I leave to the airport soon. I enjoyed my vacation in Florida! Thanks for reading.
Blog
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Treasure Island, Florida: Day 7
Today was our last day on the beach. My mom and I fly back to Minnesota tomorrow.
This morning, I got a group photo of all of us on Sunset Beach in the approximate location where we set up our cabana during our time on the beach. Unfortunately, Lilly wasn’t feeling well again, so I only had about 30 seconds to take photos with my tripod and wireless remote, and wasn’t able to fix the composition or make sure my hand wasn’t pointing with the remote at the camera. With these minor issues aside, I am quite pleased with the group photo—especially given the circumstances!
Uncle Jamie, Grandma Donna, Loren, Lilly, Marc, Grandma Nita, and Uncle Nicholas -
Treasure Island, Florida: Day 6
I got some good photos today! More specifically, I would say I got the best macro flower photos I have ever taken! I got some really good ones of Lilly, too, though. The weather conditions early this morning were perfect for macro flower photography: recent rain, calm wind, and partial overcast.
We went out for breakfast for the first time today. We went to Seahorse Restaurant in the Pass-a-Grille Beach neighborhood of St. Pete Beach, Florida.
We had tortilla chips with dip at my condo in the early evening, and just my mom and I had Mexican food for dinner in our condo, courtesy of DoorDash again.
In the evening, I got another photo of the sunset on Sunset Beach, taken from the balcony of our condo.
Pink flowers (forgive my laziness for the horrible taxonomy in this post) 
Palm plant (like a bush, not a tree) 
Another view of the palm plant 
Purple flowers 
Orange flowers 
Red flowers 
Another plant with purple flowers 
Center crop of one of the small, brown lizards I mentioned earlier that I wanted to photograph. They hang out by the pool in the morning. 
Another small, brown lizard (look in the lower-left of the photo) on what I’m guessing is aloe vera 
Palm tree trunk 
Fisherman on Sunset Beach 
Pool for Land’s End right after opening 
AcuRite wall clock with hygrometer and thermometer on a wall by the pool. I love this brand and own some of their products myself. 
Grandma Nita in a roofed walkway before entering Seahorse Restaurant 
Lilly at Seahorse Restaurant 
Profile of Lilly at Seahorse Restaurant 
Loren at Seahorse Restaurant 
Marc at Seahorse Restaurant 
Marc with Lilly by Pass-a-Grille Channel 
Close-up of Lilly by Pass-a-Grille Channel 
Seabird by Pass-a-Grille Channel 
Sunset on Sunset Beach taken from the balcony of my condo -
Treasure Island, Florida: Day 5
We spent another day on the beach. The heat index was 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which seems normal for Florida this time of year. The ever-present breeze helps counteract the heat.
We had a reservation for the Salt Rock Grill in the early evening—which is the nicest restaurant we were planning on visiting—but unfortunately Lilly wasn’t feeling well. We spent about 15 minutes at the restaurant, but decided to leave before the waiter took our orders because we wouldn’t have enjoyed the meal and wanted Lilly back at the condo to recuperate.
After tonight, we have two more nights in Florida. Lilly is doing better now. Though the dinner tonight was a minor setback (in retrospect, it wasn’t a big deal at all), I have had a wonderful time so far!
Some of us were planning on getting steak cooked on a 1,200-degree grill at the Salt Rock Grill 
Grandma Donna hands Lilly a glass of water with a lid, Lilly plays with her straw, and Uncle Jamie’s hand is closest to the camera in the foreground at the Salt Rock Grill 
Back at our condo, my mom and I ordered Italian food from CD Roma Restaurant via DoorDash. Pictured is my entree, Spaghetti with meatballs. 
My mom’s entree, Sausage & Peppers -
Treasure Island, Florida: Day 4
We spent most of the day at the beach again. These photos are all from the restaurant we went to in the early evening, the Friendly Fisherman.
Our table at the Friendly Fisherman 
Shrimp Boat, my entree at the Friendly Fisherman 
Lilly on the boardwalk outside the Friendly Fisherman 
Grandma Donna, Lilly, and Grandma Nita 
Bascule bridge that we took to get to the Friendly Fisherman. A boat makes its way through the bridge and all traffic on the bridge stops. -
Treasure Island, Florida: Day 3
Today is Memorial Day and was like yesterday—we spent most of our day at the beach and went out to dinner early in the evening. I think most of our days will be like this.
In the morning, I noticed small, brown lizards near the pool. Maybe I’ll be able to photograph one, but they move pretty fast.
Some of us walked along the beach to Caddy’s for lunch. Members of the honor guard from the local American Legion post held a ceremony with a 21-gun salute (we left before they fired the shots).
In the evening, we drove 30 minutes along the shore to Guppy’s on the Beach for dinner.
