The Wandering Disciple

Luxury condominiums line Bayfront Drive in downtown Sarasota. Residents of these condos enjoy a spectacular view of Marina Jacks, Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico of in the distance. (Photo: February 18, 2009)

Tropical Storm Debby continues to bring havoc to the sunshine state. The slow moving tropical storm has dumped heavy rain for almost a week over the state of Florida causing heavy flooding throughout the state. It made landfall yesterday in the panhandle near Steinhatchee. This photo was taken at Manasota Beach in Englewood, Florida. (Photo: June 25, 2012)

An Airbus A319 operated by Air Canada prepares for a flight at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Air Canada is the largest airline in Canada and provides seasonal service between SRQ and Toronto Pearson International Airport. (Photo: April 5, 2012)

A pelican glides in for a landing on the calms waters of the Gulf of Mexico at Caspersen Beach in Venice. (Photo: February 1, 2009)

As you walk the platform of the Venice Train Depot, it is easy to imagine the sights and sounds of when rails were a main form of transportation in Southwest Florida. Built in 1927, the train station serviced passenger traffic through 1971. Once passenger traffic ceased, the station fell into disrepair until a major refurbishment in 1999. The Venice Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Photo: February 1, 2009)

Lakeland, Florida: Sky King is a charter airline service that provides service throughout North America. They offer charter service to Cuba, Atlantic City as well as private charters for businesses and sports teams. Sky King was founded in 1990 by Gregg Lukenbill, the owner of the Sacramento Kings of the NBA. The airline primary customer through the first fifteen years was professional hockey teams. But following the NHL lockout, they were forced to branch out into other markets. During its reorganization in 2005, Sky King began provided charter flights for other airlines. They provided service for Scanderbeg Air, Direct Air and Fly Guam under the new business model. They also began flying Atlantic City charters for Gold Transportation Services and Cuban charters. As the charter service becomes more and more successful, they are taking steps to enter into the scheduled service market. Sky King operates a fleet of 10 Boeing 737 aircraft. Seven of the aircraft are alloca...

Shells by the thousands cover the beach at the southern tip of Boca Grande. Boca Grande is widely known as a premier shelling spot in Florida. It is here where you can find several species of shells, including rare ones like the Lions Paw. The best time to go is during low tide when the more of the beach and the sand bars are accessible or following a storm when the waves push larger shells ashore. This photo here was taken at the lighthouse beach at Gasparilla Island State Park. (Photo: January 25, 2009)

Sarasota, Florida: For those of you who follow the site on a regular basis, you will have noticed the increase of aircraft photos on the site and the addition of the “Above the Clouds” page to the site. This is in response to my newly found interest of planespotting. Planespotting is a new hobby introduced to me by a friend. What a novel concept, it combined my childhood love of aviation and my adult hobby of photography. The result is a new passion that can be really addicting.  I started by going to my local airport, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and have branched out from there. Now it has turned into an adventure, I liken it to collecting baseball cards as a kid. Each day at the airport is like opening a new pack of cards, you know the usual will be in there but you hold out hope for the rare card. In planespotting, the rare cards are the special paint jobs and military jets. As I continued to learn more about planespottting, I have noticed there is a ...

Mother Nature paints another perfect sunset along the west coast of Florida. Florida's Gulf Coast is known for its turquoise waters and its colorful sunsets as seen here from here along the Sunshine Skyway at the mouth of Tampa Bay. (Photo: January 24, 2009)

The Stearman Model 75 is a World War II era bi-plane that was used by the US Army Air Force and the US Navy as a training aircraft. Introduced in 1934, over 9,000 Model 75's were built by Stearman Aircraft, a subsidiary of Boeing. Following the war, the Model 75 entered into the civilian world in various uses. (Photo: May 19, 2012)

