Monday January 22nd 2024

It was close to ten degrees warmer today, but the sun was missing from the sky. The inside of my RV home was slow to warm up without the sun adding to the warmth and the day generally looked gloomy. It never rained and the temperature topped out just short of seventy.

The cloudy day made it tough to get started today. By early afternoon I got motivated and left the campground. My destination turned out to be Disney Springs. The entertainment and shopping district was not very busy this afternoon. All floors of the parking garage I parked in had plenty of empty space. I suspect the other two garages were similar.

The last time I was at Disney Springs in December it was decorated for Christmas. All of the lights and other decorations made the area very bright and lively. Today it was much more subdued. There were no sparkling lights and the sun was blocked by clouds. Most of the flower beds were filled with darker colored flowers. There were lots of dark red salvia and red geraniums. I finally found some pink geraniums that were a little more lively.

I was surprised to find the Disney store had been reorganized. Major sections seem to have been moved and new types of merchandise added in other areas. Right now there seems to be a focus on merchandise featuring the Stitch character. I noticed this in EPCOT as well. In the Marketplace Co-Op store a three foot Stitch figurine has replaced the Orange Bird figurine that has been near the entrance for more than a year. I found Orange Bird near the back of the store.

After wandering around Disney Springs and stopping into several stores my limited “shopping” tolerance expired. I returned to my car and started the journey home. Unfortunately, the rush hour had begun. I haven’t found a way to avoid traffic to get from Disney to the current location of my RV home. Today it wasn’t bad most of the way home, but the last mile through the intersection of US 27 and Interstate 4 took almost an hour. Traffic during the winter in this part of Florida is “interesting”.