The Wandering Disciple

A Malayan Tiger on patrol along the water of its habitat at ZooTampa.  The Malayan Tiger is a critically endangered tiger from the Malay peninsula.  Habitat loss and poaching has reduced the adult population in the wild to between 250-350 tigers.  As a result, zoos like ZooTampa have been trying to conserve the species through the conservation efforts.  (October 27, 2018) 

Greg Koontz demonstrates his flying skills as he lands on the smallest runway, an elevated platform on top of a pick-up truck, during his Alabama Boys comedy routine performed during the 2017 Florida International Air Show.  The routine features Koontz as Clem Cleaver, an Alabama boy, tries to redeem a flight instruction.  When the instructor refuses the lesson, Clem steals the airplane and takes it on a wild ride through the skies.  At one point Grandpa Cleaver tries to force Clem down with a shot gun, only to blow out the tire and force him to land on the back of a moving pick-up truck.  The Alabama Boys routine is just one of two routines that Koontz performs for airshows across the country.  (Photo: October 14, 2017)

  An Allegiant Air flight departs Punta Gorda Airport into another colorful Southwest Florida sunset.  Allegiant began servicing Punta Gorda Airport in 2008 and today is the sole air carrier of the airport.  Their service connects passengers to over 50 destinations throughout the country.  (Photo: October 13, 2007)

The command vehicle of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport Fire-Rescue sits on display during the 2017 SCFD Open House.  This SUV becomes a mobile command center any time the fire department face a major incident and allows the incident commander a platform to be able to control the incident and manage his resources.  SRQ Fire-Rescue is responsible for the fire & emergency services for the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport ranging from aircraft emergencies on the airfield to medical emergencies in the terminal and even providing mutual aid to surrounding departments.  (Photo: October 7, 2017)

Lifeguards at Manasota Beach fly the red flag over their lifeguard stand due to dangerous water conditions at the beach.  The lifeguards use a flag system to report beach conditions at protected beaches.  Next time you are out at a beach with lifeguards, check the stand for the beach conditions before hitting the water. Green means normal, yellow means use caution, red means dangerous water conditions, double red flags mean the beach is closed to swimming and a purple flag mean dangerous marine life present.  But keep in mind, the flag is only displayed when the lifeguard stand is staffed.  (Photo: August 26, 2017)

A tiger wakes up from a cat nap at Big Cat Habitat in eastern Sarasota County. Much like a house cat, tigers spend much of their day resting or sleeping. In fact, a tiger can sleep 16-20 hours a day. This is mainly because they are conserving energy between hunts. You can get up close and learn about these beautiful big cats at the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary, home to lions and tigers and bears. The staff there will tell you about the animals, how they live in the wild and how their programs rescues these animals. (Photo: August 5, 2017)

Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher Chris Carden looks in for the signs during a 2017 Gulf Coast League game.  The communication between catcher and pitcher is one of the most critical links in the game.  From behind the plate, the catcher gives signs to the pitcher of what pitch to throw and moves the infielders into position to hopefully set-up the play and record an out.  (Photo: July 21, 2017)

Stone Crabs catcher Brett Sullivan prepares to tag out Yankees baserunner Jeff Hendrix in a close call at home plate during a 2017 Florida State League contest between the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Tampa Yankees.  The Stone Crabs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the south division of the FSL.  They entered the league in 2009 and have been a Rays affiliate since their inception and have won one league championship and four division titles. The Stone Crabs play their home games at Charlotte Sports Park, the spring training home of the Rays.  (Photo: July 18, 2017)

Orioles minor league pitcher Stefan Crichton brings the heat during a summer Gulf Coast League game at Ed Smith Stadium in 2017. Crichton is currently a reliever for the Arizona Diamonbacks. He was drafted by the Orioles in 2013 draft from TCU. He spent a few years in the Orioles farm system before making his major league debut on April 17, 2017 against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles eventually traded Crichton to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018 where he remains today. (Photo: July 17, 2017)

Designed by the US Air Force to be a supersonic jet trainer, the T-38 Talon has an important role with NASA's astronaut training program as well.  Based out of the Dryden Research Facility in California, the T-38 is used to train astronauts in proficiency and to support critical NASA missions.  This T-38 was seen flying over Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota on final approach to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.  (July 7, 2017)

