St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach

On Thursday and Friday, Walter, Ralph and I went to St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach (across the causeway).  Ralph's friends, Steve and Cindy, are in St. Augustine Beach for a month, and graciously invited us to stay overnight.  Thursday was probably the coldest day we've had so far.  In St. Augustine, the temperature rose to 15C and didn't get much higher.  It felt weird to wear long pants and shoes and socks. By Friday, though, we were back to warmer temperatures.

St. Augustine is about 2 1/2 hours away from Kissimmeee.  The whole city has about 12,000 people, according to the latest census. Not very big, at all.  We arranged to take a tour of the old part of St. Augustine on Thursday morning.  It is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in North America, having been founded in 1565 by the Spanish.  The original city was rather small, as it was situated between the Maria Sanchez Creek and the ocean.  The city was expanded in the 19th century by Henry Flagler (a partner of John D. Rockefeller) when he bought several parcels of land and filled in the creek. Unfortunately, most of the original historical building burned over the years, and today the historic centre has mostly replicas. There are a few original buildings left, about five or so according to our tour guide.  It's an easy area to walk around, and I would go back, just to do that.  There is only so much that we can see from a trolley car, and I would like to see more of the old part.

The Spanish, who had St. Augustine for 200+ years, built a fort Castillo de San Marcos.  It changed hands several time, first Spanish, then British (who traded Cuba to the Spanish for Florida), then Spanish again, and lastly American.  Oddly enough, the fort was handed over by treaties, not because it was conquered.

 A typical street in the historic district.  The upper balconies are Spanish influence.  

 One of the many buildings built by Henry Flagler.  This one is a church, although, unfortunately I don't remember which one. He was involved in the building of several churches.

 One of the more whimsical residents of St. Augustine.

 This restaurant is in what used to be an indoor swimming pool.  The floor was leveled out and the dining area is where the pool would have been 12 feet deep. The balcony above is at street level.

 Another typical street, and another Spanish style balcony.

 The oldest wooden school house in the USA.  I think this is a replica, but I could be wrong.

 Some of the old roads are paved with bricks from Birmingham, Alabama.  It took me a while to figure out what 'BHAM, ALA" meant.

 Our friend Ralph on the board walk up to the fort.

 View from the top of the fort, overlooking the estuary.

 Walter and Ralph contemplating something about the cannon.  There were several examples of Spanish cannon, some made in Seville and brought over to St. Augustine on ships.

 The boardwalk across the sand dunes at the resort where Steve and Cindy are staying.  It just invites you to walk across and enjoy the beach.

 One of the many residents of the beach - a ring billed gull.

 A sandpiper of some kind.  I haven't identified exactly which one yet.

 Birds everywhere.  There were a few fellows out fishing for whiting.  The birds would swarm when the nets were drawn in. Gulls and pelicans - all waiting to see what they could steal from the fishermen.

 Some of the many pelicans looking for easy pickings.

 The condo complex where we stayed overnight, courtesy of Steve and Cindy, Ralph's friends.  We will definitely reciprocate at some time in the future.

Lazy days in Florida

Celebration has turned out to be a hidden treasure.  We've been there a few times on our own, and have been there with Alicia.  Yesterday, we went again, just to walk around in the afternoon.  It was a beautiful day, and being out in the sunshine seemed like a good thing to do.  There is something soothing about feeling the warm sunshine on my skin - and yes, there is sunscreen.  After all, I don't want to get burned.  But more than that, it feels good to be out and about (probably because it doesn't feel like exercise).

If you've never been to Celebration, it's a town that was developed by the Walt Disney Company.  It was designed to have an early 20th century feel.  Houses generally have large balconies, no high-density housing, and lots of parkland and walking area.

We've walked around the main lagoon at the bottom of Market Street a few times.  There is always something to see, especially various water birds.  When Alicia was here, she and I walked across the board walk on the other side of the lagoon, and came upon another lagoon in a secluded residential area.  Yesterday, Walter and I walked around that lagoon and found another boardwalk.  That led us to another larger lagoon, with walking paths along it.  In other words, if we're energetic, we can walk all around Celebration by keeping to the walking paths and the boardwalks.  The whole area is about 20 square kilometres.  We haven't walked it all, and mostly likely won't on this trip to Florida, but it will be something to keep in mind for future visits.

