While driving around over the last week I’ve seen a number of Magnolia trees in bloom. They have all been located on private property or another place that I can’t easily access. Today I set out on a search to find some Magnolias to photograph.
Insect of the day
I decided to check out the parks in Clermont along Lake Minneola. I drove along about half the lake front before stopping at Lake Hiawatha Preserve. I didn’t see any Magnolia trees along my way. The preserve was new territory. I have never been there before. It is across the street from Lake Minneola and backs up to Lake Hiawatha. I explored the preserve looking for my target trees, but I didn’t find any. It is an interesting park with a dog park, a playground and a Disc Golf course. The dog park and the Disc golf course were getting some use, but the playground was empty.
View across Lake Minneola
By far the most interesting part of the park to me was across the street on the shore of Lake Minneola. There were piers that stretched through the shore grasses out into the lake. The view across the lake was great. It would be a great place to watch the organized boating activities that the lake frequently hosts.
I didn’t find any Magnolia trees today. In fact, I didn’t even see any while driving. I’ll keep watch over the next few days and probably try a couple of other excursions in search of Magnolia trees suitable for photography.
It was a gorgeous sunny day with a high temperature in the upper seventies. With the low humidity it was a great day for outdoor activity. I decided to hike a section of the Van Fleet trail. The trail is a thirty mile section of converted train right of way from Polk City to Groveland.
The Van Fleet trail is straight, flat and paved.
The section of trail I like to hike is right in the middle. The whole trail is straight and flat as would be expected of a converted train track. The walk I took today was from the parking area on Green Pond Road north about two and half miles to an area know as the bridges. Basically it is two bridges about a quarter mile apart that cross over a swampy area. Most of the other ground along the trail is pasture land.
The swamp at the bridges contains turtles and alligators. Today I saw one turtle and three or four alligators. The vegetation is very thick. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was looking right at other gators or turtles that were well camouflaged. There were also a couple of white birds back in the woods that were hard to see well enough to identify. I suspect they were egrets or ibises.
The trail wasn’t busy today. I was passed by a few bicyclists, but I didn’t see any other walkers. Overall it was a very relaxed walk. I stopped several times to take pictures of wildflowers and watch gopher tortoises scurry into the brush. The five mile walk took about two hours.
The saying that goes “What a difference a day makes” applied to today’s weather. Yesterday high was near ninety. Today it took until noon to clear the seventy degree mark on the way to an upper seventies high temperature for the day.
Would you care to sit with Walt Disney and look out at EPCOT?
This afternoon included an unplanned trip to Disney. Last night I tried to renew my annual pass online, but all I got was a mysterious error message. My current pass expires tomorrow, so a visit to a guest services location became today’s mission. I don’t have to renew it before the expiration date to get a discount, but I might have to pay for parking if I arrive with an expired pass. Either way, I made an interesting afternoon and evening out of my renewal mission.
Chip and Dale and a picnic basket
I parked at the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) near the Magic Kingdom. My first stop was at EPCOT after a monorail ride. The construction in the middle of the former Future World section of EPCOT is almost finished. The new Communicore Hall and Plaza is scheduled to open on June 10th. The view from the monorail shows a pretty complete project. Once in EPCOT I got my annual pass renewed at guest services so I can continue to enjoy the Disney World theme parks most week days throughout the year.
With my primary mission complete, I wandered around the front part of EPCOT enjoying the topiaries and gardens again. The park was very busy. After about an hour I returned via monorail to the TTC and transferred to the express monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I was in time to watch the flag retreat ceremony in town square. They lower the flag with class and honor a veteran at the same time.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the re-imagined Splash Mountain was getting tested this evening. It is supposed to open “This Summer”.
The Magic Kingdom was also busy and getting busier with each passing evening hour. The park had a separate admission after hours event from 10PM to 1AM. Guest of the after hours event could start arriving at 7PM. I wander around the park riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover, the riverboat and Pirates of the Caribbean. As the sun went down so did the temperature. I was dressed for warm weather not the sixty plus degrees the temperature dropped into. I headed home before the fireworks to avoid buying yet another sweatshirt.
A relatively uncommon Rosetta Spoonbill was also visiting the Magic Kingdom this evening.
Today began cloudy and a little drab. It kept the temperature from skyrocketing from the low seventies into the nineties like it did the last couple of days. During the after noon the clouds gave way to sunshine. Before the sun set the temperature had climbed into the high eighties. A strong breeze gave a hint at the approaching cold front expected overnight.
Heading downhill on the fence post. Wildflower of the day
It was a very lazy Sunday. Breakfast was a two coffee morning while I caught up with my internet reading. Before I knew it the afternoon had arrived. Instead of taking my first walk of the day I decided on some area touring. That task required a full tank of gas in my car. Gas prices continue to jump all over the place. Today they were lower than yesterday, but higher than last Sunday. Prices seem to change every couple of days, but the trend seems to be moving gas prices higher.
Two things stood out on my touring today. Housing construction in the area continues at a rapid pace. There seemes to be a lot of appartments being put up in addition to the single family homes. The road construction to handle the traffic from the new construction continues to lag the development. Sunday afternoon traffic wasn’t bad, but it is still heavier than you would see in less developed areas. Today I seemed to find Walmart delivery trucks to get stuck behind. After following one for about a mile it turned off the road I was on. Two minutes later I was following another one. I remember the day when deliveries didn’t happen on Sundays.
Once I got back from my touring I took my daily walk around the RV resort to Lake Davenport. Today seemed to be a golf cart strolling day for many of the remaining residents. I was passed by ten or more carts while I walked along. Most of the folks waved as they passed by, but a few were in a hurry to get somewhere. Usually I only see one or two carts on my walks.
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.
There were two hot air balloons with the same pattern over the RV resort this afternoon.
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.
All of the amphibicars look like they are about to sink as they power around the lake.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The clear blue sky over Lake Davenport was replaced by a hazy sky late in the day. The haze was created by prescribed burns to the east.
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.
Beautiful Amaryllis plants in a flower bed at an empty site. I hope the people who planted them got to see them before returning north.
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.
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.
Merkat
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.
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.
Rob's Rambling Road Trip 