A popular sight on the NASCAR circuit on the 80's and early 90's, the Bandit was one of the more recognizable teams on the track.  Driven by legendary driver Harry Gant, saw victory lane eighteen times in the Winston Cup series.  Handsome Harry enjoyed a 22 year career Hall of Fame career with many accolades along the way including an IROC Championship in 1985, driver of the year and a 4-race winning streak in 1991.  Gant retired  from NASCAR in 1994. This car now belongs to Nicodemus Racing, a non-profit that provides racing experiences for vets. (Photo: July 4, 2017)

The clear waters of the North Jetty Park are a popular beach oasis on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Located on the north side of the Venice Inlet, the beach at North Jetty Pork usually features crystal clear and calm waters making it a popular place to swim in the Gulf. But there is more than just beach to the park; there are plenty of picnic facilities, a playground, an Old Florida waterfront grill and plenty of fishing along the inlet. (Photo: July 4, 2017)

Fort Myers, Florida: The rainy, stormy weather hampered the action at Page Field during my time on airport this week. Over my time there, I only saw three movements between the storms.  Here is a look at the aircraft seen this week at Page Field.  N398J – Pilatus PC-12  N121LD – Cessna Skylane  N17223 – Cessna Skyhawk  Click on the photo above to view these and the rest of the Page Field photo gallery .

Tim Tebow rounds the bases as he chases down his dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. Already an accomplished football player, the University of Florida standout quarterback turned his attention to the baseball diamond and began his professional baseball career in the 2016 off-season by signing a contract with the New York Mets organization. Tebow has made it to Triple-A, on step below the majors when baseball stopped due to COVID-19. (Photo: July 2, 2017)

A leisurely stroll down the wooden boardwalk leads you to the paradise of the Gulf of Mexico at Lovers Key State Park. This two mile stretch of pristine beach was saved from development and has been preserved in almost unspoiled fashion. In addition to the beach, Lovers Key also boasts over two miles of mangrove protected kayak trails and five miles of multi-use trails for hiking and biking. The park is currently adding a welcome and discovery center which is slated to open in Spring 2021. (Photo: July 2,2017)

Fort Myers, Florida: This week at RSW saw a little variety in visitors to Southwest Florida International Airport. The US Coast Guard paid a visit to the airfield for about an hour worth of manuevers and the US Army sent Rebel 81, a C-12 Huron to the airport on Wednesday. Beyond that, New Mexico One stopped by combined with the usual visitors to RSW.  Here is a look at what I saw during my time around the airfield this week:  2304 – HC-144 Ocean Sentry (US Coast Guard)  84-00181 – C-12 Huron (US Army)  N119U – Hawker Beechcraft 1000  N119US – Airbus A320 (American Airlines)  N215WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N252WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N330DX – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N448UP – Boeing 757-200 (UPS)  N471UP – Boeing 757-200 (UPS)  N500QF – Embraer Phenom 300  N652CC – Cessna Citation VII  N673FE – Airbus A300 (FedEx)  N682FE – Airbus A300 (FedEx)  N711UW – Airbus A319 (Americ...

In typical Florida summertime fashion, the grounds crew at Hammond Stadium pull the tarp in advance of a summer thunderstorm. Rain delays an doubleheaders are a common occurrence during the summer month in the Florida State League as summer time weather patterns and sea breezes result in daily afternoon thunderstorms. (Photo: July 1, 2017)

Orioles minor leaguer Bryndan Arredondo gets hit by a pitch during an afternoon Gulf Coast League game in 2017. There is a saying in youth baseball "Hit or be hit", well at this level of professional baseball I wouldn't want to be hit by a fastball or any pitch for that matter. The Gulf Coast League is an entry level league in professional baseball with teams consisting of newly drafted players and international signees playing their first season in the states. The batter here Arredondo was the Orioles 23rd round draft pick in the 2017 draft, playing in just his second professional game. (Photo: June 29, 2017)

Minor League Baseball has a slogan of "Where the stars of tomorrow, play today." While this holds true most of the time, but it some instances it is where the stars of the game play too. Typically when a major league player goes on the disabled list for an extended period of time, they find themselves playing a few games in the minor leagues to prepare for their return to the big league club. Like this throwback to 2017 when Tampa Bay Rays reliever Brad Boxberger made an appearance with the Advanced-A Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League prior to being activated from the disabled list. (Photo: June 27, 2017)

Fort Myers, Florida: While the flight traffic begins to rebound from COVID-19, the size of the aircraft continue to grow with Delta increasing the traffic of Airbus A321’s into RSW. This week saw the arrival and departure of a few of the resident Western Global MD-11’s as well as some training missions from NOAA and the US Coast Guard.  Here is a look at what was seen this week around Southwest Florida International Airport:  6519 – HH-65 Dolphin (US Coast Guard)  N49RF – Gulfstream IV (NOAA)  N117UW – Airbus A320 (American Airlines)  N234WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N329DN – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N348DN – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N374DX – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N383DZ – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N459WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N513SN – McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (Western Global Airlines)  N545JN – McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (Western Global Airlines)  N555CK – Learjet 45...

