Monday November 20th 2023

It was very foggy overnight. My sleep was interrupted by the sound of a shipboard fog horn. Usually the ships entering and exiting the port pass by in silence. When I looked out the window the entire area was glowing in the reflection of the various lights in the thick fog. There were several more fog horn blasts overnight. Each ship sounded the horn multiple times as it entered or exited the port. I never saw any of them. It is typical for most of the commercial shipping to come in or depart during the overnight hours. The cruise ships also arrive right around sunrise. Today there were six cruise ships in port.

Today’s weather was mostly cloudy. The temperature climbed into the upper seventies before the clouds thickened and the wind off the ocean cooled everything off. There were a few people on the beach taking advantage of the limited sun. Others were taking advantage of the increased surf associated with the current conditions to surf the waves. This is clearly not a normal week day. The number of people on the beach and fishing along the jetty was reminiscent of a weekend day.

During the middle of the day I ventured out for groceries. Walmart was filled with Thanksgiving shoppers. It is only going to get worse as the holiday gets closer. The store was prepared for the holiday. Pallets of potatoes filled the produce section. Pies of all varieties were stacked three feet high in the bakery section. All of the traditional accompaniments stacked in temporary displays filled the aisles. Shoppers navigated around the aisles picking and poking at the displays. I got my shopping done and successfully avoided any of the items the store was pushing.

Checkout took a little longer than normal, but it was very entertaining. A multi generational family was in line in front of me. They had a shopping cart overflowing with the supplies for a feast. Each generation had their own stuff in the cart. Watching them sort things on the conveyor so the right person could pay for it was amusing. The middle generation seemed to doing most of the purchases, but the other generations had their purchases as well. The most surprising element was the two or three year old little girl that was wandering around the checkout aisle picking out things she wanted. She would bring them to her mother to put on the conveyor. I thought they would be sent back, but the mom put them aside. At the end she made a separate purchase of the three or four items the little girl wanted. I think that might be one spoiled little girl.

This afternoon at 3:30 the cruise ships started departing. I only watched three of them go by the campground. The second one I missed when I went back to my RV home for a sweatshirt and the last two departed well after dark. The Disney Wish departed a little after 6PM and the MSC cruise ship was scheduled to leave at seven. I only assume that departure happened.

Sunday November 19th 2023

The improving weather trend continued today. It was a day filled with sunshine. The temperature started in the low sixties and peaked in the low eighties.

This was a travel day. My stay at Kissimmee South RV Resort was over. My two week reservation at Jetty Park at the entrance to Port Canaveral began today. I had plenty of time to get packed this morning. The official end of my stay is Monday. I booked a month to get a better rate and it ends on the twentieth. It worked out since the official checkout time is 11AM and the 2PM check in at Jetty park is strictly enforced. I departed shortly after 1PM for my seventy mile drive.

The route I take from Davenport to the coast starts by passing through the very congested downtown Kissimmee and downtown St. Cloud. Traffic wasn’t the worst I’ve seen, but I had to stop at more than half the traffic lights. There was no getting up to speed between the lights. The middle of the route is through the middle of nowhere. The cattle fields didn’t have many cattle, but lots of water. The coastal area got several inches of rain over the last week making things look a little swampy.

The final part of the journey skirts around the edges of Cocoa then heads over the bridge to Merritt Island followed by another bridge onto the barrier island and Port Canaveral. The last bridge brings the huge cruise ships in the port into view. Today there were four cruise ships in port. My route takes me right by several of the terminals to get to the campground at the point that the port meets the ocean.

The campground is full. There were two rigs checking in before me and several more after. I booked my reservation for one the last available sites back in the spring. It turns out that this is a vacation week for most of the Florida schools. The result is many families in the park creating a bit of a party atmosphere.

Saturday November 18th 2023

The weather finally dried out. There was some rain overnight, but the day gradually improved. By afternoon the sun was out and the sky was blue. Today’s high temperature was in the mid seventies.

