Saturday April 20th 2024

The forecast was correct. Today’s high temperature was north of the ninety degree mark. The sky was very blue allowing the maximum amount of sunshine. The wind was very light and the humidity was higher than yesterday. It really wasn’t an uncomfortable day. You just had to take summertime heat and sun precautions.

My day began a little earlier than expected. Around 7AM I woke up to a whooshing sound outside. It was repeated randomly several times a minute. I knew the sound, but couldn’t place it. When I finally got up and raised the shades I found two hot air balloons floating low over the campground. I heard they were common in the local area, but I have no idea where they launched or expected to land. The open areas around here are getting swallowed up by new construction every day.

Late this afternoon I went to Disney Springs. I forgot my own advice that Disney would be busy this weekend because of the Run Disney event. My plan was to have dinner and watch some of the Saturday evening entertainment. When I arrived just before 5PM, the Orange garage I usually park in was marked as full. The surface lot beside it was also full. When I checked the Lime garage it was also full. Traffic was getting directed to the Grapefruit garage that is usually for cast members. It is a big garage across the street from Disney Springs. There was plenty of room when I arrived, but seemed to be close to full when I left a few hours later. The walk in from the grapefruit garage is long. You need to cross two roads on pedestrian bridges before arriving at Disney Springs behind the big World of Disney store. I don’t think they were really prepared to use the grapefruit garage for the overflow today. All of the people that parked in the grapefruit garage were allowed into Disney Springs without passing through security scanners. The only security I passed was a sheriff with a dog. I assume the dog was a bomb sniffer.

At first, I didn’t think the crowd was very heavy, but as I walked around I found the people. They were gathered around the areas with performers and lined up to get into the restaurants. The rest were wandering in search of stuff, entertainment or food. I managed to find a seat at Cook’s of Dublin to enjoy my fish and chips dinner.

There were about four open performance areas and four more outside performers associated with specific restaurants. I checked them all out. The group on the main stage wasn’t my cup of tea. The drummer overwhelmed everyone else on stage including the female vocalist that was the headliner. As I wandered I came across a guy playing a harp that was much more interesting. In general, I had a fun evening. It would have been better if it wasn’t as busy.

Friday April 19th 2024

The average daily high for this time of year in the Orlando area is 84 degrees. It reached 90 degrees today with higher temperatures predicted for tomorrow. I’m not really ready for it yet. The good thing is that the overnight temperature is still getting down into the sixties. Once the true summer pattern arrives the overnight temperature will be in the high seventies and eighties, but there will also be regular thunderstorms during the day.

This was another big departure day from the RV park. Unlike previous turnover days where the departures all seemed to be in other areas of the resort, I lost two neighbors today. My immediate neighbor that started showing signs of packing last Sunday evening, was gone by 9AM today. There RV didn’t go far. Another resident of the park with a pickup truck moved the trailer to the storage yard in the park. It was a different kind of departure. They didn’t really pack things away. They just opened the trailer doors and practically threw all the outside stuff inside. The final act before the trailer was towed away was spraying all of the black painted metal on the outside of the trailer with WD40. The aerosol can has a very distinctive appearance. I guess they think it will prevent rust. My guess is the first good rainstorm will wash it away and the second one will start the rust process, but if it makes them more comfortable …

The other neighbor that departed was diagonally across the road. I thought they were still in the process of setting up. Last weekend they setup a screen room and anchored it down thoroughly. During the week I though more outdoor stuff was arriving, but this morning the screen room was gone and they disconnected the utilities, hooked up and were on the road by the 11AM checkout time.

I now have a clear view of other areas of the campground from my site. The population is clearly decreasing. I can see lots of empty sites. There were a couple or RVs that showed up late in the day. They are most likely here for the weekend.

Thursday April 18th 2024

Today was a little more humid than yesterday. Along with the increased humidity came more fluffy white clouds in the sky. The temperature also climbed a little today. Some locations in the area made it to ninety degrees today, but this area stayed just under the ninety degree mark. The nineties in this area arive over the next few days.

