Daytona Beach and a drive around ....

Started the day off with a new Florida bug-challenge ....  tiny little bugs, looking like ants, light colored ... everywhere.  Faster than any bug/ant I've ever seen. Of course I sat in the chair before I saw them ...  Later a lady told me they call them "piss ants" here in Florida.  Great. ha.

After the shower, I headed for Ye Ol' Chiropractor.  Between all the driving and the reading, neck adjustments have become a necessity every couple of months.

I had my cruise control set on 75mph on the I-95 and the other cars were passing me like I was sitting still.  I would have loved to join them but I can't afford another Florida speeding ticket.  But the State Trooper parked along the side of the road sure slowed everyone down ... for a minute.  Coming back I saw a terrible accident along that same stretch ...

I drove down to New Smyrna Beach thinking I would stop at the SoNapa Grille for lunch.  Alas, they don't open until 4:30pm, so I took a drive down the beach to the end of the peninsula.  New Smyrna Beach is lovely; a little commercial with the hotels and lots of condo/apartments along the water, but very pretty.

I got another drive across the beautiful Daytona bridge with the mosaics and headed for the pier. I didn't get to the pier the last time I was in Daytona, so wanted to check it out.

I had lunch at Joe's Crab Shack on the end of the pier.  It was a pretty day,but with that cold wind Florida has. I walked down the boardwalk awhile before returning to my car and heading out.

I made a stop at the Casements, but missed the last tour of the day, so I followed a sign that said "scenic drive."  It was a one-way street called Riverside Drive along the water with some really beautiful large, older homes and some very interesting trees shaped by the wind.

One of the reasons I'm staying in Flagler Beach is that I wanted to check out the area, so I drove to the beach and pier here.  The pier was closed, but the beach was nice, as were the people.

And fortunately, no cold wind.

Made a stop at the Flagler Beach Historical Museum - The Flagler Beach Historical Museum touches not only on the history of the beach, the county it resides in and the state of Florida, it also covers history from the Stone Age to the Space Age, when man touched the moon.

I learned that Flagler Beach was originally named Ocean City, but the post office made them change the name because there already too many cities by that name on the East coast.  Mr. Moody, who founded the town, named after his best friend, who didn't even live here.

Unfortunately, a stop at the Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park was not fruitful as it was closed.  I'll have to made another stop later in the week.

Next stop - St. Augustine....

Day trip to St. Petersburg and Tampa

Before I get into my trip to Tampa .... I have to say this is the busiest campground I have ever stayed in .... the coming/going is pretty constant with rigs arriving and leaving and moving from site to site .... wow.

Now, on to Tampa ...

The day started out foggy, so I opted for a later start and went to the post office.  My phone arrived, yeah!  but the new (and hopefully better for my painful feet) shoes I ordered were rejected by the postal employee.  Boy did she have attitude ... she almost went postal on me.  She didn't want my mail addressed to the physical address of the post office, just "General Delivery" and they do not accept mail from competing companies such as UPS.  First time I have had an issue .... get that lady some coffee.  ha.

Unfortunately, because of my late start and the shorter hours, I didn't see as much as I would have liked.

My first stop was the Sunken Gardens.  The Gardens began in 1903, when plumber and avid gardener George Turner Sr. (no relation - ha) purchased the site, including a shallow lake 10 feet (3.0 m) below sea level, which he drained to form his private "sunken" garden. Turner started planting papayas and citrus fruits along with other exotic plants on the rich soil surrounding his home. By the 1920s, Turner had opened a nursery and began selling fruits, vegetables, roses and other plants, and visitors were paying a nickel each to stroll through the gardens. In the fall of 1935, he fenced his garden and started charging an admission fee of 25 cents. The Gardens eventually became widely popular, and from the 1950s through the 1970s were ranked among Florida’s top ten commercial attractions.  They now charge $8.00 for a Senior ticket.

They have yoga a couple times a week in the garden

And then onto the The Sunshine Sky Bridge, a four-lane toll road, that was initially two lanes when it opened in 1987. The road has a scenic view of the area as it is 191 feet in the air and over a beautiful body of water, the Tampa Bay.

Interesting, it is only a toll one way.  There was "police activity" at the top of the bridge when I tried to cross and was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for the ride "up," but it was enjoyable nonetheless.  I realized that since I have been to the Dali Museum (when I was here 10 years ago), that I must have crossed this bridge at that time, but don't remember it .... The Howard Franklin Bridge is a nice drive as well.

