Busy, busy, busy!

This has been a fun filled couple of weeks. Although, if you consider ending a bike ride in the pouring rain you might not think so! My excuse was that I was working, I lucked out! Actually, the bike ride was great until the end of the ride. Twenty-two riders headed out from the Fort Wilderness parking lot. True to form, there was the "fast" group lead by Jim and the "take time to smell the roses" group lead by Judy. At least one of the groups weaved its way through the loops enjoying the campers out-and-about near their sites. Jim's group enjoyed heads down, full speed ahead and look out get-out-of-our-way camper blur as they "straightened" out the loops! Picture this, their heads down, eyes glued to the back of the rider in front of each rider, drafting and pedal to the metal! Sorry, nothing to report on the fast group, no one had time to talk! I did hear that all the "fast" riders needed to make a pit stop at the Pharmacy for Ben-Gay!

I hope you appreciate the photo below. Judy dared to stand in the middle of the trail to stop Jim's "fast" group as they steamed up the trail. Here the group is chastising Judy for the interruption. In classy form, Judy simply explained that if they don't calm down she will turn over her report on this ride to Dave and let him "embellish" just how fast Jim's group was really riding! Or how much crying and carrying on amongst the group took place because Jim was going too fast. Or how many stops they had to make for the rest room or to rub their leg muscles!

They decided to stop for the photo!

 

 

Everyone thought Bill was keeping up with the group. You know Bill just celebrated another birthday and he like most of us is staring the 70's in the face. It's more than likely the reason is, that when the group took off after checking some deer on the trail, Bill didn't see the group take off and didn't notice which direction they headed. Age might be the factor that made him decide to wait until the group was making the return trip to connect with the group. Below, Bill is letting them know in no uncertain terms it isn't very funny that they took off without him!

 

Ahhhhhh, the Wilderness Lodge. Warmth, restrooms and lunch! It was time to make the most difficult choice of the day... where do we go for lunch!

The usually time consuming "lunch" decision was brief given that rain was in the near future.

With little fan-fair, some wanted to eat at the Wilderness Lodge in the Whispering Canyon and a few (in spite of the impending rain) headed to the Grand Floridian.

 Lunch was great but those who (wisely) decided to lunch at the Lodge were rewarded by a dry ride back to their vehicles.

However, those who ventured to the Grand Floridian Café experienced a much different ending to their ride.

They got soaked!

 ....and that's all I'm going to say about that!

 

Last week, Bill, Angela, Buzz, Darlene, Pat and I made our way to the Magic Kingdom for our annual Holiday Celebration free photo and to use up our free popcorn and soda tickets.

Lilly spent the day with her friends at Best Friends Pet Care so I met our group in front of the park.

I let Pat know where I was so they were watching for me as I was for them. Just as the monorail passed by I caught Pat and Buzz waving in the window of their car. They are in the left windows of the middle car (just to the left of the street light)..



 Here's a better view.

 

Pardon me, excuse me, hey get the h_ _ _ out of our way!

....thank you!

 

after checking out Main Street and the "Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom" https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/sorcerers/ we settled in for our annual photo...... hold it, I think you're going to like this picture!

 

Well, why stop there!

Bill and Angela



 

Darlene and Buzz

Dave and Pat

 

Bill and I scouted ahead to find a good viewing spot for Darlene and hopefully a couple of seats for the "Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade." We lucked out. We had our very own viewing "box." We only had to fend off four elderly people, three kids and two families to keep the spot! Bill played the "bad" cop and yours truly played the "good" cop! (What did you expect? This is my Blog!)

Here's what we waited for....

 

Have you noticed anything unique about the tire tread on the Parade vehicle?

\

If not, check it out.....

 

 



This one's for Ashley

 

This one's for Larry C.

I waited patiently for the Dragon to breath fire at us but he "coughed" instead!

There sure are lots of things going on in these floats.

See ya Mickey and Minnie!

 

If the hat fits........

 

Don't see this too often!

 

 

We had to scout out our favorite Magic Kingdom treat. A Cinnamon Bun at Gaston's Tavern!

I didn't even try to get anyone to look at the camera!

 

Time for some Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast "shoot 'em up!"

 

Well, that certainly was entertaining...... for all of you reading this, sorry, those photos are scary!

 

One more parade.

 

That's enough! Lunch at "Tony's Town Square Restaurant," Cinnamon buns for everyone, two parades, topping it off with "Wishes" fireworks and a day full of fun and memories.

We're not done yet!

 

Alice flew out of the snow of the Northeast to visit with Jack for a few days. She had a great visit.

