A Fish Story!

Our group headed to Sea World. We had to take a moment to admire Sea World's newest attraction, "The Manta Ray." I'll let you figure out how the guests ride this beast...

Then, at Darlene's request, we all needed to "play" with the Dolphins at the Dolphin Cove. The Dolphin Cove is one of the most amazing attractions to see and experience. These beautiful animals are playful, friendly and majestic. I'll let a few photos tell the story...

Their playful swimming antics belie their awesome strength and power. But, it sure is amazing to touch and feed them.

From the Dolphin Cove we were all eager to head over to Shamu's tank for "Believe." All of us have seen the show before yet each time we are all humbled by the beauty and power of the ocean's most incredible preditor.

The real "Star" of the show, "Shamu"...

These "wonders of the ocean" never let us down!

We took in a couple more shows at Sea World and headed out for the day.

We spent another evening listening to the warnings of the Weather Radio. However, we were inundated by another night/morning of heavy rains. There was talk of the park raising our rent because we were suddenly "water-front" property! The normally dry rain basin behind our site was, well look for yourselves...

The rain in the morning turned us off to our weekly bike ride but we couldn't resist trying to catch up with the "die-hard" riders at our lunch stop, The Wave. The wind of the morning prevented our fellow riders from meeting up with us and they ate at Fort Wilderness. We finished out the day at the Magic Kingdom.

That evening Angela won the "coverall" at our park's Bingo game. She was gracious to provide our morning Shuffleboard match playerrs with a yummy selection of Dunkin Donuts!

Congratulations and thank you Angela!!!

Today, Pat and I exchanged our costumes and she thought we all should take advantage of a healthy meal at "Sweet Tomatoes." As there were no dissenters we all took our place along the 55' salad bar!

Enjoy...

 

Fun at the Parks with a taste of shopping!

Our day started out at the Shuffleboard courts. All of us did pretty well but the competition is fierce; especially the older players! After freshening up, we headed out to Disney's Hollywood Studios to take in a few of our faorite attractions. Our big meal of the day was to be at Manny's Chop House later in the afternoon, so we had to plan our noon hours at Hollywood Studios carefully. We studied the attraction times and made our way down Hollywood Blvd. We needed some spirit rousing music so we headed for the "Streets of America" for the rock of "Mulch, Sweat  and Shears!"

As the "band" of landscapers made their way down the street, their upbeat base and drum beat made us ready for what was to come.

Within minutes, they were up and making music! Their Manager is the rebel rouser of the group... he works the crowd... as Darlene found out...

Darlene was abit caught off guard, but made the best of the moment! We all clapped along with the band's music. Moving along, we headed for Disney's Backlot tour. After a display of movie making water special effects we boarded the tram for a tour of the back lot. We came to a stop at the working stage set and got to expeience movie making magic up-close and personel...

OK, so we get to see flames and water... but, then we got to see how they can move over 70,000 gallons of water in a couple of minutes...

From there we headed to the really popular new "Toy Story Mania" ride. It was a real hoot and lots of fun.

Watching our time, the guys headed to see "Lights, Motors, Action" and the girls wanted to try their hand a the "Art Studio."

Every time you watch these superb drivers go through their paces you see something new. Even though you've seen it before you're still impressed with the show.

The girls created some fine artistic redintions of "Goofy."

From Disney's Hollywood Studios we drove to Manny's and enjoyed their Wednesday special, their two-for-one chicken or steak fajitas, yummy! (Sorry, didn't take any photos, too busy eating!)

The next day we just had to walk off the "guilt" so we headed for Downtown Disney... to have lunch at the "Earl of Sandwhich!" (What can I say!) After lunch, we just have to walk past (and into) Ghirardelli's for a chocolate sample! .... then we walked off the guilt!

Actually, we headed for the "World of Disney" store. There, Bill and Darlene thought it fitting to get a little playful at Angela's expense...

And so, with a touch of Disney clips in her hair, being a good sport, Angela posed for a photo...

Alright, so the adults are acting like kids! What do you expect when they don't have any kids around. We made our way back to our park so the guys could R & R while the girls took off to BINGO!