Putting the "Southwest" in Southwest Florida International Airport as one Southwest flight holds short of the runway while another one lands at the airport.  Southwest Airlines is the second busiest airlines at RSW, accounting for a little of 18% of the flights.  From Fort Myers, Southwest connects travelers to about twenty destinations across the country.  (Photo: August 12, 2020)

  A throwback to a era long gone, the Piedmont Pacemaker touches down at Southwest Florida International Airport.  Part of American Airline's heritage livery collection, this aircraft pays tribute to Piedmont Airlines.  Founded in 1948, Piedmont served the flying public until 1989 when it was merged in to USAir. Today it is memorialized as part of the heritage livery collection, a flying history of the airlines that collectively became American Airlines over the years.  (Photo: August 10, 2020)

Fort Myers, Florida: This week I only got by Page once and it was a day full of flight school touch and gos. Paragon, Beaver and Christensen were all busy in the pattern while I was making rounds around Page Field. I did manage to get a pair of charter jets departing Fort Myers, including a shiny Cessna Citation Sovereign.  Here is a look at what I saw at Page Field this week:  N94JA – Cessna Skyhawk  N334QS – Cessna Citation Sovereign (NetJets)  N525DM – Cessna Citation II  N582ND – Piper Seminole  N726MB – Cessna Skyhawk  N800KP – Cirrus SR-20  N911CK – Airbus Helicopters H135 (Collier County EMS MedFlight)  N6013J – Cessna Skyhawk  N6027Z – Cessna Skyhawk  N10897 – Cessna Skyhawk  Click on the photo above to view the Page Field photo gallery .

Welcome to Tampa, the heart of the Tampa Bay region. Located on the Gulf of Mexico along Florida's west coast, Tampa is the third largest city in Florida. Founded in 1849 near the military outpost of Fort Brooke, Tampa has grown to a city with 2.4 million people living in the metro area. The area has a lot to enjoy from the Cuban culture in Y'bor City, the great eats of SoHo, wild rides at Busch Gardens, wildlife at ZooTampa and championship winning sports teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Bucs. There is so much to see and do in Tampa for the entire family. (Photo: August 8, 2020)

A juvenile Bornean Orangutan shows off for the crowd at ZooTampa at Lowry Park. The group of eight orangutans at ZooTampa are led by Goyang, the lone male in the group and father of the three kids. While the three young ones of the group are the most entertaining, all of the orangutans have a unique personality and are a lot of fun to watch during your visit to ZooTampa. (Photo: August 8, 2020)

St Petersburg, Florida: On the way back from the zoo, I checked Flightradar to see if there was anything good coming in to TPA or PIE as we passed them on the way back home. The search of TPA yielded nothing exciting but when I looked at PIE, it showed an Allegiant inbound within the hour featuring Aeroflot livery from when it was added to the Allegiant fleet in February. So we headed over there only to find the location I spotted from before was not helpful due to Runway 18/36 being closed. There was one plane on approach and I tried it from this location, however it was a little to far away and the fence was a factor. We needed a new spot.  After scouting the area a bit, it appeared that the west end of the parking lot of the Hampton Inn would be a good spot. But this was going to be a make or break shot as there was no test aircraft and the next incoming would be the one I was trying to get. Well good news/bad news, the spot was perfect however the plane had already gotte...

Tampa, Florida: When ZooTampa reopened in May, they went way back into prehistoric times, 65 million years ago to be exact, to bring the dinosaurs back to the zoo to greet guests. From now until early September, you can take a trip back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the earth and see what life was like with these life-like dinos. Step into the time machine and travel back to the time of the dinosaurs.  See and hear these prehistoric beasts as they are brought back to life. From the little Coelophysis to the plant eating Stegosaurus to the king of the dinos T-Rex, they are all here to learn about in life-sized Animatronic form. The exhibit also features plenty of interactive exhibits along the way to help enhance your knowledge about the dinosaur era.  Despite not having a young child into dinosaurs anymore, I really enjoy the education aspect of the exhibit. Outside the shock and awe of the massive life-like dinosaurs, they teach you about the species including where...

