Thursday February 4th 2016

I was fooled by the weather forecasters today. When I went to bed last night the TV weather forecast called for a cold front to pass through the area starting at 10AM this morning. It was advertised to contain heavy rain and thunder showers for a few hours. This morning the storm front was going to happen in the afternoon. At 7:30PM, as I write this blog entry, the first real rain is starting to fall.
I didn’t have any real plans for today, but the impending weather resulted in a very laid back day. I read various articles online while the TV drowned on in the background. What’s on the TV doesn’t matter. I always have a TV on. The background noise is just a necessary part of my existence. If the TV isn’t on I can settle for talk radio, preferable sports talk. When I’m really desperate it might be music, but that doesn’t fill the bill of background noise as well.
One thing about having the TV on is that I was continuously updated on the approaching cold front. Every half hour of so the local stations would tell you which county was about to be impacted. Florida is very county oriented. Cities and towns are a much more limited form of government and identification. Just because a community has a post office with its name on it, doesn’t mean it is an incorporated form of government. It just means it is a Census Designated Place. Now you know one of the things I was reading on the internet. I find it very different than New Hampshire and Massachusetts where the only thing the county seems to do is run the courts and the jails.
All of this comes down to shame on me for allowing the possibility of a little rain to keep me in my RV home most of the day. It’s not anywhere as bad as the snow predicted tonight in New Hampshire. I bet that forecast would cause me to stay in too

Wednesday February 3rd 2016

The weather continued to be conducive to playing tourist, so I went to Disney’s Magic Kingdom this afternoon. I want to get in as much Disney as I can before the northern school vacations and college spring break times start driving the crowd density through the roof. I probably have another week before that influx of visitors starts.

Approaching the Magic Kingdom on the Ferryboat from the parking lot.

I have been to the Magic Kingdom every few years since my first visit in 1972. A lot has changed since my last visit in 2008. The all new expanded Fantasy Land was under construction during my last visit. Now it adds new attractions and changes the layout of that side of the park. I walked through the area, but didn’t ride the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster or the Under Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid.
In general, the lines were long and the crowds difficult to navigate. This park seems to have more big family groups that like to stop in the middle of everything to decide what to do next. If they drive the same way the highways would be a continuous traffic jam. Someone in the group should be smart enough to move the conversation to the side of the walkway. (End of Rant)
This morning, when I decided to go to the park, I used the My Disney app on my phone to set up Fastpass for 3 rides. A Fastpass allows you to bypass the lines by showing up at a pre-assigned time. My Fastpasses were for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride, The Jungle Cruise and The Pirates of the Caribbean. Other possible attractions were out of available Fastpass times. Disney Resort guests can reserve Fastpass times up to 60 days in advance so I’m at a disadvantage. I really don’t know if I like Fastpass, but it’s available so I’ll use it.
In addition to my Fastpass attractions, I rode the It’s a Small World attraction and visited the Haunted Mansion. My main reason for going late in the day was to see the Main Street Electric Parade and to watch the Wishes fireworks at the end of the evening.

Dragon Float in the Main Street Electric Parade

The Main Street Electric Parade has all of the floats and the performers decked out in lights. It is a very colorful presentation as it makes its way up main street. It is followed a few minutes later by the fireworks display over the castle. Other than being close enough to see the lights on the castle, I think the fireworks are better from much further away. You can see them better and you aren’t surrounded by thousands of people squished into the walkways around the castle.
I want to go back to the Magic Kingdom to see other things. I really like the theme and density of attractions at the Magic Kingdom, but the distance from the parking lot and the overall crowds detract from my enthusiasm. I’m not sure when I’ll go back. It will either be next week or sometime in March.  Who knows, my plans are made in jello.

Tuesday February 2nd 2016

Today was a routine day. Get up, make coffee, and have breakfast watching TV. Today this was followed by a walk around the RV park. The distance around the park is not long, but the walk is enough to get the day started.
Back at my RV home, I sit outside under the awning. The outside TV is on, but I’m not paying much attention. I use the time to catch up on the news and useless information from the internet. The weather today is perfect for this lazy approach. The temperature was in the 70s with a light breeze.
During the afternoon I went for a drive to Celebration to drop off some mail at the post office. Celebration, is Disney’s version of a master planned community. They planned and started the community in the 90s. Today they have very little direct involvement.
Celebration has lots of little villages of single family homes, town houses, multilevel condos and apartments. The architecture is very eclectic including designs from several major architects. It doesn’t look like any of the other tract developments going on in central Florida. The downtown area has a mixture of an old town feel and art deco. Signage is apparently heavily restricted. I did not know I was in front of the post office until I saw someone come out with a package. Also, the Bank of America across the common area from the post office had only a very small sign in the window. You need to know where your going or have plenty of time to wander around to find you destination.

