Walt Disney World, The Boardwalk Inn, special events for adults

Who would have thought that a stay at the Boardwalk Inn at Walt Disney World in Florida would put you face to face with Bernie Williams, Mark Langston, and the blond is Jeff Juden (I'm not sure I have that last one right.)? Now I'm not a big sports fan, although I do enjoy an occasional baseball, basketball or ice hockey game. I think I like the ambiance at a game as much as the game. But I have a son who shares a big interest in sports with his wife and they really love baseball. So you can imagine that when my son stumbled on these guys playing in a band on the boardwalk at Disney World that it was camera time. If you click on the picture it will get bigger, so you can see their faces.

But let me begin at the beginning. This was the trip to Florida for the family reunion that encompassed The Kennedy Space Center and Disney World. I choose The Boardwalk Inn because of it's location - close to Epcot center and the international restaurants there, and right on the water which is a quick and enjoyable way to get around that huge complex. But it just so happened that right around the corner from our hotel was a sports themed restaurant and look at what was going on outside it one night!

From the Boardwalk Inn you could also walk over a bridge to Epcot and the International restaurants - the German Pavillion, The Japan Pavillion and all the other countries pavillions and restaurants. Or you could walk right out to the boardwalk and catch a boat to so many places in the park. The boardwalk is pictured above at night, and then below here is a shot from our room's balcony. The Boardwalk Inn was lovely. This one was newer than some - built in late 1990s and older than some. Even though I l'd go back to the Boardwalk Inn in a heartbeat, I'd try another too - there's just so much to do and some of the other resorts might be closer to an activity that was my focus for the next trip.

The most important things that I took home in the way of planning for a trip to DisneyWorld were to check on special events before you go if you don't have to go at a certain time, and to buy the tickets that let you enter all the parks whenever you want - not the tickets that allow you one park a day unless the parks are a small part of what you're doing. For us the flexibility was wonderful. We found that we didn't all want to spend the same amount of time in each park and because our time was limited we split up for a half a day at a time too. I wanted to spend more time in the Hollywood park and go to the wild bird sanctuary. A couple of us wanted to to the Animal Kingdom and someone else didn't. Then one night we went to eat in a park in the evening that we hadn't been in that day.

There is a great guide book series that you can buy before you go to help you sort out all the entertainment and activities because you just can't do it all. We stayed three days I think, and could have stayed longer of course. The book I found so helpful, as have others I know, was Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids 2005 : Expert Advice for Fun-Loving Adults. I bought the book and woud buy a current edition before the next trip. While an older edition has much good information in it, you might need to check prices, those special events, and even additions to the park on the Disney site before going, because things do change. Birnbaum's got a book for people with children, one just about dining at Walt Disney World and several others too. I would hate to go only to learn after the trip that there is an activiity that I would have put as number one on my list had I only known it was there. It's growing yearly - probably make it a county in Florida of it's own. A brief note about special events - they have a wine and food festival toward the end of Oct. that I'd like to go back for and there are so many other themed special events depending on what your interests are. We have friends who took their children and grandchildren and went at Thanksgiving so that they could be there for the Thanksgiving decorations and then got up the day after Thanksgiving to see the Christmas decorations. And yes, they had Thanksgiving dinner right there at Disney World. Isn't it amazing what money can do! But do check on special events.Those are just two examples -there are scads and can really add to a vacation or even be the focus of one. You can find the Walt Disney World website without my help, so I'll leave that one off. You know what to do.

Here are a couple more pictures from the animal Kingdom.

Isn't that Gorilla's back magnificent. You know these are my pictures and not a professional's don't you. Oh well, I have fun. I love to do this and love to take pictures.

I am so grateful to be an American for many more serious reasons than travel. But the beauty of our country whether natural or man made, the tremendous fun we can have in travel, is just delightful.

I promised recipes and haven't posted any in a while. I'll see if I can stop with the travel chatter and post a few more slightly different and not to time consuming recipes in the very near future. Stay tuned.