I got off the bridge at one of the fishing piers in hope of a good picture.  It cost $4.50 to drive on the pier; the attentant was going to let me take my picture for $3.50, but he wouldn't guarantee a good view so I passed.  As it turned out, there is a beach area on the other side coming back that gave me a fairly decent picture...

I enjoyed a drive on the Causeway in Dunedin today as well, and it is a lovely beach area.  There is a much larger bird population on the East coast beaches than in California, and much less "beach" .... but seeing vehicles parked right on the beach and people strolling, it looked nice.

Here is another stop I made .... Freedom Lake Park is home to the F-16A Fighting Falcon, a fighter jet built in 1974 by the U.S. Air Force.

The Korean War Memorial is also at this park.

I tried to find the Bowling Ball House but the address was in a gated community and I couldn't get it to see if it was still there ...The Bowling Ball House was decorated by an artist couple, who saw a bowling ball decoration in another home's garden. Slowly but surely the entire house has become covered with bowling balls including the mail box and the front yard.

I also tried to visit a memorial dedicated to "The World's Most Unusual Married Couple", Al and Jeanie Tomaini. Al Tomaini stood at 8 feet 4 inches, where as his wife, called "Jeanie the half girl", measured at 2 feet tall 6 inches. The couple moved to the town of Gibsonton after they decided to close down their circus, which Tomaini owned. It is said that the man wore a size 22 shoe.  It was dark by this time, so I don't know if the memorial was removed or I just couldn't see it.  I plan to look again the next time I'm in the area!

I was a little surprised to learn that Plant City, where the annual strawberry festival is held, was not named after the growing variety but after an actual person.  I wanted to learn about him so I drove to the University of Tampa to tour the museum.  My book said they were open until 8pm; alas, I was misinformed.

The Henry Bradley Plant museum houses treasures and historic memorabilia in restored rooms of the Tampa Bay Hotel, built in 1891. Enjoy beautiful rooms, themed exhibits and a trip into a time when staying in a hotel was more than just sleeping at night.

This was as far as I got!

 The University of Tampa is located downtown on the banks of the Hillsborough River on a 69-acre, tree-shaded campus. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Tampa Bay Hotel, a 115-year-old luxury hotel and national landmark, constructed in the Moorish style of architecture, complete with minarets. The former hotel houses the Henry B. Plant Museum, which tells the story of the railroader who turned this part of Florida into a vacation destination for the well-heeled in the 1890s.

My intention for dinner was the Colombian Restaurant, but I was not in the least hungry, sadly -Set in Tampa’s historic Ybor City Latin district, this Spanish and Cuban restaurant opened in 1905, making it one of Florida’s oldest eateries. With more than a dozen dining rooms, including a café and courtyard space, it’s also one of largest. The staff—many of them fourth- and fifth-generation members of the Cuban founder’s family—serves up history along with the delicious Spanish bean soups, paella,

I was sorry to miss that experience.

My stay in Wauchula is coming to an end.  On Sunday I move to Flagler Beach, on the Atlantic coast between St. Augustine and Daytona.  As this may be my future home (ha), I thought I would check out the area.  I'm staying  at Bulow Plantation, so I'm hoping for an interesting experience there.  I'll let you know.

Walt Disney World

I had one more day in the parks left on my pass from last week and today was the last day to use it .... so I made it count.

Some rain was predicted, but never materialized and the day stayed cool.  The only time I needed my rain coat was on Splash Mountain. ha.

Disney World is 70 miles from Wauchula, so I headed out early and arrived about 10am.  I parked at Hollywood Studios because I thought it would be less crowded than the Magic Kingdom.  Fortunately, the parking attendant did not charge me the $20 to park as I had been camping at the park and this was my same pass.  Yeah.

First ride .... Rock "n" Roller Coaster, of course.  I also had a fast pass for the ride, and could ride as a "single" so, although the wait time got up to 2 hours, I was fortunate enough to ride 3 times without an excessive wait.  Yeah 2.

In between the rides I also rode on The Great Movie Ride.  It was enjoyable as it was a "different" tram than the one I had last week, so the "action" was different.  Also, I was in the front seat and saw more than before, so I'm glad I gave it a second chance.

And then onto the Magic Kingdom.  A lot of footwork is involved in walking to the buses and then back to the entrances when changing parks .... and time.

Once in the Magic Kingdom I headed for Big Thunder Mountain, and then Splash Mountain (where I got very wet), the Jungle Cruise (to compare with Disneyland) .... and then got caught by the parade.  I couldn't cross the street into Tomorrowland, so I watched the parade for the first time.  I was actually pretty close to the front.

