Wednesday - off home

We were given an 80% chance of rain today and so it proved. We stopped off at a marine life centre south of St Augustine and it rained in torrents all the way from there to the airport.
Having had a terrestrial wild life day yesterday we chose the sea, on the basis that Marineland was not much out of the way. It was founded as a film studio in 1937 and The Creature from the Blue Lagoon was filmed there. I thought you'd like to know that. We also can reveal to you that Clint Eastwood's film debut was one line in the sequel, Revenge of the Creature, also filmed there.
We were planning to stop somewhere else but the weather was so dismal that we carried on straight to the airport. As a result we arrived at around 3:30 for an 8pm flight. We had a late lunch in the Outback airside restaurant, which is where we were I.D.d a couple of years ago if memory serves. It didn't happen this time so we must have aged in the interim.
So, were boarding soon, and given the weather outside were not sorry to leave! But we will be back.....one day.

Location:Orlando international airport

Tuesday-Zoo and Gardens

Today David and I were feeling much better, thankfully, and the weather was on our side meaning it was warm but cloudy, so it was good for walking around the zoo.
The gardens are part of the landscape, and as its February there's not much in bloom. However, here are a couple of photos.


The shrubs were very blue, but I don't think it was natural. They're called 'Jane Japanese Magnolias'. I'd love to know how the gardeners grow them to be blue. They didn't look like they'd been painted.


The animals were the usual sort you find in most zoos.
One greedy giraffe.



The rhino on the right couldn't grasp that the thing in his way was another rhino.



This is a bongo - an unknown species to us.



The delightful warthog.......


Lions being relaxed



The birds were very photogenic, especially the Kingfisher who seemed to be posing.

















Some folk obviously had a lot of time on their hands and were lovers of Lego. Here are two examples of their efforts. Pretty impressive. I didn't photograph the Zebra, but it was very realistic.

Location:Jacksonville

Monday-Walking Wounded

Neither of us was feeling 100% today, with Carolyn's head and David's runny nose and streaming eyes. We went for a walk round a small nature reserve and snapped this sign.









Then we went off to Amelia Island, another place on the coast with nature trails, but neither of us felt up to anything beyond lunch.
Here's another photo C took in the reserve.








There was an exciting political event-Trump has been in the area on a 'Thanks for voting for me' tour. Needless to say we didn't attend!
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo-yea! Lots of photo opportunities for Carolyn, so till then....

Location:Jacksonville

On the move again

This morning Elon Musk treated us to a Space-X launch from the Kennedy Space Center, just in view to the North. The skies were a bit overcast but we managed to see the rocket going up and, remarkably, landing again through breaks in the cloud. There was a spectacular double sonic boom after it landed.
We said goodbye to Larry and Doraleen and headed north to Jacksonville. We have opted for soulless efficiency and the hotel doesn't disappoint on either count.

Location:Cocoa Beach to Jacksonville

Saturday - last full day here

Today was the day of THE BREAKFAST. This is an annual event which we always help with.


Unfortunately David woke with a streaming cold and was forced to play the infectious card and opt out.
There was supposed to be a Space-X launch from the Kennedy space centre this morning but it was called off at the last minute. We all spent the day happily not doing very much.

Location:Cocoa Beach

Friday in Winter Park

Today the four of us went to see a couple of Larry's old friends he'd known since primary school. We met at the house of a couple who happened to be called Dick and Judy. On the way we took a photo of this sign outside a flooring store.





We had a boat trip round some of the many lakes north of Orlando some of which are connected by canals.

















visited a museum with lots of Tiffany glass, had an Italian meal where Carolyn and I were the only ones who had dessert-a shared one luckily.




and went to a musical. That was notable for the technical quality and the fact that the producer treated anyone she got near to a warm hug. They do things differently here in Florida!
Larry ended up doing a lot of driving and we got home just before 11.

Location:Cocoa Beach

Tue-Thu

After several visits we are happy to keep the visit low key so don't expect many photos. We had a lot of catching up to do with our hosts, although Carolyn saw them both last year.
On Wednesday David and Larry went to a small military museum locally. Here is Larry in front of his one-time transport of choice, an A7 Corsair.

Location:Space coast