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Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

Mar 25th, 2010
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If you love to come to Disney and you are a gardening affecionado or you just like to look at beautiful, unique things; I highly recommend the Epcot Garden Festival.  I think it is my favorite time of year at Epcot.  It’s even better than Christmas.  Everywhere you look, there are expansive displays of flowers or topiary characters surrounded by flowers.  It’s quite spectacular.

We have been over there a couple times during the festival and the second time, I asked about the logistics of  planting and maintaining all of the displays.  I was told that all the flowers are planted especially for the show, obviously, but as soon as it ends, they all are taken away. There has to be a tremendous amount of manpower involved in this undertaking.  I will have to try and get some of the statistics for future posts.  I was in disbelief about removing all the beautiful flowers so I didn’t think of other questions.

I did, however, ask about the topiaries.  There are many of them, everywhere.  Topiaries aren’t something you can just make in a month. There are wire forms and the plants have to grow around the forms and be trimmed to shape.  And these topiaries are all life size!  I was told that they are stored and maintained in warehouses and brought out for the show every year.  Amazing! There is also a butterfly house (it’s the round white building in the back  in the butterfly picture.  The first time we saw the display, there were only butterflies waiting to emerge. The second time, they were everywhere! 

The pictures I have included are just a sampling of the display you will see if you decide to visit at this time of year.  The festival runs from the beginning of March thru the middle of May every year.   

Posted in: Disney World.

For the Love of Gardening

Mar 1st, 2010
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I am starting to think about replacing  plants that died this past winter and I have to say I am not excited about the project.  Although gardening is not at the top of my list of things to do, I do it and for the most part, I enjoy it.  The thing I do not like is having to replant every year that there is a major freeze.  Fortunately, that is rare.  Most years, there are no days that the temperature goes below freezing or maybe there are one or two days.  In that case, you just cover the plants that are vulnerable and move on.  This year was a whole different senario since more that half my plants died.

If you love to garden, Florida is the place for you.  You can plant flowers and shrubs year round.  The only time you can’t plant is in the winter if the temperatures are like they were this year.  But in a normal year, you can always buy plants at a garden center or at Lowe’s or Home Depot.  The selection is not the same all year round.  Mostly, the best selection of plants is in early Spring to early Summer, but you can get them.

Tropical plants, of course, are the norm here. They have to be able to withstand the summer heat and mostly dry conditions.  You see some landscaping plants like you see up North, but not plants that lose their leaves and come back after the winter.  Crepe Myrtle is the only plant I can think of that does that, although there are probably others.

Because of the year round warm temperatures, we never get the lush green look of the landscape and the flowering spring trees and bulbs that come out in the North.  I was up there this year when everything was in bloom and I really miss that.  It was so beautiful.

One of my favorite things about planting is that at Christmas time in Florida you can decorate outside with poinsettias.  You can plant them in the ground or put them in pots on the front porch or the lanai.  When you drive around, you will see them planted en masse at neighborhood entrances. And at Disney World, you see them all over the parks.  If you plant poinsettias  in your yard, they will grow and bloom every year right before Christmas. 

One of my least favorite things about gardening in Florida is that it never ends.  Your are pulling weeds, watering plants when it doesn’t rain and mowing for 12 months of the year. Although mowing in the winter is cut back to every two or three weeks.  But the weeds never quit coming.  Everything around them can die, but those weeds spring eternal–and in abundance!

My two favorite plants to grow here are the dipladenia and the mandavilla.  Like I said, I do not have a green thumb, but I plant these on my lanai every summer and they are real troopers.  They grow and bloom like crazy. They are always filled with blooms. 

We do our own yard work, but if you don’t like to do that or can’t, the norm here seems to be to let a professional do it for you. That is probably because it never ends and people get tired of it. On any given day in our neighborhood, there are at least four landscaping trucks to do mowing, planting or trimming at someone’s house. 

So the choice is yours.  Garden to your hearts content if you are an enthusiast or hire someone and enjoy your pool more!  Personally, I like the last option but my husband doesn’t.

Posted in: Daily Living.

Florida Winter 2010

Feb 24th, 2010
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If you want to move to Florida for the warm, sunny winters, take my advice and don’t sell the farm yet.  I don’t know if this has been the coldest winter on record, but it has to be darn close!  We went on a cruise in January ( during which, by the way, we wore sweatshirts until the last two days) and I haven’t worn a pair of shorts since.

