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Spotted with my scope… (1)

  

We bought a scope (Kowa TSN-884) to take photos of our Vacation Rental Properties… getting upclose & personal with the monkey’s in Costa Rica AND to view fields full of magestic Sandhill cranes on Manitoulin Island without disrupting nature!  Here are a few photos we took around our home…  Stayed tuned for more photos from all our properties!    

These two photos are kind of a cheat… we didn’t actually take the photos of the Little Blue Heron & the Anhinga drying it’s wings, BUT it was the reason we now own a scope!  our tour guide in Carara Park in Costa Rica took them with his scope by holding up my pentax point and shoot camera – YUP, that’s right a 4.0 megapixel point and shoot camera took these photos! 

  

Anhinga, Carara Park, Costa Rica, Central America

The remainder of the photos are taken by us and you can tell we are still learning.  At first we tried holding up the camera to the lense of the scope – freehand but eventually we broke down and purchased the camera attachment. 

 

Heron in Carara Park Costa Rica

Heron, Cambridge Ontario, Canada

This Heron photo was taken in our yard in Cambridge Ontario, Canada… I know it shouldn’t surprise me  – they CAN fly!!!  So I don’t know why it impresses me that the same type of bird that is found in Costa Rica in the winter is found in our back yard in the spring.  

Hawk, Cambridge Ontario, Canada

Hairy OR Downy...I really don't know - Our Yard, Cambridge Ontario, Canada

Male Cardinal in our yard, Cambridge Ontario, Canada

  

Blue Jay on a very cold day, Cambridge Ontario, Canada

 

 

 Hope you enjoyed the photos & keep checking back because I will post more photos that I ‘spotted with my scope’!  and Next time it will be photos from Costa Rica… get up close & personal with birds, monkeys and crocodiles!  

 

  

 

  

  

Cleveland

I know what you are thinking…. CLEVELAND???
If you are looking for a weekend getaway within driving distance from south western Ontario – you should check out Cleveland. This was one of the best surprises we have come across in a long time. It reminds me of a cross between Washington DC with all its large stately buildings and memorials, Montreal with its pedestrian only streets lined with sidewalk cafes and patios and New York City for its Theatre District.

We used hotwire to book our hotel and scored a room in this gorgeous four star Historical Downtown Hyatt hotel that normally rents for $179/night and up to $550 a night (that’s what it said on the back of the door!!!) for just $50!  I LOVE hotwire!!!  Our room overlooked east 4^th street, was spacious and clean. 

We could have hung out on east 4^th street the entire weekend.  Happy hour means $1 domestic beers and half price appetizers!    There’s something for everyone here from pub grub to fine dining and we even found this great place called the green house that not only has it’s own local gardens and works with local farms to provide a great dinner with a low carbon foot print but, they have even taken the interior decor into consideration when renovation this old building – the cool barrel style chandeliers are made from old bicycle tires!!!    AND THE FOOD WAS AMAZING! 

This being the 4^th of July weekend and our lesser known July 1^st holiday weekend (Canadian Holiday to celebrate Canada’s Birthday) we expected some fire works but were blown away with the nightly light show from Thursday to Sunday!  It was wonderful! 

 We didn’t get any photos (because you know how hard it is to watch fireworks and photograph them?!?!?!) but this is where we sat and watched them – they exploded between the bridge and the skyline – ahhhh, it was gorgeous!  This restaurant was pretty good too – called the Ponte Vecchio – translated means Old Bridge.  It’s in a weird spot  – litterally located on an old bridge and not really in the best neighbourhood, but once the sun goes down and you look at this view you will understand it’s location. 

We found ourselves wandering the streets, taking in the scenery and snapping so many photos we ran out of time and had to choose between the science center – which I hear is super cool with it’s hundreds of hand on exhibits, indoor tornado, and many more exciting displays…. AND the Rock and Roll hall of fame – we chose rock and roll baby!  It was very cool to see the clothing, cars, video clips, letters, postcards and music sheets written by the musical greats such as The Rolling Stones, Beatles and Cindy Lauper.  There are no interior photos of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame because photos were prohibited!  There is a free coat & camera check on the lower level.  AND I GOT TO SEE A MOCK UP CASE!!!… very similar to my work as a visual merchandiser!  A mock up case is a place the exhibit creators make a mock up of the merchandise they are going to receive to give them a visual of what it’s going to look like when the real artefacts arrive. 

We learned that Jim Morrison’s grave is the most visited place in all of Paris – i thought it would have been the Eiffel Tower or the Mona Lisa!  …who knew?

Hope you enjoy Cleveland as much as we did!

Hamilton Waterfront

Hamilton Ontario Waterfront has gone through some changes in the past few years.  It has been transformed into a great park with over 12 km of waterfront trails that are shared amongst walkers, joggers, cyclists and roller bladders. 

 A few weeks ago we went for a walk on the trail that circles Bay Front Park and we spotted many birds and water fowl including a Robin, Tern, Geese, a family of Swans, King Fisher, Gold Finch, Red Winged Black bird, Chickadees, Sparrows, Killdeer, Mallards, we also spotted a painted turtle. 

Bring a picnic or sit under one of the gazebos, take the wireless trolley or explore the parks Canada Discovery Centre… there are tons of things to do down here!!! 

Check out the website at www.hamiltonwaterfront.com  for more information. 

We finished off our tour of the area with a nice late lunch at Barangas on the Beach – if you haven’t heard of this place you HAVE to check it out www.barangas.ca .  Good food!  Live music! gorgeous view!

Enjoy!