Take care of you,

Maggiegladyoucame

Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

Dear Friend,

I’m glad you have a minute or two to read this letter.
I am writing and posting pictures from a previous trip to Florida, since I have letters posted in February, 2006 about our most recent trip to Florida. That way all my Florida posts will be together for anyone looking for Florida information. Maybe some of what I say will bring back your memories of a trip to Florida. It’s amazing what comes to mind when I take the time to reminisce. And maybe you will see that you would enjoy packing up the kids or grandkids and heading that way.

The top picture is a launch site at Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. We had gone to Florida for a family reunion and included a couple of days at DisneyWorld and a half day at the Kennedy Space Center as part of that trip. I took the top picture the day after John Glenn went up in October, 1998. We were staying at DisneyWorld in Orlando 45 minutes away from the space center. I took a picture from DisneyWorld of the vapor trail as the rocket left the earth with that crew. I will write more on DisneyWorld in another post or letter soon. The second and third pictures are of rockets from the 60’s and the 70’s – the early years of the United
States space program. These older rockets are at the Kennedy Space center also.

We took a bus tour of the space center and I highly recommend the bus tour. Having someone knowledgeable explain to us what we were seeing and taking us to see things that weren’t available without the bus tour made it more interesting than it might have been for all of us – those who were more knowledgeable about our space program and those of us who are fascinated by it, but barely know the difference in a spacecraft and a rocket engine. He could also tell us when we were looking at the building where they assemble the rockets and spacecraft into one unit, that the United States flag on the side of the building is the length of something like 18 greyhound buses put end to end which helped me put into perspective how really massive that building is. Everything at the space center was massive! I have posted the Kennedy Space Center website at the bottom of this letter.

The bus driver showed us a bald eagle’s nest that the same eagle had used for several years, adding to it each year. Our guide said that the naturalists estimate that the nest weighs about 2,000 lbs. The space center is surrounded by a federal wildlife preserve which he was interested in and happy to talk about also.

Anyway, we enjoyed combining the space center with DisneyWorld and the family reunion. If I was going that far I wanted to make a super vacation out of it. I loved it all.

I stuck a learning experience into every trip we ever took with the boys as most of you do too. Dollywood in Tennessee found it's way into a trip to Washington DC, the science museum in San Diego into a California - Seaworld and Disneyland trip. Now that it's just Charlie and I, we just keep going to things like this and loving it. When the news comes on, somehow I feel it's a little more meaningful to me having been there, seen that. I will always remember when one of the boys came in and said there's trouble at the Washington Monument - real concern - he had just been there a few months before and the news seemed more personal to him.

I am so grateful for family and friends and remind myself daily how fortunate I am.

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame

http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com

ESPN's Power weekend - sports/travel - Boston

Dear Friend,
I went to the ESPN travel/sports site that I have in my links to see what they're recommending in the way of travel with baseball and they have a great article about the Boston Marathon weekend - April 14 - 16. Boston will be hosting both a Boston Red Sox game and a Celtics game that weekend as well as the marathon. Then ESPN goes on to suggest other activities - like a walk on the Freedom Trail and lunch at one of the many eateries at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. That's exactly what we did while there and it was fun and interesting. I'll post a couple of pictures so you can see what they're talking about - Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and people on the Freedom Trail. I took the picture of the outside of Faneuil Hall - the inside is a giant food court that you could eat yourself to death in, but when the weather's pretty, it's great to go outside and eat. That's my group walking the freedom trail - see the red line painted on the concrete. I don't know how this happened but ESPN seemed to have left out shopping on Newbury Street (Back Bay neighborhood)- just a little bit of time on that lovely boulevard might be appreciated by the feminine side of a couple. We made Boston part of a fall trip to see the leaves in New England. But ESPN's guide for a perfect sports day in Boston is great and it would be a fun weekend. The article even tells us where the subway stops (T-stops) are that you need to get off at in order to get to the places they're recommending - including Fenway Park.

Thank you for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed my pages on Hawaii. Did anyone try the chocolate cookie recipe from Betsy Block? Aren't they wonderful!

Here's the ESPN Power Weekend link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/news/story?id=2378634

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame

Byodo-In Temple on Oahu.

Byodo-In Temple on Oahu.