 Walk with me along the path, and together we will explore what lies before us.  One of the many walking paths in Celebration.

 Water lilies almost ready to bloom.

 The juxtaposition of old and new is always interesting.  A few feet from the young water liles, a sign of spring, I found this dead maple leaf, a sign of autumn and winter.  Even here, the seasons are represented.

 Segways parked along one of the boardwalks.  The tour guide and his party were down by the lagoon edge looking at an alligator in the distance.

 Spring is mating season.  And the squirrels were not happy with all the people walking along the boardwalks.  Seems we were too close to their trees.  We were roundly scolded by just about every squirrel we saw.

A snowy egret.  Beautiful!

I love the reflection in the water.  These houses are part of the group around the second lagoon we visited.  

Return to Lakeland

Today was a beautiful sunny day.  And, as it was so gorgeous outside, I asked Walter if he wanted to go for a walk.  After all, who could pass up sunshine and warm weather?  So, we did - go for a walk that is.  We drove to Lakeland to walk around Mirror Lake.

When we got to Lakeland, we couldn't remember exactly where Mirror Lake was.  The city has over 30 lakes within its limits, and we've only visited two of them.  We did find Lake Morton.  And the downtown area.  What a treat.  Today, all the garden clubs and horticultural societies were having an event in Munn Park.  Lots of plants for sale - gardening starts earlier here than at home.  And, lots of orchids.  Gee, they were beautiful.

We strolled through the plant and flower exhibits, and then had lunch.  Then used our trusty GPS to find Mirror Lake - by getting it to direct us to the city centre.

Here are a few pictures from our day.  What a lovely city.

 One of the many clubs with displays in the park.

 The main street was closed off to traffic.  Seems everyone was out, buying plants or just enjoying the day.

 Some of the orchids on display.

  More orchids.  Seems to be a popular flower here.

 Recycling oil cans to make bird houses.  Whimsical!

 After lunch, we walked around Mirror Lake.  There is a platform anchored in the middle of the lake - popular with the pelicans, cormorants and other birds. 

 View across the lake.

 Walter lining up his shot

  There is a lovely flower garden, Hollis Garden, at one end of the lake.  Today, there was a wedding going on, so some areas were roped off.  The bits that we saw though were beautiful.

 The swans are everyone - including in stone.  

 An invitation to walk.  There are pathways right around the lake.

Alligators Unlimited Airboat Nature Tour

This morning we were up bright and early (5:15 am), so that we could leave the house by 6:30.  The reason?  An airboat tour starting at 8 am, in Lake Wales.  It took just over an hour to get there, because the tour is not exactly in the city of Lake Wales.  Actually, it's practically at the Kissimmee State Park.

For us, the name of the tour was both misleading and accurate.  We didn't see many alligators.  But we did see lots and lots and lots of birds.  So, if you're not interested in looking at pictures of birds, or reading about birds, skip this blog and wait for the next one.  If you are interested, read on.

This airboat tour was not like the one that Alicia and I did in Louisiana.  There, we were in the bayou.  Here, we were in the headwaters of the Everglades.  Unlike the bayou in Louisiana, there is no brackish or salt water.  It's all fresh water, and flows through the middle and south of Florida to the Everglades.  Lots of shallow lakes and marshes.  And the birds were amazing.  My only regret (actually two) is that I didn't bring the bigger lens for my camera (and it was over so quickly).  Walter, Alicia and I were the only ones on the six-passenger boat, and so had our own private tour.  Couldn't ask for anything better.  I would have gladly paid the fellow, Captain Carl, to spend the whole morning, not just two hours, out in the water.  If you want to do something different in Florida, I would recommend this.  You'll see what Florida used to be like before the swamps started to be drained in the 1960s.

 Bald eagle - the symbol of America.

