WOW: Saying Goodbye to Florida!

Bill sharing the boardwalk with a friendly Florida alligator...

beauty in Spanish moss covered oaks...

We arrived in Florida Nov. 9, 2011. Through Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, New Year, Valentines’ Day, Bill’s birthday, and St. Patrick’s Day, we enjoyed the warmth of the Florida sun. But now we must start our trek to the north towards Nova Scotia where in July Bill’s high school buddies are holding their nth reunion. Following that we go to Quebec and Ontario before driving through Bill’s boyhood home in Pittsburg, Kansas for their 50^th year reunion. Then we spend winter in southwest USA or the Philippines for a change.

As we bid Florida goodbye, I thought about what sets this sunshine state unmistakably apart from the rest. I have come up with these Top 10 things we will miss:

beautiful palm trees adorn buildings, too

Spanish Moss and Palm Trees

Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, hanging from tree branches in full sun or partial shade, depriving the host tree of nutrients. In the long run, it overtakes the host. The process makes for plenty of unique tree/moss combinations that can ironically be things of beauty.  Aside from Spanish moss engulfed oak and cypress trees, Florida is the home of ubiquitous palm trees. Many varieties of palm trees abound, adorning streets, homes, buildings, and parks. Feels like home!

miles and miles of white powdery beaches...

Beaches

Florida’s beaches also remind me of home. Her coastline is all of 1350 miles, 580 along the Atlantic Ocean and 770 along the Gulf of Mexico. On the Atlantic Ocean the more famous are South Beach, Miami Beaches, Ft. Lauderdale Beach, and Daytona Beach. On the Gulf Side are the Tampa Bay Beaches, etc. Then, of course there are the Keys where you literally have white sand beaches on both sides of the highway that connects the islands.

The Sunshine State!

Sunshine and Snowbirds

Florida’s climate, like the Philippines, is tropical. Winters can have lows in the mid30s at night but daytime hovers around high 70s and low 80s. Almost every day is a day of sunshine, perfect for all outdoor activities. Thus snowbirds come in droves to escape the cold in their hometowns up north. A University of Florida study says about a million of them temporarily add to Florida’s population every winter.  Most come from the northeastern part of the country with about 5% coming from Canada.

snowbirds include Bill and me!

golf carts, instead of cars, park in front of stores!

Golf Carts and Flea Markets

They usually congregate around retirement communities and the hundreds of RV campgrounds in the state. One of the hallmarks of these communities are those cute little golf carts plying to and fro the vast resort acreages at tops 10mph on their own little roads! They fancy the thriving flea markets that spring up on weekends or other special days. The snowbirds love shopping there. I found 3 new summer dresses at the Webster’s flea market for only $30!

just a tiny section of Webster's Monday flea market!

ubiquitous Florida Citrus Centers... 

Oranges and Alligators
Then there are 17 varieties of oranges, all known for their sweet taste and juiciness. They make up 70% of all the citrus fruits sold in the US each year. We always have a lot of oranges when we are in Florida. I love the red navels the best! But as common as oranges are! Most of the campgrounds have small ponds or lakes that have a couple of alligators swimming around. You see a lot of signs that say, ‘Please do not feed the alligators’. I used to be afraid to go near those ponds. I will miss them, too.

Theme Parks

this balloon will always lead you
 to Downtown Disney

My grandkids visited us last holiday season and they specifically said they did not want to experience them. They had only one thing on their minds: the giant theme parks. There were about 80 million visitors in 2004, making Florida the top travel destination in the world, generating an economic impact of $57 billion on Florida’s economy. The biggest draws are Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando. But there seems to be always new parks opening, the latest being LegoLand.

So if by chance you are visiting Florida, please do not forget to go to Key West, the Everglades, Miami and Tampa Bay Beaches, the Kennedy Space Center, and the Orlando theme parks. If you have more time, there are so many amazing places. We tried to describe as many as we can in our posts from our visits in the winters of 2011/2012 and 2009/2010. This is the state we have most thoroughly covered. In fact, we could choose to settle down here, if only our children are not all in the west. So with much regret, Bill and I bid a sad goodbye to this awesome sunshiny state!