Dear Friend
I enjoy the Victorian architecture in London, the New England salt boxes in our own New England and the Santa Fe adobes. But while in Hawaii on Oahu, my friend Connie knew about this lovely respite. And never having been to Japan. I loved seeing something that I know to be built as it was in Japan. This temple is a replica of one there. There was a short walk around the grounds and gardens at the Byodo-In Temple in the Valley of the Temples. Here we fed the wild birds right out of our hands.

I believe Nan is feeding bar dove in this picture. The Japanese architecture of the building is interesting – we don’t have anything like that here at home, and their gardens are restrained, with a very natural appearance which I find peaceful. The Japanese gardens at Hillwood House in Washington D. C. remind me of the ones here at the Temple. (To see a picture of just a part of the garden, move to the bottom of this letter.) We probably spent an hour or less there, but it was memorable and again a nice change from shopping, beaching, standing in line for a tour, etc. I believe we did this on the way to Buzz’s for lunch and the walk on the beach – look back a couple of days for information on those.

I’m looking forward to whatever surprises this week will bring us. Hope spring weather comes our way. We had it until it officially became spring then the temperature dropped to chilly, late fall-like weather. I’m expecting humming birds to migrate in this week. Hope you have a good small surprise this week. Maybe it'll be something that makes you smile. Look for it.

Take care,

Maggieglayyoucame

Remember these pictures are mine and you mustn't borrow them without permission.

Hawaii – a luau and The Society of Seven

Dear Friend,
Today's entry is short as both of these topics have good descriptions in the guide books .

I have found that almost any live entertainment is more vibrant than watching the same thing on TV. So while on Oahu we took in two shows. They were both good enough to leave me wanting more.

The luau at Paradise Cove has excellent dancers, and is a first rate show, as are some of the other luaus I’m sure. One of the guide books recommends three “luaus” that are similar including Paradise Cove and suggests you pick one. What I liked about this one was the lovely sunset and the quality of the entertainers. I didn’t find the activities very interesting that were offered at the first of our evening which included among other things Hawaiian craft demos and a fishing demonstration. But we were just delighted with the beautiful sunset over the beach, and the dancers were very entertaining.

Seven men make up the musical group The Society of Seven which has entertained in Honolulu for something like 30 years. Their musical review began with 1940’s songs and moved through the decades to today’s music. The night we were there they closed with a couple of songs from Phantom of the Opera. They all had beautiful voices, and their routines were energetic and well crafted and they did some excellent impersonations. We didn’t eat dinner there and I don’t think that I would the next time we are there, but we look forward to returning to an evening of humorous and most enjoyable song and dance.

We are fortunate enough to have colorful and dramatic sunsets where we live, but we don't have an ocean with clear turquoise water or tropical plants. I am grateful for what we do have.

Read any good travel books lately?

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame

Travel in Hawaii - the Big Island's volcano

Dear Friend,
The Big Island's active volcano was a big draw for us. If you are fascinated by nature, as we are, a volcano is a spectacular sight. Mauna Loa is the one that is active at this time and it's lava flow when we were there, was small as it is now, but being in its presence was still really impressive. My husband and I went to the island of Hawaii for 3 nights primarily to see that volcano. Of course if it were to become very active, we'd probably go back to see that.

While I'm aware that flying in a helicopter is much riskier than flying in a fixed wing plane, we did take the helicopter tour and absolutely loved it. It was probably the high point of our volcano excursion. I had flown in helicopters before and loved what I could see from them. I don't think I could have grasped the size of the land mass covered by hardened lava from that volcano's past eruptions if not for the helicopter tour. Besides it was lots of fun! I never felt unsafe. Our pilot was an islander and quite knowledgable about Hawaii's history. The picture at the top of the page that shows the molten lava as it comes out of the earth makes it appear that we are closer than we are. That must have been a zoom.

We not only saw it from the air as in the picture on the left, but also drove to the park (about 45 minutes from Hilo) and got out and walked near vents so we felt the heat and smelled the sulfur smell as well. Then driving back to the west side of the island on what appeared to be a freshly paved two lane road with almost no traffic, we passed a sign that said something like "Please report any cracks in the road promptly." That was slightly unnerving.

