Mary and Legs

The horse show was great!  We got there just in time to see Mary practicing a little and then doing her time in the ring.  We thought she did super and she seemed pretty happy with her performance.

We hung out with Sheila and Mango.  Mango would whine the whole time that Sheila would leave him to go wipe the horse down between sets.  Even if I choked him - of course I didn't really choke, just a gentle squeeze.  He is a good boy most of the time.

When Mary finished and finally went to the barn to let Legs rest, it was good to be able to visit with her.  She was one happy girl - more than ready to finish for the day though.

Sheila and I went off to get one of Mary's ribbons and while we were there, they announce the rest of the winners.  We got to pick up 2 more ribbons!  The best was 2nd place Reserve.  That means overall points.  TM was with Mary and was glad he got to see her oh so happy face when she heard that.

We missed seeing Michael and Michelle as they had gone fishing that morning and then Michelle had to get back to Sarasota to school.

No TD stories, we left him home.  I know - poor baby - but, really he was better off.

God Bless

Poor Puppy

Last post I told you about going to CCAFS/KSC. I forgot to tell you that the rockets that are sent up. The metal skins are thinner than a tin can. In fact, they are so thin that if the rocket is not pressurized when they stand it upright it would simply collapse into itself. You would wind up with a heap of metal and lots of unusable electronic gadgets. Weird.

Anyway, about the puppy. We had left traveling dog in the back yard at Sheila's and when we got home we let him in with us in the patio/pool enclosure. The pool is covered with a plastic tarp that just lays on the water. (You see where this is going, don't you).

Well, TD and the 2 little dogs were just playing around under our feet and having a good time. Then they got a little more ambitious and started running around the patio. Little dogs at 5 and 8 pounds can turn a lot quicker and easier than an 85 pound dog (duh). Yep, they got close to the pool with TD chasing them, turned quickly and TD went in the pool. He was so surprised. I am not sure he had even realized there was water there. Well, he could step on the tarp, but then it would collapse under him so he didn't know if he could walk or swim. Sheila and I jumped up and started talking to him to calm him down. We were both concerned that he would wrap himself in the tarp before we could get him to the side. We actually got him out by pulling on the tarp and getting him to the side that way, because he just wasn't going anywhere on his own.

I really don't think he was ever really scared, just totally confused since things weren't working right. I rushed him out to the back yard and went to get traveling man, who took him for a walk. That was our big moment of excitement. Sorry no pics.

God Bless

CCAFS/KSC

Mercury 7 memorial and Cape Canaveral Light house.






Got your attention? Or do you hate acronyms and want to ignore this?

Anyway, we were privileged to accompany our daughter and son-in-love, Sheila and Michael on a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station/Kennedy Space Center. The tour was for families of employees and both of them work at KSC.

We left our place pretty early as it is a 1-1/2 hr drive over there and we wanted to be at their house at 9 am. We made it too. Stopped to grab Micky

D's breakfast and hit the road. They were ready for us when we arrived, so we put traveling dog in the back yard and left. (TM doesn't mind their back yard as there is plenty of shade and privacy.)

Our first stop was the museum. Traveling man was pleased to see one of his old Hound Dog missiles on display, along with other, larger missiles.

( IT DOES HURT TO SE IT IN SUCH SAD SHAPE THOUGH) They had an exhibit of the type of windows on the first control rooms built when firing missiles. The glass was about 2 feet thick and was in layers. We saw the capsules that held the space monkeys. Also one like John Glen used in the first earth orbit. Tiny, tiny spaces. The also had an engine from a German WW II V2, and when we got to the Atlas and Delta buildings it was amazing how much like this little thing they look, only much larger.

We moved on to some abandoned launch pads. The one where Grissom, Chaffee and White died in a fire before launch is set up as a memorial. There is one small plaque attached that, accordin

g to Michael, no one has ever taken credit for installing. I can't remember the exact wording, but it is sort of a thank you for those who trained and then gave their lives in the exploration of space. The plaque installed by the government is much larger and fancier. Usually there is a wreath set out by the plaque, but someone obviously fell down on the job, because all there was there was an old wreath form and some dead flowers. This launch pad was utilized for all of the moon launches even after the disaster.

On the left
is the UNofficial
plaque

We went into the hangers where there were the components of Delta and ATLAS missles ready to be put together. Those things are h-u-g-e! No pics, since they weren't allowed, we couldn't even tale cell phones into the buildings. Delta's and Atlas's are the ones that Michael lauches. He gave us lots of info, but I am not sure how much I am supposed to tell, so - too bad if you were waiting for secrets. One of the neatest bits of information I picked up was the fact that the engine on the first stage of the Atlas is in fact manufactured in Russia and then delivered on an Antonov 124 directly to the cape.

We headed out to see the 2 shuttles on their pads, but (amazingly) the line-up was so long, we decided we couldn't get there before they closed the display. We opted to visit the VAB (vertical assembly building). Yike, I only thought those Delta's were huge, they would be dwarfed in this

place! Absolutely cannot describe the impression this man-made structure makes. But when you look at the picture of the outside, each stripe on the flag is as wide a standard lane for traffic. And the camera did not have a wide enough lens to show the floor and ceiling at the same time, but you'll get the idea from the inside shot.

We then went to another area (sorry I can't keep up with all the names, numbers, et c.) where we had a good, fairly close view of the 2 shuttles. (No pics, the batteries had died in the camera by this point, bad planning on TM's part.)

Guess I could go on and on, mostly because I was so impressed with the place. We did go by the building where Sheila works, but we weren't allowed in that one - oh, well. We did see a working control room like the one Michael is in when they are launching. Can't believe how many people it takes to be sure a launch goes. Wow. (No cameras or Cell Phones in there either.)

