Enjoying Disney Free--Well Almost

December 21, 2009

Lynne and John are friends that enjoy doing the same things that we do. All four of us enjoy going to Disney. Many of my other friends and family…not so much. Florida residents have a really good deal on Season’s tickets. Granted, we do have some “black out” times. December 19 through January 1 have one of these periods. Most of the time, it is no fun to go to Disney during these times, anyway, as the place is MUCH too crowded. Long lines for everything. Steve and I have had season’s passes for several years now. Most of our “up-north” friends like to go there when they visit us. A season’s pass costs about the same as the rest of y’all pay for about four and a half days. So, another value for us. We manage to get to Disney around ten to fifteen times during a year. Our pass allows us to “Park Hop.” So, sometimes we go to more than one park in a day.

John called us a couple of days ago. He is retired Navy. Disney offered a very special good deal for active and retired service personnel for the year 2009. They could get a five day Park Hopper set of passes for free. They could also purchase extra ones for his or her spouse and loved ones at a super special price. These passes expire December 31 of this year. They had a couple of days left on their passes and wanted us to join them. We agreed and then looked at our own passes. OOOOOOPS! Black out.

There is something we had all wanted to do and that was to go to the resorts and see the decorations. We decided that we would spend the morning doing this. Then Lynne and John would go to a park, and Steve and I would go home. Lynne and John had not had breakfast, so they ate a quick meal from the Wilderness Lodge cafeteria.

We visited four resorts. A travel channel had indicated that this was something that one could do. We met them at the Wilderness Lodge—a favorite of all of us. Each of the resorts we visited had Christmas trees decorated in its particular theme and reached high into the atrium—maybe thirty-forty feet up. Appropriate themed garland was also strung around each resort.

THE WILDERNESS LODGE

The Wilderness Lodge is designed after some of the wilderness lodges in the West during the later part of the 19th and earlier part of the 20th centuries. Very rustic. And, like all Disney facilities, absolutely totally detailed to its theme. The center lobby with its five story atrium. The upright supports look like giant logs. Several of them have carved animals—a wolf, an eagle, an elk, raccoon hiding in a tree, a jackalope. The tree is decorated with eighteen inch high lighted teepees and an assortment of tom toms. There are also large bows in rustic themed fabric, smaller wood decorations with looks like hand painted pictures of wild American animals. In the lobby and the halls around the upper floors of the atrium an assorted display of Native American and old west relics. The chairs are also rustic style. Like all Disney attractions and resorts, the “cast” is uniformed in themed attire. One of the outside topiaries is a mother buffalo with her young buffalo baby. On the cement sidewalk leading to this topiary are buffalo hoof prints. So, cool.

THE GRAND FLORIDAN

After perusing the Wilderness, we hopped into our car and motored to the Grand Floridian. The words “grandiose” and “opulent” do not begin to cover this place. Its tree was decorated with Victorian style ornaments including wooden birdhouses. The garland and many arrangements were filled with Victorian flowers (roses, hydrangea, and other dried flowers).

There are several swimming pools, but this was another cold windy day in Sunny Florida. We did not spend much time outdoors. It is located on the Seven Seas Lagoon and has a monorail stop that will take one to the Magic Kingdom. There is a beautiful wedding pavilion on this portion of the campus, but again it was too cold to check it out.

Another feature—this one especially for the Christmas season--is a real life-sized ginger bread house within the atrium lobby. It is large enough for workers to stand inside and use it as a store. I wish I wrote down the ingredients. They are posted outside the building…an incredible amount of flour and sugar, etc. Also, a small trickle of ginger fragrance floats from the chimney.

There are many very ostentatious stores and restaurants--including the exquisite Victoria and Albert’s which is only open for evening formal dining. A white 1929 Cadillac and a coach (minus the horses) welcome guests at the front door. A character breakfast was taking place. Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter and Tigger were all visiting the breakfast. Staff was dressed in Victorian style uniforms. The male front door greeters were dressed in golf knickers.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/

THE CORONADO

The next stop was the Coronado. This resort includes a huge convention center. The thing is big enough to handle several conventions at one time with lots of ballroom space and many, many, smaller meeting rooms. Steve and I had gone here last year when four different conventions were being hosted. In the lobby, where THE Christmas Tree always sits, was a tree surrounded by a gazillion poinsettias in a rosey pink color with white edges. Red poinsettias all over the place. This resort has several building surrounding a lake. We could see an Aztec or Mayan pyramid across the lake, but again, we found it too cold to want to venture to it. Next time. The theme of this resort is Mexican or Spanish. There was a three foot angel on top of the tree that looked hand carved. The garland was brightly colored with Mexican style ornaments. “Tres, Amigos”

(from the long ago movie—starring Donald Duck) was the topiary that we first noticed and examined, but did not stay outside very long.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/coronado-springs-resort/

ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

The last resort on our agenda for the day was the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was sitting in the back seat and could not see exactly where Steve was heading. First, we got in the wrong turn lane leaving the Coronado. After a U-turn, we continued to the AKL. There are two portions of this resort—Jambo, the main part and Kidiani, a smaller area. Somehow, we missed the turn for Jambo and found ourselves at Kidiani. We took the Zezu elevator up from the parking area and walked through miles of hallways before we came to the lobby. Steve and I had been to this resort once before and knew nothing seemed familiar. Just before we got to the lobby we could see some animals. The Animal Kingdom Lodge looks like a large thatched hut, both from the inside and from the outside.