This is just not right!  We have been here for four years and the winters keep getting colder every year.  Last year, we had two nights of freezing that killed the plants.  This year, we have had probably a week or more of freezing temperatures.  A lot of those nights were when we were on the cruise, so I don’t know exactly how many.  All I know is that I came home to a lot of very dead plants.  Oh, yes, most of those plants will come back, but it is not like up North where they go dormant  in November then burst into bud in March and are loaded with flowers and leaves by April.  It will take my tropical plants until July to really look like they did before the freeze.  That is if they make it.  Two nights of freezing kills the upper plant but not the roots.  A week or more of freezing temperatures may very well have killed the roots, too.  In which case, it’s back to the nursery again.

The really sad part is that this is the time of year that you go out to eat and sit outdoors by the water. Or have friends over and sit out by the pool. In summer, it’s so hot you can hardly breathe, so this time of year we are out and about and enjoying the weather.  In a really good winter, we can even go enjoy the beaches before they are crowded with spring breakers.  This year, we are wearing long pants and sweaters and staying indoors. Where is global warming when you need it?

I probably sound like a big whiner.  When I talk to friends and family about the snow storms of one and two feet that they have been getting consistently this year, we still have it pretty good.  We don’t have to shovel or plow the driveway or wait for the salt trucks so we can go to work or the grocery store.  It’s not so bad that we have to be housebound for much of the winter giving us suicidal impulses by the middle of February!  We still see the sun most days and I’ve only worn my winter coat three times this year.  Although I do keep washing the same three sweaters I own over and over again so I have something to wear! 

I do know that if I ever move North again, I will not plan a Florida vacation in January or February unless I do it the week before I want to come and I know what the temperature will be. Who wants to go away for a beach vacation and be stuck in hotel room?

You can tell from the picture that the palm tree in from of my house really took a hit!  According to the one of the local news channels, it will take two years for the palms to come back.

Posted in: Daily Living, Florida Lifestyle.

Key West is Best

Jan 10th, 2010
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We’ve been to Key West twice since we’ve lived here and I have to say that so far, it is my favorite place for a Florida vacation.  It is just fun, period.

There is a ton of things to do in Key West. You can stay at a resort and do the beach and water thing. You can visit all kinds of museums, homes of famous people, butterfly gardens, and you can have your picture taken at the southernmost point in the U.S.  Or you can shop, eat and drink yourself silly.  We enjoyed all of the above.

On our first trip, we drove 2 hours to Ft. Myers and took a boat to Key West.  This is not a small boat. It has seating for maybe 100-200 people (I’m not very good at guessing these things), is enclosed and air conditioned.  It has a snack bar to buy food and drinks and the seating is either at tables and chairs along the side of the boat, or rows of airplane style seating in the middle. It leaves Ft. Myers at 8 AM and gets into the dock at Key West about 3 hours later.  It makes one return trip at 6 PM every day.  These daily trips are, of course, weather permitting. 

Fortunately, we booked a bed and breakfast near the dock, so we just got off the boat and walked to the hotel.  We stayed at the Albury Court, one of the Key West Historic Inns.  It was very nice. It was recently remodeled and  had a lovely patio area out back where breakfast was served every morning.  It was also within easy walking distance to Duval Street which is action central for Key West.

Duval Street is a mile long street lined with shops, restaurants and bars. And on many of the streets just off  Duval, there is more of the same.  Among the many places where you can imbibe is Sloppy Joe’s, where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out.  Our favorite place, however, was the Flying Monkey Saloon–good food and they make the best pina colada I’ve ever had.  You can buy it in a refillable thermal container to go! Yum!

When you are not eating, drinking or spending, and if you like doing the history thing, go see Hemingway’s house or the Truman Little White House.  Hemingway lived in Key West for seven years and Truman had his “Camp David”  in Key West.  Both are interesting, but I found Hemingway’s house and the stories about his life facinating.  Among other things, he and some friends stole a toilet from one of the local establishments when they were drunk and took it to his house. He insisted on turning it into a fountain which is still next to the patio out back.  Also, he had a cat which had six toes and today there are 42 cats on the premises, most of which are descendents of that cat and have six toes. 

Key West  just  has an ambience that says let your problems behind, relax, let your hair down and have a little fun.  It’s really hard to describe until you visit it for yourself. So whether you move to Florida or just come for a Florida vacation, be sure to put Key West on your list of places to visit. I promise you won’t regret it.