This afternoon and early evening I returned to Disney’s EPCOT to continue exploring the International Flower and Garden Festival. I spent some time last week checking out the gardens and topiaries at the front of the park. Today I focused on the World Showcase area of the park.

The crowds were moderate today. This weekend is a Run Disney event so the crowds will increase with 5K, 10K and marathon runners. The roads around EPCOT and part of the parking lot have a lot of extra barrels, cones and temporary tents for the road races. The My Disney Experience App is also providing a warning about traffic issues when you log in to the app.

In addition to checking out the Flower and Garden Festival, I rode a few rides. In particular I got lucky while in the France Pavilion. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure had just reopened after extended down time period. I was able to walk through the entire queue without stopping. The little rat managed to prepare another gourmet meal while I watched through 3D glasses. When I got off the wait time was listed at 30 minutes and would likely be back to its usual sixty minutes before much time passed.

I left EPCOT about 7PM. One of these afternoon and evenings I’ll hang around long enough to see the nightly fireworks display at 9PM. It is a great show that I’ve seen several times before. I just don’t like killing time waiting for it to start or the rush to leave after the show finishes.

Wednesday April 17th 2024

The gradual increase in temperature continued today under a bright blue sky for most of the day. Near sunset the sky developed a haze from a large area of controlled burning toward the Atlantic coast from here. The temperature is forecast to continue to climb through the weekend. The next few days are expected to be well above the average temperature for this time of year.

Today was the day for my least favorite RV park activity. This was the day they mowed the lawn. I have been here for all most two weeks and they hadn’t mowed yet, so I was expecting it soon. This morning around 8AM the sound of large commercial lawn mowers woke me up. As I resisted getting out of bed, the sounds got closer and closer. Later in the morning while I lingered over my breakfast coffee the pattern repeated with the sound of string trimmers approaching. Everything looked neater and more manicured by afternoon.

Later in the day I ran a few errands. The traffic was really getting on my nerves today. Cars traveling well under the speed limit in the passing lanes was my big complaint today. Traffic was just heavy enough that once you got stuck behind them it took a long time to get a break in traffic to duck around them. The real kicker happens when they speed up just long enough to get back in front of you before slowing down again. Basically these folks were oblivious to the speed and intentions of the other cars on the road. I really have to remember that I have plenty of time and alternate routes are available.

Monday April 16th 2024

The weather held true to the forecast. It was a little warmer than yesterday with a little more breeze. Overall it was a beautiful day.

Once again today, I got a slow start. My plan to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the morning was not met. Unlike yesterday I didn’t completely change my plans for the day. Instead, I moved my visit to Animal Kingdom to the afternoon. I arrived at the park shortly after 3PM. It was open until 7PM today. The park wasn’t excessively busy.

During my last visit to Animal Kingdom in February wait times for the Kilimanjaro Safari were forty minutes or more. This afternoon it was only listed at ten minutes, but was essentially a walk on. Only one side of the queue was in use. On the down side the animals were also less numerous than in February. There were still plenty of animals to see.

My safari ride today was filled with the extremes of nature. A couple of giraffes seemed to be about to work on creating new life as we drove by. Later in the ride a native Florida duck family crossing the road near the flamingos was attacked by a native Florida hawk. The family had one less member by the time it reached the far side. It was interesting how the safari guide became remarkable unobservant and silent during these episodes.

My timing wasn’t good for seeing the shows today. I was focused on the animals. The safari and animal trails closed at six. The last shows were even earlier than that. The big rides continued until closing time, but that wasn’t really what I was there for. I was back at my RV home in time for a late supper.

Monday April 15th 2024

I got a slow start this morning, but it was a beautiful day. The humidity remained low and the wind was only a gentle breeze. The temperature was a few degrees warmer than Sunday. It peaked in the upper eighties.

The slow start to the day resulted in a change to my tentative plans for the day. Instead of visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom park, I moved up my grocery shopping day. I was running out of the “fun” things to eat. I had plenty of ingredients for meals, but not deserts, snacks and drinks. In this context drinks are things to keep me hydrated as the daytime temperature keeps climbing. The forecast highs later in the week are in the nineties.

