Christmas in Okeechobee

Well, we are well into the New Year and it's about time I update this blog.  Lots of things have happened since my last addition.
We have moved to a new camp.  We are now in Lakeland and have decided to stay here for 2 months.  It's half way between Tampa and Orlando.  The weather here is great, we've had a few days where the temperature went down below 20, but we've also had several really warm days when the weather has been in the high 20s.
Christmas this year was quite an experience.  It's funny seeing Christmas decorations and lights and people walking around in shorts and shirt sleeves.  Seeing the Salvation Army Christmas kettles out in front of stores and people singing Christmas caroles while the air conditioners are blasting, the sun is shining and plants are in full bloom is odd too.  Poinsettas are blooming like huge flowering bushes in many gardens. 
We went to the Santa Clause parade in Okeechobee.  It was huge!  People lined the streets 3 and 4 deep, the parade went on for miles and everyone in town participated.  There were floats from local churches, schools and even the local hospital participated.  It was held in the evening and was dark by the time Santa arrived but it is oh so pretty seeing all the floats lit up.
Down here with all the water and canals everywhere you go they also decorate their boats and have competitions for the best decorated boat.  Then people line the shore while the boats parade down the canals. 
Christmas Day everyone in the camp got together for a big feast, rather than celebrating on our own.  The camp supplied 2different types of turkey, smoked and roasted, ham and dressing, potatoes and a veggie casserole.  The rest of us brought a dish of our choice.  What a feast!  It was also a great way to celebrate, no clean up afterwards and we got to go for a swim after dinner!

Santa Claus Parade

Boat Parade

During the Christmas holidays we did some touring with our daughter Jes.  We went to the Barnum Bailey, Ringling Brothers Circus Museum and the home of John Ringling, Ca d'Zan.  What an amazing and beautiful place to visit.  We also drove down to the southernmost tip of the USA, Key West.  The drive over the bridges that cross the islands is very beautiful and the Key Lime pie was delicious.

Ca d'Zan (House of John)

Miniature Circus Display

Circus Displays

The Road to Key West

Beyond Key West

This trip has been amazing so far.  Lots to do and see and beautiful weather to boot.

Talk again soon.

Visiting the Manatees

At the front gate of the Animal Preserve a boat picks up the tourists and takes them on a tour down the river.  At the beginning is George, a real live alligator, warming up in the sunshine.  He sits on a log watching all the visitors pass by. 

No, its not a rock in the river.  It's a manatee.  Manatees are from the same family as elephants.  Just look at the back of this manatee, floating in the display pool.

Manatees are vegetarians. In the display pool, where you can view a few of the manatees that are permanent residents of the park, you can watch the manatees feeding on lettuce and cabbages.

Elsewhere in the park they have an area called the fishbowl. It's an underwater viewing area. You go down below water level and through huge glass windows you can view the sea life.  Above is a manatee swimming in toward the fishbowl.

Manatees are  not able to live in cold temperatures.  During the winter months when the waters of the ocean and the Gulf of Mexico begin to get cold, the manatees move up the coastal rivers where the temperatures are warmer.  During the day they move upstream to where the waters are warm.  In the evenings they move back toward the ocean where the coastal waters are thriving with lots of plants for them to eat.  If you look close you can see the black dots in the water, they're manatees.  Manatees are a very gentle, docile creature but they are an endangered species.  Many are killed each year by boats with propellers.  Manatees are mammals and therefore need to breathe air, so they must surface for air and are often hit by the propellers of boats.

The manatees are the main attraction of the game preserve but the park is the showcase of many of the animals that can be found in Florida.  One of the displays is the 'gator' pond.  

 Flamingoes are a bird that live in Florida.   

Other birds that are found in Florida are the Great Blue Heron, pelicans, ibises, owls and.....

the American Bald Eagle.

They also have cougars and

lynx.

At the end of the day we went to a demonstration about alligators.  Can you see the baby alligator the park volunteer is holding and the girl is petting?

Getting There

We set out for Florida on Tuesday, November 1st at 5:00 in the morning.  We wanted to miss the Toronto traffic and arrive at the border early and beat all the traffic.  For the first time in forever we crossed the border without a big to-do.  It took about 15 minutes. 
The 1st leg was pretty uneventful except for the park we stayed at.  It was the only park I could find open.  There was an interstate highway and a busy railroad track on one side, the park in the middle and another highway on the other side.  Needless to say we didn't get much sleep and were off early next morning.

The second day we arrived in Nashville early, about 2p.m.  We stayed in Nashville for 4 nites and had a great time.  We went to the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennesse.  The plantation was the site of a minor Civil War battle but it was used as a hospital for the Confederate troops and  soldiers that died were buried in a cemetery out front.

This is the plantation from the front.

This is a picture of the slave quarters.

We also went to the Grand Ole Opry.

This is inside the Ryman auditorium.  Originally it was a church that was turned into the Opry Theatre.  The opry itself is actually a radio program so the evening is set up as a broadcast program complete with commercials. 

And this picture is taken out in the front lobby.  Most of you won't know who Minnie Pearl was.  She's the lady in the statue and her trademark was the hats that she always wore.  She always left the price tag on them.

We also went to the Opryland Hotel.  That was amazing.  It goes on forever and is full of beautiful gardens and waterfalls.

We left Nashville and headed for Florida.  We arrived at St. Andrew's State Park on Monday November 7th.  The park is on a lagoon and the Gulf of Mexico.  On the day we arrived the temperature was in the mid 70's but 2 days later it dropped to the low 60's. 

The park is beautiful.  We are on the water and below is a view from the rear window of our trailer.  The park is full of wildlife.  We see deer every night when we return to our campsite.  One night we watched a baby raccoon in a tree right outside our window and all day long pelicans dive and catch fish in the water outside our window. 

The sunsets over the Gulf are beautiful.

This isn't snow.  It's called sugar sand.

There was an antique car convention on the beech strip.  One night we watched a parade of antique cars.

So far the trip if fabulous.  We are having a wonderful time and loving the fact that you guys have suffered through your first snow while we're enjoying the sunshine.

William Lyon Mackenzie King's Estate

This summer we began our journey by visiting our daughter in Ottawa, twice. While we were there we visited Mackenzie King's summer home in the Gatineau Hills, twice; once in the summer and again in the fall.  What a gorgeous, peaceful retreat!  A visit here made it easier to feel like you knew the man, himself.
 

Walk down a tree lined road towards the original cottage and guest house.  From the road you see the gardens.

 Above is the guest cottage and below is the original cottage where Mackenzie King spent his summers.  At the back is a short walk down to the lake.

 Across the road, down a county lane and across a field is the official summer residence of Mackenzie King after he became Prime Minister.
Out the back of this residence you can go for a walk through the woods to the quiet little waterfall below.  Mackenzie King often took his guests on this walk through the woods.

 A view of the estate from the back and through one of the many archways that were brought to the residence from the Bank of Canada.

 Jessica, Malcolm and I enjoying the warm sun on a beautiful fall day in the garden behind the estate.