Part of the attraction to this resort is that there are several wild (live) animals in the compound which is surrounded by the various buildings. The animals can be observed from most of the rooms’ balconies. Zebras, wildebeest, waterbucks, ostriches, cranes. We went out to the veranda and could see several running, almost looking as though they were at play. But they were not playing, they were running toward the food that had just been left for them. They were rather aggressive in chasing the animals of other species away the hay. The zebras were the most aggressive. One got running so fast that it slipped and almost fell to the ground. We watched them for a bit. Then, we headed to the lobby and discovered how truly wrong we were. Everything here seemed to be miniature in what we remembered. Talked to Daniel, a cast member who gave us directions. We could walk (too cold), take a bus (part of Disney’s wonderful transportation system) or get back in our car. Number three won. We found the correct turn and the correct parking lot. Another, larger building and bigger lobby were a quick walk from the parking lot. Lynne called our parking space, “Princess Parking.” From a balcony we watched some more animals. This time we found a giraffe family (mama, papa, and baby) munching delightfully on some high-placed greenery. The Christmas tree in this atrium was decorated with hand woven baskets and various African related ornaments including some skin covered drums. The lobby had several displays of African relics, including several hand beaded items. Lynne weaves baskets and does bead work. Her work has given me an appreciation of the amount of work included in both of these crafts.  http://disneyworld..go.com/resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/

OUR LAST STOP

By this time, we were getting hungry and Lynne and John wanted to go to Downtown Disney. They wanted a special Christmas tree ornament which they have been collecting for several years. It apparently is only sold in the Christmas store at Downtown Disney. Parking was horrible. We drove around a bit. Just when we were getting discouraged, we saw a lady with packages, hopefully heading toward her car. BINGO! She was. We followed her. Someone else put their signal light on coming from the other direction to move into that spot, but we were fairly determined we were gonna get it as we had followed her for some distance. She backed out in the right direction for us to get it. YEA! Long walk, Lynne got her ornament. We decided to eat at The Earl of Sandwich. Lonnnnnnnng line. Well, worth the wait. All sandwiches and salads are priced the same ($5.95). One can get various sides—chips, small salads—desserts and beverages in addition. I had a holiday special—turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce on some wonderful baked bread. Yum! Yum! Steve got “the Original” which was roast beef with cheese and horseradish. I tasted that. It was also yummy.

Downtown Disney® Marketplace

1750 E Buena Vista Dr
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Sun - Thur 8:30am - 11:00pm
Fri - Sat 8:30am - 11:30pm

By this time, Steve and I decided it was time to go home. We took Lynne and John back to the Wilderness Lodge where they would use the Wonderful World of Disney Transportation busses. We went home. They were headed to Disney Hollywood, where they would stay until after dark so that they could enjoy the lights.

We would like to visit the other resorts--the Dolphin, the Swan, the Contemporary, The French Quarter (New Orleans), etc.  But that will have to be another day.

As the title indicates, we did Disney “free.” Well, almost. Lynne did a bit of shopping and, of course, our meals and gas. It was a fun great money-valued day.

Pigs--Wild Pigs

Pigs—Wild pigs

December 28, 2009

Pigs are not native to America, although they have been here longer than most of our ancestors. The Spanish brought them on their ships. In the Southeast escapes were rampant. Anyway, they have been running wild for perhaps, hundreds of years. They are a prolific group. Florida farmers and ranchers have been fighting them for as long as they have tried to co-exist on the same land. They destroy crops in their rutting rituals. After a few hundred years, where the wild hogs were ahead in the game, they are now loosing ground. Like so many other critters and plants, their habitat is being developed.

When we lived in South Florida, there was a road about five miles south of our house where on any given day, one could see one, two or groups of pigs digging along the side of the road. They are rather a shy bunch. If the cars stayed on a steady pace, the pigs would continue to nosh. If the cars slowed down, the pigs would head for the deep woods a few feet away. We were still seeing the pigs on the road in South Florida five years ago when we moved to north central. But, they have slowly disappeared. Can’t imagine where they have gone.

In our abode here in north central Florida, despite the fact that we are verrrrry rural, we had never seen a wild pig. I know they exist. I have seen evidence of their diggings, but I had never seen one.

Driving along County Road 326 East we could see in the distance a strange clump. It looked like someone dropped several large garbage bags in a pile along the side of the road. As we drew neigh, we discovered the “pile” was moving. We slowed the care down to discover a herd of pigs (at least I think one must have to call them a “herd”)—three adults and at least twenty young pigs all around the same age—maybe a couple of months old. They were munching happily and seemingly without fear. I asked Steve to turn around so that we could get a better look. He did. When we got back to the pigs chowing down and pulled onto the grass, they melted into the woods behind the barbed wire fence and vanished from our sight. They were cute and could hardly seem destructive. Browns and blacks with a few with a bit of white. There are pig hunters out there. Watch out little guys.

I always enjoy nature as it exists. I am not a hunter; nor am I anti-hunting. But, they were fun to watch.

Best Christmas Dinner Ever

Best Christmas Dinner—Ever

December 26, 2009

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. 
Philippians 4:6

The computer/modem decided to take another vacation, but I still did some writing and am now posting it.

Yesterday’s wonder at the shelter reminded me of our Christmas two years ago (December 2007). It was bittersweet…more bitter than sweet.

Two days before Christmas, we got a phone call from Steve’s brother’s wife that her husband (Steve’s only sibling) was hospitalized for the second time in two months. He was quite ill. Prognosis was not good. We were able to book a plane for Christmas day to get us back to Connecticut. When we got off the plane, we rented a car. We had two vehicles in Connecticut, but due to the timeframe, we had no one to pick us up at the airport. We kept the car overnight and returned with one of our own vehicles. This was a sad trip for us. But, I guess God always gives you something that is humorous in most situations. This was no exception.

We had gotten the dog into his vet’s kennel. They and the dog’s regular doggie hotel had been booked solid for that time frame. But, because it was an emergency, the vet did some rearranging and squeezing, and the dog was left there. On December 26 the tight quarters at the vet’s loosened up, and Frisky was able to enjoy better quarters.

