My Second Video - The Sandhill Crane

The chicks are now very tall. They were only about six inches when we came here on March 2nd. It is fun to give you a video. It is a chance for you to really see what we see.

The Bok Tower Gardens

About 25 miles south of Orlando is a magnificent garden that has a tower so beautiful that words could not describe. It is 205 feet tall and houses 60 bronze bells ranging from 16 pounds to 11 tons.

Every half-hour recorded and live music is played in the tower and can be heard all over the gardens. Twice a day at 1 and 3 pm live Carillon Music (the bells) is played. You can even go to a viewing area that has a television feed of the Carillonneur playing.

The gardens are designed for quiet reflection with many ponds and beautiful flowers. Here are some of the sights at the Bok Tower Gardens.

Where We May Retire Retire

Last week we went to visit a classmate of Lance and her husband, Judy & Jim Cellar. They live in The Villages, Florida and we got a great tour. After about 20 minutes I told Lance, "I want to live here."

Of course, with nine championship golf courses and 28 executive golf courses (9 holes) he agreed, especially when he heard the executive courses are free if you walk them or a small fee if you use you own golf cart. And, if you join one championship golf course, you can golf on all of them. Most people travel around the Villages in golf carts and some of them are unbelievably clever.

Also, there are over 1500 clubs ranging from Acoustic Guitar to Zumba Fitness plus many, many support groups. Lance's friend teaches a class in pine needle basketry. It was fascinating to talk with her.

I was thrilled to hear they had 60 swimming pools -- some adult and some family -- all free. They also have recreation centers, shopping center, a hospital, clinics, veteran's facilities and so much more. The total population of The Villages is 77,000 and each "town" has all your needs within 15 minutes by golf cart.

Yes, we are considering this as a winter refuge when we retire, retire.

What a Difference a Few Weeks Make

These are Sandhill Cranes and their baby chicks. The Sandhill Cranes are an endangered bird. They have a loud caw when they talk. Here are the babies when we first go here.

Then, two and a half weeks later they are three times bigger. Wow!

Kennedy Space Center - Day Two

When you buy a ticket for the Kennedy Space Center you can come a second day free. We decided to take the bus tour since we did not have enough time when we were there the first day.

This is a good shot of how the tree and palms grow here in Florida. Every place is just a little different.

This little cutie was in the line with us for the tour bus. I love to take pictures of kids. Their parents are always flattered when I ask...cannot understand why!!!!

The first buildings you see are where they house the missles. They are HUGE!

When it about 30 days out for a launch the missle travels down this road to the launch pad. It takes eight hours to move it.

On or about April 5th Discover will launch into space. You can see it here on the left at Pad A. On the right is Pad B which is empty.

This is one observation tower. It is four floor tall and you can see both Pad A and Pad B from it. There are two more observations area. One is for VIPs and Family and another one is for the media.

This pad is for the shuttle when it returns to earth.

Here is a mock up of the pad.

This is an actual picture of the shuttle landing.

In one of the observation buildings there was the actual control center which launched Apollo 11 that landed on the moon.

Here's a word of caution....do not be standing here when the engine starts up!!!!

Up, up and away......

One this wall were newspapers from all over the world when the United States had the first moon walk.

Some More Wildlife

Besides the alligators and snakes (you do not swim in lakes in Florida) there are unusual and beatiful birds and lots of turtles.

Airboat Ride at Boggy Creek

Today we took an airboat ride. Our first encounter with an alligator was at the park center. It was HUGE!! Lance said he was about the size of the ones he has seen on the golf courses. YUCK!!

When John our boat driver and tour guide put full power on the boad it was REAL LOUD...thank goodness for ear protection.

There were lots of birds on the lake.

This bird is a very endangered species. There are only about 1800 of the birds left and 80% of them are here at Boggy Creek.

Apparently, there are a lot of bald eagles in Florida. This one was watching us as we rode by. They love fish and this would be a good place for them.

We saw a turtle too.

And, a snake. This is a double banded watersnake. It is mistaken for a water moccasin though John said the water moccasin is much bigger around.

Lance and I did not see the two alligators spotted because we were on the wrong side of the boat. Thanks, John, for a great ride. It was very interesting....

We Have Found Where Waldo Was -- Now We Know Where OZ is

This Gives New Meaning to "a Mickey Mouse Setup"

On the Way Home

On the way home from the Kennedy Space Center we stopped at The Catfish Place.

We decided to give everything a try and got the combo plate...it had shrimp, oysters, catfish, scallops and FROGLEGS and GATOR (yes, they tasted like chicken). We would have had turtle but they were out. What an adventure we are having....