OLA: Partying with Snowbirds

Bill's offered his 68th birthday cake to the snowbirders of the RVing world!

snowbirds learning many line dancing variations

SNOWBIRDS!   The term makes you think of old, retired people from as far north as Newfoundland in Canada who leave their cold homes in November to spend a warm winter in Florida then make their way back home in March. They may have a few years under their belt, but they are definitely young at heart, and they certainly know how to have fun! Last week we introduced you to our young traveling friends from Slovenia. This week we spotlight our more regular companions in the RVing world, those sexygenarians like us (or older!) and about ‘partying’ with them.

Fay and Butch toasting the celebrant

Lake Magic in Orlando, Florida

Lake Magic in Orlando, a member of the Encore group, is the overflow park of Orlando Thousand Trails, one of our favorite parks. It sits on Highway 192 West, part of the triangle that circumscribes the theme parks of Orlando. It is only 6 miles from Disney! The RV haven is very nice with well-maintained facilities and tons of activities. We were lucky that Orlando Thousand Trails did not have space for us and got booked in and introduced to Lake Magic instead! 

Warren and Berta leading the singing

But the Park’s outstanding feature is its energetic community of younger snowbirds. Some store their RVs in the Park to use it as their alternate home in Florida. Some rent or own park models and just drive to Florida in their cars, and some are just like us who haul their home full time on the road. We were lucky that we got drawn into a group that seemed to party every day, with pot luck food and loads of karaoke singing and line dancing, led by Warren and Berta who own the equipment. 

      

Bill singing 'Wake Up Little Susie'

A traditional ‘Virginia’ barbecue courtesy of Fay and Butch coincided with Bill’s 68^th birthday, so we brought a large German chocolate cake.  A host of sides were brought by the other 45 guests. A hearty Happy Birthday was sung as Bill offered his cake that read ‘Happy RVing and Snowbirding’ to start dessert time. Then the group burst into karaoke singing, street dancing, and more eating! And, like always when a party ends, Warren and Berta led the group in singing ‘We’re Best of Friends’!

St. Patrick's Day celebration with the 'band'

Three Flags in Wildwood, Florida

Over at Three Flags, another Encore campground, management had ushered in the snowbirding season with the Thanksgiving Party where they served roast turkey while we campers contributed sides and desserts (also became my own 63^rd birthday celebration). Then March 17 they bid goodbye to the season with its St. Patrick’s Day celebration, serving corned beef and cabbage, traditional Irish fare, plus all the sides and desserts from the campers. The holiday is a cultural and religious holiday for the most commonly recognized patron saint of Ireland and the arrival of Christianity to the Emerald Isle.

just the dessert tables

Joe and Dottie having dinner with us...

During the winter of 2009/201, we met Joe, 81, and Dottie, 82 also in Three Flags. He has become Bill’s fishing buddy while Dottie is my Scrabble and Upwords playmate.  Dottie and I also exchange a lot of fave recipes.  At about the same time we met them, we also met Bob and Laverne, who are just a little older than us. They run a popular entertainment blog so they introduced me to the world of blogging and Entrecard. Without them, I would not have known how to establish my online presence.  

Bob and Laverne having dessert with us...

Bev and Dan going out with us...

We were also surprised to see Dan and Bev Johnson (the same age as Bill and I) in Three Flags this year. They are from the Seattle, Washington area like us. We met at an eastern Washington campground when we were on our way back to Seattle. This time around, a special bond developed because they kept me company when Bill needed to stay in the hospital after a heart attack. They visited Bill at the Heart of Florida Medical Center the following day.

Carol singing 'Act Naturally'

The RV and travel community can be very isolating even if we meet a lot of people at all of the campground activities. Once in a while, however, we are able to form special bonds with fellow travelers who become lifelong friends. We make the effort to keep communication lines open even when we are apart and take pains to schedule next meetings. Once again, we are reminded of the theme of this blog…’It is not about age, it is about lifestyle’.  We share the cruising lifestyle.

OLA: Skydiving with Friends from Slovenia

a daredevil exhibition jump at Skydive City in Zephrhills, Florida

Vicariously, that is!

