Imagination Photography: June 2011

My family LOVES road trips. As soon as we can save enough extra cash, we tend to pack up and head for some far off coastline. Our big trips usually take us across the Southwestern U.S., up the Pacific coast, and across the Northern and Midwest portions of the U.S., hitting just about every state in between Alabama and California. We've also taken one trip up the Eastern coast of the U.S., visiting every single state between Alabama and Maine. My parents and I have been to 48 states and plan to visit the last two (Alaska and Hawaii) as soon as we can. Those trips are quite expensive, so to curb our craving for roadside adventure, we took a mini road trip down the Georgia (and parts of Florida) coast last week.

These trips are my photographic paradise! I take thousands of pictures of anything that captures my attention. Here are just a few of my favorite images from last week.

Our first stop was Savannah, Georgia, a place my camera has been itching to see. I was overwhelmed at how much there is to photograph there. It is the most beautiful city I have ever visited, and I can't wait to go back and explore it more!

Inside the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

The fountain at Lafayette Square. This is probably the most photographed fountain in the city. I know every time I think of Savannah, this is the image that pops into my head. It's gorgeous!

Detail of the fountain at Lafayette Square.

The fountain at Forsyth Park.

Inside the Sorell-Weed house. This was the only house tour we were able to go on, and it was great! It is so beautiful, you'd never guess it was once a shopping mall (seriously!). This is said to be the most haunted home in the city, and I can see why. It felt errie just walking in the front door!

Here's another errie place: Colonial Park Cemetery. This is the most hauntingly beautiful cemetery I've seen. And it is huge!

While waiting for our ghost tour at the cemetery, I snapped this shot of the fire department across the road. The way the setting sun filtered through the stripes of the flag was beautiful.

Wright Square. I snapped this and the next one during our ghost tour.

Wright Square was the convenient spot for hangings back in the 1800s. I say convenient because the courthouse and cemetery were both just off the square. Creepy? Yeah.

This vintage bike was just resting against a street sign on our walk back to our hotel.

I loved it.

The fountain at Ellis Square is definitely the most modern in the city. During the day it's nice, but rather boring. At night it's a colorful splash pad for the kids :).

Recognize this? If you're a Forrest Gump buff like my husband, you should. This is the driveway of Wormsloe Plantation. The owners swear up and down that this isn't where Forrest made his famous run in the flim, but after seeing it first-hand,

I don't believe them for a second.
P.S. I also have a photo of my husband mimicking his "hero" and running down the driveway. Hilarious! ;)

After Savannah, we traveled down the coastline and ventured onto some of the Georiga islands. This is the beach at St. Simmon's Island. I've seen a lot of different colors of sand, but this gray was a first for me.

The lighthouse at St. Simmon's Island. I took this in mid afternoon. The reason it's so hazy and dark is because of all the smoke from nearby wildfires. (By the way, the entire state of Alabama is under an emergency drough NO BURN order, so save your burn piles for later!)

I've been a lot of places, but until this trip I had never been to Panama City Beach. My family has always went to Gulf Shores, and I've never had any desire for the party life that I've always associated with PCB. But as we drove through, I have to say it is a gorgeous beach! This photo is of the old pier at Camp Helen State Park. We hiked a mile in the sand so I could get this shot. Don't I have the best family! :)

We continued driving across the Florida panhandle to Pensacola. A visit to Pensacola means a visit to my dad's favorite part of the beach: the Naval Aviation Museum. The miniature flags in this image were drawn on the sides of ships and aircraft to mark the number of enemy kills during WWII. If you haven't been to the museum, you definitely need to check it out. It's interesting, educational and FREE!

Pensacola is home to the Blue Angels, my favorite air show performers. I can't even tell you how many of their shows I've been to. I just love them. Another something I get from my dad? You bet ;).

The space exhibit in the museum. I love the lighting here. It really makes it feel like the moon.

My wonderful parents during our family photo session on Pensacola Beach.

Pensacola Beach at sunset.

Pensacola Beach again at sunset.

Our last sunset of the trip. We spent our last two nights in Pensacola Beach.

Well, there you have a quick look at this year's Sparks-Cunningham family road trip. I hope you enjoyed! If you see any of my road trip photos you'd like to have hanging on your wall, just let me know. You can purchase any print sizes of any of my location/scenery photos. You can see other images from my other trips across the U.S. on the Imagination Photography Facebook page. Just check out the album titled, "The world is God's masterpiece, I'm just here to photograph it." These images make great wall art. Just ask my mom. Her house is covered with them! :) Have a great weekend everybody!