The pool at Land’s End 
The dunes by Land’s End were damaged by a hurricane recently (probably Hurricane Milton in October 2024). They’re growing new plants, which provide strength in the dunes, and there are these signs instructing beachgoers to stay off of them. 
Loren at Guppy’s -
Treasure Island, Florida: Day 2
Today, we spent our first day sunbathing on Sunset Beach. I walked one mile along the beach to Caddy’s, a waterfront restaurant, and collected seashells on the way there and back. I also checked out the pool, which had the uncanny quality of blocking out the wind that made the beach tolerable in the hot and humid weather. We ended our day at Buoy’s, a restaurant across a narrow band of water from our condos called Blind Pass. You’d think getting there would be easy, but it actually takes nine minutes by car because one has to cross a bridge that is located over a mile away on Treasure Island, thereby driving in an elongated “U.” All the photos from today were taken at Buoy’s.
Taken from our table at Buoy’s, here is Land’s End at Sunset Beach, the gated community where our condos are located. A boat and jet ski cruise by in Blind Pass, which separates Land’s End from Buoy’s. 
We ordered a bunch of appetizers—mostly seafood. I’m not a big seafood person (incidentally, neither was our waiter), so I just ate a couple of french fries and some tortilla chips. 
My entree, the “local catch” (or “catch of the day”): mutton snapper with mashed potatoes and bok choy. Five of us got this entree, and despite not being a big seafood person—mostly due to circumstances rather than choice—it was a very delicious, albeit small-portioned, meal. 
Fish swim in Blind Pass outside Buoy’s -
Treasure Island, Florida: Day 1
My mom and I took a flight from the Twin Cities to Tampa today to celebrate the first birthday of my niece, Lilly. (My dad decided to stay at home.) Every night I’m here, I will post a recap of the day with photos. Without further ado, here are photos from day 1.
Taken shortly before our flight took off in the Twin Cities, the in-flight entertainment shows that the distance from MSP to TPA is 2,102 km or 1,306 mi 
Downtown Tampa from the airplane, shortly before landing 
Lilly took an interest in my camera after eating pizza 
Lilly holding onto a chair 
Lilly and Grandma Donna 
Grandma Nita on Sunset Beach 
Marc on Sunset Beach 
Uncle Jamie (Loren’s brother) on Sunset Beach 
Marc with Jamie on Sunset Beach 
Sunset on Sunset Beach, as taken from the balcony of our condo. This photo shows a wider view of the Gulf of Mexico. -
Photographing Tulips at the Arboretum
I am starting to change my opinion on A.I. When I wrote my post “I Don’t Need A.I.” in July of 2025, I had never used A.I. I thought using A.I. was cheating, and I wanted to go as long as possible before ever using it.
Over the last few months, however, I’ve begun using it, as some questions seem almost impossible to answer without A.I. Therefore, I am shifting my stance on A.I. My post was mostly about not wanting to use A.I. to enhance my writing, and I still agree with that sentiment. But there are many questions and projects that are much easier to undertake with the assistance of A.I.
Take, for example, photographing tulips. I went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum near my hometown this morning to photograph their thousands of tulips on display, and I wanted more successful photos, so I turned to Google Gemini. The chatbot provided the detailed, succinct advice I’ve come to expect from it over the past few months. I will continue to turn to Gemini for photography advice, in addition to the myriad questions I ask it on an almost daily basis now.
Next year, I will make sure to visit the Arboretum earlier in the spring to get photos of the tulips when they’re at their peak. I had been waiting for certain weather conditions (mild overcast and light wind) and just never found the ideal conditions. By the time I finally visited the Arboretum today, the tulips were past their peak, and there were about a dozen workers removing the unappealing ones. Last year, I never even made it to the Arboretum to photograph the tulips, despite having just bought a macro lens for that purpose, because I didn’t find the weather conditions perfect. I’m learning photography is less about finding perfect weather conditions and more about capturing the moment whenever it arises, regardless of the weather conditions.
When I photographed the tulips this morning, the sky cover was at 2 percent and the wind speed was at 8 mph. The wind was less of a detriment to the photos than the bright sun. I think the photos still turned out OK—they are the best tulip photos I’ve ever taken—but I’m not about to get them printed and framed.
I took these four photos from 9:32 to 9:52 a.m. in Chaska, Minnesota.
Tulipa, ‘Yosemite,’ Single Late Tulip 
Tulipa, ‘Graceland,’ Triumph Tulip 
Tulipa, ‘Antionette,’ Single Late Tulip 
Tulipa, ‘Memphis,’ Triumph Tulip -
My Puggles at Bryant Lake Dog Park
I brought my two puggles, Missy and Fannie, to Bryant Lake Dog Park in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, this evening. I took these four photos from 5:48 to 6:20 p.m.
Missy 
Missy and Fannie 
Missy 
Fannie
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