Jure and Katarina at the ProShop in Skydive City, Zephyrhills, Florida

We have become great friends with many couples, seniors like us, whom we met in various campgrounds across the country. But it is a young couple from Slovenia whom we met in Palawan, Philippines last year (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/ola-marveling-at-palawans-beauty-part-2_06.html) and with whom we went to Banaue and Sagada (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/breathing-cool-philippine-mountain-air.html) who have become our best ‘couple’ friend! Jure, 33 and newspaper sales executive, and Katarina, 26 andl bar owner, might as well be our children but they are now our best travel friends! It certainly ‘isn’t about age…it is about lifestyle’!

the Slovenian dinner at our RV, courtesy of the couple

They arrived February 27 from Slovenia to spend a few days with us, before meeting their Slovenian friends at Sky Dive City in Zephyrhills, Florida. Bill and I had disembarked from the Majesty of the Seas at 9 am and proceeded to our hotel and got lucky. We were able to check in at 10 and rested before we drove to the Miami International Airport to pick them up. We quickly brought their luggage to the hotel then proceeded for dinner at one of South Beach’s hugely popular sidewalk cafes.

the couple at South Beach, Florida

The following day we took the long route to Lake Magic, our Orlando RV Resort, driving along A1A, the scenic coastal byway through the 350-mile long Miami and Fort Lauderdale beaches.  This is Katarina’s first trip to the US and she was really wowed by the seemingly unending white sands, the mansions of the rich and famous, and the miles and miles of wide multi-lane highways. Their eyes further widened when they saw our RV is (Europe has small RVs for its narrow roads) as we took it from storage. 

   

the couple on Merritt Island

four travelers on the road

Jure and Katarina thoroughly enjoyed the non-commercial aspects of America: going through Walmart shelves, cooking at the RV, participating at the Pot Roast Dinner at the clubhouse, buying oranges and strawberries from the roadside farmers, buying hot dogs from a sidewalk kiosk, etc. But they also enjoyed our day trip to Titusville, taking pictures of alligators, birds, turtles, manatees, and racoons at Merritt Island, Kennedy Space Center’s Wildlife Refuge Center (where they demonstrate that technology and nature can co-exist). 

one of the alligators Jure found

Skydive City entrance

But soon they had to leave for their sky diving adventure. Jure has had 170+ and Katarina 70+ jumps. Bill would have joined them had he not had arthroscopic surgery on his knees last August and a heart attack last December! Very curious, we visited them one afternoon at Sky Dive City, less than an hour away from Orlando, annexed to the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.  We also observed their practice sessions at iFly Orlando, a wind tunnel for indoor skydiving.

Nylon City and its canopy compression engineers packing parachute systems back for next jumsp

handsome Jure preparing for flight

Sky Dive City is Florida’s best known Drop Zone with about 80,000 jumps a year. It is a virtual little city with 14 acres of property and lots of free tent camping and partial and full-hookup RV parking slots. Sky divers from all over the world meet here. Besides the runways for the different planes that airlift the divers to their desired heights (Sky Vans or Otters) and wide fields and a Swoop Pond for safe landing, there is the Sunshine Factory Pro-Shop, Nylon City, a tent for canopy compression engineers, an outdoor Tiki Bar and indoor Recreation center, plenty of bathhouses, and a Hard Dock Cafe. We had great fun photographing Jure’s jumps while Bill was trying to learn the tricks of the trade from him!

Katarina in practice flight

We also took a hundred pictures of Katarina practicing her maneuvers at iFly Orlando, a wind tunnel that moves air up in a vertical column, creating a great indoor skydiving experience.  The facility uses superior technology with multiple fans located at the top of the flight chamber producing a wall-to-wall airflow that is fun to fly in. Combined with experienced professional instructors, the air flow is totally controllable, so flyers do not need any previous experience! It's the closest possible thing to true human flight, in full view of family and friends at the observation deck.

iFly Orlando, indoor skydiving

Jure among the clouds

back on the ground as new ones board

We are so glad we were given the opportunity to experience skydiving vicariously through our young travel friends.  True, ‘it is not about age, it is about lifestyle’ but there are a few interests that I do not share…being less adventurous!  But Bill is getting his mind ready for this!