Anyway, we left our house very early in the morning. Tampa and Orlando airports are almost equal distance from our home—about two hours’ drive. We had been able to book out of Tampa. Since this whole affair happened quickly, we did little planning (or for that matter thinking). For some reason, we did not eat breakfast as we figured we could get something on the way. WRONG!!! On Christmas day, even the convenience stores had shorter hours. They were not opening until well after we passed them. I wonder how many convenience stores there are on Route 19…many is as close as I can come. Well, there’s got to be something along the way. WRONG again.

We got to the airport. I sat with our luggage (all carry on). When we fly to Connecticut (until this last spring) we took little with us as we had our house there with all essentials…some non perishable food, clothes, boots, stove, warm bed.

Quiznos had a breakfast “sandwich.” Steve ordered one of these. He came back to the place in which I was sitting. I went to order one as it looked good, and the price was not outrageous. They stop serving breakfast fairly early (I don’t remember the time). But, when I got there, it was two minutes past the time. As you know, the large corporations rarely give their employees flexibility when it comes to the rules. No breakfast sandwich for me. I wondered around the concourse, trying to find something that might stick to my ribs and not cost me an arm and a leg. I settled for a $3.00 hotdog, which was only OK and fairly small.

One knows one is not going to get much to eat on a plane these days, but I was hopin’. Peanuts—two packages—and a coke. Wow! That was healthy and filling!!!

When we got off the plane, we went right to the hospital. A large one in Hartford. From previous experience, I knew they had a cafeteria. Opened all day. WRONG again. Because it was Christmas, the hours were cut back so that the employees could spend some of the day with their families. They had just closed the lunchtime serving. I applaud them for that. HOWEVER, it did not help us. We visited Tom a short while. He was quite tired. So, we left…several hours before the cafeteria was due to open again.

Well, we can grab sometime on Route 44 going west toward our house. One more time WRONG! There are eight gazillion restaurants on that route…none of which are open on Christmas afternoon.

Our friends Mary and Jim live on the way to our house. Maybe, we can stop there and mooch some sort of meal or, at the very least, find some food to “steal.” They, of course, would never consider that we were “stealing,” but that they were helping friends. We have a key to their home, which, of course, we left on the key chain at home. They often change their “secret” place for hiding the key that they keep for emergencies (which is a good and safe thing to do). They had not told us the new “secret” place, because we were, after all, in Florida and did not need to know where it was. (When we were in Connecticut, we almost always knew where it was). They were not home, and we could not find the key. Now what!

Then I remembered that they had planned to go to their daughter’s house which was only about five miles out of the way. We continued on our journey. Voile le! Lots of people at Karen and John’s. They welcomed us with open arms, but with little food. They had finished their meal. By this time, it was evening. There was a small piece of steak left. Steve got that. Lots of mashed potatoes. Steve ate most of them, but I had some as well. She looked in her fridge. Lo and Behold! She found left over manicotti. Steve was full with his steak and potatoes. I am not that fond of potatoes, so Karen heated up the manicotti. Mashed potatoes and manicotti (and a mere taste of salad). Who would have ever thought that would be the most delicious Christmas dinner ever. I was so grateful to finally get a meal that it did not matter. Anyway, they had not yet had dessert which was a peanut butter cream pie. Steve did not eat that, but I certainly enjoyed it.

We stayed there until Mary and Jim decided it was time to go home, enjoying the Christmas and the family (two teen-aged children). By this time, it was getting late. Our home furnace was turned way down. No hot water. And on and on. Mary and Jim invited us to spend the night with them which we did.

We stayed in Connecticut three weeks, visiting various family members and friends. And, of course, we spent as much time with Tom as we could, but it was very limited. He had a tough time tolerating company; he tired easily. Tom got worse. We left mid January. Tom passed a week later…two days after his wedding anniversary and eight days before his sixty-first birthday. We miss you, Tom.

But, I rarely think of him without thinking of our hungry journey. Tom had a wonderful sense of humor and is probably laughing with me when I think of that meal.

Hooray for mashed potatoes, manicotti and peanut butter pie!

St. Franics House

Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas

Matthew 25:35: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

One thing that I have always wanted to do was to help at a shelter or soup kitchen.  The opportunity always slipped away.  Well, not this year.  I made the opportunity happen.  CHRISTMAS MORNING!

Since Steve and I do not have family in Florida and most of our friends have left to be with their families, we thought this would be a good time to give some time.  I did have one invitation from a friend to join her and her family for dinner.  But, I really wanted to work for someone else.

I had asked at church if there was anything local at which we could work and partiicpate.  No one knew of anything.  Ann Gay mentioned the Salvation Army and St. Francis House in Gainesville.  I called the SA and got no answer.  Then, I tried St. Francis House in Gainesville.  They told me that there was an "open" call starting at 7:00 am.  WOW.  It's still dark then.  But we got up a bit after six.  By the time we feed our critters, did our morning stuff and got there, it was close to 7:30.

Now, the City of Gainesville has a VERY STUPPPPID Ordinance regarding the St. Franics House.  They are allowed to feed only 139 for each meal.  St. Francis is a not-for profit organization which houses, feeds and helps to educate the homeless and less fortunate.  What happens if 150 show up for a meal.  Does one tell the eleven they have to leave!!  The director is an extremely compassionate man.  I talked to him at length.  Apparently, the City has relented in there hard-nosed approach and has allowed St. Francis to "average" the number served.  I can tell you that today's service had to knock the average out of the park.

I will really impressed with the level of caring at St. Francis.  They operate primarily on donations. They offer shelter with several rooms available, as well as food. Today they started with 400 pounds of turkety.  It was cooked when we arrived, but had to come off the bone.  When we first arrived, there were a couple dozen people helping; at the peak of today's service,  there were over one hundred volunteers.  The director said "junp in where ever you see a need." 