Posted in: Florida Vacations.

Tampa Record Low Temperature

Jan 7th, 2010
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This seems to be the year of record weather in Tampa, if not Florida. This morning it was 27 degrees which I heard was a record low. That is cold, my friend. For Florida, at least.

Normally, this time of year, we get a day here and there of low of 40 during the night and the days are beautiful. Not too hot, not too cold and no humidity.  We have been here for four years, and this is the first year I have worn my winter coat in Florida!  We just got back from Ohio for the Holidays and it didn’t feel as bad there, relatively speaking, as it does here.

Along with the freezing temperatures comes the landscaping nightmares. Of course, everything here will freeze and die because most of the plants are tropical and cannot tolerate this much cold. Some will be gone and have to be replaced and some will return, but take most of the Spring and Summer to come back to where they were. We could cover the plants, but is is very time consuming and expensive to buy all the covers for them.  Many are too big to even think about doing that.  Last year we replaced most of the plants around the lanai and I swore I would cover them properly this year, but I did not. Although, of the ones we replaced last year, I made sure they were cold tolerant so they would not die.

Actually, I enjoy the cold.  It’s a nice change of pace from the same temperature all the time or the stiffling heat in the summer and often, into the fall. The sun is the great equalizer. If it is shining, you feel good no matter what.

Posted in: Daily Living, Tampa.

Christmas at Disney World

Dec 10th, 2009
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     What could be better than Mickey and Minnie amidst Christmas lights and poinsettias?  Disney World is a festival of lights and magic anytime of the year, but Christmas is even more spectacular! Everywhere you look, there are lights, poinsettias or Christmas trees and garlands.  If you are from the North, Christmas in Florida leaves a lot to be desired.  The weather is too warm, there is no snow and everything is still green, so the decorations you put up do not pop as they do when the trees are leafless. So it you want to get in the spirit of the season, Disney World is a great place to go.

You have to enjoy this time of year when you are surrounded by all the red and green and the symbols of the season.  Everywhere you look there is either a poinsettia tree or a planter or basket filled with the gorgeous red flowers.  In my opinion, one of the best things about living here is that poinsettias can be planted outside to decorate for Christmas.

At night when you go from park to park, the lights are incredible.  Probable the two best things to see are Cinderella’s castle in the Magic Kingdom and the lighting display at  Hollywood Studios.  The castle is lighted so that it appears to be covered in icicles. It’s quite beautiful and worth the trip to Disney just to see that.   

 The other don’t miss sight is the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at  Hollywood Studios.  The display began when the Osborne family from Arkansas put up Christmas lights at the request of their young daughter. The display grew every year until the neighbors took the Osbournes to court to shut it down because it was so disruptive to their lives, causing traffic jams and a media circus every year.  In 1995, Disney made them an offer and it has been at Hollywood Studios ever since.

The display contains over 3 million lights and it appears that every square inch of the buildings has a light on it. The music runs every 15 minutes and the lights “dance” accoding whatever song is playing.  And if all these lights are not enough to put in the Christmas spirit, there is real snow being piped out to the tops of the buildings. The first year I saw it, I felt like a kid again. It truly was magical.

Posted in: Disney World.

Disney World in the Fall

Oct 21st, 2009
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It’s fun to live near Disney World and be able to go at different times of the year.  We’ve been there twice in the Fall, and the Halloween decorations at the Magic Kingdom is one of my favorites.  Main Street is done up so nicely with the Mickey pumpkins on the lamp posts and pumpkins and orange flags everywhere on the building’s balconies.  There is also a Mickey Halloween Party every night which I have never been to, but understand that you pay extra to go to it. The park is only open to those who have paid the extra amount to attend and there are cookies and hot chocolate around the park and trick or treat candy in the shops.  Apparently, you come away with a ton of candy.  October is also a great time

to come because the crowds are light and the weather is cooler. The attached pictures are of the train station viewed from the park entrance and the decorations that appear the lamp posts all around the park.

Posted in: Disney World.

October Record Heat in Tampa

Oct 9th, 2009
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Living in Florida, one expects it to be hot, even unbearable, especially in July and August.  But after a couple years, you really do acclimate.  You still feel hot during those months and you still sweat like crazy when you do yard work or anything else outside.  But you become more used to it and you learn to adjust your schedule to avoid the hottest part of the day and spend the rest of the day in the pool!  You learn to deal with it.

