On the Road with Dave and Pat: November 2016

Thanks to Jim P. we have a couple photos of our last ride to share. Yours truly has been tied up with either work or HOA meetings that just happen to be scheduled on Mondays. Our community is switching our TV/Internet/phone provider so they naturally have to take a Monday to tell us all about the changes for the new year.

Our riders headed out to the Van Fleet Trail for our weekly ride. The Van Fleet Trail fills the need for those riders who "feel the need for speed" and those who wish to observe the wildlife that makes this heavily wooded trail a haven for nature lovers. The comments we received from our riders were about the gopher tortoises, birds, gators and an occasional snake taking advantage of the warm pavement. Most of our riders enjoy simply getting to see these animals in their natural habitat. The gopher tortoises are quite unique. They do not seek water, instead they burrow deep into the soil and that's their home. http://www.defenders.org/gopher-tortoise/basic-facts

Our group headed to Kagan's Crossing for lunch at "I Love NY Pizza."

Although, some of our riders opted for something different.... As Jim says, "What a Calzone!"

(Good thing we didn't have to ride our bikes back to our cars!)

Yes, I've missed two bike rides and most definetly I miss our lunches....er, social time together!

Speaking of lunch! Here's something you don't get to see down here, Marshmallow Fluff!

Bill and Angela gave us this tub of "Fluff" at our visit with them last August. Yes, we still have some "Fluff" left in it. If you haven't tried this with peanut butter you're in for a treat. Yeah, it's basically pure sugar and it's like eating melted marshmallows. It doen't need refrigeration and lasts... well, probably for ever! Yummy!

We're not sure if it's local to New England because this is one of Bill's staple food items and believe us, he's looked for it everywhere they travel!

Pat's been enjoying playing cards with friends at Encore Lake Magic. She managed to drag me to Bingo the other night. Nope, neither of us took any $$$$$ home!

It seems that all of a sudden Florida is finally getting a taste of cooler weather. The temps are hitting below 50' in the mornings.

Go ahead and make fun of us all you "northerners!" We get to thaw out once the sun gets higher in the sky! We're still only adding a sweater to our outer gear!

But, we also get to watch our electric meter spin like a top when our heat pumps kick in! UGH!

Lots of things going on lately. Then, one day we get an email from a young lady whom for eighteen years we watched go from a little girl to a beautiful young woman heading out on the journey of her life. Caitlin, along with her longtime beau, Clay and her four legged friend, Lucy, will be traversing the USA in their personally designed camper. Completing college, the three companions were making their way back home to MA via Florida to get all their plans in order and hoped to visit us for a few days. Pat and I were extremely excited to host them and reconnect with Caitlin, her Mom and Dad as we made our plans for their visit. We kept in-touch with Caitlin's Mom and Dad throughout the "kids" visit.

Caitlin and Clay are on a mission. They managed to land a job that gave them mobility and a chance to do something a person would normally have to wait for retirement to do... see the U.S.A. With (tongue in cheek) Pat and I planned to show them the "World" in our own way, Disney World that is. The last time Caitlin was here she was a little girl. Clay has never been to Disney World. It's an understatement to say they had a fast paced visit. It was more like a blur.

We treated them to "Flippers" pizza to get their visit started out on the right foot! Then, one day this showed up... It appears that Caitlin's Mom and Dad sent us this so we'd eat some healthy snacks. Good timing Janet! This "Care Package" lasted their entire visit.

Lucy was somewhat tentative at first. Lilly had to let her know who the boss is. With the help of the "dog whisperer," Caitlin, she "introduced" Lilly to Lucy (the way dogs greet each other with a sniff).

With introductions out-of-the-way and a few beers, we got down to making plans.

First, it was off to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. From there we headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Caitlin and Clay were literally in another world. They also were lucky to have just about all of the park to themselves. Wait times were 10 minutes. First the official photo in front of the Tree of Life.

It's Tough to Be a Bug was our first stop.

Then the Festival of the Lion King.

We actually walked right into the Kilimanjaro Safari.

The "King" in his usual position!

Yep, that's a Hippo looking back at ya!

Huge!

The Mere Cat look out was on duty. There happened to be a hawk in the area.

Sometimes don't ya think this fellow might just be the real king of the Jungle?

Clay's pretty good at selfies!

Walking through Asia they caught sight of Expedition Everest... with a 10 minute wait... they couldn't resist. They managed to get front row seats! Yours truly sat this one out. It would be great if I can learn how to load the short video of their ride!!!

The next day they took on the Star Wars Storm Troopers as Disney's Hollywood Studios, hiked to EPCOT and made it to "Soarin' Around The World" as well as Illuminations, Reflections of Earth. Their youth was working for them. From there the hearty duo made their way to Disney Springs to top off the night.

Caitlin and Clay were great guests and we made good use of their brief stay. Before heading out we paused for one last selfie!

We didn't forget you Erin (Caitlin's sister)! We're thinking of you as well.

I've missed two recent bike rides but thanks to our RITs (Reporters in Training), we have some photos to show.

Jim says the ride was a "blurr!" Hmmm, this can't be riders speeding by.

(Probably, more like, "oops, dropped the camera!)

Our hearty riders look fit and ready for the ride ahead.

Of course, our lunch makes for a fitting way to end our rides.

(Hey, Judy! Judy! Look over here! .... Oh well.)

Jack's Alice flew down from New England to visit for a few days to enjoy a little warmer temps. She took in our bike ride (above) and got to enjoy getting to see many of our Lake Magic "Snowbird" friends.

Jack, Alice, Pat and I made an afternoon trek for lunch followed by a ride to check out Disney Springs. Jack and Alice were pleasantly surprised to see all the completed construction and new additions to Disney Springs. Yes, we had our sample of Ghirardelli chocolate!

The "little car that could" caught our attention. The Amphicars were fun to watch as these 1955 vintage classics make there way in and out of the water.