\The menu was quite extensive::  fruit cup, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, baked mac & cheese, dressing (aka stuffing)..  Various breads with butter were placed on the tables. 

When we first arrived, we opened a zillion cans of green beans, cranberry sauce, various and sundry fruit--fruit cocktail, peaches, pears, pineapple--and even a can of strawberries-- which were melded together in one large bowl.  A bit of cocoanut was thrown in as well.

The next project with which I got involved was deboning the turkey  Not much one can add to this messy job, but twenty-ish turkeys had to be done..

The old adage of "Many Hands Make Light Work!" proved itself once again.   The meals were all ready to go into ovens, warming ovens and refrigerators.  And, then we had some down time.  All these volunteers worked so quickly that we had some down time.  They said this year there were more than ever--both volunteers and those in need.

Their was tons of dessert which an assembly line put on plates and covered with plaster wrap.  There were many toooooooooo many desserts, but they will used them for other meals.

St. Francis wants all their clients to feel special. They want every person that comes through to be presented with a tray of food. So, many of the volunteers, walked through the line with a tray which was filled by other volunteers.  We then carried one tray to a new arrival.  Service stated shortly after 10:00 am.  Steve and I stood in the line and passed out our firstt tray.  Steve is rather impatient and did not wish to wiat in line again.  So, he grabbed an icedtea pitcher (sweetened, of course....ICK) and started refilling cups.  I went through the line seven times.  Every time I went through the line, it was shorter.  I guess people really did not like standing in the line.  Some found other things to do; others, left.

There was one group of people in line who like to sing.  They were generally behind me.  They sang a great group of Christmas Carols (songs that feature the birth of Christ) and holiday music (Jingle Beels, The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland--com'on folks this is Florida--we don't want to have a winter wonderland, etc.)

After the initial serving, as people finished their meals, new people came in.  They had beem waiting in the rain in line.  In addition to filling cups, Steve was one of several people who directed the tray carriers to new arrivals.

Besides the food, each person that came through the door got a "Christmas stocking."  Actually, it was a pair of white socks one inside the other filled with soap, shampoo, etc.  The kids got their own special pair with goodies.  There were also toys for the kids.

Many families brought their children to help serve.  Great teaching lesson for those who got everything they wanted under their trees.

The whole experience tugged at my heart strings, but seeing the kids come through was the most difficult.  I grew up in a family without a lot of money, but we always had a home and food.  I did live on a farm which helped with the food portion.  This day gave me a new outlook.  Occasionally, I have pitty parties for myself.  Granted these are rare, but nonetheless, I have them.  I will reflect on this morning whenever these moments occur.

I was particularly pleased to see one couple.  He removed his hat, grabbed her hand.  And said grace.  I could not hear his words, but one knew he was deep in prayer.

Steve was really impressed with the number of homeless.  As we driving to the place, we saw a building where fifteen or twenty people were laying on the pavement under the shelter of the overhang.  I cannot imagine the added hardships for people who find themselves homeless in colder climes.  If I ever become homeless, it will be in a warm climate...not New York, New England or Chicago.

We left around 12:30.  We thought we would be there till 3:00 pm, but there were too many people doing nothing.  So,.....  We had planned to have our Christmas dinner tomorrow.  Steve loves turkey.  That seems to be the one meal I can serve leftovers over and over.  If we knew that we would be leaving so early, I would have put the turkey in.  If we do this again, which I believe we will, we will plan on an early evening meal on Christmas Day

It was quite an experience.  Both wonderful and sad.

Adventure in Travel to Betty's

Women’s Christmas Fellowship and Bible Study

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

December 18, 2009

Our church women’s group meets once a month for fellowship and Bible study. Today’s adventure has little to do with the Bible study, but how I got there. Normally, we meet at the Church, but since it was a special month, Betty invited to her gorgeous house. The Bible study/fellowship was in her completely finished basement. This is the way I entered the house and thought it was her living quarters. But, no her living quarters were even more beautiful. We are studying the book of Joshua.

But I have digressed…

We were supposed to meet at 10:00 am. I left my house at 9:15 am for the approximate fifteen mile trip. Florida has in my opinion, a very strange way of numbering highway. There are the Interstates, of course…I-4, I-10, I-75 and I-95. US highway and state roads are fairly early to follow. But County Roads, on the other hand, are a complete mystery to me. County A, County L and County M converge in a corner. Each of these counties has a road with the same route number and do not connect to each other. The ONLY difference is that each County road sign is labeled with the county name and the route number.

I plugged in Betty’s name in white pages on line. It gave me an address which I then plugged into Map Quest. Since I was starting my journey from County L, Map Quest gave me great directions…northwest. I was looking for XXXXX (house number) on L County 335. But when I got there, there was no house. I went up and down a couple of side roads, talked to several men who tried to be helpful, but obviously could not with my directions. I had left my cell at home. I had not brought Betty’s phone number with me. I finally stopped at a house where there were some vehicles. I asked the man if he would make a phone call for me. He invited me in. I grew up in a policeman’s home and would never let anyone in. But, I was blessed and he did not seem to be scared of me. He could not find a phone book, called his wife, who told him where it was.

This is a small town and the phone book is equally small. He gave the Gainesville phone book. Oops, no cigar. Finally, got the right book and called Betty who told me to go to 316 and then to 335. She mentioned she lived in County M, but it went right over my hairspray. I was near County L 335 and know where County L 316 is located. Unfortunately, I was lookin’ in the wrong County. The directions made absolutely no sense. So, I went back to the place from which I started and called again. One of the other ladies answered. She tried to give me directions, but she is very bad at it. Another, who gives directions well, got on the phone and told me I should be in County M 316. OHHHHHHHHH! That’s what is wrong. She actually met me at the end of 316 as Betty lives on a dead end street near by.

