Disney

January 7, 2007

Today we toured EPCOT with Terry and Jan Nealey, friends since childhood who happened to be attending a conference in Orlando. Thanks to the internet, we realized that we were both in Orlando and we rendezvoused at the Disney site. A great day with friends from home in a very special place far from home.

Sunday in Orlando

January 6, 2008

It was cool as we rode our bikes to church at 7:30 this morning. This RV park is the largest we’ve been to. There are 800 spaces and it is basically full. Many parks hold church services on Sunday mornings and this one was quite large, over a hundred people. A Pentecostal family, husband age 60, wife and 4 children ages 17 to 12 lead the service. The wife played the piano well, the kids struggled with violins and a trumpet, and they all sang. The husband spoke fluently, in southern style, skipping from place to place in the Bible to blend a very cohesive message. I wondered at his training as he spoke. He related that he drove truck for UPS for twenty years. Then he shared that his father was a Southern Baptist missionary. Aha, the lessons, style, spirit and a lifetime of study came forth in his delivery. A refreshing experience in this unique environment.

We met Frank and Jan for lunch. They taught school with us in Bangkok. As young childless couples, we explored Asia together several times in our two years there. After 6 years in Bangkok and 2 years in Djakarta, they moved to the Orlando area. Frank, as an industrial arts teacher, quit teaching to build houses here. We had not seen them in 34 years. We sat at a picnic table at a local winery and talked the afternoon away. Precious memories revisited, friendships rekindled.

Arrival in Orlando

The drive to Orlando surprised us. There were a few farms. One was strawberry. Orange groves dominate this area but most of the area we drove through was covered with pines and logging appears to be the main industry. It was 68 degrees as we pulled into the campsite. So we donned our shorts and went for a bike ride. We are near a lake and, yes, we are told that it has alligators. Now we sit in the rig, the door is wide open and we are watching the Seahawks beat the Redskins.

Okefenokee

Florida is famous for its alligators. We read today that Georgia has over 200,000 of them. When we visited Okefenokee Swamp today, we thought we would see a few. We didn’t. It’s too cold and they were sleeping in protected marshes.

It did warm up to the mid 50’s and the wind did not blow. So it was quite comfortable as Barb and I walked out the wooden trail to an above the treetop platform to view the swamp. We saw only a small part of the swamp as it extends close to 400,000 acres.
But we saw a unique biome now a National Wildlife Refuge.

We did consult the ranger before we began our trek. “Do we have to worry about the gators?” I asked. “Honey,” she answered, “you’re more likely to get struck by lightening then get bothered by a gator.” I looked up and saw no clouds in the sky so we walked on.

If it had been warmer, or if we had another day here, it would have been best to rent a canoe and experience the swamp in that manner. We now realize that humans and gators can exist side by side. They have been for centuries. The movies have it all wrong.

The last picture is from yesterday, one of the streets in St. Augustine.

Florida is old, Florida is cold

I fail to understand the big deal about Florida. Being on the beach felt like being on the beach in Washington – windy and cold. It barely got over 40 degrees today.

On stopping at the state line and visiting the tourist center we experienced our first taste of retirees coming to Florida. First of all, the large parking lot was dominated by cars from New York and New Jersey. Secondly, there must have been a hundred people in the center and we were some of the youngest.

We spent the day in St Augustine, the oldest city in America. It predates Jamestown by over forty years. The Castillo de San Marcos, the old fort that dominates the waterfront was like the other forts we have visited. The old town has quaint buildings filled with tourist stuff. We left the city to see another lighthouse then drove to the beach. We didn’t stay long. It was sunny but too cold. On the way back to the RV we did stop at the site where Ponce de Leon landed and we drank from the Fountain of Youth. I still limped back to the car.

Pictures are from the fort, the oldest wooden school house in U.S., (closed in 1864) and a young couple at the Fountain of Youth.

Crisis? Emergency?

January 2, 2008

Emergency. Crisis. No, we had a wonderful trip from Ben and Penny’s lake home today.

