Spring is here!

I feel like I have both a lot to say and nothing at all. It's been a bit of a whirlwind since January. We had 3 Saturday make up days for the snow days where we missed school the last time I posted. I'll just go ahead and tell you that Saturday make up days are ABSOLUTELY the worst decision ever. Seriously, I felt like teacher burn out was at an all time high with working 6 days a week, especially when we had to do it two weeks in a row! I know I was burned out, and I'm pretty sure the students were too. It's too much to ask teachers to spend 6 days a week at school with the kids with only a one day break. I thought that I was going to accidentally slip and say to one of the kids: "What the F*** are you thinking?" Not a good thing. But it's over now--thank goodness!!!

So now I'm on a much needed break. Spring Break. The best part of the Spring is having a week off to relax before buckling down for the end of the year. I spent the first part in Chicago visiting Alison and Chris. I have to wait for Al to send me those pics before I can post them because we took them on her camera. Now I am in Florida visiting my dad. The weather is absolutely beautiful, and I love laying out in the sun by the pool! Yesterday my dad and I went on a canoe trip through the Everglades. It's the first time that I've broken out my camera in a long time. It felt great to have the opportunity to take some good flicks. Plus, my dad was kind enough to buy me a little camera bag that is perfect for transporting my camera and my two lenses. It's the perfect size for carrying with me at all times, so I'm pumped about biking around town with it when I get back to Chapel Hill. It was perfect for the canoe trip too because it's like a messenger backpack that is both easily accessible and easy to carry.

I like to call this first picture "My 1970s postcard."

As we drove back to the canoe site, we passed this memorial to the Collier family who basically sold all of this land to the state to preserve it. Collier County, which is where my dad lives, along with his country club (Collier's Reserve CC), is all named after the Collier family who first moved to the area in the 1800s. 

These boats were off to the side but were not the ones that we used. These canoes were for the brave souls who were willing to explore the river without a guide. Maybe next time?!

It's a father-daughter bonding day!

We participated in a guided canoe ride, which took place in Seminole State Park. All 3 of our guides were volunteers. Two of them were a married couple who had recently sold all of their possessions to live in a mobile home van and travel around the country volunteering at state parks!

The canoes that I am standing next to in the above picture and the ones in the bottom left picture are the ones that we took out on the Blackwater river. The back support was definitely a plus! They were pretty nice canoes; however, every time my dad shifted his weight from one side to the other, I thought that the boat was going to tip! Talk about nerve-wracking!!

We stopped a couple of times for the guides to give the group a little history about the area, plants, and wildlife in the area. While I was patiently listening and waiting for us to start paddling again, I had a great opportunity to take pictures. I found this spider web with a spider hanging out on it, which was a perfect opportunity for utilizing the zoom lens my brother got me for Christmas! Thanks Josh!!

We mostly observed a whole lot of mangrove trees on our canoe trip, so I had more than enough pictures of these beautiful trees!

Here we are at one of our stopping points. As you can see, most people are diligently listening to the guides while I am taking pictures and getting antsy. :)

My dad let me sit in the front because that would make it easier for me to take pictures, especially since the person in the back of the canoe does more of the paddling & steering work than the person in the front. Sometimes I didn't even have to paddle at all! Thanks dad!

On the way back to the docking site, we saw this blue heron hiding out in the mangrove trees. I wish I had had my shutter set on the multiple picture setting because I could have gotten even better shots than I did! It was such a surprise to see the heron that I had hardly any time to get my camera ready before the heron heard us nearing and flew away.

After being on the river from about 9:30am to 12:30pm, we headed back to dock our canoes. I actually really liked canoeing and didn't think that paddling was too hard. I think I'm a natural. ;) It was a beautiful not-too-hot day with a slight breeze--a perfect day for being out in the sun on the water!

I hope you enjoy the new background and updates that I made to the blog. There is a direct link to my photography blog, along with a place to subscribe to my blog with your email address. I assume that if you "subscribe" that means you'll get email updates when I post. I have really been missing posting on my blog, so I'd like to make an effort to post more often than I have been able to recently.