Sixty something miles after I started, I landed safely at Betty’s—due East from my house. One hour and five minutes late! Ouch!

Kay, our local artist, makes wonderful gifts for us from time to time. She uses a polymer base and does amazing work. She has given us leaves and flowers cast from live leaves and flowers. She gave us each a beautiful Easter cross with a dogwood implanted on it. The latest gift is for Christmas.  She used an antique sterling bracelet (over 100 years old) originally designed by Italian Artist F. Peruzzi and cast a portion of it which was a beautiful little cherub angel. She gave each of us women one signed by her with the date. Love gifts like this cannot be minimized. They are beautiful.

The Bible study went great and the fellowship was even better. The group has decided that we will meet each December at Betty’s house. I will be able to find my way there next year, because I will go to the correct county.

I, however, can never do anything simply!! So, we will see!

Manatees and Big Lu--Part II

lDecember 17, 2009

In my opinion, the two main attractions at Homasassa Springs (recently renamed the Ellie Schiller Homasassa Springs State Park) are the Manatees and Big Lu.

My understanding is that the only County in the country named after a water mammal is Manatee County Florida. This county sits on the West Coast of Florida (Gulf Side), and Bradenton is its county seat. Manatees are very special. They have no known living predators. They are warm water animals and can die if subjected to cold water (68°) for prolonged periods of time. They are endangered, however, due to loss of habitat, motor boat propellers and various and sundry diseases caused by parasites, bacteria or viruses. They are gentle and terribly nosey. Although they have good hearing, they do not have noise perception (they cannot tell from whence a sound come) and cannot hear the high pitch of things like boat motors.

There are six females in residence at Homasassa. In the Homasassa River they are many in the wild, but there are bars that separate the captives from the wild. In any sanctuary for manatees, there are either males or females. Both are not kept in the same facility. The baby manatee remains with its mother for three years. If a captive manatee mates, her offspring cannot be released to the wild. So, they are kept separate to prevent this problem. The six are named. Rosey is the biggest. I get the others confused. But, there is one Mama and two of her offspring. One calf came with her into the sanctuary. Nobody believed manatees mated in captivity. But, Lo and Behold, the Mama did. That is why the males and females are kept in different preserves.

Four of the other five are Amanda, Ariel, Betsy and Lorelei.  I can't remember the name of the last one.  The park has a “feeding” show a couple times a day. I swear that the manatee wear watches. Around 11:00 am, they come to the area where the demonstration of their feeding will happen. The “show” is at 11:30. They are vegetarians and eat yams, carrots, lettuce, cabbage—all restaurant quality. Believe it or not the manatees’ DNA is most closely related to that of an elephants’. Their front feet look very much like the front feet of an elephant. They have some body hair similar to their large relative. There are many other similarities.

The park has an observation platform over the river where one (depending on the day—animals are not inclined to do what we want most of the time) can watch the wild manatees in the river. They kind of look like huge floating rocks, whose nose pops up occasionally to breath.

They are definitely fun to watch.

http://hswsp.com/manatees/our.html

BIG LU

Who or what is Big Lu? I can tell you that Steve and I intend to attend his fiftieth birthday party on January 26, 2010. So, big deal, many people go to a birthday party for age fifty. Well, betcha, your party is not for a very big hippo. That’s right. Big Lu will be 50. He was born in the San Diego zoo on January 26, 1960. A ninety pound bouncing baby boy. As he grew, he starred in many movies and television shows—“Cowboy in Africa,” “Daktari.” Then the bouncing baby boy grew too big. Some how he found his way to Homasassa Springs. After the State of Florida purchased the park from its former owners, they decided that the animals that would use this as their habitat would be native to Florida. So, the lions, tigers, etc. were moved. But, the locals loved Big Lu. So (it must have been an election year) the late Governor Lawton Chiles made Lu an honorary resident of Florida. He will live his life at Homasassa.

Sometimes Big Lu just lays on his beach. Sometimes, he paddles around in his pool. His big show is his eating, maybe! He is a vegetarian. Sometimes, he shows no particular interest in the chunks of melon thrown to him by a park ranger—watermelon, honeydew, or cantaloupe. Sometimes, his mouth is wide open for these favored treats. When he is interested, he paddles to the wall and opens his mouth ever so wide. It is rather amazing how big it is.

Behind Lu’s beach is a sign “Splatter Zone.” You might guess what this is all about. This biological function seems to be the biggest attraction of his. One of my friends with her eleven year old grandson and six year old granddaughter, her daughter and Steve and I went several months ago. There is a mailbox in the education center where children can write letters to the animals. The young man with us wrote a letter to Lu asking him to poop while we were there. And Lu obliged! Massive bubbling water and some outside splatter. If one is down wind, well, you can imagine. Well, we were there most recently, Lu, once again obliged. This time he managed to hit the wall. I am sure there was some splatter there, but we were on the opposite side of the pool. While we were standing there, a young mother with a tiny little girl (three or four years old) arrived just after Lu’s exhibition. The little girl was extremely disappointed that she had missed it. The gift shop sells duplicate signs of “Splatter Zone.” It is a big seller. Frankly, I don’t quite get the excitement over this function, but apparently, it is the BIG attraction. (I’d rather see him eat). But it is what it is, I guess! And, no matter what, I would like to be there for his birthday party. Our annual passes expire shortly after his birthday, so I won’t be paying extra for this exciting time.

http://hswsp.com/animals/hippo.htm

Manatees and Big Lu--Part 1

December 16, 2009

I am continuning the blog even though I cannot post it till I get a new modem.

