Memories of our trip

 




Lounging by the pool. We had the whole pool to ourselves that afternoon.  October seems to be a quiet time.

 Adrien and his two friends.  He really got excited when he saw Lightning McQueen.

 

  Walter and me - aka the Grey Nomads.

We're now back home, after going up the I-75 from Florida to Ajax.  It was a wonderful trip, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Spending time with Chris, Jes and Adrien was a treat.   It was a wonderful holiday.

Another Disney Day

Adrien and his compass fron the Tortuga Tavern.

 

 

 Adrien and the evil space villain Zurk.

 

 Chris at the race track.  Adrien is in the car with him, but Adrien's head is barely visible above the steering wheel.

 

 

On Thursday, I went with Adrien, Jes and Chris to the Magic Kingdom.  Walter opted to stay at the condo and spend the day relaxing.  Above are a few snaps from our day at Disney.  Adrien had a great time.  We saw Tigger and Winnie the Pooh walking along the street.  Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to take a photo before they disappeared.  We did Big Thunder Mountain, the Astro Glider, Pirates of the Caribbean, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Peter Pan's Flight, Winnie the Pooh's Ride and several more before we finished for the day. Lots of fun.

 

Central Florida

On Wednesday, Walter and I decided to explore a bit of central Florida while Chris, Jes and Adrien were enjoying Disney.  After dropping the kids off at the Magic Kingdom, we set out for Polk County.  Our first stop was a lovely hidden gem, Bok Tower Gardens, located in Lake Wales.  The gardens are set in 50 acres and include ferns, live oaks, palms, banana trees, pines, azaleas, camellias, magnolias, just to name a few of the varieties.  There is also a wild bird sanctuary, that is used by several migratory birds.

The gardens were set up by Edward Bok, and dedicated in the 1920s by then President Calvin Coolidge.  Mr. Bok was a very interesting man, who had among his acquaintances P. T. Barnum, Charles Darwin, Frederick Douglass, Rudyard Kipling and FDR.  He bought the land for the gardens, sitting on top of a mountain (actually only 290 feet above sea level but still the second highest point in Florida).  We found the gardens to be like walking into a 'Gone With the Wind' setting.

In the middle of the gardens, Mr. Bok has a 205-foot tower constructed, made of Georgia marble and Florida coquina, and housing a beautiful carillon of 60 bells.  The carillon is played every 15 minutes.  What a beautiful sound! The tower also a beautiful art deco grill work.  It really is something to see.

After the park, we headed to Lang Sun Countrey Groves.  This citrus fruit producer also has a cafe called Taste of Florida, and is known for its grapefruit pie.  The cafe makes great salaes and sandwiches, and the grapefruit pie was worth the trip.  Not too sweet, and completely refreshing.  The refreshing.  Lang has been owned by three generations of the same family - from grangmother, to mother to daughter.  The server we had gave me the recipe for grapefruit pie, and I will defintely be making it once we get back home.

 Close up of some of the flowers in the garden.  The colours were beautiful.  The guide told us the best time is late February/early March when the azaleas are in bloom.  But there is plenty to see in October.

 



 My favourite man.  It was a cool day - only about 67F - but sunny.

 

 The tower.  It's surrounded by a moat and can be accessed by going through decorative wrought iron gates to bridges over the water.



  Me - in front of the tower.

 

 An orange laden tree.  The park is surrounded by orange groves.  The trees, like this one, are so heavy with fruit, that the oranges in some places are touching the ground.



Disney Magic

 Chris, Jes and Adrien at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. 

 

  Cinderella's castle, or as Adrien called it, the Disney Castle.  He was so excited when he saw it.  We were lucky enough to be coming up Main Street just as a show was starting.

 

 The stars of the show - Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

 

 Chris and Adrien with Tigger. 

 

 Adrien and Eeyore.

 



 Granpa and Adrien with Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater.

 

Yesterday, we spent the day at Disney with Chris, Jes and Adrien.  In a way, it brought back great memories.  Adrien is four, and the first time I took Chris to Disney World, he was four.  It was wonderful to experience seeing it all again through the eyes of a four-year old.

 

We started off the day in the Animal Kingdom, a park that I had never been to.  The safari ride was a real treat - over bumpy roads through various parts of 'Africa'.  Saw rhinos, gazelles, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, and hippos, to name a few of the animals.  For me, that was the highlight.

