SONG's VirtualTourist Home Page

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Ft DeSoto State Park Beach...calm,warm gulf waters

Interesting Virtual Tourist Membership History

In early 1998 I joined Virtual Tourist when it was JUST beginning. I was so new to surfing the web and chat rooms that when I was welcomed into the room, it took me a minute to figure out how to reply. Once I got the hang of that, I was addicted!!!. I really liked that chat room because I could chat with people around the world. We had such fun times in there.....laughed and joked and compared countries. The first Christmas we had a virtual Christmas party and everyone brought "something to eat and drink". Athena and I declared ourselves the "hostesses" and invited everyone......Why we even had mistletoe and that's when things got "out of hand"...lol. When I first started chatting, I noticed someone in the room named Big Sky and he NEVER chatted. Just sat there lilke a bump on a log. THEN one day he surprised all of us and said something. It wasn't until then that I realized (was told) that he was the "moderator" who kept everyone in line. Well dah.......that little "light" has become my trade mark statement. In the meantime,
I was in there SOOOO much that one day Big Sky, the moderator at the time, decided to make me a moderator also. There were three other VTers who were made moderators at that time also and everyone in there became "bestest" friends. We knew each other so well and even got into heated discussions. We gave sympathetic advice to friends going through difficult times, like divorce. One of the chatters from the early days named Courtney_KS was going through a divorce and met Podge from Ireland. Today they are happily married and living in her home state of Kansas. You can see pics of them under her page. Sometimes the topics were silly and other times they were quite serious and intellectual. But either way, we always had a fabulous time. Now more than 11 years later, many of those original chatters are still in here in Vt and we stay in touch via emails mostly. However, there were a few years in there, from about August 19, 2004 until April 20, 2007 that I had too many other things happening in my life and I essentially dropped out of VT. But I missed it and decided to "pop back in" and see who was still here. That was in April of 2007. Since I could not remember my password from my old nickname of SONG, I decided to re register as "Ilovecarmel" and did so. I started contacting my old friends and joining in on forum postings, which seem to have replaced the chat room. Some of the members remembered me as SONG and others met me for the first time as ilovecarmel. Then, at the beginning of Oct 2007 I had this brilliant idea that perhaps G could do a magic trick and restore me to my old homepage and nickname. We discussed the idea and finally G (stands for genius) waved his magic wand and whalla............I am back as SONG. I must say that this was not easy because he made SURE I was SONG. I had to provide proof from old emails in the SONG account, which I could not access since I could not remember my password, that I was who I said I was.
So I feel rather like a butterfly......going through stages.
As you can tell by this photo and my second choice for nicknames(ilovecarmel), I DO love the beach and living in Florida. This happens to be a Florida beach at Ft. Desoto where the gulf waters are gentle and warm. My other favorite location is the West Coast, where I frequently vacation in Carmel, CA. The Pacific Ocean and coastline differ from what you find around Florida. Give me either coast, the sand, sea, and sun and I am a Happy Camper!!!!!
P.S. You might be wondering the origin of my nickname, SONG. At the time I registered as a member of VT, I was living in Nashville, Tennessee better known as Music City USA because of all the country recording stars who live and work there. I used to see Dolly Parton, Minnie Pearl, Guber, the Judds, Crystal Gayle, etc in town. Vince Gill lived in my neighborhood.
Unfortunately, :-( I did not see him often. Anyway, SONG seemed the right name for someone from Nashville. And yes, Jeff Fisher of the TN Titans is good looking. Go Titans. Also Go Gators!!!

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Cool and refreshing summer "tablescape"

Travel and other interests.....

I have not traveled as much lately as I would like. Most of my travels abroad were done a few years back. I still take the local/nearby trips with friends to check out what is going on locally. But I have not taken a long trip for quite a while. Who knows? Perhaps I will be inspired to attend one of the VT Euromeets.......In the meantime, I keep busy with both work, family, and interests. I love entertaining and decorating for it. I enjoy what I call "tablescapes" , similar to landscapes or lightscapes, but done with dining tables and linens, china, glasses, flowers, candles, napkins, and something special for each occasion. I have one table setting to show you . If you have ever heard of Colin Cowey, then you are familiar with tablescapes. He is seen on Martha Stewart's program frequently with his suggestions. I love planning events and have been told that I should be an"event planner" as a second career. Oh well..........maybe someday. I will try to find and post a couple tablescape pictures for you.

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My favorite gator art....bejeweled creation

Winter Park, Florida "Alligator Art"

Many cities have a contest for local buisnessmen and/or organizations to decorate a given species of animal for a local competition. The artwork animal is chosen and an identical piece of this animal is given to each of the artists to begin the decoration. "Chicago used cows, I believe. Nashville, TN used catfish, and Winter Park used alligators. What else , other than perhaps flamingos, would Florida use???? Go Gators!!! (Universitiy of Florida mascot is the alligator). Here are some of the gators displayed in Winter Park by the local artists.

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Floral-decor gator.....

More Winter Park "Alligator Art"

This Florida alligator is decorated with colorful and lush tropical flowers, such as might be seen year- round in our wonderful, warm tropical climate.
This scene is along Park Avenue, which is considered a "posh" shopping, strolling, dining, people-watching street. Parking is free, unlike most other streets in cities, and outdoor cafes abound. Dining on the sidewalk and watching pedestrians and doggies go by is considered a relaxing event.
And yes, dogs are allowed to accompany their owners to the outdoor cafes. In fact, the merchants put out water bowls for the dogs. Winter Park is "dog friendly"....much like Europe.

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Hurray for the Red, white, and Blue......

U.S. Coast Guard Alligator Art entry.......

You might know that the U.S. Coast Guard would proudly display the American flag with their gator entry. Got to say, this is at the top of my list of favorites. I always enjoy seeing the American flag and am proud of what it represents.