Tuesday April 10th 2018

It rained off an on all night. This morning it was surprisingly bright. The forecast was for heavy rain all day. I didn’t have long to wait. It got steadily darker until the sky opened up around 11AM. There was a severe thunderstorm warning and plenty of rain and wind to prove the need. It rained very hard with thunder and lightening for over an hour. The rest of the day was occasional heavy showers with light rain or drizzle in between. More rain is forecast tonight. It is supposed to dry up tomorrow morning.

I didn’t venture more than a few hundred feet away from my RV home today. On both occasions that I thought it had let up enough to take a walk around the RV resort, mother nature turned the faucet back on as soon as I stepped out he door. Driving without a set destination was also a bad idea. The TV news was reporting many flooded roads. I stayed in and accomplished a bunch of odds & ends along with watching TV and grazing on the contents of the refrigerator and cabinets. It’s a good thing I have a lot of rainy days to keep me in the RV. Eating seems to be one of my ways to kill time on a raining day. The last really raining string of days was in San Antonio TX in early February.

Since I didn’t get out for a walk today. I didn’t take any new pictures. The three pictures I’m including tonight were taken during a walk around the RV resort on Monday morning. I managed to capture the Great Blue Heron snatching his lunch from the water. It was a very surprising event and even more amazing that I caught it in a picture.

The heron is watching the water as it slowly walks along being careful not to make any splash with each step.

As I was walking by it suddenly lunges forward.

Seconds later its head is back out of the water with a fish in its mouth.

Tomorrow afternoon I’m going back to Epcot. I hope to come prepared to last through the evening Illuminations show. That means hydrated, well fed and warm enough for the weather.

Monday April 9th 2018

Today started as a partly cloudy humid day. As the day went on it became a mostly sunny and humid with high temperatures in the upper eighties. Overall it was better day than the forecast had me expecting. The noon TV weather forecast the bad weather starting overnight and continuing all day tomorrow into Wednesday. Over two inches of rain is possible.

These two colorful birds are a colorful greeting as you make your way into the park.

After yesterdays visit to Epcot I was going to take today off from Theme park touring, but the forecast of a washout on Tuesday caused me to reconsider. A quick check online showed that the Animal Kingdom was open until 9:30 with two evening showings of the Rivers of Light show. I was able to snag a Fastpass for the first Rivers of Light showing of the night as well as a Fastpass for the Lion King Show and the Kilimanjaro Safari. I arrived at the Animal Kingdom around 3:30 and got back to my RV home at 10PM.

There were many lily pads with purple blooms in the river.

Part of the ambiance of the park.

My first stop in the Animal Kingdom was the new (to me) Pandora land. This area is based on the movie Avatar. It has two rides that are currently the big draw in Disney World. There weren’t any available Fastpass for the rides and the wait times were around two hours. I’m not going to stand in line that long. The area is very intriguing with lots of plants and luminescent colors. I’ve never seen more than a few minutes of the movie so I’m not sure of the back story associated with Pandora.

This guy is snacking on a bush while he waits for the dinner call.

From Pandora I continued on to my Lion King show Fastpass. It was good as usual. One of these days I’ll get to sit in a section other than the Elephant one. I had time to do some touring after the show until my Kilimanjaro Safari started. I used the time to visit the Gorillas. The males were about to retire backstage for dinner and sleep. They made quite a show heading for the door in the correct order of seniority. One of them acted like a two year old human jumping up and down and pounding the ground. The safari ride took longer than normal. The Giraffes wanted the road to themselves. The tour vehicles were all backed up waiting for long necked critters to get out of the road.

First animals we passed on the safari tour.

This picture is highly cropped to show the two hippos. This mother hippo had a baby a few weeks ago. The baby is on the ground right in front of her with a couple of birds standing on and around the baby.

Giraffes eating. When they finished they got in the road in front of our vehicle.

Watusi cattle.

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A couple of cheetah.

Zebra.

