downtown.  I'm taking the photo in between Breeze Point Landing and Soldiers and Sailors Park.  In the summer months - Soldiers and Sailors Park has Music In The Park every Friday Night from 8 to 10pm with music from local and regional bands.  This is a free event.  I will probably do a future post on Soldiers and Sailors Park in itself.  As for the bridge - it's quite historical but was also re-built a few years ago.  It was a large project and took about 3 years to complete.  The water you see is The Allegheny River.  I will have more photos of The Allegheny River in this post below as well as future posts.

This is a photo of the river looking the other direction from Breeze Point Landing.  Back in 2005 and 2007 the area spent a lot of time and money on Breeze Point Landing in downtown and these days it's a very nice walk as well as a nice space and view but I think it is very UNDER used.  HERE is some more info on the project and national chatter about this space.  I remember the first Ribfest of our area was at Breeze Point before they put the condos in.  That event has since moved to the downtown streets, then to Bett's Park, and now to the Warren County Fair Grounds in Pittsfield.  This year that event is being re-worked at the new location for a BBQ and Archery event and that will take place next month.

One of the neat things about Breeze Point Landing (park) is - of course - the waterfront and walk way - but also the Iron Statues that have made their home there for a few years now.  I think there are 3 or 4 statues there.  They were made by youth in our area.  This is one of them.  The soccer player.  There are a few other statues like these in another park or two in the downtown area as well.  On the other side of the park is what locals refer to as "Big Blue".  Big Blue is a large steel parking garage that is actually BLUE in color, hence the name.  Some of the landscaping in and around that area - especially - Breeze Point Landing - is really nice right now!  There are still blooms and flowering blooms on the trees.

Like this one.  I'm told it's a Dogwood, but don't quote me on that.

I just really liked the flowering blooms so that is why I took the photo the other day.  It was a gorgeous day.  I'm very thankful for nice, warm weather...since it's few and fair between, it seems.

Here's a close-up of the flowering blooms from this tree.  I really enjoyed my stroll last week.  I think we all need to take them - even if we have before - to NOT take for granted things that surround us - even if they are in a small town or city.  There is beauty in everything and I want to take a moment and make sure I pay attention to those beauties every now and again.  I think My Blissful Journey is a neat place to do that.  Until next time :)

Vegas Landscape Shadows

Las Vegas is one of my my favorite places on Earth (and I'm NOT a gambler!)

This was taken within the gardens and landscape of Cesar's Palace this past March.  That marked our 4th trip out there.  Going back thru some old photos I came across this one and thought it was perfect for the Shadow Shot Meme.

Did you participate?