Florida has some beautiful state parks. The State Park system calls it “the Real Florida.” Northern Florida sits on an aquifer. Many of our rivers have head waters that are springs that percolate through this aquifer. Some of the "springs" have become State Parks--Manatee Springs, Fanning Springs, Rainbow Springs; some like High Springs and Zolfo Springs have become town names. Many of these springs form the base for many of our state parks—picnicking, hiking, swimming, horse back riding… Until recently the state parks were a super bargain. But because of budget problems, the fee has doubled. They are still a good value. One can buy a single annual pass for $60.00 or $120.00 for a family. This gets you into most parks with a car load of up to eight people. There is one park that we feel is very special. For seniors, the daily fee is eleven dollars and change. The annual pass allows only two people, however, to enter under the state annual pass—Homasassa Springs. We took our visiting northern friend there. This was the only touristy thing that we did while he was here this year.

Originally, this was a roadside tourist trap with exotic animals on display—lions, tigers, apes and monkeys, etc. But when it became a state park, the decision was made to house only native animals—mammals, birds, reptiles. Many of the animals have come here for rehabilitation. Many of them can never be released back to the wild. The two bald eagles, for instance, only have partial right wings—one was shot in its nest; the other hit by a car. They were able to keep them alive, but they lost their ability to fly.

While I am talking about birds, I will tell you about some of the other species. Raptors have a fairly big population. They house several kinds of owls—horned, barred, barn. There are lots of large wading birds—whooping cranes, sand hill cranes, storks, herons, ibis, egrets and a beautiful bright salmon-colored muster of flamingoes. There are at least two species of pelicans. Spoonbills, small wading birds like sandpipers and turkey buzzards that fly freely in and out of the area.

Before I leave the world of birds, I will add an aside…The University of Miami has for its nickname “the Hurricanes” or “’Canes.” The reason for this was way back when, their very first football game had to be postponed due to a hurricane. Okay, so what kind of mascot can a school whose nickname is Hurricanes have? Well, an ibis, of course. “Why?” you might ask. The ibis, a wading bird of medium size with a curved bill, is the last animal to leave before a hurricane hits and the first to return.

I don’t get particularly excited over reptiles, but there is a reptile house which has a great assortment of venomous and non venomous snakes. There are also some turtles and tortoises (a turtle generally lives in water; a tortoises is primarily a land animal). And, of course, the Florida alligator (twelve call this park their abode).

The mammal population is amazing.

The otters—there is a family of river otters. Two pups were born last years, but have now grown to be as large as their parents. Play, swim, play some more. It seems as though they do laps—first the breast stroke; then the back stroke. There is a shelter made of stone to which the otters can arrive either under water or by climbing up the sides. One can spend hours watching these critters.

Deer, key deer (very tiny and only found in the wild in the Keys), a Florida panther, a couple of bobcats, brother and sister black bears, gray and red foxes.

Red Wolves. Three of them. Brothers. They are about a year old. When we first saw them, they paced constantly and were very thin (they had not yet filled out as they were still growing). Their coat is kind of copper color. Now, that they have been here almost a year, they have settled down somewhat and occasionally one can find them playing together.When a canine is anxious, fearful or watchful, their tails are down.  When happy or playful, they are up and wagging.  We had the pleasure of seeing the wolves with their tails wagging just before a frolic and wrestling match. They have also filled out and are a magnificent looking animal. In the wild, they are almost extinct. Once roaming all over southeastern United States, their only wild habitat is a very small area of northeast North Carolina. They are beautiful to behold. When they mature, they may use them for breeding.

http://www.homosassasprings.org/Homosassa.cfm

The Modem

My modem somehow got fried.  I have several days' worth of posting to add.  Went to the BIG electronics company.  They were out of modems, and would not have another until after the New Year.  Who can live that long without being ON-Line.  Went to a small independent (PC's and Parts) in Dunnellon.  Helped me immediately.  My advice is to go to the small guy...better service (they care more). AND, his prices were much less.  You should know me by now.  It's all about Value, Value, Value.

MOVE THAT BUS!!!

Yesterday, Steve and I went to the MOVE THAT BUS! portion of the Extreme Makeover Home Edition in Gainesville.  We enjoyed working on the build tremendously and would do that again in a Manhattan minute.

One of Steve's boyhood neighbors--a WWII  Navy vet--had a tattoo that proclaimed "Never, Never Again."  This is how we felt about going to getting that bus moved.  This was scheduled for 2:00 pm. 

We got there quite early.  I staked out my spot, but I was on the spectators side of the fence.  Since I was a blue shirt, they brought me to the house side of the fence.  Steve had already been on the blue shirt side of this fence.  During the work days there were snacks and beverages every few feet. Throughout this day, all had been removed to the catering tent about four blocks away.  During the day I made several trips bringing back packages of cookies, potato chips and other snacks--shoulda brought more.  I also made a trip to bring back lunch for Steve and me.  I rarely ate my snacks, etc.  I gave them away to folks who were not wearing wrist bands.  Also, I gave away some of my meal.  This was, of course, a good thing.

The house was not yet ready as two o'clock neared.  So, the limo arrival time was postponed (again and again and again and again).  Another hour.  Another twenty minutes.  Another five minutes. Another half hour. We were herded like cattle.  "Don't stand on the grass." The landscapers rightfully had fits about the potential of ruining the newly laid sod.  Move here. Move there.  I had a front row position which I soon lost to the tall guys. Stand and wait. Stand and wait.  "You need to be this side of the tree."  "You can't stand in the road."  ""Don't stand in the driveway."  Since, by the time the bus finnally got moved, there was no place else to go, many were standing on the grass.

Quite frankly, the spectators were treated better than the blue shirts.  They got to see everything.  I was in the half of blue shirts that was behind the bus next to the driveway.  When after many false starts and the family FINALLY "Came Home" we were in the absolutely worst position.  Could not see.  Could not hear.  Not allowed to cross the street.  About a half hour before the bus finally moved, a woman near me "needed food."  She was feeling faint.  She got the last half of my McDonald's cookie package.  This worked.

