Glen Oak Park Pergola

Some of the Flickr group members got together to check out the gazebo at Glen Oak Park this past weekend. First of all, I had no idea there was more than one entrance to that place. Second, I thought all there was to see was the zoo and Luthy Botanical gardens. I now stand corrected:

I know I've seen this pergola in other photographer's photo streams but I never knew where it was. It's a gorgeous place to check out, photographically speaking, if you haven't been there already. The dusting of snow on the ground really made it stand out the day we were there.

More pics to come later this week.

Footsteps in the Snow

A little bit of Peoria coming to you from the East Peoria side:

Those two identical buildings on the right hand side are called the Twin Towers. They house a few businesses on the ground floor and condos.

Had a dream the other night that Spring was in full swing and all these wonderful plants were coming up in my yard...then I woke up to hear the weather lady say the low for the night was going to be 3 degrees. In that state between being fully awake but not quite asleep and still feeling the warmth of the sun from my dream, I got ticked off. Can you blame me? ;)

Anyhow, this is what the outside looks like right now. The snow was ankle deep in some places. Although it's a beautiful thing to photograph, I can't wait for it to be gone.

Mono Monday

This is a shot of the inside of the hallway that leads into the Peoria Civic Center:

I do love all those lines!

Through the Windows

Another place I really enjoy visiting for photographic purposes is the Peoria Civic Center. It's another one of those places where the 'mood of the view' changes from season to season. I loved walking into the building through the glass hallways this past Fall. Now the scenery has changed once again:

Swirly Whirly

Not sure I captured this quite the way I wanted but thought I'd post anyhow.  This is the view from the parking garage across the street from the Peoria Civic Center:

Wouldn't it be cool to skateboard all the way down?

Peoria Docks

One of the areas I find very beautiful in this town are the docks down by the river, believe it or not. I never get tired of going down there to photograph them. They look different from season to season and I especially like them in the winter:

Just to orientate you (especially if you're not from around here), that bridge you see in the background is the Murray Baker. It carries I-74 over the Illinois River and into Peoria. To my left is the Peoria downtown area and to my right, across the river, is East Peoria--a completely separate, much smaller city.

Last One

of the Peoria pics:

I really should make more of an effort to get up this early to take pics but I'm just not a morning person.

Apple of my Eye

Someone just left this apple sitting on the ledge exactly like I found it:

Alcove Secrets

The alcove in the Sacred Heart Church across the street from the Peoria Civic Center is perhaps one of my favorite places to visit.

Yellow

Yellow is one of my all time favorite colors. Found this one in front of the Civic Center windows:


That's the Sacred Heart Church and a little bit of downtown Peoria reflected in the window.

Yellow

This was taken from the top of the parking deck across the street from the Civic Center:


For my out-of-state friends: the two tall buildings here are known as the Twin Towers. They house condos and office space. One of these days I'm going to go explore those a bit more. I imagine the view from the top is spectacular.

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted...

Oops! Didn't mean to post and run there but an opportunity to leave the area came up so we took it. Went to visit family in Michigan and halfway there I realized I had forgotten to post another pic here. So, to continue the photos from the Scott Kelby Photo Walk 2009, here goes:

This is one of my favorite angles for this big boat:


I call this one "I'm Not the Crew:"


As usual, click 'em to big 'em.

Flooded Peoria

This was the view from a staircase Tim and I found near Water Street but directly in front of the Spirit of Peoria:

And this was the view from the dock:

Sunrise

One more of the sun coming up then I'll move on to other parts of the flooded area:


This little park is on the west side of the building where Old Chicago and Joe's Crab Shack reside. The area from the front to where you see the rail (again) is normally all sidewalk.