Below the picture of the steam rising from a vent of the volcano, near the bottom of this page, is a picture of a tree that we kept seeing on Hawaii. Driving back to the hotel from the volcano, we stopped and took it's picture. It is a Royal Poinciana, Flamboyant. Flamboyant it is - 30 feet tall and 50 to 60 feet wide at the top and very red .
Hope you enjoyed seeing my pictures? Maybe they have reminded you of a similar trip. Or maybe they'll help you plan a trip. I have loved reminiscing.

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame

Hawaii - beaches, volcanos and music

Dear Friend,
When we walked on the beach in Florida last week, I started thinking about a trip we took 4 to 5 years ago to Hawaii.

The sulfur smell from the steam that blew out of the volcano on the big island of Hawaii, the sea turtles that swam over the black lava rock shore, and the lush vegetation on parts of the island of Oahu and Hawaii were all delightful experiences. On Oahu we were emotionally moved by the Arizona and the Missouri memorials to WWII, and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl) where 13,000 pacific theatre soldiers are buried with thousands of others and the view of Honolulu is spectacular.

The Society of Seven Musical and the show at the Luau we attended were memorable entertainment. The helicopter tour on the Big Island of Hawaii was exciting and educational. Our pilot shared much Hawaiin philosphy and natural science with us. We also enjoyed some quiet places surrounded by the blue and white of the ocean and the beach, and drives down quiet two-lane highways where there was almost no one but us. Would you like to see some of my pictures? I hope so. I’ll post information about all those exciting things that you’ve done or heard of in Hawaii, but this letter will be about an activity that we enjoyed when we’d had all we could stand of the crowds and energy of our Honolulu destinations.

I want to tell you of an crowd less beach on Oahu that I visited twice. Kailua Beach Park is on the windward side of the island. It has pristine, soft, powdery, white sand and hardly any people, at least in the middle of the day during the week. The first time I was in Honolulu on Oahu in Hawaii, I was with a friend that lived there. There were three of us - friends from college - together for the first time in a while. Connie, who lived there, took us to lunch at Buzz’s Original Steak Restaurant which is right across the street from the Kailua Beach Park. Buzz’s, is for the most part, a casual locals place – friendly ambiance, great burgers and salads at lunch and really delicious, ice cream desserts. They have a tiny porch on the front corner of the building that sort of wraps around a tree. If you are lucky, you get to sit there and look across the street right through the palm trees at a sliver of beach and ocean. After lunch we took a walk on the beach. There were colorful canoes stacked up on the beach. If allowed, I could sit on that beach with a book and a cold drink for a very long time and for several days. If you are staying in the Honolulu area it takes a rental car and a couple of hours to get there. Check Buzz's out on the web or in Frommer's - his 2006 editions have Buzz's listed - at least in the $80 a Day version. Or look at Alternative -Hawaii.com - site will be at the bottom of this page and in the "Links" list at the top of this blog.
When I went to Hawaii with my husband 4 or 5 years ago we also went to Buzz's. We had a very pleasant drive from the hotel at Waikiki beach toward Diamond Head and then on around the island to Buzz’s for lunch and the Kailua Beach Park. The drive over highway back toward Honolulu was through a part of the island that is sparsely populated, and covered by dense green vegetation that was partially shrouded in mist that afternoon. It was a huge change from the more touristy Waikiki scene. But I enjoyed both of course.
Bet you’re out of time and need to get busy with your life, so I’ll close for today. Hawaii is going to take me 4 or 5 days to write about.

http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/


What fun it’s been to go back through my pictures and what memories have surfaced because of this.

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame

Mama Cooks - Betsy Block - wonderful cooking site

Dear friend,
I think this almost pure chocolate cookie is one of the best I've ever put in my mouth. I found the recipe on Mamacooks - a once a week cooking blog. Mamacooks author Bestsy Block got the recipe from a the chef at a desserts only restaurant, Finale, in Boston. Since I must go through Boston in September on my way to New Hampshire for a wedding, I think I will get to eat at Finale. These cookies remind me, in texture, of Chocolate Crinkles which was my younger son's favorite cookie when he was young. But these are so much more chocolatey and they don't have the powdered sugar on the outside that the Crinkle has, although you could add it, if you like the contrasting taste it provides. Trust me this recipe is worth the calories. Besides when I occasionally make something that is sweet, I can always find people to share it with so that I don't eat it all. This chocolate cookie is the only recipe that I've tried from this site, but Betsy Block (Mama Cooks) is a professional food writer and I will try some of her others. I think the blueberries and cream sounds wonderful and easy. I love easy. To find that one look in stories - the recipe is with a story. I'd like to try the gazpacho recipe too. And since I personalize most recipes, I think I might add celery. My husband is going to want to try the mussels.
In addition to her recipes, I enjoy the small personal portraits of her family she creates with a minimum of words. If you enjoy eating and cooking this site is worth a peek.

