iPhone 11 Pro Max – Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography

2025 Thursday Doors: 29 May — Antique Car +

NC Transportation Museum

This week it has been raining all week, so time for Throwback Thursday Doors. A trip back in time to 2021 and a visit with Coleman to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina.

On Wednesday, August 25, 2021 Coleman and I took a drive to visit the North Carolina Transportation Museum. His mom was out of town and we were on our own. All Coleman knew was that we were going for a long drive. He always likes for me to take him places. He doesn’t like to stay home if he doesn’t have to do so. He loves adventures and seeing new places and things.

For this adventure I prepaid for our tickets online. He was able to freely wander about both outside and inside the Museum. He roamed in and out of the many, many antique vehicles, even climbing on a few of them. The NC Transportation Museum houses antique vehicles from various time periods. The antique vehicles are not just cars, but airplanes, trains, wagons & carriages once pulled by horses and also a few motorcycles.

Here Coleman is checking out the black 1958 Studebaker on display. I’m sure if he could have opened the door he would have climbed right on in and tasted it out. Glad he was fine without attempting it. We walked up and down the aisles, not wanting to miss a thing. He was fascinated seeing all the antique vehicles in the Museum.

As we walked through one of the other aisles Coleman was able to get a closer view of the airplane, a Douglas C-53-DO. The aircraft was once apart of Piedmont Airlines fleet. This airplane is also from the 1958 era.

*Coleman checking out a*
1958 Studebaker Car
& Douglas C-53-DO (in background)

If you ever have the opportunity I would recommend a visit to the North Carolina Transportation Museum. For information regarding current events and tickets to the NC Transportation Museum click here.

Dan’s Thursday Doors

Throwback Thursday

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Ultra Wide Camera

Location: North Carolina Transportation Museum; Spencer, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a fantastic weekend. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much

2025 Flower of the Day: 26 April

Coreopsis lanceolata

Aka Lanceleaf Tickseed, Sand Coreopsis

Cee’s FOTD

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Telephoto Camera

Location: Andrew Jackson State Park; Lancaster, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 OWS: Metalwork

Metal Artwork

in Abilene

Janet from This, that and the other thing is this week’s host for One Word Sunday with a theme of Metalwork. My take on Metalwork is displaying Metal Artwork.

I’ve chosen to post photos of Metal Artwork I captured when visiting my Aunt in Abilene, Texas in 2020. The following are my entries for this week’s One Word Sunday challenge.

Janet’s One Word Sunday – Metalwork

Throwback Thursday

Natalie’s Public Art Challenge

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: S. First Street & S. Treadaway Boulevard; Abilene, Texas, USA

God Bless. Take Care. Prayers for Chris. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Cee’s Flower of the Day: 24 March

Cercis canadensis v. texensis

Cee’s FOTD

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: S. 7th St.; Abilene, Texas, USA

God Bless. Take Care. Thinking & Praying for Cee. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.

Monochrome Madness #29 – Chair or Chairs

Chairs are Everywhere

The host this week for Monochrome Madness is Brian from bushboy.blog. Brian has chosen a theme of Chair or Chairs for this week’s challenge. Let’s play along and discover what Chairs we can find.

Everywhere Coleman and I go there’s always someplace Coleman can find to Pull Up a Seat …

We might find a Chair to Pull Up a Seat at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden …

Or we might find a Chair to relax in The Center …

We could locate a table and Chairs to Pull Up a Seat and enjoy a refreshing drink and snack before continuing on a hike …

*Lake Haigler Entrance*
*Anne Springs Close Greenway*
*Fort Mill, South Carolina*

Then there’s a chance we could spot a couple of Chairs on display in an office setting at a museum …

*The Schiele Museum of Natural History*
*Gastonia, North Carolina*

Coleman and I enjoy Pulling Up a Seat in a camping Chair at a State Park after a long hike around the lake …

*Andrew Jackson State Park*
*Lancaster, South Carolina*

But a fond memory of a place of comfort was the opportunity to Pull Up a Seat on my paternal grandparents front porch.

*My dad and Paternal Grandfather*
*Great Falls, South Carolina*

Now over to y’all to show us some Chairs by clicking here.

Brian’s Monochrome Madness #29-Chair/Chairs

Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

XingfuMama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge 2025-Week 9

Throwback Thursday

Photo Credit: 1-5)©️2020-2025 Deb L. Waters … 6) ©️1978 From my Dad’s Slides

Cameras: 1-4) Canon EOS Rebel T3i; 5) Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max; 6) Minolta XG-7 35mm (my dad’s).

God Bless. Pull Up a Seat for a spell. Enjoy the peace and comfort of a day’s journeys ending. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 RDP: Thursday —Chopper

In the Air Force

… On the Ground

*Helicopter Flying over*
*Gastonia, North Carolina*

*Harley-Davidson “Chopper” Motorcycle*
*North Carolina Transportation Museum*
*Spencer, North Carolina*

Ragtag Daily Prompt Thursday-Chopper

Cameras: 1) Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max; 2) Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: 1) Gastonia, North Carolina; 2) NC Transportation Museum; Spencer, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Catfish Corner — Walk through the (Thursday) Door

… Enjoy some

Delicious Catfish

While visiting my Aunt in Texas in 2020 I would take a walk around her neighbourhood several times a week. Mostly I would walk for the exercise, but also investigating the area around where she lived just to see what I could see. I would try to average around 10,000 steps each time I ventured out for one of my walkabouts.