I know we "crashed" early and the girls were still going strong, 'night, 'night!

Nature at its best!

Our Monday morning bike ride took us to the town of Celebration. As you may know our bike rides tend to include a final destination at a local restaurant. Today, like all of our bike rides in Celebration, we ended up at the Celebration Town Tavern. The Town Tavern features fresh New England fish delivered daily. Ah, the taste of New England!

Our ride, normally ten miles, takes us past many of the exclusive homes that make up Celebration. Yep, there's a number of them for sale. They say, if you can afford the monthly maintenance fee, you can afford to own one of these homes!

Along our route, we paused a moment or two to enjoy a couple of the "local inhabitants." First, while peddling along the wooden bike path that traverses an untouched section of town, we encountered this fine feathered hunter... This statuesque hawk kept a weary eye on us as we made our way past him.

It's always exciting to catch glimpses of the local Florida wildlife. Our bike troupe of "snowbirds" are constantly on the lookout for wildlife that we just don't see in our home states. Of course another critter we're always on the lookout for is the alligator. Cooler temps keep these preditors out of site. But when the sun works its magic one can easily find one of these guys warming him/herself out in the open...

This fine looking four/five foot young 'gator hung around for all of us to observe and photograph. We were only about ten feet away from him/her. Our observing area just happened to be on a house lined street. This critter was visiting one of the many man-made ponds that are part of the charm of Celebration. Yes, in hot/warm weather, you really need to pay attention to your walk places, ponds, etc. There are a number of varieties of seriously dangerous critters here in the south.

We left our "friend" to his sunbathing and rode on our way! Oh, this guy/girl will eventually be moved from the area by the officials.

A new act in the park!

Our first park Sunday "Pool Party" needed to be held inside the clubhouse. The unusually cold air that engulphed Florida and the rest of the country, forced us inside for the afternoon of hot dogs, and music provided by a local DJ. The music warmed everyone's heart and put us in a "sunny" kind of mood. Best of all, the frivolity introduced us to the latest local dance sensation.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the "Sweet Petunias!"

Our impromptu dance troupe led us in a great "soft shoe" with hilairus synchronized laughs!

Oh my, what parents and adults do when the kids aren't around!

Angela and Bill's first 2010 visit to the Magic Kingdom!

So the temperature is hovering in the low 40's, let' go to Magic Kingdom! But, before that let's go eat. So we walk from the Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary Resort for lunch at the "Wave." The "Wave" has become a lunch stop when our bicycle group rides in Fort Wilderness. Most of us who frequent the "Wave" have come to enjoy their "Classic Reuben" sandwich, It is yummy! We return to MK and try to make the best of a cold day in the park. We took in a few of the attractions with shorter lines. Our decision to go to the park on such a cold day was in part due to Angela and Bill wanting to get to the MK soon after arriving here in the area.

Angela and Bill's first visit of 2010! Cinderella's Castle makes a fitting background for their "welcome back visit!"

Everytime we visit the MK the one attraction we always manage to go to is, "It's a Small World!" Even if you've never ridden this family favorite, surely you know the song; "It's a Small World." This is the song that always gets "stuck in your head...

as attested by Darlene and Buzz!

In any case, we enjoyed ourselves.

The beat goes on!

I know, you don’t really care how cold it is down here! Yea, you really feel for us. You’d all probably enjoy having temps in the high 20’s during the day time! That’s what is expected here tonight and tomorrow night, UGH! At least when the sun is out (as it was today) it allows us to get out and about and even be quite warm in the sun and make the best of the day.

Gnorm is quietly resting as we settle in to our activity/work routine. Pat’s sister and her husband, Bill, are now here and our little group is itching to take advantage of the area.

Bill and Angela made their way south in an attempt to escape the cold only to be surprised at the chill that greeted them upon their arrival in the park. Their dog, Maggie, is not one for riding but is doing well adjusting to the snowless grass and milder temperatures.

Our included photos give you a hint of the unique people and critters that saunter around the local. First off there are the “Mouse” followers…

Then the local food seeking fauna…

And, even a few “snowbirds” looking for some relaxation…