After the safari I visited the area with the tigers. The two cubs born last summer were on display with one of their parents. Like the gorillas they were waiting to go backstage for dinner. The cubs are not little anymore.

The Rivers of Light show was a very interesting combination of lights and fountains on barges in the lake with projections of animals on water screens. I’m not sure what the story or plot line was supposed to be, but it was very colorful and full of activity. Even with a Fastpass, the wait for the show was almost an hour for a fifteen minute show. If I had a Fastpass, I’d go again. I’m not sure it is worth waiting in the standby line.

Start of the Rivers of Light show

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The end of the Rivers of Light show.

From the Rivers of Light show I walked briskly back to Pandora on the other side of the park. It took more than fifteen minutes to get there, but it was worth the effort. I got to ride the Na’vi River Journey boat ride without any wait. It was an interesting boat ride through glow in the dark objects and projections. Once again knowledge of the movie might help understand what I’m seeing, but it was interesting. When I got off the ride the 9:30 closing time had arrived.

Sunday April 8th 2018

It rained off and on most of the night. This morning it was overcast but still warm and humid. The forecast for the day was uncertain. Some rain was possible late in the day. As it turned out there was just enough rain to be a nuisance.

Epcot Flower and Garden Festival 2018

Late this afternoon I went to EPCOT at Disney World. The annual Flower and Garden Festival is going on. I wanted to check out the flowers and topiaries on display. Disney does a great job creating fun and beautiful displays. I spent most of my time wandering around taking pictures of the displays. Most of this blog entry will be some of the better pictures.

I did take time to ride a few of the attractions will short lines. All of the popular rides had long wait times. I tried to see the American Adventure show, but after waiting in the queue area and in the theater the show was declared closed. Even with a service tech sticking his head behind the curtain they couldn’t get it to run. I also managed to get some Fish & Chips at the United Kingdom Rose & Crown Pub. The British Revolution rock band was playing in the back garden as I ate my evening meal.

The weather wasn’t being cooperative. Most of the time it was just cloudy, but a couple of times the sun broke through and really warmed things up. A few minutes later it would drizzle. Once I got damp from sweat and the drizzle going into Air Conditioned buildings a chilling experience. The drizzle started to turn to rain as it approached eight in the evening. I decided against hanging around for the Illuminations fire, laser and fireworks show at nine. Instead, I returned home to a hot shower.

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Saturday April 7th 2018

Today started calm and sunny and ended windy and wet. The gentle morning breeze kept increasing in strength as the day progressed. By four in the afternoon the wind was very strong and clouds had covered the sun. Thunder was in the air, but it never turned to rain. I checked the weather radar on my phone and the main line of storms was still fifty miles to the west. Around seven or so the wind picked up even more and rain fell for about five minutes. Since then it has been quiet; no rain and no wind. The TV weather forecast calls for a gentle soaking rain between 2 and 6 in the morning.

Great Blue Heron keeping an eye on the nearby Alligator.

Alligator trying to sneak up on the Heron.

The neighborhood duck posing for me again today.

This morning on my walk around the campground I saw the usual creatures at the retention pond. The most prominent is a Great Blue Heron that seems to keep watch at one corner of the water area. Today the resident alligator was showing some interest in the bird. It seemed to be practicing its stealth approach. Over the course of five or ten minutes the gator got about five feet closer to the Heron. I think the bird was watching it all the way. Eventually the alligator gave up and headed across to the other side of the pond at a rapid pace.

Around mid day I drove over to Disney Springs. This shopping and entertainment complex always has something interesting going on. Today they had a number of high school choir and coral groups performing. I listened to a couple groups perform. Both were difficult to hear. The strong gusty wind often drowned out the singing and the mix levels of one group were off. The keyboard music was amplified more than the voices. Even so, it was a nice way to spend some time.

Beautiful fake river through Disney Springs complete with painted bottom.

Saratoga Springs Resort across the lagoon with storm clouds gathering overhead.

Looking toward the Market Place area from the West Side.