I got one and a half walks around the RV resort in today. On the complete walk I stopped at the clubhouse on Lake Davenport to enjoy the light breeze across the lake while in the shade of big pine trees. My second walk just before sunset was only around the upper part of the RV resort were my site is located. The park continues to gradually empty out, although I didn’t see anyone actually leave this morning.

Sunday April 14th 2024

The weather was in full cooperation mode. For most of the day there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was clear indication of the low humidity. The wind was also in a cooperative mood. It was a very light wind.

Today’s Florida weather is a far cry from the weather I experienced on Friday and Saturday. I flew back to my old stomping ground on New England Friday morning and returned to Florida last night. The plane landed through a thick layer of turbulence inducing clouds. Conditions on the ground Friday were rainy and foggy, but not terribly cold. Saturday was much cooler with off and on showers. In reality they were just normal April days in New England, but I am no longer used to them. By the time I got back to my RV home in Florida late last night the warm Florida day had cooled to the high sixties, but it was still the warmest temperature I experienced all day.

I spent the day settling back into life in my Florida based RV home. This morning was the first day I actually saw several RVs leaving the RV resort. All last week I observed more open space developing in the campground, but never saw the sites actually becoming vacant. Most of the departures seem to come from other areas than the one where I am located. In fact, I even saw a new arrival to this area of the campground today. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn this area is the focus for visitors over the next few months.

Going against that theory, my neighbors started to pack up late this afternoon. I’m not sure what their intent is. The car they have clearly can not tow the trailer on the site. They may leave the trailer here for the summer, or they may hire someone to move the trailer. Adding to the puzzle is the fact that the car is registered in Florida and the trailer has a white plate with blue numbers that may be Ontario. I’m just having fun speculating. If I really cared I could introduce myself and see what they’re up to.

There are a number of trailers that stay here all year, but the occupants clearly leave during the warmer months. One tell tale sign is the wrapped and covered golf carts beside trailers with their slide outs pulled in. There aren’t as many trailers that stay on the sites year round in this park as I’ve seen in others. Watching the park transition from full snowbird mode to some kind of summer existence is another fun speculation I’ve been engaged in.

I’m taking a couple of days off from blog posts.  Sunday night should be the next blog Post.

Thursday April 11th 2024

This mornings weather forecast included a tornado watch for a number of central and northern Florida counties. The county I am currently residing in was among the counties in the watch zone. However, I only had to walk a few hundred yards to be out of the zone. I am currently located in an area known as Four Corners because four counties meet in this area. Two counties were in this mornings watch and two were not. Either way, some dangerous weather was possible.

All morning strong winds blew from the south. The actual line of storms that might produce tornadoes was still well off to the west. Reports indicated the sustained wind was in the mid 20s with gusts into the 40s. The wind had a relatively clear lane across the campground to hit my RV home broadside. There was only a little rocking, but there was a lot of noise from the side toppers flapping in the wind. It wasn’t a fun morning.

Shortly after 1PM the rain arrived and the wind seemed to calm down. There was heavy rain off and on for the next couple of hours. Things started to dry up around 3PM. By the supper hour the wind was back, but this time it was out of the west and not as strong. The sun also made its first appearance of the day so I was able to get in a good walk around the RV resort.

Today I was actually able to identify specific sites that emptied out today. It looks like management has grouped the RVs that are remaining for a longer period of time into different areas scattered around the resort. Significant parts of the resort are looking more vacant than others. Time will tell if my speculation is accurate.

Wednesday April 10th 2024

The wind was strong out of the southeast today. It brought humidity and heat with it. The temperature peaked in the upper half of the eighties before cloud cover allowed it to cool off a little. Another cold front is due tomorrow.

Today wasn’t an activity packed day. I did a few chores and chased my shadow through a couple of stores looking to fulfill a few phantom ideas. Overall it wasn’t a very productive day, but it was fairly relaxing. Walking around the RV Resort this morning I sense more empty sites, but I can’t really identify an particular site that has emptied out since I arrived. There are just too many sites and they all look very similar.

The pictures in this blog entry are from yesterday’s trip to Disney’s EPCOT. I can never get enough of the colorful flower blossoms and rich topiaries.