Oh, it was difficult to leave. Their place is so comfortable, so spacious and there is the lake and the Wii. And there was the access to family. We looked forward to every weekend when Ben and Penny would arrive at the lake. Pisgah and Charlie would always greet us as they arrived. We always felt committed to take care of Ben and Penny as they were coming off their week of work. However, they took care of us. We will miss that. And their lake home was the center of our holiday experience. Very special to have Kari, Nathan, Cailyn, and Janie fly in. Four days were too short. Ben and Penny made it work. They have set the standard very high for future holidays. Thank you, Ben and Penny.

Also, we regretted leaving our new friends Kenny and Maxine. They live two houses down the lake from B&P. B&P introduced us to K&M on our first day at the lake. K&M virtually adopted us. Just a few years younger than us, we went out to dinner with them three times and attended gatherings at their home another 3 times. They introduced us to neighbors and family and made sure we attended the neighborhood Christmas party. They also advised us as to where to make our holiday purchases. Kenny filled us in with the local lore. He grew up in LA, God’s country he calls it. LA to him is lower Alabama. A graduate of Auburn, he manages private forests in the area and keeps his eye on local politics. An affable and knowledgeable person, Kenny added to our experience on Oconee each week. Maxine is a middle school teacher and the consummate family matriarch. At each gathering at their home, we met family and neighbors. We relished in her ease at inviting us and others into her home. Meals were always centered around bubbly conversation and family stories. We will miss them but now look forward to them coming to our area. Almost family, they are, Kenny and Maxine. Come and drink our coffee and see our woods. A bedroom is always open to these special people.

We spent New Year’s Day packing out after the family left to catch a plane at 7 a.m. and Ben and Penny went off to work. We grudgingly transported our belongings out to the RV while trying to restore the home to the condition of our arrival. We didn’t want it to end, this retreat so comfortable. Kenny and Maxine invited us for supper one last time in their home so we wouldn’t have to cook our last evening.

We awoke to a lake troubled at our departure. It was the first time that we saw whitecaps in our six weeks at the lake. The wind blew and the temperatures where in the mid 20’s. We left around 10 a.m. and the six hour trip south brought us within 7 miles of the Florida border. It was not until we “hooked up” settled in, and turned on the TV that we were informed we are in a crisis. It will be in the mid 20’s here tonight. The local news show began with the information, then connected to the local fire department that warned us of safety issues using space heaters, then to Home Depot to recommend preparation to keep pipes from freezing and from furnace problems, then to local nurseries for information to keep plants from freezing. The last piece featured workers who informed us as how they cope with working outside when it only got up to 41 today. Their best piece of advice, they wore hats. They left us with an acronym to take care of us this evening. PPP – Take care of your pets, plants and pipes. An emergency. Yes, if you grow strawberries or oranges. But for most of us it is because the news depicts it so.

I know that most of you are in climates far cooler than we are tonight. You can rest assured, that even though we are in crisis mode, my pipes, plants, and pet are well and comfortable.

New Years

This is our last day on Lake Oconee. It has been a grand pause in our exploration. As the six weeks have passed we have continued to seek out the new, the varied, and the historic, but we have also enjoyed the "settling in" and not having to plan a new route each day.

Ben and Penny brought Kari, Nathan, Cailyn and Janie in from Atlanta late on the 27th. Since that time it has been negotiation to get to hold Jane, one gormet meal after another, playing with Jane, playing board games and the Wii, holding Jane, canoe rides, watching Jane sleep, a few trips out to restaurants and local sites, and watching others make Jane smile. Jane and the Wii have been the dominating activities.


Today they all drove off at 4 a.m. as the Tacoma group catches a plane in Atlanta at 7 a.m. Ben and Penny work today so they drove them in. Barb and I are now alone again as we pack the RV for departure to Florida tomorrow.

The pictures: dinner at B and P's, playing the Wii, Janie putting on a show, on the dock for sunset pictures, and our Wii characters, even Janie.

Ben and Penny have been wonderful hosts and we will miss our weekends with them and the dogs. But it is time to move on, and if we hope to get back to Puyallup by April 1, we must press on.