Winter Escape 2023 Week 3

 January 30th through February 5th will be spent with the RV parked at the Kissimmee KOA - 2644 Happy Camper PL.  Early on the 30th we readied the RV for the travel from Tarpon Springs across I-4 to our week’s stay in Orlando.  To say that it was uneventful would be an understatement.  We left the Clearwater/Lake Tarpon KOA around 8:30 and made our way out to I-275 and then I-4.  All was going well until we neared Plant City and then it became a traffic nightmare.  Three lanes of traffic were at a near stand-still because of accident(s).  We finally gave and took the Parkesdale Market exit and used FL-92 for several miles east to bypass the backed-up traffic.  We weren’t the only ones who made this choice.  After getting back on I-4, the rest of the drive to Orlando-Kissimmee was uneventful other than getting used to the reality that there are a lot of vehicles in Florida.  

After setting up the RV we ate a quick bite and then I took some time to relax at the heated salt-water pool.  Then squeezed some orange juice and did a quick shopping trip to Publix.  

The evening was spent at Delmonico’s Italian Restaurant with Cindy Myers, a friend from Concordia who is now living in Kansas City and her friend.  The food was amazing and the conversation was a special part of our journey.  Cindy is a friend that we have known since 1993 from our days at Concordia First United Methodist Church.  To have an evening with her and a friend of hers, was not only special but was worth more than words can express.  With that the day comes to a close.

It's January 31st and this month is now all but over.  Today was a quiet day in Orlando for us.  Went to a quilt store for some looking around and then it was up to north Orlando for lunch and an antique mall.  Lunch was at Chicken Guy! And this time was much better than our time eating at this restaurant a year ago.  After browsing the antique mall, it was back to the RV and it was laundry time.  And with this day at the end of the first month of 2023 has come to an end.

February 1st was road trip day with a short trip on the Beach Line, over to the east coast for some time at Cocoa Beach.  After a quick browse around Ron Jon’s Surf Shop which gave us free parking, we spent most of the morning at the beach sunning and shell collecting.  After leaving the beach and changing out of my beach clothes, I was pleasantly surprised with a phone call from Dennis, a good friend that helped me to journey into ministry.  

Late-morning we went to lunch at Florida Seafood a short drive from Cocoa Beach/Ron Jon’s Surf Shop.  After our lunch of shrimp (blackened and fried) with cole-slaw and sweet potato fries it was time to move on.  We made a quick stop at a thrift store, to no avail.  It was a trip north on US Hwy 1 to Titusville for another antique mall and searching for a quilt shop that’s listed but was not at either of the addresses listed.  

With it now being only 3:00 p.m. – we made the journey out to the Manatee Observation Deck (Brevard County) at the haul-over canal between the Indian and Mosquito Lagoons.  There was one lazy manatee that showed only his back and there was at least one dolphin that spent 15-20 minutes swimming in and out of the observation lagoon.

After a ½ hour of watching, it was a 1½ hour trip back to the RV park for dinner and an evening of lounging.  With today’s weather again in the 80’s, for the second day in a row, it is a pleasant reminder as to why we do this winter escape.  After dinner – with some email sorting and updating this week’s blog – it’s the end of another good day.

February 2nd  was spent doing laundry, grocery shopping and hanging at the RV park. We spent the early afternoon walking through Disney Springs and bought a few things for ourselves and others.  Weather was again in the 80’s and the time spent in the sun was amazing.  Late afternoon we made our way to Dustin’s BBQ on Colonial to have dinner with my cousin – Larry, his wife and one of his daughters and her family.  Spent the next 2 hours eating and visiting and telling stories.  What an amazing evening.

February 3rd late morning we left the RV park for an outlet mall to check on some additional things we needed to buy for family and to check out a few of the stores.  Being there over lunch, we ate in the food court and then spent another hour or so checking out stores.  Early afternoon a cold front came through and brought heavy rain and cooler weather.  Temperatures dropped from the 70’s to the 60’s. Early evening was spent at a Kissimmee hotel conference center watching another of cousin Larry’s granddaughters dance recital.  We spent 1 ½ hours at the conference center – and were able to watch Caitlin’s 3 dances and we were able to visit with my cousins.  Tonight’s weather will dip into the 50’s and will be a “cool” snap for Floridians.  All is good at the end of another evening.

Saturday, February 4th is another day to spend with cousins.  The afternoon was spent with Evelyn Bell, my cousin’s wife.  We met Evelyn in Apopka and left there for the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive.  Words will not be adequate to describe the four hours that we spent making our way through the LAWD.  It’s a one-way drive through a wet-lands located next to Lake Apopka.  Along the road are canals, which are home to a multitude of wildlife.  Time and again we stopped and pulled out the Canon cameras to photograph multiple alligators sunning themselves along the canals.  It was truly a bucket list memorable afternoon.  At 5:00 o’clock we met up with my cousin – Barbara and her two children (Carla & Charles) and their spouses (Ted & Evelyn) for dinner and lots of conversation.  I hadn’t seen Barbara since 2012 and hadn’t seen Carla since her childhood days in Dothan, AL and hadn’t met Charles and the spouses.  Truly blessed.

Sunday, February 5th, I was on my own since Nancy was feeling a bit under the weather.  The morning started with church at Peace United Methodist in Orlando.  After a quick bite to eat, I made my way back to Parkesdale Farm Market for another ½ flat of fresh and in-season strawberries and made the additional purchase of a banana plant.  On my way back to Orlando I made an additional stop at the Auburndale Flea Market.  It was a huge market but for the most part was a lot of imports.  Was able to find some honey belle oranges from California – but the Florida fruit is few and far between because of the freeze and the hurricane.  The rest of the evening was spent putting things away for the move to Flagler Beach on Monday.