It's Just Magic

Last week we had an opportunity to experience Disney close up and personal again thanks to our niece, Lindsay, and two dear friends Lynn and Becky. Lindsay managed a few days vacation to spend in Florida with a firm desire to visit Disney World. Lynn and Becky work there and when they found out about Lindsay, they generously offered there guest passes for our use. Not only were the passes for two whold days in the park of out choices, they included 5 more guests. So we took all of the Woodrigians who were in Florida at the time along on Lindsay's adventure. Our party was 9 in all and our wheel chair friend afforded us a few more perks along the way.

Lynn and Becky hosted these people they had never met before plus ourselves in ways one would reserve for family. Their generosity of spirit in acting as knowledgeable tour guides in spite of their own fatigue and pain, was beyond the call of duty. Their guests were appreciative beyond words. Now all of our friends are friends too.

A day at Epcot and one realizes that the magic is still there. We were watching the show and fireworks display in the evening with two little boys who were trying to figure out how the world floats on the water. After they expounded many implausible ideas, I told them the truth; "it's just magic." They both responded simply "yeah".

The second day we were in the Magic Kingdom where Lindsay and I waited 2 hours to ride Splash Mountain. We reached a point where we were ready to give up but there was no way out so we stuck it out and it was so fantastic that we almost forgot what it took to get there. We made up for it later in the evening when the lines shorten by riding Big Thunder Mountain three times.

The greatest sight of the day however, was the electric light parade. I wonder if Thomas Edison has any idea of the beauty wrought by his simple invention, the light bulb. Why not just sit back for a moment and enjoy the parade?

Pete's Dragon is my particular favorite

We concluded the evening with a family style dinner for 8 at the Liberty Tavern where I consumed a syrupy sweet Buzz Lightyear punch in order to get the light up clip of Buzz Lightyear for a certain grandson who is nuts for Buzz. So guess what's coming to you next time we meet Drew?

Birds and Alligators and Panthers Oh, My!

Well we just arrived back in Lakeland after a week in the Everglades. We met up there with our good friends Ed and Judy there. It was such a treat to connect with someone from home after being on our own for a month.

We camped at Collier-Seminole State Park south of Naples and a stone's throw from Marco Island. The campground is lush with trees and history. We were lucky on our campsite. It was very large and the trees were adequately spaced. It was amazing how some RVs were wedged between two trees. Those guys had to be real pros to get into them with out scratching.

A scene in the Everglades

There was an antique piece of road equipment called the Bay City Road Walker. It was made in Bay City, Michigan and used to make the Tamiami trail (also known as US 41) over the swampy land of the Everglades. Yes, this is the same US 41 known as Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.  It always amazes me what Americans were able to do back in the days with the limited technology available both in not only in their equipment and, but also their clothing; and I don't even want to think about the mosquitoes they had to battle. My had is off to the workers who made such projects happen and happen with engineering that would last a century and still going.

Down the street from the park entrance is a bird sanctuary called One Thousand Islands. We took a nice little hike through it and saw a few interesting creatures including a very impressive alligator.

We took an air boat ride, a first for this adventurer. I was pleasantly surprised at what great fun it was. He makes 90 degree sudden turns and you hang on to keep from falling off then barely even feel the centrifugal force. I surmise it is the lack of friction as the boat is actually flying in the air. Apparently these boats only need water to get started, after that they can pretty much go anywhere, which was evidence by the dry mud bars we sailed over and never even got splashed. We saw some more alligators and birds, but more important got a real feel for what the Everglades are like up close and personal.

Meet Buster

When we disembarked from our ship, the woman who owned the company had a few alligator pets which she offered up for us to handle. It took a few strokes with my fingers and a lot of goading from her and Ed for me to get up the nerve but here is the proof. Yes, it felt just like holding and alligator purse.