Cloudy and cool this morning. What great memories my mom's brownies are. I still make those just like she did.

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame


http://www.mamacooks.com/index.php?page=stories&display=135

Travel with spring training and golf as a theme

Dear Friend,
Brand new site - ESPN sports travel site. This is really going to be fun. This site doesn't have just sports information - it's got articles on creating sports themed travel, like going to watch the Yankees spring training and rating the golf courses close to where you're going to be watching baseball. There's an article on the ESPN travel site that I enjoyed about Babe Ruth and how he always went to spring training "with a bat in one hand and a golf club in the other." My son and his wife are huge baseball fans - especially the Houston Astros. I think this might be a site they would like and I like it too. I've put it in my favorites. Give it a look. This computer is a great tool isn't it.

I remember going to baseball games with my Dad in Houston when I was growing up. Does anyone remember what their team was called in the 1950's??

Here's the link to the ESPN Site http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame

Free photo software, Easy to use, Safe

Dear Friend,
I’m glad you are here.
Wondering why I'm writing about free software in a blog about traveling and eating? But of course I love to take pictures as I travel. I've found that if I am selective and don't overload an album with too many pictures that people will pick them up off the table and really seem to enjoy looking at them. Of course my real objective is put just enough pictures in the album to tell the story so that we (my husband and I) or who ever went on the trip, can relive the experience.

I've downloaded Picasa free from Google, and what a tremendous photo management software that is! It's very user friendly – I didn’t even need to read instructions. Picasa has retrieved every image or graphic on my computer so that I don’t have to remember what the file name is or where I put whatever picture I’m looking for. It doesn’t actually move your pictures but is an index of your pictures by date and by image. If you’re like me you have more than one file named “My Pictures” and more than one photo software. I have the software that came with my printer/scanner. Then there’s the software that came with my digital camera and the software that came on the computer. I have used all of them to compare them and have pictures stored in more than one place. Sometimes I have pictures in a stored file other than “My Pictures” also. Picasa has made using my photographs so easy and the editing tools have worked better than any of the other programs I have – of course it’s newer too. You can find Picasa by going to Google. The link for reading more about picasa or downloading it is at the bottom of this page. Everyone I’ve told about it has downloaded it and they really use it. It is how I get the pictures in my blogs.

I’m grateful for the rain today – Lovely cool day with good rain. We have been so dry.

Take Care,

MaggieGladYouCame

http://picasa.google.com/

Cobras and Stutz Bearcats - One more on vintage cars

Dear Friend,

Thank you for spending a minute or two with me. Glad you came.

One more story about the Concours de Elegance car show on Amelia Island, Florida, then I promise to move on. On Friday afternoon the cars that would be auctioned off on Saturday at the RM Auction were spread out over the lawn at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. There was a lovely red Packard Sport Phaeton who’s owner tells of driving the car often and how well it still runs and I know that’s true of the old Packards. There was a white 1958 Olds convertible and bright yellow 1915 Stutz Bearcat and there was a black 1960’s black cobra – a race car. Towards the end of the afternoon they began moving the cars one at a time, to the enclosed garage for the evening. Well, when that deep rumble of the cobra reverberated across the lawn, every man there got quiet and listened. They all stood up straight. I know just how they feel. I walked into a building the other day and was hit with the unmistakable smell of cinnamon rolls and I got quiet and looked for the source immediately.