 Part of the swamp.  Birds everywhere.  It's hard to take a picture that doesn't have a bird in it.

  Wood stork in flight.

  Snowy egret.  I don't know how many of these I saw.  They are beautiful birds, especially in flight.

   How now brown cow!  Florida has more cattle per capita than Texas.  It is second only to Texas for cattle ranching.  Cattle ranching is the third largest industry in Florida.  The state has allowed cattle to roam free on some park land, and so it's not unusual to see cattle near or in the swamp.

  This little fellow is a purple gallinule.  He has long yellow legs and walks among the lily pads in the swamp.  Said to be the most colourful bird in Florida.   I can believe it.

  Typical swamp.  Looks like it's solid ground, but it's not.  And, of course, there are birds everywhere.

  There are fish in the water, and that attracts the fish eagle - aka the osprey.  

It was an incredible two hours, and I would do it again.  Loved the experience.

More Celebration

Yesterday, Alicia and I went to Celebration to walk around the lagoon, while Walter went to look at classic cars.  We ended up walking around the lagoon, down one of the boardwalks, and along some of the residential streets.  What a place.

 The usual assortment of water birds were around.  This limpkin was looking for food along the shore of the lagoon.

 And passed an ibis in its travels.

 One of the highlights was this osprey.  He sat in a tree above us and watched the lagoon for about 15 minutes.  Of course, watched him.  We could see him getting ready to take off and.................

  luckily, we saw him catch a fish. 

  Lots of little birds around.  I don't know what this one is.  It kept flitting about and was hard to get a good picture, but I finally managed this.

 Another lagoon - this one a bit secluded from the hustle and bustle.  Around the main lagoon, along the boardwalk through the woods, and voila - a different part of Celebration.  So quiet and peaceful.

 An old sports car parked outside on the street.  It needed a bit of work - the red is faded, and the dashboard, made of real wood, needs repair, but oh, what a beauty.

  Looking back toward the main street.  There are calla lilies along both sides of the water.  Beautiful.

  The condos across the street.  Looking south, we have the view in the picture above.  Looking north, we have the view in the picture below.  Lovely.

  Sidewalks on both sides of the street, and along the park.  Really encourages folks to walk and enjoy the town.  It was so quiet, Alicia and I felt we had to whisper, so as not to disturb anyone.

Downtown Disney

Yesterday, being a sunny day, we decided to spend some time outside.  Our destination was Downtown Disney.  We didn't feel like doing theme parks, and this was a good alternative.  Lots of Disney feel, without the expensive admission price.

 One of the things we opted to do was go up in the balloon.  It's not a balloon ride per se.  The balloon is tethered, so all we do is go up about 375 feet, stay there for 10 minutes, then descend.  It's worth it though.  Gave us a good view of how flat Florida is, and allowed up to see bits and pieces of Disney World from a different perspective.

 EPCOT in the distance, taken from the balloon.  

  Hollywood Studios' Tower of Terror, seen in the distance, from the balloon.  It's even further away than EPCOT.  

  One of the hotel and golf resorts on the Disney property, again taken from the balloon.  We could see just how immense the Disney property was, and why it's considered a county all by itself.

After the balloon ride, we wandered around.  Lunch was at the T-Rex Restaurant.  Really geared for kids, although I think very young ones would be a bit scared by the noise and the animatronic dinosaurs.  I liked the designations on the washroom doors "She-Rex" and "He-Rex".  Even the washrooms were decorated in dino motifs (no pictures of that).

 Walter with some of his friends.  It's impossible to be in a bad mood when you're with Winnie, Tigger and Piglet.

 They come in peace.  Walter with another intrepid friend - Buzz Lightyear.

It was a lovely day to wander around.  Back home in late afternoon to relax.

Alicia, though, had other friends.  One very colourful, as you can see below.

  This red parrot decided to flirt with her, and bobbed up and down on her head.  Quite the character - the parrot, I mean.

 Ahoy matey!  Alicia with her intrepid sailor at the helm - could be from Davey Jones' locker, though.  Look out!