Jack wanted to thank us for a few trips to the airport so he treated us to lunch.

We made reservations to Narcoosee's located at the Grand Floridian Resort. Perhaps because it was our first time at this restaurant, we happened to be seated at a window that looked out over the Seven Seas Lagoon with a vista of the Contemporary Resort and the Magic Kingdom. We stayed long enough into the evening that just as our table was cleaned off "Wishes" began. We sat at the table listening to the music piped into the restaurant as the fireworks lit up the sky.

 

What a night! ....it wasn't over yet!

 

As we left the warmth of the restaurant and started to make the cold walk to the car, we heard some loud music coming from the Seven Seas Lagoon. The "Electrical Water Parade" was just beginning its evening program.

What a past couple of weeks its been!

 

 

 

 

 

A Bike Ride to Beat the Rain!

With dark clouds threatening our eager group headed to the West Orange Trail for this weeks bike ride. Over thirty riders departed from the center of Winter Garden.... except for Jack! While our riders lined up to begin their ride, I noticed Jack was walking his bike toward (I suspected) to the www.wgwheelworks.com bicycle shop in the center of town. I figured jack needed some sort of repair and that it might be just a quick repair so Jack will most likely catch up with us on the trail.
At our first stop, I called Jack and found out that his bike "transmission" finally gave out and he'll catch up with us.

As we approached our first rest stop some of our riders were stopped and looking up into the trees.

This is what they saw a majestic Bald Eagle attending to a nest.

 Here's a better look (cropped) at our Nation's symbol.

 From a different position

 It's always a special moment when we catch a glimpse of Florida wildlife in their natural settings.

 

 Judy (Larry and Judy) was in fine spirits at the rest stop!

 

And Larry, well........ he's always in FINE SPIRITS!

Editor's note: We're not sure if Larry is really overjoyed or wincing in pain from taking a hit on his right forearm and upper arm when a pair of vice grips slipped while winding an awning spring a couple of days ago!



 

Kathy gets the "Most Enthusiastic" rider award!



 

 

Jack said the shop took good care of his bike and sent him on his way. Jack is in excellent condition. He works out in the mornings and rides his bike almost everyday. He caught up to us at the Killarny Station and wasn't even breathing hard! Jack had some good comments about the Winter Garden Wheel Works shop. The technician replaced his rear wheel center hub gears and bicycle chain in about 20 minutes at a reasonable price.

 

 Nice! Shiny new gears, internal parts and chain! Jack enjoys getting the most out of his equipment! He says, "as long as the frame is in good condition and minor parts can be repaired/replaced, the bike will last for years."  

 

 

 

Hey UP and Jim, let's have some excitement and fun for a pose! Err, lets try that again.....

 

Ahh,.... that's better!

 

Alright, how about this group. Hey folks lets pose for a photo....

That'l do!



The next three photos may not seem unique but if you look closely you'll notice a rare event taking place.

 

 You'll notice Bill crossing the bicycle bridge that crosses the Florida Turnpike. Well, Angela is at the other end. (You can see Angela approaching the bridge in the above photo.)

 

What's so special is that Angela is following Bill across the bridge. This particular bridge has been Angela's nemesis for most of our West Orange rides.

 

Congratulations to Angela for "taking the next step!"

 

Back at the parking lot Jack has some 'splainin' to do to some of our riders about his bike repairs.

 

Nineteen of us gathered at the Winter Garden Pizza Company for lunch. Others headed for "parts unknown" to satisfy their taste for a different menu.

We won't list the names of those who took the "other fork in the road" for lunch. You can see who's here and judge the others accordingly!

You'll notice Larry is not present in either the above or below photo. (I think Larry was showing off his "battle scars" too often at the table and Judy gave him a kick under the table. He's bending down to rub his leg under the table!)

 

We were fortunate. The rain held off until we were at lunch.

 

In other news, time is flying by. John and Mary Kay are heading north to prepare for the growing season. They need to get planting in their greenhouses for the Spring. John and Mary Kay are sitting to Bill's right. (John's expression just about says it all about leaving.)

 

A Party, a bike ride, a visit, two football games, a carving, and a movie! Whew!

Once again "The Palm Tree Bikers" break out. Its time to break out the food and games and git down to business. We met at Jim and Judy's winter abode, set up the chairs, made the rounds and braved the chill! Did I say chill? I hope all our northern readers understand that I write this with "tongue in cheek!" Well, it is cold for us. As long as we were in the sun we were fine. Here's a photo report on our party. Check to see if you can pick out any faces you recognize and forgive them for their overflowing plates!