There was a lot of car traffic in the park today. The long term residents of the park were holding a park wide Yard Sale between 10 and 2. A sign on the main road was put up earlier in the week advertising the Sale for Friday and Saturday. Yesterday, I didn’t see anyone trying to sell stuff. They may have been rained out. The traffic this morning started earlier and lasted later than the announced hours. I walked around just after noon and didn’t see anything very interesting. A couple of people were obviously craft vendors with lots of handmade jewelry at one spot and some wood knickknacks at another. Some people were trying to get rid of stuff that had seen better days. I didn’t see anyone actually buying anything.

I didn’t really get a lot accomplished today. This is my last full day here, so I should have been working on picking up the clutter and getting thing packed for travel tomorrow. I am not really motivated. I’ve been here for a month and have been having fun enjoying the theme parks and other things in the area. I will be back in this area after two weeks on the Atlantic coast. This month long stay here was decided on in September. It is an OK stop because of the location, but I wouldn’t want to stay here for much longer of a stay.

Tomorrow I’m traveling about seventy miles to Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. The reservation was made months ago and represents the start of my winter of two weeks stays. It will be nice to watch the cruise ships and other maritime traffic coming in and out of the port. I don’t think I’m going to have the opportunity to see any rocket launches while I’m there, but there is plenty of other activity to keep me busy.

Friday November 17th 2023

Today’s weather was the best of the week, but it didn’t live up to the positive forecast. The heavy rain overnight gave way to a cloudy morning. The forecast called for an ever improving day. The reality was different. The mist moved in shortly after noon and continued off and on for a few hours. Around 4PM the sun broke through. I thought the worst was over. A little after 6PM the mist was back with a vengeance.

I am so aware of the weather and the timing because I chose to go to Sea World this afternoon. The mist began on my way to Sea World. I didn’t bring my raincoat, but I did wear a long sleeve shirt. By going in and out of buildings and other shelter, I didn’t get real wet. I just got damp. Late in the afternoon it got drier. The sun actually came out long enough to get in my eyes while I was watching the parade in Sesame Street Land. I thought I was home free for the night time shows and fireworks. Wrong! I came out of a show shortly after 6PM to find the mist back worse than ever. I walked around a little and enjoyed the Christmas Lights, but decided to stay dry and not remain for the final shows and fireworks. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got canceled. The rain really got bad on my way home.

Dolphin Pictures

Manatee Pictures

Bird Pictures

Christmas Decorations

Other Interesting Pictures

Thursday November 16th 2023

Today was a real wash out. The mist and half hearted rain of the last few days gave way to the real thing today. Starting early this morning a medium to heavy rain fell on the roof of my RV home. Sometimes it got a little lighter and sometimes it was a little heavier, but it continued most of the day. For a few minutes between 3PM and 4PM it drop down to a mist. The forecast calls for more heavy rain into the middle of the night.

I didn’t do much today. It wasn’t a day for walking and driving would have been an unsafe challenge. The rain was just too much. I stayed inside my RV Home all day and watched the action outside my window. The rainiest day in a long time was the chosen by my neighbors to clean out their motorhome. Plastic garbage bag after bag came out and went into the back of a suburban. It made periodic trips toward the front of the park. I am assuming they were trips to the dumpster. I don’t know where all the stuff came from in the small space, or really what they were doing. It just filled some time this afternoon watching the action.

Wednesday November 15th 2023

The wet weather continued today. In fact, it got progressively worse as the day went by. Overnight there was no noise on the roof of my RV home. That means it was either dry or a very lite mist. This morning there were intermittent periods of mist. Every time the mist returned it was a little closer to real rain. By about 1:30 the precipitation was continuous light rain with occasional periods of moderate rain with the wind to go with it. Overall it was a rainy day.

I tried to proceed with my plans for the day despite the rain. Last week I made a reservation for today at Disney’s EPCOT. If I hadn’t made the reservation I probably wouldn’t have gone. The hassle of canceling the reservation or just ignoring it never really crossed my mind. Equipped with a rain coat and hat I arrived at the park a little after noon when the precipitation was still in the mist stage. I entered the park filled with a sea of people in plastic ponchos.