The bus was finally moved around five o'clock.  Horrible afternoon!  Hot!

I carried a sign made in lime green with red Christmas garland in the W in Welcome and the H in Home.  I was told to put down my sign as the people behind me could not see.  I don't know that they could see any better with the sign down, as I could not see anyway.  They were kind of nasty.

OK, now that I have told y'all the awful parts of the Move That Bus, I need to tell you the up side of the day...

(1)  The TV Design Team included Ty, of course, Eduardo, DiDi and Pauli.  Those of you who watch the show will recognize those names.  There are many assistants to these people.  Ty was very busy.  We saw little of him.  But the other three were extremely gracious and accessible.  They signed autographs, posed for pictures--usually with people from spectators or blue shirts, sometimes by themselves--and were all around wonderful, charming people.  (Some of the assistants--not so much!).  Steve and I had our picture taken the day before with DiDi.

(2)  Since we had gotten there early, there were few limitations on where we could go.  We went to the back yard to find a beautiful gazebo with grill and fridge for outdoor picnics and gatherings--stone, cypress--beautiful.  We also got a peek at the room in which one of the beds we worked on was available to see.

(3)  We met some of the most wonderful people.  Some will become friends.  We ran into a lady who sat with us at the original rally.  At the rally she was one of the many people who had been turned away from helping as volunteers.  She was a blue shirt, too.  She aggressively pursued her goal.  I think that the two of us will become friends.  Lots of formerly strangers coming close and working together.

(4) Gator cheerleaders and Albert and Alberta were there to cheer us on.  (The basketball team, Albert and Alberta and cheerleaders were there the previous day as well).  Albert and Alberta are the mascots for the Gators.  They were fun and posed often for pictures with workers and spectators.  For those of you who do not know who the Gators are...you obviously are not sport fans...well, let me just say that Gainesville is the home of the University of Florida.  GO GATORS!

(5)  The upholsterer's daughter who works for a local department store (not Sears) waited on Ty to help him with some lighting decisions.  That helped bring the whole build even that much closer.

(6)  The shuttle service was quite good.  And the drivers (although they had worked so mannnnnnnnny hours) were delightful, funny and all around good joes.

(7)  This should be #1  THE BUILDER--Ricky Strickland, his family and staff--were wonderful.  It seemed as though they never got rattled.  Did a wonderful job.  I would call ARK Remodelers and Construction any time.  I cannot say enough good things about them.

Working on the build, I would rate an A-; Moving That Bus, about a D+. 

For piictures:  Gainesville.com and click on news

Old Friend and New Opportunity

I had decided to start this blog with the resolve that I would post every day.  But life has a way of interferring with life and its resolves.  Two things came down the pike that immediately changed my direction, leaving me with neither the time nor the energy to post daily.

The first was a visit from an old friend (well, actually--as he is quick to remind me--he is younger than I am by twenty two months).  We have known him for close to forty years.  We always enjoy having time with friends--"old" and new.  I really was a pretty bad hostess this time as I was rarely home during most of his visit.  But he and Steve did some guy stuff.  One of the projects that we were happy to see was to get our '36 Plymouth running once again.  After a couple of days fiddle-dee-daddling with it, they decided to change the gas tank.  Well, yeah, of course, we had a spare new one in the garage.  Apparently there was some really old gas in the old tank along with a bunch of sludge.

The second excuse for not continuing my daily messages was a wonderful opportunity.  Extreme Makeover, Home Edition with Ty Penington and crew was going to do a build in Gainesville.  That's not that far away.  Steve and I decided we would go to what turned out to be a pep rally to volunteer.  He's a great handy man and painter.  I can wield a hammer as well, iffen I need to do so.  The Mayor was there along with the Executive Producer Conrad and some design team members (not Ty). 

The rally was great fun, but, as it turned out, all the volunteer slots were filled except for some very specialized areas.   One such area was "seamstress."  (Poor Steve!  No place for him.)  My mother thought me how to sew when I was twelve.   At one time I made most of my own clothes.  Over the years, however, I have gotten lazy.  I rarely sew these days.  But, it is like riding a bike.  You don't forget the basics (fancy stuff comes a little harder).

As an aside, my mother, at 89 with macular degeneration still sews.  She likes pockets on her jackets.  If she buys a jacket with no pockets, she will go to a store for fabric.  The clerk will help her pick out a contrasting material and she goes home and adds her pockets.  She does a really good job.  She cannot see to thread the top part of the machine...my sister, the maintenance man in her apartment building or I--usually do that for her.  But she has needles that can be threaded by feel.  And, then shes off and running.

There are four very young children...three boys and a girls.  The two middle boys are sharing a room.  The girl and the older boy have their own.  We did not do any work on the room for the two boys.  We did work on the master bedroom and the other two children's rooms. 

Like many seven year olds, the older boy likes super heroes.  The design team called for a bed cover that included this theme.  Two of us went out looking for material.  Don't know what is going on, but in going to two stores, all we could find was Spiderman fabric--no Superman, Green Hornet, Flash, Batman.  A lady noticing our blue shirts and stressed faces mentioned that the men's department had some tee-shirts with super heroes.  She saved our day. 

There were only seven volunteers to do sewing.  (We heard that at the most recent previous build, there had been twenty-something seamstresses.)  And the design team had a barrage of things that needed to be done--pillows, quilts, upholstering portions of their very custom made beds.  The sewers met at Grace Methodist Church in an area of town known as Fort Clarke.  We received our Extreme blue shirts even though  only a couple had actually been out to the site.  We met two days and completed most of the projects.  Of the seven of us, I was the least talented, but I did pull my weight. 