On this particular walkabout, I had across seem interesting places with signage drawing my attention. This remarkable place, Catfish Corner, is a restaurant which unquestionably serves Catfish. However, they have a wide variety of other entrees to please any sophisticated palate. I believe regardless of what your preference is for food consumption, you’ll enjoy whatever you choose to order at the Catfish Corner.

*780 S. Treadaway Blvd.*
*Abilene, Texas*

Brighten the doorstep, all are welcome within …

… Bring your friends along, y’all enjoy the food and fellowship together.

Dan’s Thursday Doors

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: Catfish Corner; 780 S. Treadaway Blvd.; Abilene, Texas, USA

God Bless. Take a Walk. Enjoy the Outdoors. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Cee’s FOTD: February 18

Cercis canadensis v. texensis

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Telelphoto Camera

Location: S. Seventh Street; Abilene, Texas, USA

God Bless. Take Care. Have a wonderful week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Ultimate Finale of GeometricJanuary Squares

Geometric Shapes

and Patterns at

Andrew Jackson State Park

This being the 31st of January and the last day of the month for Becky’s GeometricJanuary Squares Challenge for 2025, I decided to give you my ultimate finale of Geometric Squares all from Andrew Jackson State Park.

Regardless of where you spend your time at Andrew Jackson State Park you are bound to see a vast selection of geometric shapes and patterns. They could be lines, circles, rectangles, triangles, or columns.

You may see them near the parking lot, at the Meeting House, in the Museum in the building with the office, in and around the school house or within the playground or by the lake. Geometric designs are all over the Park, just be observant and you’ll notice the wide array of different types of geometrics.

For more information about Andrew Jackson State Park and the events and activities it has to offer click here.

Becky’s GeometricJanuary #31

Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens; Apple iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Location: Andrew Jackson State Park; Lancaster, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have fun. Get Outdoors. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Wordless Wednesday: January 29

View from a Greyhound

*Referred to as the*
*I-10 bridge*
*or the*
*Calcasieu River Bridge*

Shot this scene from a Greyhound bus traveling westbound almost parallel to the I-10 in Westlake, Louisiana on the way to San Antonio, Texas in 2020.

Hugh’s Wordless Wednesday

Throwback Thursday

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: I-10 bridge (the Calcasieu River Bridge); Westlake, Louisiana, USA

God Bless. Have a wonderful rest of your week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Geometrics at a Railroad Museum

Geometric Shapes

at New Braunfels

Railroad Museum

Becky’s GeometricJanuary #23

Throwback Thursday

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Telephoto lens

Location: New Braunfels Railroad Museum; New Braunfels, Texas, USA

God Bless. Take Care. Stay Warm. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2025 Thursday Doors: January 2

GeometricJanuary

NC Transportation Museum

*The Back Shop*
*North Carolina Transportation Museum*

The Back Shop is the largest building on the grounds of the North Carolina Transportation Museum. When it was constructed in 1905 for Spencer Shops, it was the largest industrial building in the state. It was used for the complete overhaul of steam locomotives. The North Carolina Transportation Museum is located in Spencer, North Carolina. It is a great place to visit for “Kids” of all ages. Coleman enjoyed it when he was only two.

Dan’s Thursday Doors

Becky’s GeometricJanuary

Throwback Thursday

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: The Back Shop; North Carolina Transportation Museum; Spencer, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. I’m Grateful for the friendships I’ve made through the various blogging challenges on WordPress. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

CFFC: The Tall and the short of It

First off, let’s take a look at a TALL building in Abilene, Texas. I visited my Aunt (my mom’s sister) in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since our plans of visiting other relatives didn’t pan out due to social distancing mandates, I took many long walks around my Aunt’s neighborhood. I was not just out for the exercise, but also to explore the area. I came across this Tall Building on one of my walkabouts.

The Enterprise Tower was originally known as the First State Bank Tower and then Bank of America Building. It was constructed in the early 80’s and completed in 1984. This is the tallest building in Abilene with its twenty (20) stories at Two Hundred Eighty-Five (285) feet (87 meters). It ranks as the 6th tallest building in West Texas.

And now we’ll take a look see at a building on the shorter side of things located at The Schiele Museum of Natural History’s Catawba Indian Village in Gastonia, North Carolina. The Schiele Museum is a favourite place Coleman enjoys visiting. [The museum also has Dinosaurs 🦖 🦕 on display.]

Information listed on the sign in front of the Early Log Cabin …

This log house reflects the rapid change that the Catawba lifestyle was undergoing throughout Scots-Irish and German settlements of this region in the 18th century. This home is a native adaptation of the log cabins being built by these settiers. The first Catawba cabins were built of unhewn logs with shingle roofs and a central smoke hole. These smoke holes began being replaced with chimneys of stone and logs, as seen here, in the mid-1700s.

