Fluttering Through St Marks Butterfly Festival in Florida

CTN

Fluttering Through St Marks Butterfly Festival in Florida

Season 3 Episode 10

December 15, 2023 • Steve and Carol

We introduce our trip to St. Marks Refuge in Tallahassee, FL which we heard is like visiting a Monarch butterfly highway i.e....Monarch butterfly migration. Next morning, we reveal to viewers the goofy Steve and Carol left behind a backpack packed with camera equipment...mics, tri pod, wires, etc. And how a trip to Walmart and the friendly employee Brenda SAVED THE DAY!

Next, we are off to a breakfast at the charming McDavid's Cafe in Steinhatchee, FL. We break in informing everyone about the special fishing village Steinhatchee. We share about the River Marine Inn and the owner Barb. She is full of information about local happening such as the Fiddler Crab Festival, scalloping in the summer etc. Then it is off to St Marks for the Monarch Butterfly Migration and Festival. After parking we met 2 young Emory University students who captured a couple butterflies and shared with us some cool info.

Following that we headed over to the tagging tables where we learned even more of how they track Monarchs and Carol even got one on her nose! It was off to find "THE" butterfly highway only to be disappointed in seeing only about 50 butterflies. However, we included a few clips of a truly amazing butterfly migration to not disappoint you! You will see the incredible transformation of a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly...a new creature was created. *Sound familiar? See if we find Arts & Crafts.

The episode ends with Carol sharing about life with Steve.

Hey You! Mr. Edison!

April 15, 2024 • Steve and Carol

In this episode we are headed to the Edison and Ford estates in Sarasota, Florida. First off we see the incredible Banyan trees outside the Edison/Ford museum. Then we pay $25 for an audio walking tour and entrance fee to the museum and what a cool museum it is! Full of cars from Ford and inventions from Edison! Very fun and informative. Great quotes from both men that are displayed to read. Then we make our way to another building to see Edison’s botanical laboratory, where he was trying to produce a rubber product made from a plant called Goldenrod. All supper interesting. We end our visit by heading across the street to visit the winter homes of both Edison and Ford. Beautiful homes on lovely property facing the peaceful Caloosahatchee River. Then we head back to give you a tour through our Airbnb, which is a 5th wheel RV. Next stop is the iconic statue named Unconditional Surrender in a park in downtown Sarasota. The statue was developed from The NY Times picture of a sailor kissing a nurse during the celebration in NYC of the end of WWII. Such a cool statue! From there we traveled to the ever popular Saint Armand's Circle, which is an outdoor shopping and dining district where we have a lovely lunch at the Venezia Italian restaurant and then walk to Kilwins for an ice cream dessert. After taking in the sights and sounds of the very talented street musicians we head to Lido Beach which is only blocks away! We walk a native plant covered path out to a gorgeous beach with incredible turquoise waters! So beautiful and peaceful, which sets the scene for Steve and I to end this episode with prayer for peace for all our viewers!

You See That!?

Steve and Carol

On this episode we take a quick look at the damage caused by Hurricane Ian in For Myers, Florida. Then we take an airboat ride through the mangroves of Florida seeing gators and lots of other wildlife.

Cherry Blossom Capitol

December 15, 2023 • Steve and Carol

Travel to Georgia with Steve and Carol as they head to Macon. The 1st stop is Gainesville, FL for a short hike to find a lake.... which we didn't find. If you know where it is, please let us know in comments. Then it is off to Macon and our 1st treat was to travel The Cherry Blossum Trail which we highly recommend. During this we realized that we were a bit early for the full display of blossoms. Next stop was downtown to catch a Weiner Dog race. Too cute. Day 2 started off at the Allman Brothers "Big House"'. The location where they lived and recorded many of their extraordinary hits. If you are an Allman Brothers fan this is a must for you. This place was stuffed to the max with memorabilia of concert posters, album covers, instruments, handwritten lyrics and personal effects. Along with candid shots of the family. You get to see their living quarters with personal items preserved and displayed. You could spend hours here. The entrance fee was very reasonable. Next is the downtown Cherry Blossom parade. So fun to witness a smalltown event like this, Community floats, high school marching bands and the hometown citizens enjoying the show. Before we leave town and head for home Carol takes you on a tour of the Victorian Airbnb. On our way out of town we stopped by the CTN TV station WGNM and also shared with you some of the beautiful homes and buildings of Macon, GA. This episode is wrapped up with a personal "Happy New Year" to you from us.