It was busy at the Springs today, but the crowds weren’t that bad. I had thoughts of having Fish & Chips at Cookes of Dublin restaurant but ended up having a Hot Fudge Sunday at Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate shop. It was very good as usual. Considering that it costs as much as the fish & Chips it better. I ate a real meal later back at my RV home.

I had planned to walk up to Old Town again this evening. I wanted to see the Classic car Cruise in, but I decided to wait for the storm front on the radar to pass. Once I knew it had passed it was too late and I’m not sure how the organizers of the event would have handled the rain.

Friday April 6th 2018

Today was the last clear and sunny day before the next cold front arrives. Tomorrow afternoon is the start of a window with twenty to fifty percent chance of rain. Tuesday is the next day forecast to be sunny again. The TV weather forecasters are making it sound like a major calamity. Based on the data and a couple of months of observations, not the words coming out of the weather peoples mouths, I think it means partly cloudy days in the 70s instead of the 80s. Even a little rain is still better weather than a lot of the country is getting.

Neighborhood duck.

Blue Heron in the weeds of the retention pond.

I got a slow start this morning. Unlike most mornings it actually created a minor issue. I wasn’t up in time to play reservation roulette on the Reserve America Web site. There were three sites available for booking at 8AM that I didn’t get a chance at booking. Tomorrow and Sunday there are two sites available. Monday has only one site available, but Tuesday morning there are several good sites. One of these mornings I’ll get a site as long as I get before 8AM.

This week following Easter is considered one of the busiest time for tourists in this area. It is second only to Christmas for tourist density at the area theme parks. When I left the RV park today, I tried to stay away from the high density traffic areas. I’m not sure if I succeeded. It took more than a half an hour to go four miles along the main highway in Kissimmee this afternoon. My mission was twofold. I wanted to see what had changed since I was last in the area in the fall of 2016 and I wanted to scout out a gas station to fill the RV when I leave here. I didn’t find any major changes to the businesses and attractions in the area. I found an expensive Marathon gas station that will work well for the motorhome. I’ll keep looking over the next week for a place that’s not ten cents a gallon higher than the others.

Clock in the center of the Old Town attraction. The road along the block in front and behind the clock is full of Camaro cars old and new .

This evening I walked up to the Old Town and Fun Spot amusement area on the main road in front of the campground. I have visited this attraction many times while staying in this area since 2015. They have added some new amusement rides for me to watch. Thrill rides are not my cup of tea. The biggest ride they’ve added is a new steel and wood roller coaster. It isn’t huge by modern standards, but like all of the rides it had lines of people waiting. Tonight was also Muscle Car night. They had many highly polished and cared for muscle cars on display and a band on the stage to entertain the crowds. Tomorrow night is the 28th Anniversary Classic Car Cruise, so I might walk up there again.

New wood and steel roller coaster at the Fun Spot amusement area. This is advertised as ” This coaster is the ONLY wooden coaster in Florida to go upside down!”

Two riders at the bottom of the 300 foot drop on the Skycoaster.

Thursday April 5th 2018

This morning was much cooler than the past few days. The humidity was gone and the temperature was in the low sixties at best. It still warmed up into the eighties by the middle of the day.

I got up as soon as I woke up this morning to start the task of preparing for travel. There wasn’t a real rush. Checkout time at Lake Manatee State Park is 1PM and I only had a couple of hours of travel. Starting early allowed me to take a couple of breaks for breakfast and a second cup of coffee. With the cooler temperatures it wasn’t as important, but if the humidity had persisted the breaks would have been very helpful.

Site 271 at the Tropical Palms RV Resort in Kissimmee FL.

I pulled out of my site around 10:30. After a stop at the dump station to empty the tanks and a second stop at the picnic area to hookup the car, I left the park shortly after 11AM. Traffic for the first part of the trip was good. Once I got to the Tampa area traffic got heavy and slow all the way to the east side of the Lakeland area on Interstate 4. It got bad again as I got into the Kissimmee area. The only bad part of today’s journey is failing to stop for gas. I drove right by the exit I scoped out for stopping. I’ll have to stop somewhere when I leave this stop in eleven days.