This Early Log Cabin is one of several different types of homes in the Catawba Indian Village that were once used by the native Catawba Indians in our area.

Dan’s CFFC

Cameras: 1) Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max; 2) Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

God Bless. May your blessings be long upon the Earth and be you experience tons of joy, peace, love, and happiness throughout the rest of 2024 and all throughout 2025. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2024 Monday Window: 12.30

North Carolina

Transportation Museum

Railroad Car

Railway Cars located at The North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina. The Museum has several Trains, Train Engines, Airplanes, Antique Cars and other transportation vehicles on display for visitors to see for a minimal cost.

I took Coleman to the North Carolina Transportation Museum back in 2021 just after he turned 2. He loved seeing the variety of transportation vehicles on display.

Monday Window

Ludwig’s Monday Window

Throwback Thursday

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Telephoto Camera

Location: North Carolina Transportation Museum; Spencer, North Carolina, USA

2024 CFFC: All about buildings: Colorful buildings

For the second week of Dan hosting CFFC he has chosen a theme of All about buildings: Colorful buildings.

Here are my entries for Dan’s CFFC:

Dan’s CFFC-Colorful Buildings

Throwback Thursday

God Bless. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2024 Thursday Trios: 12.05

3 Trail Signs, 3 Trails, 3 Hikers

When hiking at Anne Springs Close Greenway there are occasions when you come to an intersection of sorts where more than two trails cross paths. Here Paradise Loop, Tunnel Trail, and Blue Star Trails connect. If you are Red not familiar with the trails, you might want to pick up a trail map at the entrance to the Greenway to help guide you along the trails as you hike. At this three-way crossing, you may continue on the trail (such as Paradise Trail) you are already hiking on or, if desired, you may switch to one of the other trails for further exploration and hiking.

Adventure Road Entrance
Paradise Loop, Tunnel Trail, Blue Star Trail
Anne Springs Close Greenway
Fort Mill, South Carolina

Looking at the photo you may wonder where the third hiker is located. It is simple really, behind the camera of course.

Carol’s Thursday Trios

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Ultra Wide Camera

Location: Adventure Road Entrance; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2024 Wordless Wednesday: 10.16 — Almost

A Place of Quiet Reflection

“Art is not a reflection of reality, it is the reality of a reflection.”
~ Jean-Luc Godard

“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly.”
~ Claude Monet

Wordless Wednesday

Hugh’s Wordless Wednesday

Throwback Thursday

Jez’s Water Water Everywhere #241

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: Lake at Garden of the Waxhaws Trail; Andrew Jackson State Park; Lancaster, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very, very much.

2024 Silent Cell Pic Sunday: 10.13 —

In The Beginning God …

*Discovery Center Creation Museum*
*Science • History • The Arts*

Silent Sunday

John’s Cell Pic Sunday

Throwback Thursday

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: Discovery Center Creation Museum; Abilene, Texas, USA

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.

2024 Weekend FOTD: 10.12/.13

Perennial Garden

Andrew Jackson State Park

Cee’s Weekend FOTD

God Bless. Enjoy Nature. Smell the Flowers. See the Beauty in Simplicity. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.

2024 FOTD: 10.09 — Helianthus agrestis

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Camera: iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: Lake Haigler Entrance; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Take time to smell the flowers and enjoy nature. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.

Birds of the Carolinas #8

Great Cormorant

The Great Cormorant are most likely to nest in colonies near wetlands, rivers, and sheltered inshore waters. It builds its nest, which is made from sticks, in trees, on the ledges of cliffs, and on the ground on rocky islands that are free of predators.

The Great Cormorant feeds on fish it dives to capture. It primarily feeds on are wrasses, but will also feast on sand smelt, flathead and common soles. Cormorants consume all fish of appropriate size that they are able to catch in summer and noticeably select for larger, mostly torpedo-shaped fish in winter.

Great Cormorant
Lake Haigler
Anne Springs Close Greenway
Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA

The Great Cormorants were once near extinction due to fishermen hunting them. The fishermen saw them as competition. With terrific conservation efforts, their numbers increased once again.

Even though it is still illegal, in many areas, to kill a bird within a license some are in danger anyway. Fisheries claim that the Cormorants are eating the fish they have in their fish farms. Some licenses are used to reduce and/or control the cormorant population for the purpose of reducing its predation. Cormorant fishing is practiced in China, Japan, and in other areas around the globe. In Norway, the Cormorant is cones traditional game bird. However, in Northern Norway Cormorants are seen as semi-sacred. They are often regarded as good luck for them to gather around or near a village or settlement.

The Great Cormorants are spotted periodically at Lake Haigler in the Greenway. They are amazing to watch and sometimes you can see them diving for their feed. Other times you see them perched on a log or branch in the water or flying off around the lake.

Birds of the Carolinas

Bird of the Week: LXVI

Camera: iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: Lake Haigler; Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. May all your hopes, dreams, and prayers be fulfilled. Take care of yourselves and have a fantastic rest of your week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.