 

In the afternoon, we were in the Magic Kingdom.  Arien was so excited to see the Disney Castle, and we were lucky enough to see a show that included Goofy, Donald Duck, Mickey and Minnie, Peter Pan and Wendy, Snow White, Cinderella, Princess Aurora and their princes, Captain Hook and Mister Smee.  More rides, the Haunted House, Pirates of the Caribbean, and pictures opportunities everywhere.  Adrien loved the rides and is absolutely fearless.  He loved going higher and higher.  If he could have gone on the rides over and over again, he would have.  Every time he got off a ride, all he said was 'again, Nana'. 

 

We finished the day with supper and the fireworks display in Epcot.  A fabulous pyrotechnic display over the lagoon.  Disney certainly knows how to entertain.  A very long day, and very happy one.  And another set of great memories.



 





 





In Florida

We arrived in Florida.  Monday was taken up with relaxing after three days of driving.  Actually Walter did all the driving and I did all the relaxing, so I definitely got the better part of this deal.  Luckily for me, Walter likes to drive (which I don't), and doing it over three days meant that there was no driving at night.  We both agreed it was a good way to make the trip. 

Tuesday morning we were back at our favourite golf course in the area.  The weather was good, and we hit some great shots.  Truth be told though, I hit more goofy shots that good ones.  I guess that's what happens when I only play twice a year and don't practice.  Still, we both had a good time, and that's what counts.  We're never going to make money at playing golf, but we always have a good time.

Today, we went to Melbourne Beach on the Atlantic coast.  The area is beautiful, and much less developed than central Florida.  We had lunch at a road house place called the New England Eatery. Didn't look like much from the outside, but had great fish and chips and delicious blackened shrimp.

Walter relaxing with a coffee on Monday.

 

 

One of the fairways on the Lake Orlando Golf Course.  No alligators this time.

 

At Melbourne Beach.  It was virtually deserted.  Cocoa Beach, up the coast, is more popular and developed.  The surf was quite heavy.  I love the sound of the waves against the shore.

 

 

 Sandpipers on the beach.

 

  Me on the beach.  Even with polarized glasses, I'm squinting so much, it looks like I have my eyes closed.

 







Chickamauga

  Chickamauga Creek

 

 

We decided to see the site of the Battle of Chickamauga before resuming our journey down the I-75. The battle took place in September 1863, and was the second bloodiest in the US Civil War after Gettysburg.  It was well worth the visit.  The battlefield is spread out over a few miles, and while some of the fighting took place out in the open near the Chickamauga Creek, much of the fighting was in the woods surrounding the creek.  And that made it difficult for commanders on both sides to see their own troops and the enemy.

  The Louisianna battery.  The guns faced the union guns from an Illinois battery about 300 to 400 yards away. 

 

 

  The old plantation house - now the Visitor's Centre.

 





Walter in front of the memorial from the State of Georgia to its fallen soldiers in the Civil War.

 

 The woods surrounding Chickamauga.   Although these are new growth, they are typical of what the Union and Confederate troops would have had to march through.  There are monuments every few hundred feet in portions of the woods, marking the various units of regiments from both armies.



On the way to Florida

We're on our way to Florida, down the I-75.  Yesterday, we stopped in Bowling Green, Ohio.  A great university town - home of Bowling Green State University.  The largest employer by far.  The town itself is quite pretty.  Lots of beautiful early 20th century clapboard houses, many of them renting to students.  Also several fraternity houses along Wooster Blvd, known as fraternity row for about two blocks.  I think I counted five fraternities in that two block space.  Don't know about the sororities, although I'm sure they are around as well.

The weather is Bowling Green was cool - around 59 Fahrenheit, and windy.  We had supper at a restaurant called SamB's (see the photo above).  Decor was a bit dated, but the food was great, and there was lots of local art for sale.

This morning we left Ohio for Chattanooga, Tennessee.  It was cold and rainy when we left, but by the time we got to Kentucky, the weather was starting to clear.  Once over the mountains in Tennessee, the sun came out.  What a difference - 21 Celsius and sunny.  On the way down, the display of colour in the leaves was spectacular.  A riot of gold, oranges, red, umbers, ochres, interspersed with dark greens from evergreens.  A beautiful sight, especially in Kentucky and Tennessee.  Tomorrow, we move on the Florida, but first we'll stop to see a Civil War battlefield - Chickamauga.  Looking forward to seeing it.