I arrived at the Tropical Palms RV Resort in the Kissimmee just before 1:30. Everybody else seemed to arrive at the same time. There was a long line at the registration desk. This is a “resort” that has cottages in addition to RV sites. What “resort” means to me is more expensive, optimal use of the available space (i.e. small tightly packed camp sites), and lots of amenities that I won’t use. Unfortunately, sometimes you need to go where there is available space.

I’ve been here before. The last time was in the fall of 2016. It isn’t a bad resort campground. The park was a lot quieter in October. It is currently full of family style units with kids on spring break. It’s not all nuclear families. There are many family groups that look like grandparents hosting the grand kids. On a walk around the campground this afternoon I had to dodge several golf carts driven by kids. They aren’t necessarily bad drivers, but it’s clearly a joy ride.

This is a small alligator that lives in the campground’s retention pond.

Wednesday April 4th 2018

Today was another day in the summer weather pattern. It started in the sixties which is a little cooler than the Tuesday. The high temperature was about the same in the low to mid 80s with the same high humidity. The clouds didn’t thicken as much and threaten rain as much. The bottom line is it was another beautiful day.

View to the east over Lake Manatee. The clouds seem thicker to the east.

I took a scouting trip along with a stop for groceries this afternoon. I checked out various gas stations for suitability to fill the motorhome tomorrow. The stations between here and the interstate don’t have the best access. I could get into a couple in a pinch, but it would really tie up the area while I was filling the tank. Today’s scouting mission was to check out the stations at the next exit north on Interstate 75. Once I got there I remembered having checked it out in 2016. It’s another one that would work if it wasn’t busy, but could be a real problem getting out of at a busy time. It’s not worth taking the risk. The last thing I want to have to do is disconnect the car so I can back up the RV.

I don’t think of cactus when I think of Florida. There are a number of these plants in bloom.

Bright yellow blossom.

I’ve only got one hundred miles to travel tomorrow. If necessary, I don’t have to buy gas at all. I’d arrive with less reserve than I’m comfortable with and the problem would still be there when I hit the road the next time. I’ll do a little bit of Google maps satellite view checking later this evening. Somewhere along Interstate 75 or Interstate 4 I should be able to find a good candidate.

“I’ll keep watch while you stick your head in there for some food.”

I took a couple more hikes and another bike ride today. The campground is filling up again. This time it is heavily occupied with tent campers. I guess this is the Florida spring camping season.

One last sunset from Lake Manatee State Park.

Tuesday April 3rd 2018

Today was a little warmer and just as humid as Monday. I’ve been resisting turning on the AC, but the humidity is taking a toll. By the time I finish breakfast the RV has warmed up enough that I’m dripping with sweet. Outside there is enough breeze to make it a little more tolerable. Getting motivated to walk around the park is hard, but once I’m out in the park it’s fine.

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Between the natural variations in the weather and my moving around the country it’s hard to anticipate the weather changes. At the end of last year I was in the longest dry spell and record warmth in Las Vegas history. As I came across the country I ran into a long period of rainy but warmer weather in Texas and Louisiana. The month of February in Florida was above normal for temperature and below normal for rain. March in Florida was below normal in the temperature category. According to the TV weather talkers the first few days of April have followed a summer weather pattern more consistent with late May or June. I’m all confused and I haven’t started north yet.

This fish in the lake looks like it escaped from somebodies backyard fish pond.

This Armadillo never slowed down long enough to get a good picture.

I think this is a Marsh Rabbit.

I think the animals that live in the park are hiding out during the day to deal with the heat. On my midday walk I didn’t see any ground animals. Near sunset I saw more animals of all types including one I haven’t seen before. Near the lake I spotted a dark brown creature that looked like a rabbit. It wasn’t the right color and its ears looked smaller. After a little bit of internet searching, I think it’s a Marsh Rabbit.

Tomorrow is my last full day here. I have to make a grocery run and start to pick up and pack up for Thursday’s travel day.

Tonight’s sunset.