I was able to walk through the Journey of Water Inspired by Moana and visit the aquarium at the Living Seas before the rain arrived. When I came out of the Living Seas building it could no longer be called mist. I quickly got into the next building to stay dry. The Living with the Land ride didn’t have more than a couple of minute wait. There is nothing like a nice boat ride in the afternoon. Next up was visit with Figment on the Journey into Imagination with Figment. Crossing the few hundred yards to the Imagination pavilion was my first adventure in real rain for the day.

One of the reasons I wanted to visit EPCOT today was to see the Christmas decorations. Unlike the rest of Walt Disney World, they aren’t all up yet. EPCOT is still in the final week of the International Food and Wine Festival. The Festival of the Holidays doesn’t start until the day after Thanksgiving. The main Christmas Tree at the entrance to World Showcase was put up this week and the Christmas tree at the American Pavilion is up, but most of the country specific decorations don’t seem to be up yet. Although I did see a holiday teapot and teacups at the United Kingdom pavilion. The Christmas decorations in the greenhouse section of the Living with the Land ride were not turned on yet. A worker was in the process of doing some additional decorating in that area.

My original plan was to remain at EPCOT until dark to see the decorations after the lights are turned on, but with all the decorations not up yet and the ever increasing rain that idea was canceled. Once I left the Journey into Imagination ride building the rain was in full force. I walked around the entire World Showcase looking for opportunities to get out of the rain. The crowds of people in plastic ponchos filled the walk ways. My thought that it might be less busy was a complete bust. The wait times at the two big rides were over an hour.

My rain coat and hat were keeping me dry enough, but there weren’t any good places to get out of the rain. I thought about getting Fish & Chips for lunch/dinner at the Yorkshire County Fish Shop, but I would of had to use a trash can in the rain for a table. The rain continued to get harder downgrading the overall experience as the day went by. I gave up and returned to my RV home by 4PM.

Tuesday November 14th 2023

The wet weather that began on Monday continued today. Yesterday’s heavy mist continued into the night. This morning some real rain took over. It wasn’t a downpour, but it was a steady rain on the roof. The afternoon was back to cloudy with a few more periods of the misty precipitation. The forecast calls for this wet weather to continue until the weekend.

Most of my day was spent inside doing a few chores, raiding the refrigerator too often and chasing random information on the web. I managed to get in a couple of walks between the rain drops. The second one was cut a little bit short by the returning precipitation. The birds seem to be enjoying the rain. I think the wet ground has brought the bugs they eat closer to the surface.

The rain and clouds made the end of the daylight portion of the day come sooner than usual. Darkness seem to arrive about an hour earlier than expected. Right now the forecast calls for the let up in the rain to continue into tomorrow morning, but then the level of rain is forecast to get heavier. I have a reservation at Disney’s EPCOT. I think if I wear a raincoat I should be OK.

Monday November 13th 2023

The day began shrouded in fog. The morning TV weather talkers were discussing areas of mist to the north and east of here. At my RV home, the fog lifted to a cloudy day, but it was unclear what the real weather forecast should be.

I had a reservation at Disney’s Hollywood Studios today. This is my least favorite of the four Disney theme parks in Walt Disney World. It is always crowded with long lines and many of the rides don’t agree with me motion sickness wise. Still, I like to visit occasionally to see what’s new and do some of the things I like.

It was just before noon when I arrived at the theme park. The weather looked a little brighter than earlier in the day. The crowds looked heavy and the wait times for rides were long. My first impression of the Christmas decorations was favorable. They looked very pretty in the daylight and probably looked even better after dark.

My first attraction of the day was the Frozen Singalong. They add a Holiday flavoring this time of year. It still tells the Frozen story as usual, but the entire cast is joined by Olaf at the end to sing Holiday songs. Since it is a singalong the audience is encouraged to join in. The puns and comedy of narrators is fun.

When I returned outside from the theater after about half an hour, everything was wet. I’m not sure if it rained hard while I was inside or if it was just the heavy mist that was currently falling. It clearly had been going on long enough that people had broken out or bought clear plastic ponchos. The world had changed while I was in the theater. Based on the confusing morning weather forecast I assumed it wouldn’t last long so I continued on toward my next attraction.

