Walk With Me

The last few weeks have been almost nonstop filming with a few days of rejuvenation in between. I’m writing this post from the Hampton Inn in breezy Destin, Florida. The weather outside right now is exactly the way I like it. Right outside my hotel room it is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, clear, the wind is blowing west at about four miles an hour, and the humidity is at around 66% according to a very good friend of mine…Google. Let’s move on from the meteorologist bit to an update of the activities over the last few weeks. Walk With Me.

The Showcase of Citrus

This was my very first time in an actual orange grove. We drive by them all the time but walking through one is a very cool experience. At the Showcase of Citrus in Clermont, Florida, you can hand-pick a variety of oranges. I even got the chance to try a kumquat. A kumquat is pretty much a little baby orange and you can eat it like grape, skin and everything!

Another part of the Showcase of Citrus tour is a ride in this monster truck. Here you will learn about the groves themselves and hand-pick fruit right from the truck.

Hot Air Ballon

What you are looking at here is the Skipper and I (plus a little bit of Paco’s shirt) at a little after 5 a.m. We are watching the sunrise while the hot air balloon is being set up.

I opted to hop in to the cherry picker for an aerial shot of the balloon’s inflation.

Another shout-out to Em for this fine example of good photography.

This was shot by the Skipper and it pretty much gave me an idea of how high I was. The scariest part about being that high up was coming back down. I almost lost it when I felt the vehicle’s hydraulics kick forward and shake the basket rapidly before the descent. Everyone down below got a kick out of it but I wasn’t smiling until my feet were back on the ground. It wasn’t funny then, but it’s a little funny now.

Here is a quick shot of the balloon I was filming while it was being inflated.

After we got all the necessary shots, they told us to hop in for a ride. Riding in a hot air balloon is big fun but watch out for the fire because it can get rather hot.

Fantasy of Flight

After we finished filming the hot air balloon, we began the Fantasy of Flight assignment. Since the hot air balloon assignment was filmed on one of the runways of Fantasy of Flight, we only had to walk a few yards to the next location.

I’m here with the owner of Fantasy of Flight Kermit Weeks. A true visionary. If you aren’t inspired after speaking to this man, then you weren’t listening close enough.

Richard Petty Driving Experience

Emilie and I went on assignment a couple of weeks ago to film the Richard Petty experience in Orlando. After we got all the footage and interviews we needed they offered us a ride around. I was all about it.

In my old neighborhood, standing in front of a car that doesn’t belong to you is commonly known as frontin’ and that’s exactly what I’m doing here.

Pier 60

I met the real Captain Jack @ Pier 60 Park on Clearwater Beach, Florida, and he was a trip. Captain Jack is a very pleasant guy who was super cool about taking pictures. So much so that he often reminded visitors to bring their cameras next time they visit for free pictures with him, you know, The Real Captain Jack.

Believe it or not, this pose was the real Captain Jack’s idea. He said “Here take my weapon and pretend to be a rival pirate!” This was my impression.

Earlier that day, I shot Captain Memo’s Original Clearwater Beach Pirate Ship Cruise, which was a lot of fun. It was two hours of dancing, singing, stories, treasure hunting and face painting fun for the whole family. I didn’t take any pictures but I did shoot a lot of footage. Look for that video on VISITFLORIDA.com soon.

Gelateria Del Duomo

On one of these days, we filmed International Plaza out in Tampa. My favorite place there is Gelateria Del Duomo because of their fantastic gelato.

First they gave me a little spoon sample their strawberry chocolate gelato. When I expressed how good it was, they gave me a cup! I was taken away for like 15 minutes just lost in the flavor in the little cup. I spoke to one of the owners and he said surprisingly the strawberry chocolate flavor isn’t that big in his store in Italy. Go figure. I’ll be back for another soon enough.

Blackwater River State Park

Yesterday, the Skipper, Missy and I were at Blackwater River State Park, which is way up in northwest Florida—Milton, to be exact. Let me start by saying that this was probably my first state park shoot where I did not get bitten by a mosquito! That may not mean much to you but for me that is a holiday.

I’m here with park ranger Marshall Shaw who was quite informative to about the park. I learned why the river has its beautiful tea color as well as why the river is considered one of the purest sand bottom rivers in the world. I could tell you why but I think you should visit the park and find out for yourself. It is an interesting story.

Ranger Marshall navigated our canoe down the river and he’s got skill too. We didn’t hit any trees or anything like my previous experiences. I can’t tell how much I appreciate not hitting bushes and shaking eight-legged castaways into the boat for once. We parked the canoe on three or four banks down the river and I never got wet. He even taught me the best way to sit on the canoe to prevent it from rolling over for future trips. Thanks, Marshall!

Thank you for taking a moment out of your day to catch up with me.

Till Next Time,

Amon Focus