One last note about the Florida trip – we cut it short and came home due to a “bad bug” that hit my husband and wouldn’t leave. You’ve probably had it or know someone who has. That tightness in the chest and the constant cough. A nice lady named Nancy at Southwest Airlines helped us find a route with 2 available seats on each of the three planes – no scheduled routes available because of Spring Break. We were in 5 airports on Thursday and we are very grateful to be home. There will be no notes about the Keys or Miami because we didn’t get there – will have to cover that on our next trip to Florida.

Take care,

MaggieGladYouCame

The Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Florida

Dear Friend,
How are you today? Good, I hope.
Yesterday while driving from Amelia Island to Clearwater we pulled off of I-95 into St. Augustine, Florida. The picture to the right is the Lightner Museum taken from inside the courtyard there. For those who enjoy the decorative arts created from the 1860s – 1920s or so, a visit to the Lightner Museum in St Augustine Florida is a treat. While the collections are limited in size, the variety of the collections is plentiful. The collections range from furniture including a lovely Biedemeyer (Did I spell that correctly? )desk to folk art including cigar band decorated glassware. They have ceramic tobacco jars, and silver match safes, diamond cut crystal, Louis Comfort Tiffany glass, and a delightful music box collection that plays about 3 times a day. If you want to hear them, I would call to see what times they will be playing. One of them plays both a violin and what sounds like a piano. A couple of others have those old metal disks – but these are a huge 27 inches across. The museum is owned by the city. Mr. Lightner donated the building and his things but died before he could make financial provisions for them, so the city supports this. The volunteers who are available in the rooms to answer questions are lovely but for maintenance of the building and collections I would love to see this museum receive a little more financial support than it has now. I don’t know that I would travel across the country just to see this collection, but if you are nearby, it is a lovely side trip. Here’s a picture of some of their crystal and one of a few framed examples of ladies’ handiwork.
I am enjoying our travels today. I think of enjoyment as a form of gratitude. I remember when a picture I had made as a child hung in the art museum in Houston, Texas. That is wonderful memory !

Take care,

MaggieGladYouCame

http://www.lightnermuseum.org/main_special.html

Birding in Clearwater, Florida

Dear Friend,
We are enjoying our drive through Florida. Tonight we are in Clearwater and have had a delightful day exploring in the Clearwater, Dundedin and Tarpon Springs area. We began the day with an amazing discovery. This morning as we drove out of our motel, we spotted two peacocks in the small, unfenced yard of a house across from several acres of wooded undeveloped land. Escaped pets I thought. (See my picture on the right.)
Then after walking on the Clearwater Beach we went to a small cafe for a coke. While sitting at an outdoor table at the little cafe looking out at the beach I noticed three good sized birds on the telephone wire above. They were bright green. Two had dark heads. I didn't have my binoculars with me, but they sat there a good 20 minutes and my husband and I both watched them. I have checked my birding books and believe those birds to be green parakeets - it says they are 13 inches long and all green and that's what we saw.
Not at all what I expected but interesting. What a great day for a birder! When I read about the bird breeds in Florida, I have not read about wild peacocks and what I think were parrots, but that's what I'm seeing.

Take care of you,

MaggieGladYouCame

More of Amelia Isaland Concours de Elegance

Dear Friend,
As you know my husband and I were at Amelia Island, Florida at the 2006 Concours de Elegance. Vintage and antique cars of all ilks are on display, and all are some of the best of their breed. The top picture starts with Jim Hall's retired Can-Am car - the number 66. It is the first of a row of Can-Am race cars. In my last note you saw some of the older cars. The oldest - probably the Stanley Steamers - were from the beginning of the 20th century.

This afternoon when we were in slowly, slowly, slowly moving traffic I was grateful that I live in a small town. But of course they have traffic in Florida because they have so many interesting places to go.
We enjoyed the azaleas today. Made me want to weep because the azaleas growning in the cornor at the gas station grow better than they would in our alkaline soil at home. The azaleas are in full bloom. They are as pink as the clouds near the horizon at sunset when there's dust in the air and it turns the sky lavendar and pink.
Thank you for reading . I am grateful for you.