Many of the things we saw and places we were are not ever allowed public access, so don't go taking a KCS tour and expect to see them. We're Special!

It was a super, great day and we are so thankful that our kids took us to see it all. They make great tour guides.

God Bless

Buzzzzz

After 10 glorious days at Thousand Trails Orlando, we are now at Bee's Campground.

TT was great. We got a spot near the lake in (what passes for) the woods. Lots of plants around our site and a tree or two. Very private. And we had good water pressure, water was clear, electricty was stable. Yeah!

TM was out early on our last morning there and got some pics of the sunrise on the lake.

We moved to Bee's on Thursday and had just parked the trailer and were leveling it when Mellan called to see if we could go to lunch. She gave us an hour warning, so we were able to do it. She let me pick somewhere close to us, so that worked.

We went to the campground restaurant tonight and had the all you can eat fish. It is just as good as it was last time we were here. We are still looking forward to Tuesday's fried chicken!

You would think TD had never been away. He went straight for the woods and his old haunts.

TM fixed my handlebars so I am able to comfortably bike with him now.

Well, that's about all our adventures for now.

God Bless

Gatorland

What a great day to visit Gatorland! It was cool and windy, but we were able to stay out of the wind. We went directly to the bird breeding area and it was so beautiful. So many birds nesting that the trees were just loaded. The white birds were easy to see, but the darker colored ones hidden down among the branches were a little harder. No, they were a lot harder. I know we probably missed several, but it was fun peeking down among the branches any way. (Peeping travelers, that's us)

We walked about the gators around the world area. Pretty interesting.

We rode the train - like TM would be anywhere there is a train running and not get on it!

We walked thru the swamp, which they claim is the beginning of the Everglades.



And we saw the white alligators. No, they are not albinos. They have blue eyes and their white color (which is more of a cream) has to do a difference in leukotines (pls don't ask me what those are). Anyway, they were discovered in Louisiana a few years ago and these 4 came to Gatorland this year!

Looks like a snake head, but it's really a gator.





There were a lot of people there, yet it didn't seem crowded except on the train.

We did buy some fudge and let me warn you, the Oreo fudge is yucky. I know it sounds like it would be great, but trust me, it isn't. But the chocolate pecan was great.

God Bless

Promises

I promise that soon TM will be posting pictures for these posts.  And I will let you know when he does.

Edison-Ford Estates

A statue of Edison in front of a Banyan tree the covers over an acre of ground.

Off we go to Ft. Myers to see where Thomas Edison and his friend, Henry Ford spent their summers. Well, actually, Edison spent the summer and Ford stayed 2 weeks each summer. Quite a place for a 2 week vaction.

It was a nice drive down back roads, finally putting together names and places. We even took TD.

At the park we found some great shaded parking, so knew he would be comfy.

From the parking lot, you go past the gardens and the huge banyan tree. This banyan tree was given to Edison as he was hoping to use parts of it to make rubber. We also walked past the laboratory, but didn't have tickets yet to go in.

After purchasing our tickets, we went into the museum to look around and hear a little about the estates. They gave us gimmicks that we could punch numbers into and hear about different parts as we went thru them.

We were escorted across the street and allowed to wander the estates on our own. The grounds are beautiful. Palm trees and flowers all around. The Edison house is nice, just what you would expect of a FL house of that era. Lots of flow-thru venilation. No one is allowed in the buildings, but all the doors are open so you can see the interior. You can only see pictures of the upstairs rooms. A beautiful arbor walkway connects the house and the guest house.

This is actually half of the Edison house, the arbor is on the left of this picture.

Next was the Ford house, which is a very close neighbor.

As you walk out to the river bank there are even more plants and another huge banyan tree (called a something-or-other fig). The seawall is eroding badly and I don't think will be there much longer. Also the pier.

The pool and poolhouse are great. They planted a shrub and tree garden around it to make it more private.

Edison's office - a separate building - was so neat, with everything in its place that I just had to tease TM about how some people would work without cluttering things up. He assured me that when Edison was working, there was plenty of clutter.

I ask you, does this look worked in?


It took us about 3 hours to tour the property and it was a lovely day for it.

Among the better parts of the tour was all of the old Fords. Most of them were stored on the Edison grounds because he had the bigger house and garage. Makes sense since the Fords only spent two weeks per year down here.

We had some rain on the way back, but no big deal.

God Bless

Florida Southern College

So, we headed over to Lakeland to see the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at the school there. With our usual foresight, we didn't look anything up on the computer figuring it couldn't be too hard to find. And it isn't, IF you know what you are looking for!

First we stopped at USF (University of South Florida) campus at Lakeland. We were a bit disappointed. Yes, it is a beautiful campus; but there are no FLW buildings there. We did walk a lovely rails-to-trails pathway. TD liked it a lot.

After taking our time there, we decided to check out Historic Downtown Lakeland. On the way I noticed a sign for Florida Southern College, so TM used his turn-around gear and we headed back to the intersection. Sure enough not far way, on a lake, stood several FLW buildings. Amazing.

(Hey, how much difference is there in USF and FSC? Give us a break).

We really enjoyed touring the campus and taking pics of the buildings and the fountain. It is a small campus and really nice. Some of the buildings are needing a little maintenance, but I guess that's true on all campuses. The neat thing is that they are putting up new buildings and are staying the the Wright design.

The lake is really pretty and there are some nice homes around it. There are a couple of beautiful parks.

Now it was time to find lunch. Eventually we ended up at Panera. Well, it just happens that there is a large bead store next to Panera. TM was even willing to stay with TD while I did some shopping. I walked around inside the store practically drooling at all the great stuff they had. But I managed to contain myself and spend less than $30 - mostly because I bought stuff that was on sale.

It was a fun day for us.

God Bless