The next day we took our bikes over to Sanibel Island and rode through the bird sanctuary "Ding Darling". This may sound like a lot of bird watching, but watching them in their natural environment is real eye candy. Besides it is a place to hike or ride our bikes and just enjoy being outdoors.

Our biggest thrill was having a Florida Panther cross our path on the road to Marco Island. We have always heard about the creatures and there are panther crossing signs along all the highways with the same frequency you see deer crossing signs in Wisconsin. However it rare to actually see one. It was a magnificent grey cat with huge biceps and quadriceps. Not a likely candidate for house pet.

We spent a day at the beach in Naples with Ed and Judy, got a little sunburned, and added many games to the longest Pinochle tournament in history.

It was sad to leave our friends in Naples and return to the north but we were warmly greet by other friends from home, Larry and Sue who will be company for us until we leave Sanlan Ranch.

I was able to hit the trails for a 5.5 mile hike after church and we had great fun at our own Superbowl party. Everyone was happy with the outcome. Now I am ready to get back to my golf game.

Keeping the Music Alive

Here in Oscar Scherer State Park on Wednesday evenings you would have an opportunity to listen to "American Music" performed by Carl and Betty Ross. Carl strums a banjo while singing and telling corny jokes while Betty keeps time with a homemade bass of sorts.  They prefer to perform in period dress in keeping with the authenticity of the times they represent. The music is all the product of American composers and artists. Stemming from the Civil War, Stephen Foster, and many of the anonymous songs we learned as children in our school music classes. The kind of songs we sang around the campfires and on long car trips of our youth. "O Susanna", "De Camptown Races", Negro spirituals, songs we may have never heard before but which are all part of our American heritage. Carl has a treasure trove of over 300 songs in his head. Songs that record the mores and values of our ancestors and describe a lifestyle long past. These are songs that can speak to all of us in all times as they are stories of love, beauty, and good plain fun.

I am not sure if my children knew the songs of which I speak and I am pretty sure that my grandchildren have very little, if any, experience of them. So if you have an opportunity to experience a bluegrass event take a minute to soak it in and by all means take the kids. And if you run into Carl and Betty playing "Old Tyme" music say hey for me.

My Kind of Marathon

Yesterday at this time Don was sacked out on the couch wondering how he gets talked into things by me.

This time it was an 11 mile all trails hike in Oscar Shearer State Park. We have hiked all of these trails in the past, but never all in one day. And according to my rather accurate pedometer the hike was more like 14 miles. I believe this to be mostly true as that mileage is based on my stride length and the number of steps and I certainly took all of those steps. A number of miles of trail consist of plodding through beach quality sand accounting for shorter steps and quite a bit of tacking trying to find the firmest piece of trail. The 11 miles, accurately measured in a vehicle, also does not seem to account for the distance travelled from one trail to another which accounts for about a half mile. Hence, I will take credit for my pedometer reading.

The trails are lovely, but why did I decide to do this marathon hike? Simply because I could. I would like to be able to run a marathon or participate in a triathlon or maybe even the 30 mile walk for breast cancer. This occurred at a time when it was convenient. There are no winners or timekeepers. The only glory was to be able to say you did it.Walk at your own pace, quit anytime you like and no one knows the difference but you. The trails are lovely. We stopped to take a picture of a scrub jay without worrying about falling behind.

All along the way are volunteers with refreshments and drinks. Don loved the variety of cookies. At the end of the trail, or in the middle if you prefer or need a rest, are hot dogs and ice cream sundaes. Life is good when you have the physical and mental capacity to take advantage of its opportunities. We are truly blessed.