Take care,

MaggieGladYouCame

Bugattis, Duesenbergs in Florida

Dear Friend,
The top picture is of a Bugatti. The second picture is of a 1931 or 1932
Duesenberg and the bottom picture is of a Dupont of about the same vintage. These are just three of the cars shown at the Amelia Island Concours de Elegance on Sunday March 12, 2006. The Dupont's hood ornament is crystal and it is an eagle's head. I will post a closer picture of that in my next blog. They are beautiful cars. The Bugatti - looks, well, just a little bit sinister somehow. But of course it too is elegant.

I am having a good time wandering about Florida. We left Amelia Island today with so much undone that I wanted to do - so I know we will be back. We've in Clearwater now for a couple of days after a stop in St. Augustine to tour the Lightner Museum. Much turn of the century -Victorian era memoribilia at the Lightner. I took pictures of just a small fraction of what we saw but it was interesting. That's a time period that I have read about some - and find fascinating.

More pictures to follow soon.

Aren't these new digital cameras wonderful ! I enjoy using this camera immensely.

Take care,

MaggieGladYouCame

It's time to plan a trip to Dallas Blooms

Dear Friend,
It’s time to plan for a trip to Dallas Blooms!

For the last couple of years I have managed to be in Dallas for “Dallas Blooms” which is a month long garden show with hundreds of thousands of bulbs in bloom during March and when they fade the really spectacular pink azalea display that happens the first week of April is even grander. The first year I went I didn’t have a camera with me because I had gone into Dallas for something else. I had an afternoon to spare so went over to the Dallas Arboretum (garden) to see what Dallas Blooms was all about. That year I was there on April 4th. There are about 20,000 azaleas in bloom at that time. The setting on the shores of White Rock Lake with downtown Dallas across the lake couldn’t have been prettier. Oh, and by the way I had driven by the Arboretum on other trips but the gardens are on ground that sloops down to the lake so you can’t see the flowers from the street. Last year I was there on about March 27 and only a few azaleas were in bloom but something like 400,000 bulbs were in bloom. These pictures are ones I took last year – when I was there in March at the height of the bulb dispay.

There is a 1930’s home to tour on the grounds and tea (light lunch) can be had, but I believe you need to make reservations. Hours and prices for all of this is on the Dallas Arboretum website and the link to it is at the bottom of this page. We hadn’t made reservations, but enjoyed a cold drink on a patio snack area There are numerous benches through out the gardens to sit on and enjoy a variety of views. I saw families sitting in the grass having a picnic – yes it’s okay to bring your own food. Artist were sitting and drawing in the gardens. I will go back this year in early April to see the azaleas. There is much to see and do in Dallas all year, but this time is just great – not to hot - gorgeous weather and a clean attractive city, much good entertainment and some of the best shopping in the southwestern United States.

While in Dallas a favorite hotel of mine that isn’t too far from the gardens is the Melrose. That’s the same Melrose that is in Washington D. C. The website address is at the bottom of this page. It’s not in walking distance of the Arboretum, but Dallas, being very spread out, has many lovely hotels that are many, many miles farther than the Melrose. We rent a car and drive in Dallas because of the distances from place to place. This isn’t a place that I would want to take cabs.

If you have just a few hours for shopping while you are there, North Park Mall is also just a few miles from the Melrose. North Park has recently had a tremendous revival – with shops like Kate Spade, Kenneth Cole New York, Lilly Pulitzer and Nordstoms coming into where there was already Dillard’s and Foley’s which are good all around department stores. The Melrose is on Preston Road which has very upscale wonderful shopping on it also – Highland Park Village center is there which is one of the oldest shopping centers – not a mall, in the country. Lovely architecture. The dining choices are almost unlimited with one of the more unusual casual sandwich/to go places being Eatzi’s on Oaklawn near downtown – just south of Lemon Ave.
I am grateful for Mother Nature, good food, and my husband and friends who share my interests.

Eatzi's address is:
http://www.eatzi’s.com. There’s a map on their website. This would be a great place to get your picnic lunch to take to the Arboretum.

