Still Enjoying Florida

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We are so enjoying the summer weather in Florida, especially as we hear of all the snow and storms in Michigan. Sun, warmth, walks outside, flowers, and wildlife can't be beat. And central Florida has little traffic (and not that many places to go locally, but lots of peace and quiet.)

Before leaving Wauchula, FL we visited Solomon's Castle, located in a nearby swamp and built with pieces and parts of existing discarded machinery and materials. It showcases clever creations, many with moving parts (including an elevator) and a straight-backed chair made of 250 aluminum cans, all created by one determined artist. It's a fun, one-time tourist experience. That's me on the photo of the Trojan Horse!

Our visit to the Fantasy Air Museum in Polk City was well worth the entry fee. It is distinguished from other air museums in that most of its war planes can and are flown in air shows, private flight experiences, and other reasons. It's me in the photo (again) with the P51 Mustang which helped win the war in Europe by escorting and protecting B17 and B24 bombers on their runs to Germany. You see it all at this museum, including engines, props, and planes under restoration.

The Bok Sanctuary located in Lake Wales is an exceptionally lovely botanical garden and tower. The photo does not do it justice. This is a must see for everyone visiting the area.

Our next adventure was travel to Melbourne, FL, north of Vero Beach and south of Cape Canaveral. The Camelot RV Park faced an river inlet of the Atlantic. YEA for being so close to the water and easy access to beaches on the inter-coastal. The ocean breeze kept us cool most days. Notice the photo of the windsurfers
taken near our park.

Besides walking and sunning on the beach, we visited the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The exhibits are awesome and we went away amazed at the sacrifice and ingenuity of those before us who spent their lives contributing to the evolution of space explotatioin. The idea for space travel originated with the inspiration of novels written in the early to mid 1900's. One tidbit of knowledge that impressed me is the necessity of space ships to travel 24,000 miles per hour and 7 miles per second to escape earth's gravitational pull. You will likely recognize the original astronauts and John Glenn in the photo.

We witnessed an annual air show in Titusville where we saw many war planes, including ones we had seen at the Fantasy Space Museum. Our motorcycle trip down the inter-coastal to Ft. Pierce was fun.

We have moved on the Orlando Thousand Trails Park in Clermont. The neat thing about RVing is that you make friends with people who share you interest for travel and adventure. Then through belonging to campground association like Thousand Trails, you see those same folks again and again. They become like family when yours is so far away. We met a couple in Wauchula who asked if they could caravan with us on our trip to Alaska and we welcomed them. They are Cindee and Bill Tyner, full-time RVers most recently from Florida. We were together again in Orlando and have spent time together planning and shopping for the trip. There is a lot to consider and we are not yet ready. More about that in future emtries.

But we will take a week's break from everything to spend time with son Aaron and daughter-in-law Shelly, and grands Auston and Maddie. We have missed them and this will be a long awaited and fun reunion.

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Photos

P51 Maverick
P51 Maverick

Bok Sanctuary Tower
Bok Sanctuary Tower

Nancy on Trojan Horse
Nancy on Trojan Horse