Seeing trees that also grew in the Philippine Islands, my country of origin, was an additional element of cruising that I truly enjoyed. It felt like a special homecoming to see them growing all over Miami and the Caribbean islands that we visited.
Tropical trees like the Coconut...
Papaya
Bamboo
Palm
and Banana.
Fruit-bearing ones instantly arrested my attention...
We saw Banyans everywhere...
There were odd trees we were unable to identify...
living trees with roots showing above ground
trees with crazily-angled trunks
with bulbous trunks
textured,
trimmed,
gnarly and contorted trunks.
Begging to be photographed, lovely palm trees framed everything.
They were on yards and hills
in front of and around historic buildings
showcasing them ...like the famous Biltmore Hotel
the yards and lawns of famous celebrities.
They were everywhere... defining the skyline
and gracing the shorelines . BEAUTIFUL TREES all!
Except for one.
In the Everglades we found one of the sorriest-looking LIVE palm tree we've ever come across. Its trunk looked like an after-Katrina restoration work of a carpenter who flunked woodworking classes. What a disaster!
Just for Tonia and other tree-hugging Gatherites, the poor thing got a special hug.
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Comments: 65
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Amy, if I ever get a book of pictures published (yeah, sure) you get a signed copy :-)
Thanks for the feature!!!
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Jan, I really felt sorry for it! Thanks for coming by!
Another thing, try making B/W images of the knotty tree trunks..they will come out fantastic!
Thank you for this virtual tour of another beautiful tree trip.
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Vicky, thank you, you tree-hugger, you! :-)
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Dean, are you lost? This ain't poetry. (Just joshing!) Thanks for stopping in!!!
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Lyla, glad you found this! Thank YOU!
Don't forget to check out yesterday's Top Five Photos, and please help me give them exposure by leaving a comment at their photos
&
Don't forget to check out yesterday's Top Five Articles, please congratulate each of them on their articles
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Madame Donna, you see them all the time doncha? To us here in the colder regions, they are a treat!
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Charles, thanks!
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j.r. ~ I hope you share those photos soon!
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Melinda and Gale, THANKS!
thank you very much for it... the Bahamas are beautiful
and so are her trees...
As everybody knows, I don't aspire to be a writer, I am just finding the joys of sharing my new hobby, picture-taking (not quite good enough to be called photography yet)! Being featured puts an unexpected feather on my cap... well, ducks don't wear caps, but you know what I mean :-)
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Lizzie, my friend... back to your beautiful icon, I see! :-)
Now I know why we hit it off, you like birds, I'm a duck. You like trees, me too! You're sexy and beautiful ... me.......... mmm let's not go there. LOL
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Necee, thanks for being so faithful with your comments!
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Sonia, I'll be ready with my camera when I get to Hawaii!
Come check out Today's Top Five Articles
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Wilma, thanks for coming by!
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Jessie, sounds like you too have gone a- traveling there! We should all go to India, Minnie says to come visit!
Ms. Meacham ~ Ever the optimist, I ordered Black Bamboo 3 years ago from a nursery in Florida. I was informed by local nurseries that Illinois is too cold for bamboos. I had to prove them wrong. Right.
It came like a chopstick with a bad haircut. I planted it anyway, watered it religiously but nothing came out of the $65.00 investment. To add insult to injury, my husband backed one of his trucks over the darn thing. And that is the end of my Bamboo Nigra saga.
Thank you for taking me to these trees. I'd forgotten how important tropical trees are to my sense of vacation.
I also want to thank you for bringing up a previously forgotten memory of Hawaii, where I actually walked around inside the trunk of a banyan tree. They're truly amazing.
And you and me would have such fun shopping together!! You know so much about the saris and all!!
I am acutally in the middle of working on a photo essay all about palm trees!
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Ina, thanks my friend! I think I've read about that Hawaiian Banyan. It covers 2/3 of an acre! That's one big mamma!
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Susan, Melinda, Priscilla, Patricia, Rose, Nana, thank you ALL!
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Minnie, you bet we'd have fun putting a bigger dent on my bank book!
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Amanda, I am looking forward to reading your essay!
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Tonia, I know you've been preoccupied. I also knew you'd find your way here as soon as you could. After all, you inspired this essay!
Debbie, you're a welcome sight! It was you I was wondering and worried about when you were both quiet. I thought Tonia might have been fussing over a sick Debbie. It's a good thing to know you were both enjoying visiting family! :-)
Tonia, thanks for coming back with that reassurance. I wish Debbie a faster recovery and the both of you the best of everything!
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Tom, thanks for the read and the comment. I scored high with this article--- having so many great writers stopping in to view my efforts :-)
You have awakened wanderlust in me — it doesn't take much! I guess I should wander over to the house and do some unpacking. . . sigh.
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Firstname, that legend is new to me! I must google that and read more on it. Thanks!
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Dianne, just looking at these photos gives me the itch to travel again. Couple it with the winter blahs and it won't take much for me to pack for the next trip. We're doing the western Caribbean this time... touching briefly on Honduras, Guatemala, the Antilles, Belize, the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic.
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Thanks, Flit! I hope to bring back more photos next time. You might change your mind by then. LOL
I loved seeing the different trees!
Those ones with the stuff hanging from them were pretty interesting
was that a lime tree with the red and green 'lime shaped' fruits?