Where is the Dallas Arboretum located?: The Dallas Arboretum is located at 8525 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas, 75218, on the southeastern shore of White Rock Lake in East Dallas.
Their website is at
http://www.dallasarboretum.org/

The Melrose Hotel website address is
http://www.melrosehotel.com/index.asp

Planning for a trip to Florida

Dear Friend,
I am all smiles today and happily anticipating a great trip with gorgeous landscapes, quiet beaches, a bustling Miami, Key Lime Pie, and seafood bisque. We are enthusiastically researching and planning to fly to Jacksonville, Florida for an antique car concours (show). Those cars are shiny, gorgeous pieces of mechanical history from the early 1900's. My husband is going to have a wonderful time and so am I !
After 3 nights in Jacksonville, with daily trips to Amelia Island for the concours, we will drive the 500 plus miles over several days south to Key West on the southern tip of Florida with a stop in Clearwater, Florida for a few days. Then after a day or two in the Keys, on to Miami for a few days more. I find alot of enjoyment in gardens and from watching birds and Florida has ospreys, bald eagles, rosette spoonbills (big pink birds) and many other lovely feathered creatures to enjoy. We will browse in an a flea market and an antique store or two, walk on the beach, watch some beautiful sunsets, visit lush gardens and make sure that we eat some authentic Cuban and Spanish food along the way. I bet we find excellent fresh fish and creamy chowder too.
The part of this that is so interesting to me right now is the actual planning – how different it is for me than it was even a dozen years ago when I was planning a trip. Yesterday I spent time reading online the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Online, and other Forida newspapers and found a great article about restaurants with authentic Cuban and Spanish food and several other very current articles about dining. I can read on websites about less commonly pursued activities like bird watching, or antiquing for things specifically from the early 1900's. The information on these websites appears to be in depth and current. Surely the birders’ comments on www.floridaconservation.org
is unique to that site. The internet is a great tool for planning a trip. I just had to give this a little thought to figure out where to look for information and “viola!” What a wonderful time I live in – communications are just fabulous and improving daily. Of course I still use the guide books - for many things and reasons. When we return I will post pictures and text over a couple of days so that you can see some what we saw and enjoyed.

Guess communication improvements are what I am grateful for today. I'm also grateful for the folks who posted these two photographs on the Merritt Island birding site. I remember a long driving trip I took as a child with my parents and sister and I loved it. We went to California.

Thanks for stopping by,

Maggiegladyoucame

Private journaling vs. public journaling

Dear Friend,
Thank you for stopping by today.
This blog or journal is what I would call a public journal. I write this purposefully to share with others. The focus I’ve chosen for it are those things that entertain and enlighten me. This blog gives me a reason to organize my thoughts about my reading be it blogs, websites, newspapers, books, or magazines. It is where I record some of the details and my thoughts about my travels and love of eating. My maintenance and pursuit of good health is something that I want to focus on, be motivated to do, and make more interesting. Taking just 60 seconds to focus on a good memory and something that I am grateful for each day makes me smile. This blog enables me to do all of that.

But for the next six weeks I will be keeping a private journal also. I will only spend maybe 10 minutes a day – long enough for me to write a few sentences, but short enough to work easily into my other activities. I will be using the topics and focus of a website that is of a spiritual nature. While this is a Christian site, anyone interested in pursuing a spiritual life could use most of the topics in the 6 week Lent practice. It just wouldn’t be Lent for them. It could be pursued any six weeks of the year. There is much that would be appropriate in other faiths – jewish to new age. Easter is April 16th and so for me my six weeks begins now and ends with Easter.

This week my private journaling will be about:
(The next two paragraphs are copied from

http://www.explorefaith.org/oasis/journal/index.html

"We become so habituated to the routines of our lives, that we can find ourselves shut off from what is new, what is challenging, what takes us to the edge, what causes our heart to thump and our breath to shorten. Lent invites us to clear the channels – open the gates – unbar the doors that keep us safe and stuck in the comfortable patterns that are so familiar. Take time this week to consider how you are closed off to new experiences and begin to crack the walls that hold you enclosed.
What patterns are keeping me bound in routines that are shutting me off from the wonder and dynamism of life?
· In my work?· In my family?· In my community?· In my soul. "

I am grateful for extended family today. Sister, brother, cousins – family that I have chosen for family. I remember stencil painting fruit on kitchen towels for my Mom for Mother’s Day with my sister. Late at night – which being only 8 or 9 years old was a treat in itself.

Take care,
Maggiegladyoucame