Destination Publix - #3

Way up ahead of us, we could see the lights at the corner where we would turn to reach our destination.  We passed a police radar set-up.  They had five cars stopped - pulled into the lane that was blocked due to construction.  One policeman held up the radar gun, another walked out into the road and waved the offender in.  There were about six police cars there - we guessed that was to cover the possibility that the driver kept on going - they were ready to give chase.  I wanted to take a picture, but Poppa thought that might be unwise, so I refrained.

We finally arrived at the traffic lights and tunred onto the boulevard leading up to the Publix.  These tall palm trees were just planted last year, and the cold weather was not kind to them, but regardless of the sparseness of their fronds, I love palm trees and couldn't resist the shot.

As an illustration of the fact that there is more than just tourism in the state of Florida, there were some cows laying in the shade across the field.  As you can see, they were quite far away, keeping in the shade of that little clump of trees.

And then, off to our left was that big building that was a distant image in the early shots.  It is quite a fancy and expensive resort which is quite well known in our area for the lavish accomodations and the pro golf course.  Poppa hasn't golfed there - its too expensive for his wallet, but he often looks longingly - maybe some day I'll treat him!

A few more steps up the bouldevard, and we were passing by a pond in front of the resort.  With his propensity for long-distance vision, Poppa spotted an alligator reclining on the bank of the pond - apparently waiting for some unsuspecting prey to pass close by.  Can you see him, just to the left of the cement out-take pipe?  I was too nervous to get any closer.  Poppa guessed he was about six feet long - he was definitely a good size!

As Poppa (who is much braver than I) got closer, the gator spooked and jumped, with amazing speed, into the water - splash!  We could see his progress across the pond - his eyes were sticking out of the water.  At first, it appeared that he was following Poppa, but soon he headed in the direction of some birds on the other bank.  If you click on this picture and look closely - you can see the eyes in the centre of the picture.