We Escape From the Busy Metro Area and Go Back To the Wild

On Friday we hooked up once again and drove northeast out of the greater Orlando Area.  Before we left we noticed two park model units at Outdoor Resorts of Orlando that looked like this picture below.  They are permanent structures that started with travel trailers.  Does anyone know where the trailers were made? (Hint: check the name)

Cree Coach was near Marcellus, Michigan.  That is where Bill went to junior high school.  It went out of business long ago when most trailer manufacturing moved to Elkhart, Indiana.

 

We are headed to Blue Springs but like all the other Florida state parks it is full over the weekend.  However, some research brought us to the nearby park you see above.  It turned out to be a great county campground between Debary and Sanford, FL.

 

Not only does it have a lake, large sites with plenty of privacy, but it also is connected to this wonderful seven-mile bicycle trail that you see below.

 

There will be more about where the trail leads tomorrow.....

We Go See Mickey at the Magic Kingdom

Thursday the day was cool in the morning (mid 40s) but sunny, and in the low 70s by afternoon.  It was an excellent weather day to do the Magic Kingdom.  We had not been to Disney World for about thirty years and most attractions have remained the same. But still a lot of fun!

After some practice - we thought we did much better with this selfie.  What do you think?

 

 

 

Okay Okay .....maybe we got some help with this picture from a lady walking by.

 

The Country Bears were still having their Jamboree

 

 The Pirates were still being wild in the Caribbean.

 

 Karen still loves the Small World.  These dolls were in Ireland.

 

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was a fun roller coaster to ride.

 

We watched the street parade-- which was impressive.  This mechanical dragon was gigantic and scary. 

 And of course we saw Mickey and Minnie.  We decided you are never too old to enjoy what Disney created.

 

 

 

Outdoor Resorts at Orlando

On Wednesday we decided to take a break from the theme parks and catch up on a few chores and enjoy the resort in which we are staying.  It may be the cleanest and most tidy park we have ever seen in our travels.  After a trip for gas and supplies at the local stores, Karen did some laundry.  We did some exploring on our bicycles, and Bill took a swim.

The pool is very large and heated.  It was a cool day only in the 60s so Bill had it all to himself to swim laps and enjoy the deep end.

The bath and shower rooms at Outdoor Resorts are all beautifully painted like the three examples you see above.  A strange thing about the park is that none of the streets have names so it is easy to get lost.  Maybe street signs would just be too messy?

 

We have mentioned how tidy this resort is.  Can you spot the garbage can at our site in the picture above?

 

Probably not because it is underground there by the white post.  All the garbage cans are hidden like that.  They are just too unsightly to be seen at Outdoor Resorts at Orlando.

   

Walt Disney World

Tuesday was sunny and cool.  We got up early and headed to EPCOT.   EPCOT was an acronym created by Walt Disney himself for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow".  Some sights were the same as the last time we visited about 30 years ago, but many attractions have been updated.  There were plenty of children at EPCOT but the pace was slower and the crowds were moderate.

This part of  Norway looked like a scene from the movie "Frozen".  Notice the grass and live flowers on the roof.

We loved the Circle-Vision 360 degree shows at China and Canada.  France offered a great movie experience as well.

Inside the China display was this replica of the tomb soldiers.  The small figures were unearthed from the 2000 year-old tomb of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty.  His tomb covers 526 acres in China.

This beautiful train set and village was near Germany.

 

Chevrolet had a fun ride where you got to design a car then drive it down a test track.  Bill was surprised that everything was Chevrolet and not one GM logo was to be seen.

 

And this is evidence of why old people should not try to do "selfies" on the rides.  We decided after this that maybe we needed one of those "selfie sticks" that many young people were using to hold their cameras.



A Visit to Universal Orlando Resort

On Monday we decided to start our week near Orlando with a trip to Universal Orlando which includes Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure.  It was pretty crowded and quite pricey but we made a long day of it and had a fun time.

Here is Karen waiting to board the Hogwarts Express.

 

 The train took us to Hogsmede.  We were surprised by the snow on the roofs. Some was even melting onto the street below.

 

This is the school that Harry Potter attended.

 

Jurassic Park had plenty of dinosaurs.

 

But Karen wasn't afraid.  Look Out!

 

This was the highlight of the day for Bill.  He got his picture taken with Lucy and Marilyn!  Lucy even said she liked him but he could not tell Ricky.  How lucky can a guy get??