Main road leading from the town center to the lake in Celebration Florida

There are banks, offices, boutique shops, a theater and lots of restaurants. People, who appear to be residents as opposed to tourists, are walking around, sitting on benches and just generally enjoying the area. From that perspective, I would say the master plan has worked. The residential villages are spread out over a large area with open space and parks between them. I did not see much new construction going on, but there was ample space prepared for future expansion.

Monday February 1st 2016

Today was a tourist day. With the sun shining brightly and the temperatures in the 80s, I headed out about 10 for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I wanted to see the park again before Disney starts some of the changes they have announced for the park.

Lights, Motors, Action Stunt show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

It was a long, but fun, day at the park. I stayed until the evening fireworks show so I didn’t get home until about quarter of nine. During the day I road the Toy Story Midway Mania Ride and the Great Movie Ride. I also saw several shows including Muppet Vision 3d, Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular, Beauty and the Beast Live, Fantasmic and the Lights Motors Action Stunt show.
The Lights, Motors, Action Stunt show is one of the attractions that Disney is closing to make way for new attractions based on Star Wars and Toy Story. It is probably a good business move for Disney as the show must be very expensive to maintain. They have a limited number of shows each day and the facility takes up a large amount of space. I enjoy the show every time I see it and will miss it.
One interesting observation about the Hollywood Studios experience is that it has many more kids in attendance than I saw at either Animal Kingdom or EPCOT. This is probably because Disney has made a major effort to draw the families to the park. It has theme areas for Pixar, the Disney Channels and Disney movies I’ve only vaguely heard about. I really don’t remember so many happy kids at this park in the past.

Sunday January 31st 2016

It was a warm day today. The temperature was in the low 70s, but the sun never broke through the cloud cover. I headed out mid day to do some exploring to the east.
Once I got through the cities of Kissimmee and St Cloud, rural Florida was exposed. As the buildings thinned out, the cattle ranges began. I passed through acres and acres of land with grazing beef cattle. Florida is the 12th biggest cattle ranching state in the US and the leading producer of calves for use on ranches across the US. I sure saw plenty of young cattle which cause me to look up the facts about the Florida cattle industry. Thank-you internet.
I had a loose goal of Kelly park on Merit Island to watch the kite boarders and sail boarders having fun on the Banana River. I had enjoyed watching them on a previous excursion to the coast. Unfortunately weather conditions were not conducive to those activities. I had to settle for just people and boat watching.
From Kelly park you can see the cruise ships docked at Port Canaveral. They tower over the landscape. Today there were three ships in port. As it was approaching their departure time, I headed over to the Port to watch the ships depart.

Two Carnival cruise ships ready to depart

Port Canaveral is a very busy cruise ship port. It has several cruise ships in port most days. Today, the Carnival cruise ships the Sensation and the Sunshine along with the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas were in port. Many people gathered in the Cove section of the port to watch the ships get underway.
These huge vessels are very impressive as they maneuver in the confined harbor. It is remarkable that they can leave the docks turn around and get out to sea without the assistance of tug boats. They didn’t even run over any of the many weekend sailors in small crafts heading for the canal into the Banana and Indian Rivers.

Wood Stork?

The day was not without its wildlife viewing. While waiting for the cruise ships to depart, we were entertained by many brown pelicans patrolling the harbor for their lunch. The dock was patrolled by a couple of wood storks (I think) looking for handouts from the fisherman.  I’m going to have to get better at bird identification.
I continue to enjoy this coastal area and will be back to see more.

Saturday January 30th 2016

Life in my RV home is not all tourist adventures like yesterday’s visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Today’s blog entry describes a rather boring day. However, it is in sunny Florida, rather than winter in New Hampshire. I’m not complaining.
The first order of business was grocery shopping. This is proving to be a bit of an adventure out here on the road. When you live in one area for a long time you develop patterns for when you shop, where you shop and what you buy at each place. On the road its pure guess work.
I’ve identified two possible store brands in the area. Publix is a Florida based grocery store chain that is all over the place. It seems to be somewhat of a high end chain, but it has its quirks. The selection of products with store brands is confusing. I can’t find a store brand for items I would buy generic, but can find mostly store brands for items I’d normally buy by name; ice cream.
The other common grocery choice is Super Walmart. There are several within easy driving distance. I find Walmart good for common packaged foods like cereal, canned vegetables and pastas. They seem to be the same price here as in the northeast. I don’t buy meat or produce at Walmart. I just don’t like the selection.
I need to find a farm stand or farmers market to buy fruit and vegetables. None of the stores, I’ve been in so far have good choices at good prices. Why do I find Oranges from California in the supermarket, but none from Florida?
I’m sure there are other places to buy food. I just haven’t found them yet. Hopefully it will happen before I leave the area at the end of March. That’s where the adventure comes in.
When I got back to the RV from the morning shopping, I still had two more chores to complete. Dumping the holding tanks and doing the laundry.
Dumping the tanks is simple once you’re hooked up. Step 1; check that all connections are still tight. Step 2; Pull the valve handle on the Blank (toilet) tank and let it drain. Step 3; Close the blank tank valve and open the gray tank until it drains. Fifteen to twenty minutes later the task is complete for another week.