As for the Jungle Cruise, this one has an "added" section for Cambodia that Disneyland doesn't have (at least the last time I was on it).

Once in Tommowland, it was Space Mountain and Peoplemover.  I think I mentioned before that Disneyland no longer has the Peoplemover ride or the Astro Rockets ....

I'm trying to make 4 parks in 10 hours, so I'm moving ....



Next onto Animal Kingdom to see the Lion King Show and meet up with Mandy's friend, Tandi ...

I arrived at the show at 5pm and they wouldn't let me in ... so I went for a pizza dinner and came back for the 6pm show.  Tandi and her family were in the 5pm show and then they went to dinner, so when I came out I went to find them at the restaurant to say "hi."

The Lion King show was nice.  It was a production with audience participation, singing, dancing, aerobatics ... even a fire-stick juggler and fire eater.  "Human" birds flew through the air and "monkeys" dressed acrobats did a show.

OK, now it is 7:30pm and the parks close at 8pm tonight .... by the time I caught a bus to Epcot for the last ride on Test Track, the park would be closed, so I went back to Hollywood Studios and walked what felt like 2 miles to find my car, and then drove the 70 miles home.

It will be years before I'm back, so it was a good last day.

A couple of facts about WDW that you may find interesting ..... they have a field of 40,000 solar panels, when seen from above is in the shape of Mickey's head ....  and they have the first bus fleet in the US using fuel made from 50% renewable diesel made from non-consumable food waste. Considering the amount of food they prepare in the parks, it is a great way to "recycle."

Tuesday my Jeep is back in the shop for the part they ordered ... so it will be chore day for me.

Wednesday I'm going to check out Tampa!

More in Sarasota

It was a beautiful day here in central Florida, so I taking advantage before the rains come and went for a walk .... in Sarasota.

What can I saw about Sarasota?  Nice town; lots of traffic.

My first stop was the circus! Ca d'Zan was the home of John Ringling and his wife Mable.  On the grounds, which are lovely and you could spend a pleasant day walking and sitting, is the residence, Mable Ringling's Rose Garden (the oldest rose garden in Florida, dating from 1913), the Rubens Galleries, the Wisconsin Railroad Car (named after the home state of the Ringling Bros. circus; it was the luxurious private railroad car used by John and Mable Ringling to travel the country for business and pleasure - puts my modest coach to shame!), the Tibbals Learning Center, and of course, the Circus Museum - with the miniature circus, was fascinating.

The miniature circus took one man 45 years, working at least 20 hours a week, to construct. It is completely accurate and totally to scale.  Alas, no pictures allowed.

Second stop was the Sarasota Jungle Gardens.  This was a pleasant one mile walk with little to see and the cost was much too much.  Here are the Florida birds you could feed ....

And, of course, the ever present ...

Moving on to the South Florida Museum ....

They were feeding the manatees when I was there

Snooty was born at the museum in 1948

I stopped by a used book store that was recommended to me .... but as luck would have it, it was closed for the day due to an event.  It was a good thing .... it saved me from an even bigger storage and weight problem!  I would have to jettison something to make room.

I also found a nice quilt shop.  It's a good thing fabric doesn't cause the same storage and weight challenge as books, but it's getting close.

Last stop was Costco.  The guy behind me in the gas line was driving a Jag .... I guess that's how he paid for it - shopping at Costco.

Rain predicted for tomorrow .... the Orlando area gets much more "weather" than they do in Wauchula, so we'll see ....

Day Trip ... Wauchula to Sarasota

Today was a nice day.

My first stop took me to Lake Placid to see the Murals.  More cities are starting to get into having the murals to draw tourist dollars, but Lake Placid was the first.  I enjoyed my walk around and some of the murals are beautiful.  It is hard to pick just a few to show you ...

This one is called Town of Murals - How it All Began

The Scrub Jay's World

Our Citrus Heritage

Our Citrus Heritage continued

Bassin'

Birding

The Talk of the Town

I stopped at the local Mexican market for some pan to eat while walking around (my breakfast) and amused the locals with my broken Spanish.  I'm definitely out of practice!

They also have artistic trash containers .... here are four .... the picture does not do them justice as to how cute they were.

The Chamber of Commerce gives out bags of Caladiums bulbs from the area .... looking forward to planting mine!

And they have a Clown School ....