The calm waters of the Hillsborough River give way to some Class II rapids within the Hillsborough River State Park. Just a short walk on the rapids trail and you can witness the rushing waters of the rapids. Established in 1935, Hillsborough River State Park is over 3,000 acres and is a popular place for hiking, camping, kayaking and more. (Photo: January 24, 2009)

The Florida State League All-Stars stand for the singing of the national anthem prior to the start of the 51st annual Florida State League All-Star Game. The game was hosted at Charlotte Sports Park, the home of the Charlotte Stone Crabs, and featured the best minor league baseball players in the Florida State League. (Photo: June 16, 2012)

Port Charlotte, Florida: The stars of the Florida State League converged on Charlotte Sports Park for the 51st annual Florida State League All-Star Game. The annual event features the best players on their trip to the major leagues. This year the Charlotte Stone Crabs hosted the event in which the South Division rallied late to win the game. The North Division jumped out an early lead on a solo home run by Jon Talley of the Dunedin Blue Jays to put the North ahead 1-0. The North added to their lead in the fourth on another solo home run by Talley to put them ahead 2-0. Then in the fifth, the North posted their third unanswered run of the game. Kevin Nolan and Cody Asche delivered back to back singles to put runners on first and second. Nelson Perez followed with an ground-rule double that scored Nolan to give the North a 3-0 lead. The 3-0 score held until the bottom of the seventh inning when the South Division finally reached the scoreboard. Daniel Santana drew a walk...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The 51st annual Florida State League All-Star festivities got underway on Saturday evening with the home run derby. Participating in this year's event were Oswaldo Arcia of the Fort Myers Miracle, Derek Dietrich of the Charlotte Stone Crabs, Avisail Garcia of the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Marcell Ozuna of the Jupiter Hammerheads, Nelson Perez of the Daytona Cubs, Greg Rohan of the Daytona Cubs, Ryan Schimpf of the Dunedin Blue Jays and Cory Vaughn of the St Lucie Mets. The home run derby is a two round event in which four participates from each division battle to see who can hit the most homers. Each hitter is given ten outs, any swing that is not a home run is recorded as an out. The top two players in the first round advance to the championship round. Round one got underway with a total of twelve home runs spread amongst the eight competitors. Garcia, Perez and Vaughn all tied with four runs each to force a tiebreaker round. Ozuna was fourth wit...

An alligator lies on the bank at Myakka State Park in eastern Sarasota County. Alligators are frequently seen in the park with several hundred believed to call the park home. A popular place to see alligators is the bridge right as you enter the park from the State Road 72 entrance. Another great way to see alligators at the park is via the airboat tour on the lake. (Photo: January 11, 2009)

Take a walk into the wilderness at the Crowley Museum and Nature Center in Eastern Sarasota County. Crowley features several trails throughout its 190 acre preserve including the highlight, a 1/2 mile boardwalk trail that extends through the Maple Branch Swamp. Hikers are rewarded with a great view of the Sawgrass Marsh from the observation tower at the end of the boardwalk. But trails aren't all that Crowley has to offer, they also have a Pioneer Village featuring a look back at life in early Sarasota. (Photo: January 10, 2009)

Venice, Florida: At the end of Venice Avenue on the island of Venice lies Venice Beach. Venice Beach is the centerpiece of several fine beaches located on the island of Venice. Venice Beach is known primarily for its abundance of shark teeth. Tourist come from all over to comb the sands looking for sharks teeth along the shoreline. It has earned Venice the nickname "Shark Tooth Capital of the World." Another popular attraction here is snorkeling. The clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico allow for great visibility of fish. There is a coral reef located about a quarter mile off-shore that is home to grouper, snapper and more. Snorkeling and diving is also a great way to get some of the larger fossilized shark teeth. Most people visit Venice Beach just to sit back and enjoy the beach. The beach is protected by lifeguards throughout the year and is the only beach on Venice Island to have lifeguards. It is also home to that famous Gulf of Mexico sunset. Combine that wi...

