Tag: Favorite Quotes

A Magical Birthday Week

Posted in Celebration, Florida, Restaurants, Road Trip, TravelTagged , , , , , , , , 28 Comments

That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up

Walt Disney

Henry and I both celebrated milestone birthdays this year. His was in May and mine was the last week of June. Sorry, you’ll have to guess our ages! What better way for two seniors to celebrate than to be kids again. We went to Disney World!

We took our time and stayed off the Interstates on the way to and from Orlando. We even broke up the trip on the way down with a night beside the St. John’s River in Palatka, Florida. Our room overlooked the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza and river walk beside the river. We enjoyed two fabulous waterside meals our first day. Lunch at Skippers in Darien, Georgia is always delicious. Corky Bells on the St. John’s River was crowded but we found two seats at the bar and enjoyed a great dinner.

The next day, our room was ready when we arrived at our resort in Orlando early in the afternoon. Our condo was about 15 minutes from any place we wanted to go at Disney World.

On most trips to Orlando we spend at least one day in one of the theme parks. This was not one of those trips. Our plans for the week were to relax, enjoy the amenities at the resort where we were staying, and get our Disney fix by dining at three Disney restaurants.

Our first Disney dining experience was at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Village Resort. As we explored outside before lunch we had fun reminiscing about our stay there about 40 years ago. Lunch was fabulous!

We weren’t going to a theme park but we still wanted to experience some Disney magic. What better way to do that than to go to Chef Mickey’s Fun Time Character Dinner at the Contemporary Resort on the night before my birthday.

We arrived at the Contemporary Resort about an hour before our reservation. Sipping a cocktail while watching an afternoon thunderstorm over the lake was a nice start to the evening.

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck all made appearances. As each character walked through the restaurant they stopped in front of each table to wave and pose for pictures. Seeing the excitement in the kids eyes as each character came by was priceless. I don’t know who enjoyed it more – the little kids or us.

It was pouring down rain after dinner but before heading back to our condo we took a monorail ride around the lake.

The next day was my birthday. It would be hard to top dinner with Mickey Mouse but we did. Our lunch in Sanaa Restaurant in Kadani Village at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was amazing. The restaurant overlooks a savanna with giraffes, zebras, impalas, wildebeest, and other animals. Before and after our meal we watched the animals from an overlook outside. Our table was at a window with a great view of the animals as we ate. The meal was the best we had all week and the live entertainment outside the window was perfect.

When we weren’t out eating we enjoyed sitting on our screened in porch overlooking a pond or going to one of the pools. The pond attracted several Florida birds who came to the pond to fish. Great Blue Herons, a little blue heron, egrets, an osprey, and an ibis all made appearances.

We’ve been to Walt Disney World many times since the 1970’s. We learned on this trip that you can have fun without going to one of the theme parks. You are never too old to be a kid at heart!

I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.

Walt Disney

Lens-Artists #119: Hideaway

Posted in National Parks, National Wildlife Refuge, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , 14 Comments

For this challenge Ann-Christine has asked us “where or what is our hideaway”. Her description of hideaway says “A Hideaway, is a place to which a person can retreat for safety, privacy, relaxation, to seek seclusion or refuge.”

When I am at home I can hideaway for a few moments by getting out in nature or by reading a book. But for me, a true hideaway is a wilderness area far away from civilization, somewhere with no robo calls, internet, or other interruptions.

Three of my favorite destinations immediately came to mind – the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in south Georgia, Denali National Park in Alaska, and Everglades National Park in Florida. Although these are three unique protected wilderness areas, what they have in common is that they are miles away from civilization and the wildlife is free to roam.

Okefenokee Landscape
Okefenokee Landscape

Of these three areas, the closest to my home is the Okefenokee Swamp. When we get to the end of the 17 mile road from the main highway and arrive at Stephen C. Foster State Park I feel like I am in another world. This image and the one at the top were both taken in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Fargo, Georgia.

Mount Denali in Denali National Park, Alaska

To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.

