We spent a pleasant afternoon wandering around Celebration - a place that Walter and I have visited several times. We took some of the trails that we had walked before, only this time, went further than we had in the past.
A white bird of paradise flower. I had never seen one like this before. Beautiful.
Walter, Ralph and Catherine on one of the various boardwalks. It was a sunny warm day, and many of the little of forest creatures were out seeking mates and building nests. Spring was in the air!
We were scolded several times by this squirrel while we were walking from one lagoon to another. I guess we were too close to either his nest or his mate (or both). He would follow us along the rails of the boardwalk and squeak at us. If we stopped and turned around, he then jumped to the nearest tree - a distance of over two feet. I was surprised that he could jump that far.
A male anhinga drying its feathers. This bird swims with only its neck about water. It doesn't produce a waterproof oil for its feathers, and so must sit with its wings spread out, allowing the feathers to dry. It was sitting on one side of a lagoon. A good thing too, because on the other side was a rather large alligator.
A muscovy duck (notice the wet head feathers) flapping its wings in the water. These birds are used to being fed by humans, and so when they see us walking along the path, they come right up to us expecting to have pieces of bread or other food thrown to them. We didn't have anything, and the ducks moved on to the next lot of tourists.
On Ralph and Catherine's last day, we took them to Bok Tower Gardens. This time, we determined that we would visit Pinewood Estate. On previous trips we wanted to visit the estate, but always got sidetracked in the gardens. This time, we did the estate first. And I'm glad we did. What a treat!
Pinewood Estate was built in the 1930s by Charles A. Buck, a vice president of Bethlehem Steel, in the spanish style, as a winter retreat for his family. Mr. Buck was an avid amateur horticulturalist. He hired a firm to design the gardens first, and then place the house within the gardens to maximize the views from each room. The house was acquired by the folks at Bok Tower Gardens in the 1970s.
Part of the back of the house. Designed in the spanish style, it it stucco on the outside, with tile floors and beautiful painted tiles everywhere.
Part of one of the gardents and the water fountain. The tiles of the fountain, as all the painted tiles, were hand painted in Tunisia. Each room has different designs of tiles. 
The staircase from the driveway to the front door. Note you walked down the stairs to the door. Off to the side, a path led to the fountain above.
The door in the wall - leading to the kitchen garden with the house in the background. Everything was designed to be visually pleasing to the eye. What a place!
Doorway into one of the bedrooms. As an aside, there are several bathrooms in the house - each one decorated in a different colour, and all still with the original American Standard tubs, sinks and toilets from the 1930s. Things were built to last then.
Part of Mrs. Buck's bedroom. She had a separate suite from the husband.
We spent several hours visiting the house and the gardens of Bok Tower before we returned to the house, then taking Ralph and Catherine to the airport.
After that, it was back home to pack and clean up before Walter and I began the trek home. The trip back to Canada was smooth. Good weather all the way back. It was a wonderful time away, and we look forward to travelling again. As much as I like travelling, though, it felt good to be home. Even if it's only for a short time.
No comments:
Post a Comment