Then I drove all the way back to Wauchula to head for Ona and Solomon's Castle.  This was a fun tour and then had lunch at the Boat in the Moat.  Well worth a stop when in the area.  Solomon's Castle was built by the artist and sculptor, Howard Solomon and features beautiful architecture and even prettier art galleries. Enjoy the beautiful, yet bizarre castle filled with Solomon's works and unique, eccentric art....and each piece has a story.  The entire castle and all the art is made from trash!

On to Sarasota and the Mote Marine Aquarium - an aquarium filled with hands-on marine life exhibits and over 100 different species of sea creatures. The Mote Marine Aquarium displays native and exotic marine animals in a fun, educational environment.

 

A couple of cute mailboxes along the road ....

I drove all the way back to the statue on my way home to get this picture!

Alas, things were closed and it was getting dark .... saving more in Sarasota for another day ... or two.

Before turning into my campground I drove over to the Escapees campground (about 2 miles from here).  I was thinking of getting on the waiting list for a lot and wanted to check it out.  It is a very nice park ... paved roads and well-maintained rigs and park units.  The only problem is I don't want to live in this area ... so I'll pass on the wait list for now.

I'm thinking, if/when I decide to reside in Florida full-time, it will probably be in the Jacksonville area (if I like it when I drive through at the end of the month) as they have the best temps and lowest humidity in the state!  ha.  Anyway, hopefully, that's a long way off!

Tomorrow I drive back to Bushnell, my "home."   I'll be getting up about 5am to make the drive ....  as my lab work appointment is at 7:30am.

Wauchula - Peace River

I drove down from Orlando to Wauchula, my home for the next 2 weeks.  This campground does something I've not experienced before .... you pick a campsite that has 30amps and no sewer and then they have a lottery each day as people leave.  When your name is picked you can move to one of the 50amp/sewer sites that was vacated .... I opted to stay where I am and not move.  I have shade and room and I can manage just fine for 2 weeks on 30 amps and no sewer.  If I need my gray water tank emptied, I can arrange for the honey wagon ....

I love this sign at the back of the site I picked ...

I was so tired Sunday when I arrived (all that walking at Disney??), that I took a nap in the afternoon.  Yep, you guessed it .... I was up all night and then I wanted another nap on Monday!

Here I am parked in the site ..

My coach looks long, doesn't it?

Monday I took my Jeep into the local dealer for an oil change and some maintenance issues as my warranty is about to expire.  Can you believe ... 36k in just a year and a half!  Of course, par for the coarse, they "couldn't recreate the error" and therefore couldn't fix the couple of things I wanted done, one of which was my start/stop.  My car has a feature that when I'm sitting at a light or in a fast food line or heavy traffic, the car shuts itself off and then starts again when I give it some gas.  The error message was my door was open, which it was not.  It took the dealership 2 full days to find the problem, and then of course they had to order the part. I should be good to go next week.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get out to see of the area .... and next week make a trip to Tampa and one to Sarasota.  On Thursday I'm heading back to Bushnell for the day - I have some lab work to do, pick up my new glasses, then stop at the DMV for the license plate and lunch with some friends at a seafood restaurant.

I have a VERY good life!

WDW part 2

Had so much fun I didn't have time to write about it!  Great company, good people watching and fun rides.  There was some rain involved, but we didn't melt ...

Here we are at the four parks ...

 Well, I have decided that Rock "n"Roller coaster is my favorite ride.  I can just close my eyes and enjoy the ride... going 60 mph in a super-stretch limo .... a dream come true.  ha.  For speed, Test Track in Epcot is pretty fun too!

Thursday took us to Hollywood and my favorite ride.  The wait was about 2 hours .... not the fun part, but the ride was worth it.

Friday had magic hours in the Magic Kingdom so we got on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride with only a 15 minute wait.  Then we ran to Space Mountain and walked right onto the ride!  Awesome.  On to Big Thunder Mountain and I had the best time ever on that ride .... Philip and Mandy were sitting behind me and Mandy made it really fun.  And then onto Epcot; we spent the day touring the world.  There are some interesting things to see and do and it was fun walking around.  We enjoyed Soarin' around the world and test track and a great dinner in Japan!  They bought me a beautiful sun catcher for my awning and I love it.

On Saturday, after breakfast, Philip and Mandy went back to Magic Kingdom before heading back to Oregon and I went back to Epcot to "see the rest."  It was jam-packed with school kids, divided into groups, discussing politics and religion from what I overheard.  The Test Tract ride was a 40 minute wait when I arrived and I should have done it at that time .... they stopped it when it started raining and then they had technical difficulties and shut it down for the rest of the day, so I didn't get to ride it before I left.

