Christmas WrapUp

We had a few days off together over the Christmas holidays and we laid the blogging aside and kept ourselves busy. So, here's last week's wrap-up.......

December 25, 2007

Christmas Day

Morning

Breakfast followed by a visit to Madison House Assisted Living Center.

Many of the residents are left behind on the holidays and we brought Diva over to

spread her special holiday cheer.

Afternoon

Dinner at about 3 PM along with several other families who came together to

celebrate redemption and Christ's birth.

Evening

We met with friends at BB King's Blues Club where our friend

Rick Melvern

was tearing the place up with his incredible vocal gymnastics on blues and Motown favorites.

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December 27, 2007

Borrow A Kid For A Day

Experiment in Parenting - Taking an 8 Year Old to the Movies

We both wanted to see "Alvin & the Chipmunks", and so, to avoid the gazes of onlookers staring at 2 adults in a kid's movie, we had the bright idea of treating our friend's 8 year old to the movie and thus learn some valuable lessons in the 'parenting' category.

Lesson 1

Using the word 'please' will greatly expedite results when child requests soda, popcorn and restroom visits.

(On our particular excursion, Don popped some Orville Reddenbacher's and threw several cans of soda in his backpack to avoid the outrageous prices at the theater. This was not desirable to the 8 year old who did not want said snacks ....... oh well....... life is tough.)

Lesson 2

Arrive at the theater early enough to secure an aisle seat so as not to disturb other movie-goers when a certain 8 year old needs bathroom/snack breaks.

Lesson 3

Prepare in advance - methods of distracting 8 year old from the violent coming attractions because you've arrived early enough to secure an aisle seat.

Lesson 4

When you finally cave and buy 8 year old some Milk Duds (8 year old finally caved with snacks from home when we caved and allowed the purchase of Milk Duds), do not mix with prepared popcorn & soda snacks brought from home ....... 'nuff said.

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December 28, 2007

Leu Gardens, Winter Park FL

After an early morning call from friend Kathy (who had passes to Leu Gardens) we brushed the teeth, geled back the hair & grabbed a 'to go' cup of coffee for an unplanned morning at the Central Florida attraction.

Be & Kathy at the Floral Clock - flowers are changed periodically providing the numerals
for a surprizingly accurate clock.

The Rose Garden provided vivid colors for our pics below.

Crotons are a typical Florida landscape plant - the lighting was good on this pic.

The following pics were taken inside the Mizell House at Leu Gardens.
We didn't get photos of the exterior as we forgot that our memory chip was at home,

so our camera's internal memory was limited.

Click here for some views and data re: Mizell House

We visited at the right time of year as all the rooms were dressed up
in Christmas displays.

Tree in entryway.

A live bromiliad topped this tree in the dining room.

Palm fronds top off this tree.

The French Horn Tree

Victorian Tree

The wreath of oranges caught our eye in the restored kitchen.

Set for tea in a nook off the gardens.

Bronze sculpture of a citrus worker.

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December 29, 2007

Smyrna Dunes Park, New Smyrna Beach, FL

Loaded up the doggie for the 90 minute ride to SDP, the only dog friendly beach

within reasonable driving distance. Schlepping our windscreen, beach umbrella, H2O,
a sandwich apiece, spf30 sunscreen & some doggie treats, we took to the myriad of boardwalks (you can see them on the above map) twisting over the dunes ,

taking the second exit to the riverside beach.

Once there, we settled in and took in the beauty of God's creation around us -

dolphins which frolicked in the water about 30 feet from us,

sea oats that sang their own unique song as the wind blew them back and forth

rubbing against each other, water that lapped at our feet and the sight of pelicans
floating aimlessly, yet gracefully above the water, landing effortlessly to float and bob

on the wake created by passing boats.

The DivaDog was transfixed on the dolphins, a sight totally new to our inquisitive canine.

As we walked along the beach (barefoot, 82 degrees) we talked at length with

a couple from Wisconsin whose flight was cancelled the previous day because the

airport was snowed in.

Ah ........ so.............. Why did I move to Florida? Refresh me.

Ok. I'm back .... so ..... ah yes, the couple from Wisconsin - they decided to make the most of what could have been a very unpleasant situation ----- they went to the beach until their backup flight at 6 PM ----- my kind of people!

So, rather than posting a bunch of my pics,

hit the link for a Google slide show of this beautiful park

Boardwalks crisscross the dunes at Smyrna Dunes Park, New Smyrna Beach, FL

Ponce Inlet and lighthouse
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December 31, 2007
A New Year's Eve Bike Ride on the West Orange Bicycle Trail.

Since we had not been out on our bikes for quite a while, we decided to go easy and take the shorter southern route which starts near downtown Winter Garden.

It traverses the downtown area, neighborhoods, a nature preserve, a restored railroad bridge and the historic town of Oakland, FL - it ends 5 miles away at County Line Station where bicycle repairs and accessories as well as snacks are offered.

The longer route brings the rider through orange groves, a pine forest and horse farms, ending about 10 miles to the north. We'll work up to that end of the journey and report on it when our stamina and endurance permit.

So, here's our photo essay ........

The Bell Tower through which pass the world's best looking cyclists.

The Edgewater Hotel (opened in 1927) where we started today's ride.

Be stretches in the foreground.

The Winter Garden Heritage Museum (both pics above),

along the West Orange Bike Trail.

Even the vacant buildings were decked out for Christmas.

Just about every square inch of lawn space at this cottage along
the bike trail is taken up with Christmas inflatables and lawn ornaments.
The style of decorating, which we like to call "cramique"
can be seen all over Central Florida during the Christmas season.

A sign of the times - a high end housing community has it's beginnings on lands formerly the home to fragrant orange groves along the once wild shores of Lake Apopka.

Destined to be "Phase 2" of the development.

So THIS is why FRESH orange juice costs 6 bucks a half gallon in Florida (no joke).

Be exits the bridge over Florida's Turnpike.

The former railroad tressle was restored for the West Orange Bike Trail.
About 3 miles up the trail from Winter Garden, we pedaled

(and took a break) in the Town of Oakland, FL.

The Oakland Town Hall was once The Bank of Oakland

in the early 1900s.

The town commons area where families picnic and relax and

moss hangs from trees like Christmas tinsel.

Oakland Police routeinly patrol the bike trail.

They must get to work early and stand in line for bike trail duty.

A detour in the road to preserve a centuries old oak.

Oakland is the home of The Oakland Nature Preserve with paths

and boardwalks leading to the shores of Lake Apopka. Many varieties

of foliage, birds and animals occupy the preserve - and it's a good

escape in case it rains on the bike trail.

Chillin' with a Coke at the end of the trail.

Epilogue To A Bike Ride

Later that evening, we received a call from the manager of

Downtown Brown's (pic below) that Don had left his cell phone

on one of the tables in the eatery. We had stopped there after the pedal back to Winter Garden and couldn't decide if we were hot or cold. So Don ordered hot chocolate and Be ordered ice cream and we shared - and we still weren't sure.

So, he loaded up the DivaDog and

took advantage of the oversight by taking some pics of the downtown

area at night.

The Bell Tower in downtown Winter Garden at night.

The big STOP is at an intersection on the West Orange Bike Trail

which runs smack dab down the center of a 4 block traffic island.

Downtown Brown's - all decked out for Christmas

our favorite place to stop for ice cream or a sandwich after

time on the bike trail.

Diva chills out on the trail. She's thinking "Show me a doggie treat

and I just MIGHT look at the camera for you, cheapskate!"

The Diva Tree in downtown Winter Garden.