Atlanta, Georgia

Hi folks,

back to Atlanta Georgia and a trip to.....................

This was a wonderful space that was erected in 1996 to host the Games although the Olympic flame was in a Stadium not far away.

There was an array of water features in the park although the weather was a bit overcast.

This feature had a cascading waterfall at the rear.

One of the many sculptures in the park, any one following the blog would have seen the fountains at night.

View across the park showing three of the eight towers around the rings of water in the centre. Notice the Union Jack.

This is a statue of Barron Pierre de Coubertin. 1863-1935, founder of the Modern Olympic Movement

A call for a drink lead us into the CNN building which was massive in it's construction with loads of places to sit and watch the world literally go by on the very large screen.

One of the strange animations outside a shop.

Will carry on with Atlanta later.

Hope you enjoyed the quick visit, more to follow.

bye, bye, Luv Mike,. XXX

Capstone with a Surprise

Hi Folks,
Well we are now truly back and ensconced in the English weather the holiday seems months away.

Still back here has it's advantages, our autumn seems much longer although being away we missed most of the fall.

Worked most of the day but managed to get an hour in the local park just before sunset.

Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees but managed to get a few with them still on .

Not sure what this one is but seems to be one of the Mallard family but was bigger.

Lots of work being carried out in the park, trees being removed, although this Moorhen did not seem to mind the upheaval.

To make my day this Grey Heron seems to have taken a shine to the parks amenities. 

Up the other end of the lake we spied another by the waters edge, it could be the same bird, I can't seem to find any difference.

Well that's about the end of my quick dash to the park.

Thanks for dropping by.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX

Museum of Aviation, Georgia

Hi folks,
At the beginning of the holiday you may remember that we put up a blog of Corvettes. Well the primary reason was to go to Robins Airforce Base and go around the Museum but we got sidetracked by the cars. So here are a few of the images taken at the base and its' planes, hope you like them.

The fuselage had a painting on the side depicting a train laden with bombs.

Inside the Museum which was vast were various types of planes in wonderful settings.

Below are a few of the many more I took.

Rostrum in a hanger.

Stealth Fighter

Then there was the outside  area with one of the many monuments to the American Forces.

 We had the most wonderful day there what with the planes and the cars and really enjoyed the museum.

Thanks for looking.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX

Macon's Surprise on the Top of the Hill

Hi folks,
I hope you don't mind me showing a few more of the holiday as we went to some very nice places that I did not get a chance to show whilst we where there due to the time factor.
This is Macon a very sleepy town in Georgia by a river. The town did not have a lot going for it apart from this.......

A Catholic Church standing proud at the top of the town on a hill. It is a shame the power cables are not underground but this is what you have to put up with in the States, anyway I took a picture of the sign outside is explain it's history.

Across the road were a few wooden cladded buildings with front gardens which is unusual.

We then entered the Church and wow we were dumbfounded by it's beauty and elegance. There were confessions going on at the time and I felt a bit uneasy but I was assured by one of the congregation that it was alright to photograph.

Sorry the stain glass windows were blown out but they were very high with the sun on them, I would have liked to return the following morning but we had to move on to the next location. To each side of the main alter are two more.

The roof had an eight sided dome on it with a stained glass window in each section.

At the rear was a magnificent stained glass window above the Organ.

Lastly was the front which had the sun setting just behind it making the facade dark but with a little bit of post processing and using my wide angle lens I hope I managed to show the wonderful brickwork and design.

Thanks for looking.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX

Better Late than Never

Hi folks,
a very busy day today sorting out the holiday bits and pieces and also looking at the many thousands of images that did not get on the blog for various reasons.
As the rain has poured down all day and I spent a lot of it watching Formula one, here is a few Pumpkins to brighten your day even though it's over.

The Americans go in for Halloween in a big way, even as we arrived on the 3rd of October Pumpkins were everywhere.

Loads of these Dolls made out of straw adorned the area.

This is to the entrance of Tifton an Agricultural and Farming Museum. I wonder what happens to them after, I know you can make soup and cakes but surely there are too many to just eat them.

Anyway work tomorrow so off to bed I go to dream about the USA.

Thanks for looking.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX

Back Home amoungst the Chimneys

Hi folks,

well fully recovered we are back on this side of the pond and I must admit the weather is not too bad for our return. Lots to do, change the few dollars we had left back into the pretty stuff, sorry but the American money is a bit poor to our standards, it all looks the same.

We then went to Lower Halstow to visit the Edith May tea rooms, I hope our American friends and there are quite a few will enjoy our countryside and what the UK has to offer. Lower Halstow is about 20 minutes from where we live by car and is where this old Thames Barge is moored for the winter. In the spring its' sails are fitted and it takes visitors up and down the Medway and out onto the Thames Estuary on day trips which are very enjoyable.

Her rear end with the rudder removed for maintenance.

We then walked along a very muddy path to see a lovely cloud formation over the top of a power station. This is Grain a Coal fired one that is soon to be decommissioned and then removed from the skyline. 

This is Kingsnorth, another power station also due for demolition shortly.  It is on the waters edge in Essex which you can clearly see from the footpath.

You can see that the UK is against the burning of coal and we import loads from other countries even though we have plenty in the UK, we are a strange bunch. Below is Cedar Bay Generating Station near Jacksonville, Florida which is still burning coal,  popping up over the trees.

Back in the UK you can see that they have had a fair bit of rain whilst we have been away.

Thistle nearing the end of it's life by the waters edge.

And a Fungi starting to grow in the damp ground.

Loads of berries on the trees waiting for the birds

Back on board out of the wind we settled down to a nice cup of tea and a warm by the fire before driving home on the left hand side of the road.

Thanks to all the people on the other side of the pond that made our stay so enjoyable, we shall now start saving again for a return trip.

Thanks for taking the time to look at the blog, and leave a comment if you can.

nite, nite, Luv Mike XX

Scrub Up

Hi folks,
well we are home and very tired after a long flight home. BUT I could not resist a little tiny little blog.

We actually clocked up 4,200 miles in that Ford Taurus, Missed Sandy and were lucky with the flight home under the circumstances.

Just a couple of images that you would not see over here. This looks like a English hand car wash at first glance until you look closely.

The red white and blue might give it away until you notice the funnels.

Well what do you think?, I have never seen anything like it, it's a CAR WASH of all things, situated just outside St. Augustine, Florida by the road.

Loads more like this but I am ready for an early night.

Thanks for looking.

nite, nite, Luv Mike. xx