Everything is Relative

Things I have learned spending winters in Florida

• Cold is a relative thing. Everyone down here complains when it is below 70 about the cold weather. I tend to pooh pooh this, but the recent cold snap of below 30 degree nights followed by days in the 50's is just as painful to Floridians as the sub freezing temps are to us Northerners.
• Several inches of snow in Chicago is just a long rush hour. In Atlanta, it paralyzes the city for several days. That's painful.
• Bird watching can be fun.
• Playing golf in January is exciting even when course conditions are as bad as they can get.
• If two people get along well living in 9 rooms, they can manage living in two rooms just as well.
• Stuff is over rated. There is nothing I left at home that I cannot live without.
• Friends and family are under rated. They are the only things I left at home that I cannot live without. Friends also abide in Florida and some will even join us down here which keeps the long time away from home from getting lonely.
• Church is important anywhere you go. It not only offers the opportunity to commune with the heavenly Father on a regular basis, it is a constant in an ever changing environment.

• Laundromats are efficient, but very expensive.
• There is good health care in Florida; you just have to make good choices and get lucky as in any other place.
• An abundance of fresh produce is taken for granted.
• And, oh yes, alligators won't bother you if you give them their space. I am not about to test this one to often.

There is nothing wrong with perpetual summer. It is healthy for both the mind and body. Moving here permanently, I would not miss the seasons as I hear people say. I would, however, miss the place I call HOME, in a most miserable way.

Living in the Eastern Time Zone

Do you know it is still dark here until almost 8 AM but in the January evenings it is like daylight savings time never went away? When are we supposed to be sleepy?

When are we supposed to be hungry? We used to watch Good Morning America over breakfast; now it is starting while we are washing the dishes.

Does anyone really watch TV here. You have to wait until 8:00 for anything to be on; then you find out your favorite show has been replaced by some special; then you decide to watch something different only to find out that it is a rerun of the only episode you have ever watched of that particular show. To put the icing on the cake the best shows are not on until 10:00 and since you have been enjoying the warm outdoors into the extended daylight time you cannot keep your eyes open to watch. I think most of the easterners use Tevo to keep up with their favorite shows so the advertisers may as well forget them and pandy to the simple habits of the medwest.

And that is my most interesting thought this week. Lack of responsibility definitely has its benefits.

Well I guess if you are too busy living life and then too tired to write about it it's not all that bad. We had a whirlwind week of Christmas in Atlanta. Starting with a couple of days alone with Mike and Elizabeth and getting reacquainted with Drew and Ollie.

It seems that Drew has taken a liking to buses lately, so when he saw our Big Bertha out in front of his house this was quite a treat. When he gets an opportunity to get into a real bus, he will wonder where the kitchen is. 

We went to the Christmas Eve service at their church then immediately to have dinner with Elizabeth's family. These people are living proof to the truth of Southern hospitality. They take you in and treat you just like family and, fortunately, they are a family which likes each other. Dinner was magnificent and it was followed up with Christmas carolling around the tree. That is my kind of a Hallmark Christmas.

On Christmas day the rest of the family arrived. The threat of flight cancellations came not from Wisconsin or Minnesota but from Atlanta where flights were being cancelled 24 hours in advance because of an expected ice storm. Fortunately the ice turned out to be a significant snow fall giving them the first white Christmas in 128 years and allowing the flights to arrive. I suppose some might credit all of us Nannooks from the north for bringing it.

So the day after Christmas we were all fifteen together hanging out at Mike's. What fun.

The day after Christmas some of us went to the Georgia aquarium. Although we had been there before and Aquariums are low on my list of favorite places, it is awesome to experience these natural wonders through the eyes of the children. We returned to the hotel where we were met by the rest of the clan for a good swim. The kids and babies were all such fun in the pool. Unfortunately I was too busy playing  to take pictures. Perhaps I will be able to steal a few from Elizabeth.

The one job I gave to the parents of all these children was to get me a picture of the 7 grandchildren together. I didn't care if they were smiling, crying, or even sleeping. They did a pretty good job. Then we were also able to snap a few of all the old kids together while they were all taking pictures of the kids.

 

Everyone left town on Wednesday after Christmas, and God bless Mike and Elizabeth for making sure everyone got to where they needed to be on time.

We drove straight to Lakeland Florida where we are now to rest and recuperate in the sunshine and on the golf course.