I’ve been meaning to post about my trip to Winter Park Florida last month for a few weeks now. It was one of the last times I did a sightseeing trip before the world turned a bit wonky with this horrible pandemic. I wanted to write about something fun, just to take a break from everything else that’s going on.

I set out on March 1 which was a beautiful sunny day. My destination was the Scenic Boat Tour on Lake Osceola, a one hour tour on an 18 passenger pontoon boat. I arrived 20 minutes before 12 pm, and they were super busy. I was able to squeeze onto the next tour at 12 because I was a party of one. The tour covers 3 lakes, traveling between them on man made canals. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the rich folks that have lived in the beautiful houses on the lakes. Also on waterfront property is Rollins College. Fred Rogers, yes, Mr. Rogers, is an alumni.

I would definitely recommend this tour for anyone that is in the area of Orlando/ Winter Park. They only take cash or check, no credit cards so please be prepared.

When I arrived in Winter Park I couldn’t find parking by the boat launch. I parked across town by the train station and walked. I had to cross Park Avenue which is lined with plenty of high end shops and restaurants. The street was blocked off by police and there were tons of people gathering. When I walked back that way after the boat ride I was just in time for their Saint Patrick’s Day Parade! I couldn’t believe a town was having their St. Paddy’s Day parade so early but as I look upon it now I am so glad I happened upon it. By mid March all public gatherings had been cancelled, so I was lucky to get in on the fun of a parade. Here are some photos from the parade in case you weren’t as lucky as I was.

I hope these photos will be a nice diversion from the bad news we are facing daily. I will be leaving Florida this week for East Tennessee to hunker down on some dear friends’ property. Stay safe and well my friends!

I have been on the road for almost 4 1/2 years, and I love it when friends and family visit me. I get the pleasure of seeing them, and they get to experience a place they might not have had reason to visit otherwise. My favorite visitor is my mom. She has visited me in Virginia Beach, Mount Rushmore, Newburgh NY, Hot Springs AR, and most recently here in Orlando Florida.

I went to pick her up on a Thursday afternoon at the Orlando International Airport. The airport is huge, and I could find no signs for Allegiant Air.  I parked and went in. I could see no listings for any arrivals on Allegiant Air from Knoxville, or anywhere else for that matter.  So I brought up her itinerary. She was flying into the Orlando Sanford International Airport, about 40 minutes farther down the road. I was at the wrong airport!  I got her on the phone. She says she is waiting by the curb. I tell her to find somewhere to sit down, it’s gonna be a bit before I get there. Luckily she is a patient lady, and I finally arrived at the right airport and got her and her stuff loaded into my car. My younger brother Randy quipped to me “At least I dropped her off at the right airport”. Smart aleck!

My sister in law Norma and her daughter Shirley (who is my best friend) decided to come up to Orlando from Boca Raton during my mom’s visit. I thought it would be fun to keep it a surprise from mom. They arrived at the RV on Friday morning. My mom had just gone into the bathroom when they got there. The look on her face when she came out of the bathroom and saw the two of them in the living room was priceless! Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of that. For the next 2 days the RV was crammed but we had a lot of fun. 

 

That night I took off from work and I cooked us a great dinner and we sat around and had some fun. Saturday morning I worked (activities crew of 4 serves breakfast. This week we had an all time record of cooking for 153 folks). They came and had a great breakfast on me. We went out for an early dinner to Crabby Bill’s, a seafood restaurant in St. Cloud with a view of the lake and a marina. The food was good and the company was better!

We then went back to the campground for a free concert by John Frenzi. He is a singer/songwriter/guitar player. It was a great evening.

Sunday morning we had a delicious breakfast at Keke’s breakfast cafe. Looking at their website, it appears they are a chain that so far is just in Florida. We then went a short distance down the road to the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge. They rescue, raise, rehabilitate and release injured and orphaned animals. You can check out their website here http://www.btnwildlife.org. For a $5 entrance fee you get to see a lot of their animals that they are taking care of, plus there are plenty of hiking trails. Shirley and I hiked a loop trail while mom and Norma relaxed on a shaded bench.

They had a couple of bobcats that were really cool to look at but I didn’t get any good shots of them. If you are in Orlando and want to do something quieter and less expensive than most of the other stuff that is here, this place makes a great outing. After this Shirley and Norma had to hit the road back to Boca Raton.

The next few days I worked some. Mom came and participated at our arts and crafts. I was teaching jewelry making. She made a really cute necklace. I recruited her to help out on our campfire and s’mores night. She helped make the s’mores for the campers, and also had some snacks herself. I think she skipped the marshmallows and just had graham crackers with chocolate.

I took Wednesday off and we went to Clermont Florida. Our destination was the Showcase of Citrus Monster Truck Tour but we first stopped in at the Citrus Tower in Clermont. The Citrus Tower opened in 1956. It was built with 5 million pounds of concrete and 149,000 pounds of reinforcing steel. It was constructed to withstand winds of more than 190 miles per hour. It is 226 feet high, with a glass enclosed observation deck. In it’s hey day it was a very popular sight seeing spot. It is not so much now, but you do get a great view from the top. They say on a clear day you can see the skyline of Orlando and Disney World. We weren’t there on a clear day.

