Sunday afternoon I decided to take an hour to visit a place that would allow me to exercise my creative outlet via photography. Palma Sola Botanical Park in Bradenton is a beautiful park just minutes from the beaches of the Gulf Coast about an hour south of Tampa. The location is absolutely gorgeous, but this was only the second time I visited the gardens, the first being for a friend’s wedding three years ago.
I knew that rain was a possibility, but I opted to take the chance and headed off to the park despite the fact it was sprinkling as I left my house. The botanical park is only about ten minutes from my house, but by the time I arrived the skies opened up and there was a torrential downpour. After waiting out the rain and asking the rain gods for at least a half hour reprieve, the skies temporarily cleared enough for me to venture out with my DSLR.
The grounds at the park are fantastic and spread out over 10 acres of land. There are pavilions for hosting parties, and there was a birthday party going on while I was there. Gazebos and benches are scattered around the grounds providing shade and occasionally shelter from the storm. Paths wind around ponds leading you to explore the incredible flora the park offers. A great playground is also situated on one side of the park for the kids to burn off some steam.
I spent about an hour strolling around the park trying to capture the flowers and plants immediately after the rain, still glistening with drops. Some of the shots came out exactly as I had envisioned, while others didn’t quite come out the way I planned. I hope you will indulge me and enjoy the pictures I took around the park.
Palma Sola Botanical Park is a great way to spend an hour or so, or even for a special event. The grounds are gorgeously maintained and provide a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of every day life. If you get an opportunity, take a drive and come visit this free park in Bradenton.
The Week in Review: July 30 – August 3, 2012: Fashion, Celebrities, SUP, & Giveaways!!!
It has been another amazing week here at On the Go, and now it’s time to look back at all that happened July 30th to August 3rd!!!
Let’s Go!
On Monday, Christa Dunbar helped us take a peek at the new Artist Collection for Target! I am going to go broke buying these awesome shirts!!!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLcUg-Id6GU
Also, I took a look at all of the activities you can find at Discovery Cove! This boutique park has a lot more to offer than just swimming with Dolphins!!!
The Dolphin Interaction at Discovery Cove!
We all have a new passion at On the Go, and that is supporting the Orlando City Soccer Club! Check out Aurora’s soccer adventures as she talks about the sport, culture, and fun of being a OCSC Fan!
Cheering For the home town boys!!!
For Wordless Wednesday, I took at a look at one of my favorite Hidden Mickeys at the Magic Kingdom! Arrrr!!!
Pirates of the Caribbean Hidden Mickey in the Gold!
Shalon put together an awesome video highlighting our experience at the Orlando City Soccer Club game against Stoke City!!!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo62GCoeHTE
CELEBRITY SIGHTING!!! Betsy shares her day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios complete with a Tom Cruise sighting at Toy Story Midway Mania!!!!!
Tom Cruise on Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
LEGOLAND Florida announced their Brick-Or-Treat Halloween Event that will take place later this fall! It looks like it’s going to be a really family-friendly way to celebrate with your favorite ghosts and goblins!
Celebrate Halloween this fall with Brick-Or-Treat at LEGOLAND Florida
This Friday all of us sat down to share our favorite ways to Beat the Heat in the Parks just in time for the dog days of summer in our latest Roundtable discussion!
And we rounded out our week, with Megan looking back at the first in our Florida Adventures Series with our Paddleboarding, SUP, experience with East Coast Paddle in New Smyrna Beach, Florida!
Shelley and Megan Paddleboarding in New Smyrna Beach, FL!
Thanks for joining us this week at On the Go, and we can’t wait to bring you even more posts next week!!!
I am always looking to find adventurous things to do in Central Florida. When I first moved to the area I learned about something called paddleboarding. Anything that involves water automatically peaks my interest! When the opportunity came for Shelley and I to visit East Coast Paddle in New Smyrna Beach, I jumped at it. New Smyrna Beach is about 90 minutes northeast of Orlando just off of Interstate 4, so even if you are interested in taking one of the early morning sessions, getting there wouldn’t involve too early of a wake-up call. We were able to leave Orlando at 7 and made it with time to spare before our 9 am tour.