OLA: Cruising to the Bahamas, Part 2

the Welcome Desk at the Port of Nassau in the Bahamas

Flamingoes, trained to turn to the left,
then turn to the right in a march
at Ardastra Gardens in Nassau

But what blew me away were the wonderful birds, including about some 30 pinkish orange flamingos of the Ardastra Gardens (there are about 30,000 in the Bahamas) who were trained to march by turning left and then right in unison.  Nearby is Arawak Cay where many fish fry stops serve the famous conch salad or conch chowder of the Bahamas. We also got an awesome view of Nassau’s harbor, burgeoning with huge cruise ships, from this Cay. Thus we were reminded to be on board by 4:30 pm; alas 4 hours at Nassau isn’t enough! Not finding a bus, we walked all the way back!

The Port of Nassau, full of cruise ships, from Arawak Cay

the sexiest man alive!

Back at Majesty, we had a quick snack of Sorrento pizzas and then we went to watch the World’s Sexiest Men Competition at poolside. I should have known it wasn’t a serious search! A middle-aged, middle-bulged North Carolinian, who made everyone laugh, won. Bill went to the Heisman Chat where three Huskers who won the coveted college football trophy, the Heisman, held a discussion. Then we met at the Great Watch Sale where designer watches worth $90 were on sale at $20!  Of course Bill got one!

pandemonium at the Great WAtch Sale!

Boogie Wonderland

At the Chorus Line Theatre, we felt like dancing with The Boogie Wonderland, an extravaganza of 70s music. Then we savored our last formal dinner at the Starlight Dining Room . Finally we capped the night with a peek at the Battle of the Sexes and a Late Night Comedy with the very funny Steve Bruner. At 11:45 pm we decided to run back to the room and missed the supposed highlight of the cruise (for adults only), the Quest Game Show! We had to pack.

Battle of the Sexes, another fun activity at the Majesty

Day 4, Feb. 27, Return to Miami

Windjammer, 4 buffets everyday

We finally came to the end of the cruise! Majesty docked at 8 am at the Port of Miami while we were having our final cruise breakfast buffet at Windjammer. We opted to carry our own bags so we could participate in the Express Check-out, otherwise we would be caught in the web of disembarking 2,000 people and maybe 4,000 pieces of luggage! We were at our motel by 9 am. Fortunately they had a room ready for us at 10! We were able to rest before picking up our friends Jure and Katarina from Slovenia at the Miami International airport (their visit will be the subject of my next post).

Texas Hold'Em at the Casino....

I have come to the conclusion that cruising by ship is definitely not a cruising lifestyle. It is the ship itself that cruises at tops 12 knots for an unnoticeable glide in the waters. But it is really a large floating hotel with thousands of people in a temporarily very driven lifestyle. In just three days we sailed to 3 ports, had 12 big sit-down meals and snacks, participated and watched 14 events but missed countless others: Explorer Academy and other seminars, Rock Climbing Wall, Poolside and other Sports Courts, Fitness and Spa Centers, Art Auction, Library, Internet Café, Adventure Room, Bingo Nights, the Casino, and other Games, Dances and Karaoke and other Music Events, and other Sale Events.

entrance to the fitness center and spa...

There was something to do every hour at Majesty’s 14 outlets, something to eat 24x7 in 9 eateries, something to buy any time at 6 stores plus the centerwalk of sales aside from the port of call. It is a dizzying lifestyle but, being seniors, we kept ourselves to the sedentary affairs! But we believe will still sail with other cruises because there are some parts of the world that are better reached through a cruise (Caribbean, Meditteranean, Baltic, and the Alaska Inland Passage. And partying hard and pigging out are good for anyone, once in a while!

Note about the Bahamas._______________________________________

Port of Nassau, from the Majesty

 The Bahamas is a group of more than 3,000 islands with  a population of more than 350,000 (about 250,000 live in Nassau) . The islands were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Mostly deserted from the 1500s, English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera in the 1600s. It became a Crown Colony in 1718 when the British clamped down on piracy. By the late 1700s, many British loyalists and their slaves moved to the islands when they lost in the American War of Independence. When the British abolished slave trade, many of those liberated were settled in the Bahamas during the 19th century. Their descendants form the majority of the Bahamas's population today. In terms of GDP per capita, the Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas (following Bermuda, the United States, Cayman Islands, Canada, and the British Virgin Islands) with tourism and financial services as major industries.