Fifteen feet or so of sewer slinky

The laundry facility is about 200 yards up the road in a 10×12 foot metal utility shed. It has 4 washing machines and 6 dryers. I can do a load of laundry for $2, one dollar for the washer and one for the dryer. This is incredible cheap compared to some of the places that charge $3 for washing and a dollar for each 10 minutes of drying. Even so, I don’t regret not getting a motorhome with a washer/dryer.

Friday January 29th 2016

Today was a beautiful sunny day with highs in the mid 60s. The Florida natives are complaining it is to cold. After two days of rain, I’m not complaining. I spent the day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom Tree of Life

The park has change quite a bit since I was last there at the end of 2008. The area off to the left as you enter used to host the Lion King Show and the Camp Mini-Mickey character viewing area. It is now a closed construction area for the new Avitar Land. This new attraction is scheduled to open in 2017.
The Africa area of the park has also been updated. The Lion King show is now located in this area and an additional market area has been added. The Kilimanjaro Safari, which departs from this area, has also be enhanced.
The safari used to pretend to chase poachers. This lame story line has been abandon. In its place is a longer route for the safari and new animal encounter areas. For example, I believe the wild dogs and warthog areas are new.
Another change being made to the park is the addition of a night time River show. A large seating area and other theme elements are being constructed near the theater for Finding Nemo – The Musical. The River of Lights show is scheduled to debut late this spring. More information on the River of Lights can be found in this Disney Video.
I had a good time seeing the animals, watching the shows and taking the safari. I could have done without riding the Dinosaur Attraction. It isn’t much more than a bouncy, twisty, ride on a mechanical bucking jeep. Another minute or two and I’d have had a good case of motion sickness.

I need to go back on a warmer day when some of the heat sensitive animals may be out. None of the outside tropical birds or lizards were available for viewing. The down side is that when it’s warmer the crowds will be bigger. Oh well …

Thursday January 28th 2016

Today was another foggy, rainy, drizzly day.   For the first time since I moved into my RV home, I didn’t open the motorhome door all day. Thank goodness for TV and the Internet.
The current crop of RVs, my RV home included, come well populated with flat screen TVs. I have three; one in the bedroom, one in the Living Area and a third for viewing outside under the awning. This floor plan could also have a second TV in the Living area over the dashboard, but I prefer the storage. The signal for these TVs can come from an Over the Air Antenna (OTA), a Cable TV hook-up or a Satellite dish. This campground doesn’t have cable so I’m down to two sources, OTA and DirecTV Satellite. My DirecTV comes via a big honking Winegard Trav’ler dish on the roof of the motorhome.

The main living area TV

At this location, south of Orlando and East of Tampa, I have over 80 channel options of OTA TV. Many of these are duplicates of the new crop of “designer” networks like Bounce, Grit or Cozi. These provide plenty of options for benign noise while doing other things.
When I want to dedicate time to watching television, I need to be a little more selective. That’s where satellite TV comes in to play. I can usually find something more engrossing like an original series on USA, or another episode of House Hunters on HGTV.

After spending today vegetating, tomorrow looks to be packed full with another visit to Disney World. This time I’m heading to the Animal Kingdom Park.

Wednesday January 27th 2016

Today was a rainy day caused by another El Nino cold front. The rain started overnight and continued off and on all day. This storm has not been as severe as some of the previous storms but it is producing more rain.
Other than a trip to the local Publix supermarket for a few food items, most of today was dedicated to catching up on this blog. I am now up to date and will be making every attempt to blog daily going forward. Some entries will be content full with lots of pictures. Others will be short and not so sweet like this one. Either way the entries will serve to inform my readers what’s going on and provide me with a record of events should I go back and read these ramblings about my journey on the Rambling Road Trip.

Tuesday January 26th 2016

Today I took a road trip down US 17 to the southwest. I had a general goal of checking out the area then cutting over toward the gulf coast and visiting the Tampa Electric Company Manatee Viewing Area. I had thoughts of intersecting the Tamiami Trail (US 41) in Bradenton but actually arrived north of the Manatee River just north of Bradenton. It was interesting that the citrus groves in the middle of the state seem to end at the Manatee county line. I wonder if that is a true assessment and if so why.

Each of the items in the water that look like floating junk is actually a Manatee.

The Manatee viewing area at the Tampa Electric Company in Apollo Beach Fl is an area setup by the power company to view the Manatees and other aquatic life that live in the warm water of the out flow from the power plan cooling systems. Today I counted over thirty noses or backs of Manatees out in the water. I know there were even more than that below the surface of the nearly 80 degree water.

There is a long walkway along the cooling canal out through a mangrove into a gulf backwater area. I was able to see many species of fish underwater and jumping out of the water. As much as I tried, getting a picture was not possible. The jumping may have been caused by the shark that gave its presence away with the classic dorsal fin above the water view.

This area is very enjoyable and I’m sure I’ll be back to check up on the Manatees.