Monday April 2nd 2018

A gentle rain fell for about three hours last night. The TV weather people are calling this a summer weather pattern. That seems to translate to humid with an off shore breeze. Storms build inland through the day then decide where to dump the accumulated moisture as the evening approaches. Today started warm and humid around seventy and topped out in the low eighties. Off to the east in the inland direction tall dark clouds formed all day. They never seemed to move just continue to build. In the other direction toward the Gulf of Mexico the sky was generally clear.

Storm clouds building to the east.

I continue to function in RV living mode. There are a number of attractions in the area that I haven’t seen, but they aren’t enough to get me into tourist mode. RV living mode allows me to recharge my energy levels from being on the go the last month to Spring Training Baseball games. When I leave here on Thursday I’m going to central Florida for eleven nights which means tourist mode again.

Vulture watching from the top of a dead tree.

Swimming pair of ducks.

The other consideration is that I have reservations to be back in this area from the middle of December to the middle of January. I’m also planning on being back in this area next March for more spring training baseball. That means there should be plenty of opportunity to tour when conditions aren’t ideal for relaxing with nature. I really enjoy walking around this park looking for birds and animals. Today I saw my first alligator in the middle of this lake, but couldn’t get a very good picture.

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Between walks I’ve been reading and doing more research for future travels. The reservation window for next March in this area is now open. So far, I haven’t had success with making a reservations at the opening of the daily reservation window at 8AM. Everybody is poised at their keyboard as the clock clicks down to get one of the limited number of available spaces. One of these mornings I will have success. Then I can fill in around that reservation like I did last April for this year.

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With respect to this summers travels, I finally got the paper map out. Once again it provides a much better view of relationships and distances than online maps. Some of my ideas for summer travels are not practical. Vicksburg Mississippi is definitely too far south and most of Arkansas is also not practical. My focus is now in Kentucky and Tennessee. Stay tuned as my planning and reservation saga continues.

Sunday April 1st 2018

Happy Easter

It was a beautiful sunny day with a high temperature in the low eighties, but for some reason it just started to rain as I’m writing this blog entry. Although it was sunny here, there were interesting cloud formations on the horizon in several directions during the day. It would seem one of those formations moved overhead after the sun went down.

There were many interesting cloud formations on the horizon today.

The state park was very busy today. This is my second visit to this park of more than a week each. I’ve never seen more than a few people or a small group using the picnic area. Today there were at least three groups of twenty or more and several smaller groups scattered around the picnic area and beach. One of the groups was playing instruments and singing. Another group seemed to be more into sports. It was good to see the area really getting used. The only problem was the activity interrupted my wildlife viewing around the picnic area.

This little three inch “lizard” really looks like a dragon in this photo.

Is this bird sleeping on the pillar?

This tortoise was bigger than the others I’ve seen. It also was shinier. I don’t know if it’s the same species as the others I’ve seen.

Redheaded bird at the top of a dead tree. It may be a woodpecker.

Over at the boat launching area there were more picnics going on. Most of these had fishing as the common activity. There was a full parking lot of boat trailers and the docks were lined with people fishing. I’ve yet to see anyone catch a fish, but the lake is advertised as a “managed” fishing resource.

This blossom is on a ground cactus.

In the campground there were also a number of gatherings going on at various campsites. Most of these were extended family sized groups. I think some people paid for an additional day so they didn’t have to leave by the 1PM checkout. Late this afternoon a number of sites were empty that weren’t earlier in the afternoon.

My Easter dinner. 

My big event for the day was cooking my Easter dinner. I bought a slice of ham earlier in the week. Today I prepared some scallop potatoes and some fresh carrots to go with it. This meal is a little bit of a challenge in my small kitchen. I needed the Microwave/Convection oven for two of the three components. The scallop potatoes needed the Convection part of the oven and the ham needed the microwave part. Boiling the carrots on the stove was the simple part of the meal.

Sunset reflected on clouds to the east. This is probably the weather system that moved in after dark.

Tonight’s sunset.