The Cormorant, the Dragonfly, and the Bee: ocean

Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts

Sunday, September 4, 2022

Scenes from Ogunquit

We spent a few days in Ogunquit, Maine enjoying a nice vacation away from the usual routines of home, and also to celebrate our anniversary. Ogunquit has a lot to offer to unwind and relax. We did a fair amount of walking, especially on the famous "Marginal Way" coastal walk going back and forth on it a few times. See the first photo below. Though we've been to Ogunquit before, we were happy to visit again.

View from Marginal Way

House Sparrow on Rock

Surf's Up

Radiating Flower

Splash of Yellow

Pink Peone

Bird Reflected

Piping Plover on Ogunquit Beach

Sunday, December 5, 2021

Beach Therapy

Salisbury Beach is one of our favorite beaches. We walked along a good expanse of sand and rejuvenated by observing the gulls and watching and listening to the ceaseless waves. Beach therapy cures many ills. This was a midweek visit after the summer season so there weren't many other folks around.

It was high tide and the ocean's ebb and flow created quite a smooth crest of sand that the waves would occasionally spill over to where we were walking. In a few of the photos the sea gulls are on the other side of this crest from the camera, so the sand line in the images can appear quite strong near the bottom of the frame.

Here's a sandpiper having some lunch:

Sandpiper Clamming

Several gull photos follow, mostly strolling, a few in flight:

Shore Gulls #1

Shore Gulls #2

Shore Gulls #3

Shore Gulls #4

Shore Gulls #5

Shore Gulls #6

Shore Gulls #7

Shore Gulls #8

Shore Gulls #9

Shore Gulls #10

Local color:

Floatables

Restorative Walking

Splash Zone

There were two people flying in wind and fan powered chutes!

Over the Rooftops

Flying Machines

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Halibut Point

Deb and I took a day trip to one of our most favorite spots: Halibut Point State Park, in Rockport, MA.

We think Halibut Pt. is a real treasure. A quarry lies next to the ocean here, and while the water filled quarry itself is calming to look at, the rocky shoreline is uniquely special. We sat on the rocks for our lunch and were mesmerized by the ocean waves creating frothy crashes.

Into The Depths

Splish Splash

Rockport Northern Tip

Water Dance

Frothy Shore

Water Line

Bumpy Ride

This next shot looks as though it was taken with me leaning precariously over a high ledge, but that is only an illusion. I have a fear of heights and felt quite safe while taking this photo:

Fear of Heights Be Gone

Here's Deb putting her feet into the Atlantic Ocean, and feeling gloriously happy doing it. Deb found this to be thrilling: watching the big waves come in and not knowing how high they would go, or how strong they would be. But it felt like a relatively safe risk because she felt her footing was secure and the rocks not too slippery. She's also a great swimmer (but Deb didn't know if that would make a difference in this rocky environment).

Surf's Up

Here's Deb adding a rock atop one of the cairns in this display created by the many visitors. We wondered how long these cairns stay the same, or if stormy waves could reach this spot and unsettle them.

Artist Addition

Quiet Quarry

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Santa Cruz

We visited Santa Cruz in May. This particular set of photos were all taken the same day. The weather was quite unpredictable most of that day: we got rained on more than once. Yet it kept clearing as well. For this photo set I sometimes left the skies gloomy, but I also experimented with brightening things up a bit during post processing on some of the photos.

The "world famous" Santa Cruz Boardwalk provided enjoyable sightseeing opportunities. I visited it many times in the past when I used to live in California. It appeared more colorful than I recall. At the time we were there most stores and all rides were not open.

I've ridden this roller coaster before. It's great fun!

Coaster Heights

Typhoon in the Sky

This is one of those rides that keeps circling around. Apparently it needed some maintenance.

Fixing the Ride

Colors of Fun

As we walked along West Cliff Drive away from the Boardwalk towards other coastal views, we passed this bloom.

Sidewalk Sight

We saw these words of wisdom just adjacent to one of the stairways that descend down to the water as we walked along the Steamer Lane surfing area.

Good Suggestions

Surfers Below

Rock Topper

We strolled along Lighthouse Field State Beach just north of Lighthouse Point.

Standing Beyond the Arch

Rock Formations

We stopped to admire the Surfing Sculpture.

Looking Right

And another view:

Monument to Santa Cruz's Favorite Pastime

Friday, September 14, 2018

At the Cape: On the Beach

At the Inn, they said the Cape Cod National Seashore is often considered one of the ten best beaches in the world. While I can't verify that claim, I can attest that at least from our point of view, it does seem pretty spectacular. Per Wikipedia, it includes nearly 40 miles of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod.

Beach Infinity

Hat Stays On

Seagull in Profile

Beach Inspector

Pickup Line

Struttin'

Feathermania

Wind at His Back

These next two photos were taken by Deb, with my camera.

The seals were remarkably close to the beach. While one could swim quite near them, we were warned not to do so because apparently large sharks like to eat seals, so the sharks were likely not too far offshore.

Whiskers Above Water

Deb took a picture of this stranger having way too much fun in the water.

No Idea