WHY I LOVE HOLLYWOOD

I really love the little town I live in. Hollywood, Florida, is such a neat place to live. Everything is close. The beach is a four minute drive, and all the restaurants and clubs are a 3-4 minute walk from my condo. Even the grocery store is only a five minute walk, as are the parks and recreation. This place reminds me of Mayberry RFD on the Andy Griffith show. All my friends who come to visit can't wait to come back. Me, I just hate to leave. Here's a shot of our beach. Nice, isn't it? Well, off for a five day trip. Check back again soon.

AT THE BEACH

Here's a shot I took of a seagull passing by me the other day. Usually it's kind of hard to get a nice shot of a seagull with a shadow, but this one appeared and seemed okay to me. The local beaches are becoming less crowded now that school is back in session. Kind of nice to lay out and enjoy the serenity and peacefulness of slapping waves without all the yelling in the background.

WHO TEACHES THIS STUFF????

A couple of years ago I was in Cancun (CUN), and happened to run across this local with his pet chimpanzee on the beach. Not only was the chimp drinking a beer and smoking, he was making obscene gestures. I'm guessing he didn't like me taking his photo!! :-) His owner must have a LOT of time on his hands..............

FRIENDS IN FROM BELGIUM

One of my best friends from Belgium, Koen, and his son arrived the other day for a two week vacation. His girlfriend arrived yesterday, but we'd already had a day at the beach when I got this shot of the two of them enjoying the water. Do you think Jason was having a good time??????

POOR SEAGULL

I took this shot a couple of weeks ago. Poor guy. I've seen him hopping around the beach before. At least most people are nice enough to throw him a bit of food since he's a bit slower than the rest of the gulls he hangs with. Makes you wonder what happened to him since you rarely see birds like this.

THESE ARE SOME BIG SHIPS!!!

Last week when I was on South Beach in Miami, I observed this monster container ship coming into harbor. How do these things float? It always amazes me the size of these ships coming in to port. Massive, isn't it? And, I'm starting to feel a bit better. Went to the doctor the day before yesterday and he said it looked like I pinched a nerve. Ouch!

UNDER THE WEATHER

Well, I got to spend today at home trying to get well. Came down with something last week and haven't been feeling too well. I'll update this blog when I'm back up on my feet. Cheers :-P

THE "HAVE'S"

Today I went to the beach to relax and recuperate.............and took this shot of a "mega-boat" out fishing for jet skis. It appeared to me this guy caught a really nice one. ;-) Gee whiz, it must be nice to have money.................

ST ELMO'S FIRE

Pilots seem to have better views than most, so I'll let you see a weather phenomenon that most people will NEVER have the opportunity of seeing. I recorded this while flying through some precipitation one night. Flying through light rain/snow at the right temperature produces a miniature "lighting storm" right on our windshield called "St Elmo's fire". The first time you ever see this it REALLY gets your attention. Pretty neat stuff, eh?

THE CHAMP..................

Well, my buddy won his SECOND tournament in the last two weeks today! I'm telling you, this young man is headed for greatness. Here's a shot I took of him the other day. And NO, I CAN'T beat him! :-)

AERIAL SHOTS

The other day we had the opportunity to fly directly over WSMR (White Sands Missile Range) in New Mexico. Pretty neat since 99% of the time that area is closed to commercial airline traffic. Anyways, here's a nice shot of the space shuttle landing runway if it needs to be used. Hard to believe but these two runways are over six miles long!!!! Later the next day we were flying into New York City's Laguardia (LGA) airport. Just click on the shots to make them larger and you'll see these incredible sites. Hope you like them.

http://www.photosbykarl.net/

FUTURE US OPEN CHAMPION

Went to see my girlfriend's son play in a tennis tournament this morning. He's only 11, but is such an incredible player it's almost scary!!! Last week he won a 14 year old "super series" tournament, and about a year ago won a 16 year old tournament even though he was only 10 years old! It's amazing to see such talent at such a young age. I certainly believe he'll be playing on center court in the US Open in a few short years! Anyone wanna make a bet on this????? ;-)

MORE PHOTOS!!!!

Hi everyone! I've had a few emails requesting that I put a few more photos on my blog. I guess I have a few readers who enjoy my work and I REALLY APPRECIATE that! So, I'll try to put a few more shots up when I can. It's nice being a pilot since I have a perspective/view that most people will never have the opportunity to enjoy. Sometimes I'd like to trade my annual simulator ride for a seat in the back of the plane.....LOL! Hope you enjoy these shots from my last trip to San Fran and Las Vegas. The top photos are coming in to San Francisco, the next is flying over the southern rim of the Grand Canyon, and the last is another of the fountain dancing at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Just click on them to enlarge the shot.

www.photosbykarl.net

INCREDIBLE SITE!

Here's a shot of Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. I took this photo while we were approaching LAS the other day for my yearly donation to Vegas' electric bill. This is quite a wondrous site. It appears they're building a HUGE bridge right in front of the dam. What an awesome view, eh?

INCREDIBLE FOUNTAIN IN LAS VEGAS!!!

For those of you who've never been to Las Vegas (LAS) and watched the dancing fountain at the Bellagio, I've attached a clip of this incredible site that I took on my trip there a couple of days ago. I could literally sit and watch this "dancing fountain" perform all day and night, it's just that good! I certainly think it's one of the more entertaining shows in LAS, although the Cirque du Soliel is by far the best "live performance", especially "The Story of O" at the Bellagio. The one thing I DON'T like at the Bellagio is it's slot machines, which seem to eat my money quicker than anything. I have paid my fair share of the electric bill in Las Vegas, that's for sure. LOL Hope you enjoy the clip.

BACK HOME FOR MY 50TH!!!

Well, I finally finished my four day trip with stops in San Francisco (SFO), Las Vegas (LAS), New York's LaGuardia (LGA), and finally back home for my 50th birthday. My girlfriend and her kids surprised me with a wonderful cake and gifts. Nice! I'll post some shots of my trip tomorrow. Time to go celebrate the half century mark!