This week was really nice as I finally got to spend some real time with family. Nothing overly exciting, but it really doesn't have to be. We did end up taking two days to go to Everglades National Park It was hard to just choose no more than 10 photos for the gallery since I took close to 200. Check out the gallery if you haven't already.

While there we took a drive on a 15 mile gravel road where we saw so many different types of wildlife; plenty of alligators. The landscape was gorgeous. I made sure to include a few photos where I attempted to capture the beauty of what I saw. We also decided to take a boat tour through the 10,000 Islands portion of the park (Chokoloskee Bay into Indian Key Pass, through the mangrove islands neighboring the Gulf of Mexico). More wildlife that included an impromptu dolphin show. Those wild Atlantic bottlenose dolphin are show-offs.

Later in the week I was able to meet with Gregg Prigerson, Director of Admissions at Ringling College of Art and Design. It is a busy week for the different departments so I was unable to meet with individual professors. I did receive emails earlier in the week stating this but felt it was important I visited. Thankfully Gregg was available in the time I was in the area and he gave me a slew of very helpful information along with a mini tour of the campus. While I won't go into details here I will mention the jist of what I found out and what is extremely helpful to know. They don't take transfer students into their very competitive animation program, but they do take transfers into their motion design program. It will take three years (and possibly one or two extra classes) to complete the degree, but they have quite a few options to help keep the tuition down. It was another enlightening experience for me.

The end of the week had me heading up to the Rainbow Springs area of Florida to visit another family member. It was relaxing and great to catch up in person. We chose to spend the afternoon at Rainbow Springs State Park so I got some exercise in. There are a few photos in the gallery. I am supposed to choose the best of the day . . . meaning that your eye is drawn where I want it to go, but unfortunately some of them are just snapshots to let you know the overall look of the area. I am very respectful of the places I go, so sometimes I have to forfeit the perfect shot if I am to continue to be a good steward of the earth.