I headed over to Disney Springs to relax and watch a movie.  It must not be a popular destination during the day, because they did not have bus service until 4:30pm ... so I took a couple other buses and had to wait almost an hour to get there.  The theater was a "diner and movie" .... you selected your seat, bought your ticket and after you sat down a "waiter" took your dinner order.  If you needed anything during the movie, you pressed your button and he came.  Too bad they couldn't stop the movie for a restroom break!  ha.

If you are doing a comparison .... Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean are better in California.  However, the lines are better in Florida; they provide something interesting to do while you wait - a game or something to read - and the lines are in doors, not out in the sun.  They also have some different things in Florida, like more Ariel/Under the Sea and Belle/Beast and this Circus ...

They do not have Toon Town at Walt Disney World nor Downtown Disney (although I was told they did at one time).  They have Disney Springs for shops and restaurants.

I would have to say, although I am loyal to Disneyland, for the most part Disney has learned from their "mistakes" and Florida is a better park.

I have one more day on my pass and I'm hoping to enjoy it before I leave.  The next time I come back I can get the Florida residence discount!

The sheriff came out today to verify the VIN and registration on my coach.  I'm going to the DMV on Thursday to pick up my new plate.  Since my Jeep was "gone" (in the shop), I was asked if the sheriff was here because it was stolen!  According to the office, I was the talk of the park.

I'm still battling the bugs and humidity, and I miss the action in Quartzsite going on now, but I have enjoyed my month in Florida and especially spending time with Philip and Mandy and their friends and family.

Walt Disney World

It's a happy place ....

Spending my week here at the parks in Florida ... and it's been a great week so far!

Sunday I drove the 60 miles down from Bushnell to Fort Wilderness Campground here on the Disney properties.  It is a very nice campground ... there is a beach, swimming pool, nightly campfire and movies .... and tons of activities without even going to any of the Disney parks.  You can rent horses, bikes, golf carts, boats .... go on a hay ride .... anything your heart desires.  There are a couple of restaurants here at the campground as well.

After I got parked and hooked up, Philip, Mandy and Tandi, a long-time friend of Mandy's, came to collect me for dinner.  We took a bus ride to Disney Springs, walked around, and then ate our fill at one of the restaurants.

Monday morning found us eating breakfast, along with Mandy's family, at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Village Resort, making a group of 7 heading to the Magic Kingdom for the day.

Included in our day was It's a Small World, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (I haven't gotten to ride this new ride YET, but looking forward to it), Mickey's PhilharMagic ... and then it was time to eat again.  We headed for the Beach Club resort to sit in the sun and visit before having dinner at the Cape May Cafe with additional family members.  Cape May Cafe is a seafood buffet ..... and the crab legs were definitely disappearing!  We all ate too much and complained all the way home.  ha.

The three of us starting out our day in the Animal Kingdom

On the agenda for Tuesday was the Animal Kingdom.  I may have walked through this park when I was here 10 years ago for Philip's and Mandy's wedding, but I didn't remember it.  We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari .... which was awesome .... and the Expedition Everest ride .... which was a blast.

Some of the animals we saw ....

The bird show, Flights of Wonder, is great!  The Finding Nemo show is fun .... as is A Bug's Life.

There was "dancing in the streets," and lots of fun things to do and see .... and more to eat.

My new toad .....

The Tree of Life

Dinner was at Portabello's .... an Italian restaurant at Disney Springs, followed by Ghirardelli's for hot fudge and ice cream ....

Today, Wednesday, I was on my own.  I headed back to Magic Kingdom ... this time by boat.  There is a boat that goes from the campground to the Magic Kingdom, so it is really handy.  I ended up spending 5 hours before heading back to my home.




For those who know me ..... I don't have to tell you the first ride I headed for when I got to the Magic Kingdom was Space Mountain .... my absolute favorite ride.  The one here is much rougher than the ride at "my" Disney, but good just the same.

It was interesting to see that they have some of the "old" Disney rides that I remember from years ago, like the People Mover and Carousel of Progress.  Remember those?

And then onto Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  I ended with dinner at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn - fajita platter. It was surprising good and there was enough to bring home half for another meal.

The fireworks are going off right now .... just like "home."

Tomorrow is Epcot (and more eating!), so I'll keep you posted.