Wednesday April 21st 2021

The weather has returned to the good side of the roller coaster. It was bright and sunny in the mid eighties today with very little humidity. The next couple of days are forecast to be similar.

I set out today to explore the area to the northeast of here in the direction of a vast void of roads supporting through traffic. That vast area is Walt Disney World. Things are changing quickly. The area to the west and northwest of Disney is getting developed at a rapid pace. The land on both sides of the 429 toll road that passes north south on the far west side of the Orlando Metro area is loaded with construction. New housing developments, shopping centers, office buildings and even a hospital are in various states of completion. In another few years it will look just as developed and congested as the areas north, east and south of Disney World.

After winding my way through the construction zones and circumnavigating Disney, I ended up well northwest in Minneola. I parked at the Minneola trailhead to the South Lakes bike and walking trail. The trail runs west to east in southern Lake county from Groveland through Clermont and Minneola to the West Orange Trail at the Orange county line west of Orlando. I walked a short way along the trail that parallels old state route 50.

The Minneola trailhead is a park with a playground, ball fields and a skateboard park. The section of trail I walked was a moderately hilly paved path. The tree lined shaded walkway passed between houses and open land. One area was lined with azalea bushes. I went a little crazy taking pictures of the red blossoms. The trail was moderately busy with eastbound bicyclist, but I never saw any heading west. I need to come back some time with my bicycle (I think I’ve said that before).

Getting back to my RV home was a challenge. The traffic late in the afternoon was very heavy. I seemed to catch every red light and even had to wait more than one cycle at a couple of the intersections. As with most metro areas there are certain times of the day you don’t want to be on the road.