Having said that,  you also look forward to the break in the 90 degree temperatures which usually starts around mid to late September.  But not this year!  I came back from a visit up North during a spectaculat Fall and nice cool weather to record breaking 90 plus degree heat.  After three months of it, your mind and body are just ready for a change, a cooler change.  It’s October, for crying out loud!

There really is no Fall here. There is a perceptible change in the air, a little cooling and just a different feel in general.  But the leaves don’t change, there is no frost , and a visit to the pumpkin patch involves wearing shorts and sandals.  Not my idea of a happy harvest.

Fall is one of the things I miss most here. I love when the air gets crisp and there’s a little frost on the grass some mornings and everyone starts putting out the mums and pumpkins and corn stalks. They do it in Florida, but it is not the same.  There’s something wrong about looking at pumpkins and hay on your way to the beach. However, when I’m feeling worst about what I am missing, I try to rally and  tell myself that when there is record breaking cold and 12 inches of snow in Ohio, I am still wearing my shorts and sandals.

Posted in: Daily Living, Tampa.

Mt Dora is Florida Quaint

Sep 19th, 2009
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I’ve been wanting to visit Mt Dora since I heard about it two years ago but the timing never seStreet in Mt Doraemed right. So this past weekend we just finally got in the car and went.  I had heard it was a small town with quaint shops, great restaurants and a light house of all things .

I have to say, Mt Dora did not disappoint. The town is quite charming–from the park in the center of town to the restaurant overlooking the water.  Strolling down the main street and side streets, there are any number of delightful shops to explore with an abundance of things to look at and purchase.  There are any number of places to have lunch or dinner or just sit on a patio and have a drink to while away an afternoon or evening. If you don’t want to stroll the streets, there is a horse drawn carriage to take you around.

After stolling the streets and having lunch, we went to see the famous Mt Dora lighthouse. Why there is a lighthouse in Mt Dora is a question I can’t answer. The town is inland so there is no need to alert ships. There is water, but only for recreational boating. In addition, the lighthouse is not that large. So one has to assume it is simply a decorative thing and a way to promote the town. Having said that, it is a lovely setting and a nice place to take a walk and sit and enjoy the water view.lighthouse1

Mt Dora is located northwest of Orlando. It is about an hour drive from Orlando and about a ninety minute drive from Tampa. It’s worth a stop if you are in the vicinity and worth driving out of you way for if you are not.

Posted in: Day Trips, Florida Vacations.

Labor Day Weekend in Orlando

Sep 8th, 2009
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Weekend getaways are easy and abundant when you live in Florida. It seems there is always some place that you haven’t been and in the case or Orlando, there is either some place you haven’t been or some place your want to go see again.

Since we were spending Labor Day weekend alone this year, my husband and I decided to use some of out Marriott points and do an overnight at the Marriot Convention Center near Disney World.  I believe it is the largest Marriott in the world. It is so large, there is an indoor parking garage and a shuttle to take you to your car.  The hotel is beautiful and the pool area quite spectacular as you can see in the pictures.  We relaxed around the pool after a morning of shopping at the outlet centers.  Shopping in Orlando is always a favorite thing to do as the variety in the shopping is much better than Tampa.

The Pool

The Pool

For dinner we went to Bravo, one of our favorite Ohio restaurants. The food is always great and the atmosphere is very Tuscan. The restaurant in Orlando has a great patio with umbrella tables and an outdoor bar. The only downside is that it overlooks a busy road.  If you can overlook that, it’s a lovely place to dine.  We really wish a Bravo would open in Tampa.

After dinner, we went to Downtown Disney and strolled around.  It’s a great place to get a Disney fix without having to spend time at the parks.  It’s fun to soak in a couple hours of fantasy and going to these places even for a few hours makes you feel like you are on a real vacation even though you live an hour away.

After dinner, we sat on the balcony of our hotel room with a glass of wine and watched the fireworks at Epcot Center.  The perfect end to a fun day.

We spent the next day at  Blizzard Beach, a Disney water park.  Two old fogies going down the water slides and lounging on the lazy river!  We have lived here three and a half years and have never once considered going to the water parks.  But some of our family were here in July and bought us tickets we were not able to use then, so decided to make it a part of our getaway.  We actually had a very fun time and I would go back again but would probably wait till some company came and take them.

All in all, a very nice two day mini vacation 90 minutes away from home.

Posted in: Florida Lifestyle, Florida Vacations.

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