John Muir
Sunrise in Everglades National Park in Flamingo, Florida

There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth; remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Thanks to Ann-Christine for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #119: Hideaway.

Lens-Artists #115: Inspiration

Posted in Butterflies, National Parks, Photography, SunsetTagged , , , , , , 21 Comments

I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful – an endless prospect of magic and wonder.

Ansel Adams

Whether it’s a butterfly in my garden, a tiny spider on a colorful flower, a walk on the beach, visiting a National Park, or seeing a sunset, I find inspiration in the natural world.

Green Lynx Spider on pink zinnia
Tybee Island North Beach at low tide
Yosemite Valley in Yellowstone National Park
Sunset over the Georgia Salt Marsh

Thanks to Tina for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #115: Inspiration.

Starting the Lonesome Dove Cattle Trail

Posted in Road Trip, TexasTagged , , , , , , , , , 19 Comments

“Yesterday’s gone on down the river and you can’t get it back.” – Captain Augustus McCrae to July Johnson, from “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry.

“If you want one thing too much it’s likely to be a disappointment. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk—and feisty gentlemen.”  – Captain Augustus McCrae to Lorena, from “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry.

Our dog eared copy of Lonesome Dove
Our dog-eared copy of Lonesome Dove

One of my favorite books of all time is Lonesome Dove, the 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Larry McMurtry. I am currently reading  it for the third time, and Henry has read it two or three times. We both also love the 1989 TV miniseries starring Robert Duvall as Captain Augustus McCrae and Tommy Lee Jones as Captain Woodrow Call.

In fact, the whole idea for our Lonesome Dove Cattle Trail, Gulf Coast, Cajun Country, Whooping Crane, Bluebonnet and Brisket Tour began over a year ago when we watched the  miniseries for about the third time. As we were watching, the idea of a trip to follow the cattle trail through Texas as far as Ogalalla, Nebraska began to form. Once we started talking about Texas we decided to time it so we could try to see the whooping cranes and bluebonnets. We couldn’t pass by Cajun Country or the Gulf Coast without spending some time there, either.

The story begins at the Hat Creek Cattle Company in the fictional south Texas border town of Lonesome Dove and revolves around the two former Texas Rangers Gus and Call as they lead a cattle drive to Montana.

Lonesome Dove Trail Map
Lonesome Dove Trail Map courtesy https://www.etsy.com/shop/AntiqueMapsofTexas

Since Lonesome Dove is a fictional place, we had to do some research to figure out where to start.We studied maps of the cattle trail and the closest place we could find with a nice place to stay was Laredo.

Lake Casa Blanca didn’t exist back then and Laredo doesn’t resemble the dusty, dry town of Lonesome Dove at all. When we left Laredo and started driving north on I-35 towards San Antonio the landscape looked more like it must have looked like to the cowboys. On both sides of the interstate were fields of cactus, mesquite, yucca and dust with few trees in sight. The railroad, which was built following the cattle trail that was used by the real cattlemen, runs beside I-35 most of the way to San Antonio. There are few towns and for miles and miles there was no sign of civilization except the vehicles on the interstate.

We drove through the city of San Antonio (no fun pulling a fifth wheel) and set up camp beside Canyon Lake to explore the Texas Hill Country. When we crossed the Nueces River I could picture the cowboys on their horses herding the cattle across.

In the story of Lonesome Dove several events take place in San Antonio and in and around Austin. Of course, all the places in the story are different now. San Antonio and Austin are big cities and both are surrounded by suburbs, big box stores, strip malls, and outlet malls.

So our plans have changed. As Henry said, it would be disappointing to try to find where a fictional event might have taken place, because we might get there only to find a Home Depot sitting on the location.  Instead of driving through the plains of Kansas and Nebraska  (in the beginning of tornado season), we will spend more time in Texas. We will leave Lonesome Dove in our imagination.

Hey, it’s our trip! The beauty of not making reservations ahead of time is that we can change our plans if we want.