Tampa, Florida: We were heading up to ZooTampa for the day and had some time before getting to the zoo so we made a brief spotting trip over to TPA. Tampa International Airport is one of my favorite places to spot because from the short-term garage, it is easy to get good photos from each runway no matter which direction they are departing too. The closure of the upper floors poses a little more of a challenge as it puts you lower to the ground and the obstructions of light posts.  It was a rather slow morning when we visited but I did manage to get some cargo (Atlas), a pink Silver Airways and a few gems on the MRO ramp (Flair and West Atlantic). Over on the FBO ramp, a few military surveillance planes were on the ramp but positioned to make it difficult to get a picture. From the short term garage, it was too far away and hazy, from the economy garage it was directly across only allowing for a photo of the rear of the aircraft. From the fence by the FBO, they were blocked ...

So many dreams are made or broken in Minor League Baseball. Hundreds of players each year sign a professional contract to start their journey to the majors. The hometown fields are where you can see the stars of tomorrow learn the ins and outs of professional baseball. Here is Chicago Cubs infielder David Bote as he was playing for the Tennessee Smokies in 2017. Bote was drafted by the Cubs in 2012, spent six years in the minors before making his major league debut in 2018. (Photo: June 14, 2017)

The scarred mountainside and shells of burnt out dwellings dot the usually lush Smoky Mountains months after the Chimney Tops fire. The fire started in November 2016 and burnt almost 18,000 acres before fire crews got it under control. The complex of fires destroyed 2,460 buildings and killed 14 people. It was one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee and the deadliest wildfire in the eastern US since 1947. This photo is from the Gatlinburg bypass taken about six months post fire and shows some of the burnt out treelines and a structure that was lost during the fire. (Photo: June 14, 2017)

Fort Myers, Florida: With Hurricane Isaias aimed at South Florida, RSW became a safe haven for aircraft trying to hunker down and ride out the storm. While most of them departed by the time my work week began, there were still a few remaining including a Silver Airways Saab and an extra UPS Boeing. Other than that, it was a pretty routine week at RSW.  I did have a pretty funny yet aggravating amateur moment this week, a good reminder to always check your camera settings. Before leaving for work, I took a few pictures of the full moon setting, later in the day I tried to get a pic of the departing Honda Jet and it was super blurry. Turning out I was still at 1/100 shutter speed and all of my photos up until that point were pretty blurry. Some made for some interesting speed shots and rough attempt at panning. Oh well, mistakes are how you learn.  Here is a look at what I saw this week around RSW:  N102UW – Airbus A320 (American Airlines)  N114UW – Airbus A320 (...

When people think of Florida, they usually associate palm trees, oranges, beaches and Disney as symbols of the Sunshine State. But you can add the Florida Scrub Jay to that list. People flock from all over to catch a glimpse of this dwindling Florida bird. The Florida Scrub Jay is just one of two scrub jay species in the United States. It can be found in dry, scrubby habitats throughout the central portions of the peninsula with one of the largest habitats located within Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey. The little bird is so popular despite its rarity, it is being petitioned to become the state bird of Florida. (Photo: August 2, 2020)

This rustic cabin in the woods was once the ranger station of the nation's first forestry school. In 1895, George Vanderbildt brought Carl Scheck from Germany to oversee his vast forest at this Biltmore Estate near Asheville. They would later found the Biltmore Forest School, the first forestry school in the US. This two story cabin became the home of Ranger Gillespie and his wife. The home along with other historic structures from the Biltmore Forest School can be seen today on the Biltmore Campus Trail, part of the Cradle of Forestry in America located within the Pisgah National Forest. (Photo: June 14, 2017)

The All-New Hyundai Elantra, a perfect choice for your summer roadtrip. Well it was new and it was a perfect choice for our 2017 road trip through the mountains of western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The 2017 Elantra was our first brand new car and the trip North Carolina was the first extended road trip in this car. Today the Elantra continues to go strong with over 130,000 miles on the odometer and plenty of memories made along the way. (Photo: June 13, 2017)