I took this photo in Pass-A-Grille. The name is anglicized from the French: Passe Aux Grilleurs. It seems it's always been a favorite place to grill fish. http://www.pass-a-grille.org/history.php I've only been here a few times in the last decade, but I've never grilled fish. Nevertheless, it's just south of it's more famous cousin, St Pete Beach. And unlike the communities just north of it, has a distinct village feel. Anyway, I arrived just before sunset and, just like at all the other beaches in the region, people arrive to watch. In case you haven't noticed, that's a favorite photographic subject for me. I am attracted to the colors in the sky and, the scenes it creates of people watching the spectacle unfold. I think we like watching the sunset because, at a subconscious level, it's a reminder of our place on Earth as it moves through the heavens; and, that we are part of something much much more significant.
I am partial to the west coast. Any west coast will do, I'm not that particular. It just needs to be a coast on the west side of any land mass. I mentioned in a recent post that this has everything to do with how our planet spins. As we know, the sun sets in the west. However, if our world turned in the opposite direction, it would set in the east, and I'd have a preference as an east coast guy. Come to think of it; I'm not that attached to the west, rather, the direction that the sun sets. As for this planet, it's west. But over near Alpha Centauri, all bets are off. Back here in the United States, I live in the eastern part of the country on the west coast of Florida. In this way, should the Earth change its mind and decide to spin the other way, I should have my bases covered.
A branch hangs over the water along the Sunshine Skyway in Tampa. This image was taken at dawn one weekend. During the weekdays, the skyway is inundated with cars commuting to work in the various counties that surround Tampa Bay. I traverse three counties just to get to Tampa, one county twice. The weird way Tampa is carved up, Hillsborough County is on both sides of Pinellas County, on the same highway. Nevertheless, this is a long exposure that I took from Hillsborough County looking back at Manatee County. The Skyway is an impossibly long crossing of Tampa Bay. Not only is it a scenic drive, but it's also a recreation area and one of the best rest stops in Florida.