A JetBlue Airbus painted in a special I love New York theme departs Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. JetBlue recently expanded service from SRQ to NYC by adding flights to LaGuardia Airport this week. JetBlue now offers non-stop service to John F Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (Photo: February 14, 2012)

A lowland gorilla grabs a bite to eat at the Myombe Reserve in Busch Gardens Tampa. The Myombe Reserve is a three acre jungle exhibit that is home to six lowland gorillas and nine chimpanzees. (Photo: January 2, 2009)

The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa is a hands-on museum that allows visitor's to not truly experience the exhibits. With over 450 exhibits, you are sure to finds something that interests everyone in the family. Exhibits include topics like natural disasters, space exploration, human development and much more. There is even a butterfly garden, planetarium and Florida's only IMAX dome. (Photo: September 6, 2008)

A Hyena peeks over a ledge at the Edge of Africa exhibit of Busch Gardens Tampa. The Edge of Africa walking path is located the the edge of the park's Serengeti Plain and is home to lions, hyena, hippos, lemurs and more. (Photo: August 24, 2008)

The icon of the Sea World park, Shamu comes up out of the water during the Believe show at Sea World Orlando. Shamu is the brand name given to every Orca whale care for by Sea World. In all, Sea World has twenty "Shamu's" spread thoughout their three parks. (Photo: July 5, 2008)

One of the top rated facilities in Florida, Brighthouse Networks Field is home to the Florida operations of the Philadelphia Phillies. Opened in 2004, it is home to the Phillies spring training games as well as the regular season home of the Clearwater Threshers. It also hosts the annual Big East NCAA Championship tournament. (Photo: May 17, 2008)

This Cessna Citation seen here on approach to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is owned and operated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Based outside Atlantic City, the jet is used by the FAA for research and development. (Photo: May 21, 2012)

Knology Park, now known as Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, has been the Florida base for the Toronto Blue Jays since its consturction in 1990. Although its name has changed several times in its history, its tenant has remained the same since opening day. It is the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays and the regular season home of the Florida State League Dunedin Blue Jays and Dunedin High School. (Photo: April 26, 2008)

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs found themselves in an early hole that they could not climb out of as they lost to the Dunedin Blue Jays 11-1 on Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. Stone Crabs starter Braulio Lara struggled with control early, resulting in a 5-0 deficit by the time he was lifted in the third. The Blue Jays offense capitalized on walks in the first inning to push across a pair of runs. Lara issued back to back walks to Gabe Jacobo and Ryan Schimpf to lead off the inning. He then hit Kevin Nolan to load the bases. Jon Talley drove home two runs with a single down the third base line, scoring Jacobo and Shimpf to take a 2-0 lead. The Blue Jays struck again in the second, this time for three runs. Jack Murphy and Michael Crouse delivered back to back singles to open the inning. Kevin Nolan then cleared the bases with a three run homer to give the Blue Jays a 5-0 lead. The Stone Crabs scored their lone run in the bottom of the fourth w...

A tiger takes a break from the Florida heat to enjoy his habitat at Busch Garden Tampa's Jungala exhibit. Opening in 2008, Jungala brings guest closer to the animal through creative habitiat design. It is home to Tiger and Orangutans as well as two exciting rides. (Photo: April 13, 2008)

A seagull enjoys the pristine beach of Gasparilla Island State Park in Boca Grande. Gasparilla Island State Park is located on the southern tip of the island and is a popular spot for shelling. The park has several beach accesses as well a museum located in the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse. The waters just off shore of the park is home to the annual tarpon fishing tournament that attracts anglers from all over the world. (Photo: April 6, 2008)

Hop aboard the Seminole-Gulf Railway for a trip along the rails in Lee County. The daytime excursion take you a rail journey for over an hour including a bridge crossing of the Caloosahatchee River. In addition to the daytime excursion and dinner trains, the Seminole-Gulf Railway is still in operation for cargo traffic throughout Southwest Florida. (Photo: March 29, 2008)