Cheryl and Captain Todd coming to meet us in Mosquito Lagoon!It is amazing how much effort and love goes into protecting the manatees.
We took the Stand Up Paddleboard Eco-Tour. To start our tour, we met up with our guide, Cheryl and our captain, Todd, at JB’s Fish Camp on the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. Captain Todd pulled the boat right up to the dock and everyone in our group was able to climb right aboard. Cheryl was an excellent guide, telling us all about the areas we would be seeing and giving us some tips on what areas we needed to avoid. A large area of the river is actually used as an oyster farm for JB’s and there are oyster beds along the edges of the river too. Cheryl informed us that these were areas to be avoided.
Shelley and I before the Paddleboarding Eco-Tour!
On our way out to the drop off location, we had our first wildlife spotting. A dolphin! This wouldn’t be the last spotting either. Once we reached our destination, our boat was anchored and Captain Todd stepped out from behind the wheel to give us our lesson before we each got onto our boards. I am an experience canoeist so I picked up on the techniques that he explained to us pretty quickly. The most important part of the instructions included the positioning of the paddle in the water and the positioning of our hands and arms throughout the stroke. Once you figured that out you were good to go.
Shelley out on her Paddleboard!This is a shot of our group out on the water about to start the tour!
After our group pictures, we were all set out on the boards. Cheryl went out first so she could capture our first moments out on the board and Captain Todd got us positioned on our boards one at a time. The tour includes all the pictures they take of the day. Cheryl sends out digital copies within a day of your tour! When it was my turn, I climbed onto my knees on the board and paddled away from the boat. Once I was far enough away from the boat, Cheryl told me it was okay to stand up. That was the part I was most nervous about. Despite the fact that Cheryl insisted that these were the most stable boards that they produced, I was still nervous about my ability to balance. However, once I was on my feet, I was surprised at the stability of the board. I even rocked it a little bit, just to test it out of course!
Here I am on my Paddleboard!
I was actually the last person in our tour to get onto a board so as soon as I caught up to the group, we began our journey down the river. I was incredibly comfortable on the board. With the exception of a couple times when I put a bit too much effort into a stroke, I never felt like I was going to lose my balance.
Shelley and I paddling along!Another shot of our tour group! It was fun to share this experience with others who were just as excited as we were!!!
One of my favorite things about Florida is the wildlife and the tour definitely delivered on that front. My favorite part of our tour was our visit to Manatee Cove. We were surrounded by manatees who kept sticking their noses out of the water. I admit that I was nervous that one of the manatees would try to surface right underneath my board, by I had nothing to worry about. The manatees were close but not right underneath me. After hanging out with the manatees, it was time to complete our tour and head back to the dock.
Getting instructions on how to paddle in Manatee Cove.
The tour we took is the best tour for beginners, however there are other tour options for beginners or more experienced paddleboarders. East Coast Paddle offers lessons, fishing and rentals. In addition, they provide Paddle Fit classes and Yoga on Water. I am definitely interested in the fitness classes that they offer. In addition to the services offered on a regular basis, they are willing to create a customized tour for groups. Just ask Cheryl about the bachelorette party that they planned during your visit!
Its amazing all the work that goes into making these Paddleboards!I have my eye on a wood grained Paddleboard from East Coast…Do you hear that Santa??? 🙂
East Coast Paddle not only provides tours and lessons, but they also make the boards in their own factory. After a morning out learning to paddleboard, Shelley and I were able to tour the factory. All the boards are made using AutoCad (Computer Aided Drafting) Software to design the boards and they use their own 3D Shaping machine to cut the boards out of the blanks. The boards are all airbrushed and finished in the factory to the specifications of each buyer.
It was a really great bonus to be able to see how these boards are made!!!
I had a great time with Cheryl and Captain Todd during my first paddleboarding experience. They made the whole experience fun and relaxing, as well as a good workout. I look forward to visiting them again and, in the future, purchasing my own board so I can head out boarding every weekend! Make sure to visit their website and like them on Facebook. Also, don’t forget to visit our Facebook page to see our complete album of pictures from our visit.