Side note:  Universal was the first busy place in Florida that we have visited that was not all old people!

(like ourselves - I might add) 

 



We Move Down the Road to the Orlando Area

Sunday morning we packed up, said goodbye to our neighbor, Harry, and headed farther south down Route 27.  In the early afternoon we arrived at Outdoor Resorts at Orlando in the suburb of Clermont.
We had made reservations for this Park four months ago and got a great spot we had picked out.  The resort is big with 979 spaces and 100 available for RVs to rent.  The place turned out to be a delightful spot for RV travelers like us.  And it is only six miles from Disney World!

The streets are smooth and wide and all the sites have level concrete pads.  The whole resort is clean as a whistle, and there must be park-wide irrigation because every lot has green grass! 

There is a fresh water canal running through the park that flows out into Lake Davenport.  Some homes have balconies out above the canal.

Here is the main clubhouse with mini golf next to it.  You can see Lake Davenport on the left.

 

The lake is 178 acres and very pretty with very few houses on the other side.  Some people in the park have boats.

The resort has a par-three golf course next to the lake.  It is complementary for visitors to play.  We will be here for five days and we love the resort so far.

The Different Type Homes in Holiday Travel Resort

Holiday Travel Resort just south of Leesburg has been a great place to stay for a week.  The facilities are varied and well maintained.  The people have been friendly and helpful. Below are some of the different type of homes we have found here.

Neat and Tidy

Notice the beautiful flowers including the live Poinsettias.

 

Jungle Jim

The plants at this place look like something out of Africa.  However, they sure offer the residents plenty of privacy.

 

China Doll

The people here have planted Bamboo and it really grew well.  Perhaps they have a pet Panda or two??

 

The Renovator

It looks like the owners here just might be having some remodeling done!

 

 

 

Another Look at the Rocket Launch and some Florida Parks' Info

One of my dear sweet high school classmates who reads our blog sent me this view of the same rocket launch that  Bill and Harry witnessed Tuesday evening.  Bill must admit that it is just a tad more professional than the ones he posted. Ha Ha  (and a lot closer than 60 miles away)  Thank you Shauna.

Florida has a few unique laws that have surprised us.  Do you see anything strange about this park model home above? .......See below for the answer.

 

 

Answer:  It has a vehicle license plate with the tabs up to date. If any part of a structure down here once had wheels the structure must have a current license plate - forever.  It does not matter if it will never be moved again!  Go figure that one out!!  Must be for tax revenue.

 

It goes without saying that these Florida RV, park model, and mobile home parks and resorts have many older residents.  Consequently, we often see the sight above: which is emergency vehicles coming in.

It seems that about every-other day a resident in the park has a stroke or a heart attack (or at least thinks he/she is having one).  Also falling accidents are common, so we have gotten used to sirens and flashing lights.

 

 

 

 

This and That and Here and There around Leesburg, Florida

 

On a recent road trip, when the weather was cooler, we stopped at a roadside produce stand.  Besides a few fruits and vegetables, we got this picture of Karen with a live plant with the mammoth  leaves that you see above.

 

On our road trip we saw this brand new Cadillac - a model that we had not seen before.  Its sleek design caught our eye and it almost looked like a car from the future.

 

Softball, Miniature Golf, and a Rocket's Red Glare

 

On Wednesday the weather was warm, sunny, and beautiful so we stayed home at Holiday Travel Resort to have a good look around and to enjoy the place.  We found a spirited softball game going on where the team from Holiday was playing a team from another RV Park.  These old guys were athletic and talented at slow-pitch softball.

 

The Park has a miniature golf course so Bill challenged Karen to a game.  Karen had two holes-in-one but Bill won the match. (Barely!)  We also played a game of Bocce Ball which is like yard bowling..

 

We have both an indoor and outdoor heated pool for our use.  Here is the outdoor pool.  Bill loved the smaller round end at the right above, because it was eleven feet deep in the middle and actually had a fairly strong current along the outside.

 

Tuesday evening about 8 PM Harry picked Bill up in his golf cart and drove over to the softball field.  There was a small group already there looking up into the sky to the east.  Soon Bill got to see his first rocket launch from Cape Canaveral.  It was 60 miles away but still worth the time to watch.

The pictures above aren't much but were the best Bill's phone camera could do.