The Rise of the Resistance Star Wars ride only had a fifty minute wait time. This ride has been open for several years and I have not had an opportunity to ride it yet. The wait time is usually ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes. My criteria for waiting is one hour. If the published wait time is under that value, I’ll try and wait. The last time I tried, the ride broke down while I was in line, but today the fifty minute wait was very attractive and successful. I was actual finished with the ride in fifty minutes.

It is a very fun and immersive ride. The premise is your a recruit for the resistance being transported to a secret base. The First Order intercepts your transport and takes you prisoner on the first part of the attraction. On the second half of the ride you escape and return to safety. It is filled with interactions with actors and lots of technology. At the very end your ride vehicle enters a “escape pod” and becomes a motion simulator to get you back from space to land. I’m glad it was a very short motion simulator escape. A little longer and my dislike of motion simulators would have kicked in. Overall I really enjoyed the ride. That last part will lower my desire to ride it again. My threshold for waiting is probably down to thirty minutes.

When I returned to the outside world after going to space, the mist was even heavier. I went in search of some lunch, but got very wet on my way. The lunch I found was at home. It didn’t make sense to continue to get wet waiting in long lines. If I was on a day ticket, I would have pushed on, but since I can come back anytime without spending any more money it just made sense to go home and dry off. Getting to ride Rise of the Resistance made it a successful day.

Sunday November 12th 2023

It rained most for most of the night, but the day was just cloudy and humid. The temperature climbed into the low eighties. The week ahead is forecast to be cooler with a higher chance of rain each day.

I finally got out to the Van Fleet trail for a hike today. The Van Fleet trail is a converted railroad track that stretches about thirty miles north south from Polk City to Groveland Florida. It is a very flat and straight paved path that is designed for bicycles and people. There are a limited number of access points along the trails path. Today I walked out and back on one section in the middle of the trail. Based on the trail markers my round trip distance was only about five miles.

Most of the other users of the trail today were bicyclists. I only saw a couple of other walkers. On previous visits, I have passed a lot more walkers. Today’s cloud cover made the walk comfortable, but didn’t help highlight the foliage. For Florida, there was some nice color along the way. I also didn’t see any real land based wildlife. In the past I have seen deer, but not today.

In the big swampy area that surrounds the creek that separated Polk County from Lake County I had a few water based wildlife sightings. There were a couple of turtles on a downed tree and one good sized alligator in the water. The lighting really work against me taking a picture of the gator. For some reason the picture thinks the alligator is brown. The water was muddy, but the gator was the usual gray color.

Saturday November 11th 2023

There was a thick layer of fog covering the RV park his morning. It was a clear indicator of just how humid it was. During the middle of the day the sun peaked in and out around scattered clouds. It was a very hot and humid day in the high eighties. As darkness approached so did the cloud cover. Before sunset it had been completely blocked by cloud cover. Around 6PM the first real rain to fall on central Florida in a few weeks arrived. It rained for almost an hour and more showers are expected overnight.

I was out and about for a couple of errands and some touring during the sunny part of the day. It is to bad I couldn’t wait until today to buy gas. The price per gallon was down about seven cents from yesterday. I really don’t understand the high volatility in the price.

One of my errands took me into Home Depot. That place is in full Christmas swing. The number and variety of blow up Christmas decorations was truly overwhelming. The big thing this year seems to be animal blowups of dogs, cats, rabbits, raccoons and such in scarves and ski hats ready to decorate your yard. The aisles of the store were also filled with displays of tools on sale as early Black Friday entries. I’m glade I didn’t have to navigate a cart or shopping carriage through the mess. It really looked like an obstacle course.

The RV resort had a ceremony to honor veterans this morning. It was near the front of the park in front of the flag. It was consistent with the character of this park. Instead of people walking up and standing around or sitting in chairs they brought. There was a semicircle two or three golf carts deep of people listening to the speaker. Everything social and business oriented at the is park seems to center around golf carts.