Riverlake Cottage in Homosassa, Florida

Before starting our cruise, we rented a cottage for three nights in Homosassa, Florida.  They had a pond where we fished and we also took in a boat tour on the nearby Halls River.  While fishing at the pond, I noticed this anole lizard with his throat puffed out orange.

 
The cottage had this pond fountain going 24/7.  It was real pretty at night! This is where we fished.

On our third night, we took a boat tour and saw quite a bit of wildlife.  Manatees are common in the area and this large one came near our boat.

Heading out on our tour... it was so beautiful and calm.  Tony, our boat captain, told us we were staying at one of the best places in Florida for viewing wildlife.

This egret let us get fairly close since he was watching the fisherman nearby waiting for a chance to get some fish.

This double-crested cormorant greeted us as we passed by. :)

This bird that looks similar to an eagle is an osprey.

I think this is a white heron.  The white herons and egrets look a lot alike.

Tony told us about an artist who owns this house and that he used his cut palm trees to hold birdhouses.

Here's a closeup of the birdhouses.

Tony is an experienced captain and he said this is the first time he ever saw a Anhinga bird and her babies in a nest.  I felt privileged to capture this sight!

Monkey Island was our last sighting on our tour.  There are actually live monkeys on this island but its hard to see them in this image.

Key West boat tour

Key West was our first stop on our cruise; however, I've listed our three cruise stops in order of enjoyment with Key West being the third.  We captured the following images during our custom boat tour.

I wonder if the folks who live on this house boat don't go on vacations but instead have staycations! :)

Waters in the Key West are very shallow with a lot of sandy tidal flats.  Everywhere we went on our tour, we could see the bottom as it was only a few feet down.

This blue heron flew away as we got nearer.  Mangroves trees are shown in the background.

Our tour guide took us to the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge but we didn't see a lot of white herons probably because it was in the heat of the day.

Out of all the images taken during our 11-day trip, the one below is one of my favorites; and due to the distance and speed of the boat, I captured this one with my iPhone instead of my Sony camera.

Since our stateroom was on the starboard (right) side of the ship, we were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset while leaving Key West en route to Havana, Cuba.

A tour of Cozumel, Mexico

Irnie, our tour guide at cozumelcruiseexcursions.net, was very accommodating!  He took us to several scenic areas, even a greenhouse where I was able to capture some macro images of tropical plants.  First we headed to the Punta Sur area but I asked to stop so I could get a distant image of the lighthouse.

I asked Irnie why the water was so blue.  He said it is because of the sand underneath the water.  My regret is we didn't take the time to get in the water.  Hopefully next time.

We were greeted at the lighthouse by these two Macaw parrots.  See how the one closest is waving high with his claw?

Irnie pointed out this really neat sign on the shore side of the lighthouse which is one of my favorite images!

Next time we go to Cozumel, I need to relax in this swing.  It was just too hot when we were there!

This Mayan ruins was also nearby the lighthouse...

...and this one was located on the road to Punta Sur.

Irnie said this vulture perched on the tree is watching to grab baby turtles to consume.

I said, "Irnie, STOP!!! " and I got out and photographed this Mexican spiny-tailed iguana.  Isn't he ugly looking?

Irnie, you were an awesome tour guide!  Thanks for taking us to that lady's greenhouse so I could get some macro images of tropical plants.  Here are two that I was able to identify... the cruz de malta...

... and the bougainvillea.  Hope you enjoyed this scenic tour of Cozumel!

Our trip to Havana, Cuba

My husband went on his first cruise and loved it!!!  We spent six days in Florida before the cruise, however, by popular demand I'm showing the Cuba images first.  I booked online through oldcartours.com in Cuba based on Tripadviser.com's good reviews and we weren't disappointed! The images/comments below provide a brief outline of a most enjoyable shore excursion!

Our first stop was at the Christ of Havana.  Facing the city, the statue was left with empty eyes to give the impression of looking at all, from anywhere to be seen.

This military aircraft is one of several images taken at the open air museum.

We parked in the shade to get our portrait with the 1952 Chevrolet used during our tour. 

The Cubans have used ingenuity for years to keep these old cars running. Cuba is the largest living museum of American cars.

This image and the first one above was taken with my 400mm lens from the cruise ship.  You can see the Morro Castle-fortress we visited in the background on the right.

The visit to the Cuban home of Ernest Hemingway was interesting! Out of all the images, this one made me chuckle :)  It is his bathroom where he jotted down his weight on the bathroom walls.  Hemingway was obsessed with keeping fit!

One of my favorite images which I took before crossing the street to tour the Rum factory.

The lights were turned out to better view the flame from the coffee being made with rum.

Cuba is known for its Rum, cigars, and Mojitos.

During dinner at the Havana Club, I enjoyed a Virgin Mojito or rather Nojito (a non-alcoholic Mojito). It tasted like a sparkling lime drink.

The Havana Cathedral is located in the center of Old Havana.  We enjoyed viewing the architecture in Cuba and the cathedral's architecture was impressive!

It was a sweet departure being able to view the Morro Castle as our ship sailed away from Cuba!

Thanks Lucrecia and Pavel!  You made our custom Old Car Tour a memorable experience giving us a love of Cuba!  Next time we visit, we hope you are available to be our tour guide and driver.  Los quiero y los veo la proxima vez.

It was pretty while it lasted!

The following wildflowers were in bloom during the month of June.  I have them listed in order when taken. The first image is wild alfalfa. It was all over and so pretty when in full bloom.  The bumble bees seem to love them too!

This Black-eyed Susan was different from the rest with brown markings on the leaves. There were several wildflowers sprouted up this year that were a nice surprise!

I like how this unfruited one is hidden among the other Black-eyed Susans. :)

This lead plant was popular and plentiful!  You need to get up close to this plant to appreciate the pretty colors.

These hoary vervain wildflowers are a common sight and are still in bloom. I purposely took this at sunset to give them a backlit effect.

The yard was so beautiful with the yellow coneflowers and purple prairie clovers (next below)!

This bug was leary of me. He looks cute trying to hide in this green comet milkweed plant!

This is a new plant that sprouted up this year called the Golden dalea aurea.  Some little birdie sitting along the fence probably planted these!

Another new plant this year... the white prairie clover and there were several of these around!

Last but not least, the wild bergamot sprouted up along our driveway in a small area.  These flowers remind me of someone with messy hair!  Shows you that God has a good sense of humor!

I took lots of wildflowers images in June and these are my favorites.  Hope you enjoyed!