 

Jim said Grace. Jim is standing straight behind Judy in the center of the photo.

 

Jim did a great job fending off the members as long as he could.

 

 Larry (on the right) AKA the "Activity Director," set up the Bean Bag toss and Ladder Golf and rounded up the "usual suspects" to let the games begin!

Ahhh, poetry in motion.

 The ladies played with class and politeness. No arguing or anger was displayed.

However, Lynn (on the left in the photo below) nearly took out yours truly with a near miss right between my legs.

Thanks to still being somewhat "quick-on-my-feet," I dodged a golf ball in the .........!

Lesson learned!.....

Don't stand behind the "ladder!"

 

 

As the sun dropped closer to the horizon the trees silently eclipsed the sun and the temperature ebbed lower, we began to play musical chairs to catch the waning warmth.

 

While some just "toughed it out!"

 

 We are quite confident that "Big Buz, Pete and Jack solved many of the daily issues of retirees "snowbirding" in Florida.

 

In short order, we slowly (at first) headed for the warmth of everyone's nearby campers. Pat and I headed to Bill and Angela's camper to kick-back for a few minutes.

 

As for the bike ride. Our group was headed to the Van Fleet Trail this week. You may recall that's the trail that I like to refer to as "the trail you have to pedal both ways, all the way!" The trail is nearly perfectly flat. As you ride out (north) it appears you're going up a slight grade. You tell yourself you'll be able to take it easier on the return. Nope! You pedal just as much as you did on the way out.

The Van Fleet can sometimes impress you with Florida wildlife but the trail is shrouded by trees so there is little open area to observe eagles or other animals who might be in the area. I will say the trail is a nice change because, as it is so straight, you can burn up the trail getting an awesome workout, or simple amble along at your own pace not having to follow a leader.

So the "rebels" from New England, Bill, Angela and I headed to the "wilderness." Fort Wilderness that is.

If we're still "loved" by the group perhaps someone will send me a photo or two of their ride!

 

And, didn't we have two great football games to watch? At the two-minute mark of the Seahawks and Green Bay's game I was satisfied Green Bay had the game locked up.... so I took Lilly our for a walk.

You all know what happened, I returned about 10 minutes later and noticed they were still playing!!!

I caught sight of the 22 to 22 score and couldn't believe what I saw... and then the Seahawks scored and it was over. I normally don't follow that much football. In fact I only intended to watch the Patriots being that we're from New England. As we now all know that game had quite a turn of events to say the least. But they were fun to watch.

 

We were expecting some visitors this week and my schedule at work was very quiet so I asked for a few days off for a change. This Tuesday, our cousin Angela, her husband Bob and our Aunt Ruth and her friend Ann, visited with Pat and I and Angela and Bill for lunch and a pleasant afternoon of sharing some great memories. You'll notice I said, "our Aunt Ruth (on the right)..."

 

That's correct. Pat and I can both call Aunt Ruth our Aunt. You see my mother's sister (Ruth) married Pat's uncle Leo (Pat's Mom, Connie's brother). Yes, back in our childhood days families lived closer together. Pat and I shared many childhood family parties and for some of our early years yours truly didn't quite grasp the unique relationship Pat and I enjoyed.

Needless to say, Aunt Ruth is very special to us and we are truly thankful for Ruth's daughter and her husband for a wonderfully fun-filled afternoon.

 

 

 The time off also gave me the time to finish my latest carving.

"The Pocket Smith & Wesson 460 XVR."

Don't fret, I didn't know what it is either. My Coordinator, Brad,  will be retiring from Disney in a few months so I came up with a most (I think) unique retirement gift for a gun-lover. At first we talked about making a "life-sized" carving of this pistol but I let my imagination direct me toward a much different rendition of this very special firearm. This pistol fires what equals a rifle round. The actual pistol is 15" long and takes two hands to control this beast. My idea was to "cut-this-brute-down-to-size!"

I tried to stay close to the size ratio of 1/4" = 1".

Cool huh?

 

Fortunately, I'll be able to keep this a surprise from Brad, he typically doesn't read my Blogs.

(So don't tell him!)

If you care to get an idea of how big this thing really is click on this link: S&W 460XVR

 

"The guys" headed out to see "American Sniper" yesterday. Buzz, Darlene, Bill, Angela, Pat and I made an afternoon of it. We met at Flippers for lunch then the ladies headed out to check out some stores and "The guys" headed to the movie. All three of us are veterans. We were fortunate not to see action but we found it easy to understand what it means to care for your "brother in arms."

Yes, it was worth seeing.