¶This scene really captures the beauty of the entire evening. Jake is waiting to turn onto the runway for takeoff while a beautiful crescent moon hangs above the airport and flight center. What a perfect evening.

¶Jake had a flight slot in the evening, so Renee and I headed down to watch. The sky was amazing, switching between yellow, orange, and purple as the sun set. I worked on getting my shutter speed right, trying not to freeze the props in shots of the plane. It’s tricky, particularly when the light is changing with every shot. I snapped about 600 photos over the course of an hour. About 100 of those were usable. I liked maybe five of them, with this one being my favorite. Props look good, motion is evident while the plane is in focus, and there’s a clear shot of can Jake looking ahead as they takeoff. Love it.

¶This is our last morning on the Atlantic. Heading home this afternoon. I will miss the mornings overlooking the ocean with coffee…and the sunrise.

¶Good morning!

¶I’m generally focused on the sunset when I’m in Florida, since we’re usually in St. Pete Beach on the Gulf side. I’ve enjoyed seeing the sunrise over here on the Atlantic coast each morning. I’m going to miss waking up to this view.

¶We found a nice little cafe for dinner tonight — The Hurricane Cafe. I love their logo. Palm trees in high winds (including hurricanes) fascinate me. They normally appear so delicate, a single upright trunk with a bulb of leaves at the top. An odd structure for a tree, really. But watch a palm tree in a windy storm and you’ll appreciate the genius of this simplicity. The fronds fold back and the trunk flexes and bends but rarely seems to break. It’s quite amazing.

¶The image of a palm tree in a hurricane has become somewhat of a symbol of the power of life to me. Hurricanes are probably one of the most powerful destructive forces we have on earth. Palm trees almost seem to enjoy the challenge.

¶They don’t always win, of course, but their simple design is quite effective at giving them a fighting chance.

¶Food was good, too. Renee had a salad and I had sweet potato encrusted grouper. And key lime pie.

¶I only took one lens on our turtle adventure, and probably picked the wrong one (I had the 70-200 and wish I had the 28-70). I was glad I had the longer lens, though, when I caught this shot of Renee as she took a call from Jake. He was heading to a haircut appointment and just wanted to catch up a bit with mom.

¶We had a chance to watch as they fed this turtle (I forget her name!). Initially, she wasn’t too interested in eating, intentionally moving away from the tongs with the squid every time the worker positioned it in front of her. This changed quickly once the worker placed it under her nose, though. The turtle perked up at that point, and had a few squid for dinner.

¶Renee and I made the brief drive up the coast to visit the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. They had a handful of loggerhead sea turtles in hospital tanks recovering from various treatments, including shell treatments and flipper amputations. Seeing the turtles up close was truly amazing, and talking with the dedicated staff, whom I assume are volunteers, was inspiring. They were all very helpful and happy to talk about the center’s efforts. We had a great time.

¶Poolside Bingo. Not a winner.

¶We’ve got a stunning view of the Atlantic Ocean and the ship and boat traffic coming in and out of Palm Beach. I didn’t realize it was such an active port.

¶Morning coffee and reading, occasionally interrupted by email and chat and all of that.

¶Sunset and boats.

¶We went to dinner a bit early, finishing probably a half an hour before the sunset. We walked around the marina a bit after dinner, biding our time until sunset, which turned out to be perfect.

¶We’re loving the Mariott result in Palm Beach Shores. Our only complaint is the lack of (nice) restaurants in the area. We found one tonight that is literally around the corner - Sailfish Marina Resort. Great food, and spectacular view.

¶Renee and I walked along the beach a bit this morning. There’s an odd structure that sits on the north side of the inlet to Palm Beach harbor (not sure of the harbor’s official name). It provided a makeshift fishing pier for a lot of folks.

¶They rolled out free rum punch at the pool this afternoon, right after Pam and Debbie left for home.

¶I’m on pool chair duty this morning, saving seats for Renee, Pam, Debbie, and me at the pool.

¶The humidity was quite high, so my lens had a bit of condensation on it for all the outside photos. Lightroom’s dehaze tool helped, but I’m not entirely happy with any of the outside shots. I love this one, though - Debbie, Pam, and Renee in the courtyard. They had just finished shopping and were just…happy.

¶Again, the details! This is a tight shot of a gate similar to the one in the previous photo.

¶I don’t know this couple, but the hallway and door framed them nicely!

¶I noticed the upholstery on the wall first, then I noticed the fabric, which was beautiful and richly textured. Then I noticed the details – look at the double beads around the border, with the aligned stripes.

¶The details in the decor - the carpeting, woodwork, and upholstery on the walls - are awe-inspiring. The oft-used phrase “they don’t make ‘em like this anymore” entered my mind multiple times.

¶They really don’t.

¶We drove down to Palm Springs to walk around The Breakers hotel. What a beautiful property!