The "head seamstress" is an upholsterer by trade.  She has a commercial sewing (non portable) machine.  So, in addition to her working all day at the church, she went home and worked till the wee hours. There was a lot of vinyl pillows involved.  There were also some stools that needed to be upholstered. 

And, of course, the beds. Four of the women had gone to the "design" meeting.  A picture was given to her without "tufting."  Tufting was not discussed at that meeting.  So, Lois, did the upholstering flat.  The bed is transported to the sight. And, Lo and Behold...it was supposed to be "tufted."  Anyone familar with the show knows that the entire build along with furnishing the home is done in a week.  Lois, like most of the people involved in this project are proud of their work and tend to be perfectionists.  Now, there is nothing wrong with that quality except that perfectionism takes added time... as I kept saying.

Three in the afternoon--two days before the bus is to be moved--Lois found out that the bed had to be tufted.  She asked for help.  All the rest of the sewing was done, so in effect we had been dismissed.  But, who could leave her stranded.  Lois, her son and his girlfriend, four of the rest of us who had been there to sew and Steve showed up on site to help her.  Steve finally got his blue shirt. 

Because of the timing and the fact that we just did not have enough material (and no time to order more), the project had to be done in a slightly different way--a kind of gerry-rigging.  The visual effect was quite good, but the tufting--since it was done on vinyl--was done by carefully removing the vinyl, adding layers of foam, nailing the "tufts" and covering the nails.  Upholstery tacks were not long enough (thus, the nails).  Steve did all the nailing and cut the tacks so that the top could be used to cover the nails.  I hot glued each and every tack over each and every one of the approximate one hundred tufts.  Got some wicked burns, but the job was completed with satisfied acknowledgements of the designer that was in charge of us.

Later today is "Move That Bus."  Steve and I will go out there with our blue shirts and bring our "Welcome Home" sign.  This show has always been a favorite of Steve's, but we will never view it again with the same eyes.  Everything does not go as smoothly as one would hope, but it all seems to work out.  At this time, we don't know when it will air, but I will put it in this blog at the time.  Look for the round lavender pillow in the little girl's room.  That's mine.

 http://www.arkextremebuild.com/

Does It Get Any Better Than Cheap?

My husband and I are transplanted New Englanders. These days we enjoy life in the north central part of the Sunshine State. We have traveled the East Coast many times, but neither of us had spent any vacation time in the West (except California). A national conference/convention for an organization to which we are members was scheduled for Tulsa. A friend of ours was seeking the office equivilant of an international 3rd Vice President of the organization, and we wanted to be there to support her.  There were two other women competing for the same office.  Our friend won.  While we were there, we did a lot of sight seeing.

We are in the age bracket where we remember the TV show Route 66 with George Maharis and Martin Milner and their Corvette. It was an exciting and fun show. We knew Route 66 was out west some where. We stumbled across a portion of it shortly after we entered Oklahoma's northeast corner. We had decided to spend the night in Miami (oops, did we take a wrong turn...we thought we had headed north from our house, not south). We quickly learned that the natives pronouce it Miam(a). Our state's Miami is pronounce Miamee. So, I guess we did not make a mistake by taking a wrong turn after all.

We passed Waylan's Ku-Ku Burger, Dotson Museum and Memorial Center, and the Coleman Theatre without realizing that we had stumbled into a wonderful page of history...totally missing any opportunity to absorb these attractions.

We eventually picked up a wonderful booklet produced by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department entitled Oklahoma Route 66 The Ultimate Road Trip. We decided it would be fun to find some of its many still-standing attractions.

We had bought a GPS before we left home. Maggie Mae turned out to be helpful, albeit, far from perfect.

You cannot beat cheap or better yet free, but one needs to be happy with the simple sights and pleasures. Too many of us today need continuous high-stimulus entertainment. It is good to step back and smell the roses (or in our case see the Blue Whale). This turned out to be much more of an adventure than we thought it would be.

It took us three separate tries to find the Blue Whale and the attraction across the street (Arrowhead Trading Post). The first time we were following the Route 66 signs and found ourselves in the middle of construction where the Route signs had disappeared.  In Oklahoma Route 66 follows the general course of the Will Rogers Turnpike.

We found a couple of other places we wanted to visit and gave up for the day. A second time...we set Maggie Mae on the appropriate address. She was doing fine, but we missed a turn. In her correcting us, we found ourselves on some mighty dusty clay/dirt back roads. We eventually found our way to the main highway, but missed the whale. I can never say we were actually lost, but we certainly were not where we wanted to be.

The third time was the charm. We set Maggie Mae and tootled on down the road. Maggie Mae was screaming at us "You have arrived, you have arrived!" Arrived?? what on earth is she talking about? When Maggie said this, we pulled into the driveway and LO and BEHOLD there sat the Blue Whale (outside the town of Catoosa). I don't know what we were expecting, but I got the giggles and could not stop laughing. The book lists it as "a Rt. 66 icon, classic roadside attraction, historic water park and amusement site." Well, in its day, it must have been pretty special, but.....

We got out of the car and moseyed on down to the Whale. It is a huge cement blue whale, looks as though it is made of papier mache. From its sides are round shoots that would carry one into the water. It's tail is a diving platform of sorts. There are picnic tables...the seats have the base of whales. And the restroom doors have whales on them. This was built by Hugh Davis. It was charming and worth the stop. We spent a short while there. There are some nature trails which you can follow. Because we spent so much energy finding it, I guess we would call it one of our highlights. It certainly was a fun adventure.

For more information on the history of the attractions of Route 66 in Oklahoma (along with maps), try

http://www.theroadwanderer.net/.  Then click on Oklahoma Route 66.

The Arrowhead Trading Post had been utilized as a car repair business, but from across the four lane highway, it looked abandoned. We did not investigate it.