Just down the road is the Showcase of Citrus. Check them out here https://showcaseofcitrus.com. They are a huge farm. You can purchase or pick your own citrus, and in the spring they also have blueberries. Of course they have a huge souvenir store. We booked their monster truck tour. They sell tickets on their site for $25 per person but check out groupon where we got ours for $14 each.

The tour takes you through the citrus groves and then through some back country where they have a couple of zebra and some other animals. Our guide was interesting. He was originally from Utah, but was pretty knowledgable about the area.

Mom was scheduled to leave Thursday evening so we had time for one last excursion. We went to Disney Springs which is a place with a lot of restaurants and stores. We had fun walking around. I wanted to go to the Lego Store. It had some cool Lego sculptures.

That evening I got her to the airport (the right one this time) and she is now safely home. Until next time mom!

I really can’t believe I’ve been in Hot Springs for 2 months. I really need a little self discipline in sitting down and writing what’s been going on more often. I’ve been fairly busy, with visiting with old friends, getting used to the new job, and doing some sightseeing. Because I am slow like a turtle, and a well practiced procrastinator, I have now fallen far behind in recording what I have been up to. I will split this up in a few posts. This first one will be on meet ups.

On the way from Mexico Beach Florida to Hot Springs Arkansas I was lucky enough to make one of my stops in Birmingham Alabama. This has been home to my niece Taylor and her husband Sean for a bit while Sean has been working on his education in medicine. The timing was good because right after my visit he finished his schoolwork and they were headed back to their roots in New England. On the night I was there they picked me up at the campground I was staying at and we enjoyed a nice dinner out. They are a beautiful couple, and I wish them all great things in life.

It is always great when you can meet up with folks you have met while workamping. I have worked with Diane and Chris twice. The first time was at the Mount Rushmore KOA in 2017. We really didn’t get to know each other very well because I worked as a supervisor in the campground reservation/store, and they worked in the Lodge. They were my neighbors, but most of the time it was just a friendly wave when we saw each other. Then last summer (2018) the three of us worked together at the New York City North/Newburgh KOA. At Mount Rushmore there were many workampers, at Newburgh the three of us were the only ones, and we were next door neighbors. The rest of the staff were local folks. So the three of us bonded. I really got to enjoy their sense of humor. For an example, one day I had my windows open and I sneezed pretty loudly. I got a text from Chris that said “Bless you!”. I had to laugh. Thankfully they made me laugh a lot last summer. So when these ladies were heading from Texas to New York, I had the opportunity to meet up with them for dinner at the Arkadelphia Cracker Barrel where they were going to spend the night. They were traveling with some family and we had a great time catching up on things.

At Mount Rushmore I also worked with Debbie and Michael Maynard. When I arrived in Hot Springs they were staying at a campground on the other side of Little Rock. They came down to Hot Springs to get their National Park stamp and we met up for a nice lunch. Then we went up to the Hot Springs Mountain tower. It was a great view from up there, even though it was too early for things to be green. I need to get up there now that everything has blossomed.

Then I got to spend an evening with Kay and Les, another couple I worked with at Mount Rushmore. They are now KOA inspectors, driving around in a big truck pulling a big fifth wheel trailer, all wrapped in KOA artwork. They go around checking in on all the KOA’s in a specific region. The Hot Springs KOA was on their list so I went over to visit on the night they were there. They love Amos so I had to bring him too. There was also another couple that were friends of Les and Kay’s that happened to be staying at the campground. We had a great night of swapping stories. I have been blessed to meet up with Kay and Les in Florida a couple of times and they came to visit me in New York on their way to Maine last year. I love these two and always have a great time with them.

So what does a picture of some rocks have to do with my next visitors? Well, I think John and Carol Miller are true gems. And I didn’t get a picture of us together while they were here. And the funny thing about that is their visit with me was the longest of all these visits. They arrived on a Monday, I had Tuesday and Wednesday off to hang with them, and they headed northward on Thursday. I worked with Carol and John at my first KOA job January through April in 2016. Thankfully it was a small campground because I had no clue what I was doing. Carol was a good teacher. And John is good at fixing all kinds of things. We did go crystal mining on one of the days they were here. We didn’t find anything too exciting, but we did take away some shiny objects. I am planning on trying another mine soon so I can compare the experience. After mining we got comfortable in outside seating at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Hot Springs. We had some cold refreshments, snacked on chips and salsa, and people watched. It had been three years since I saw these guys, and I had forgotten how much fun they are. I hope it’s not so long until our next visit.

The special meeting of friends, and running into them again, and sometimes again and again in different places, is part of what I love of this nomadic life. Of course some of the other part is seeing new things and having new experiences. My next post will be about that. Until then, take care and be kind.

About 40 minutes from my location in Plattekill NY is the town of Hyde Park. It is home to several attractions of which I visited 2 a couple of weeks ago on one of my days off. My first stop was at the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

My National Park pass got me on a tour of the house for free. If I had wanted to visit the museum and library it would have cost me $10. So I opted for just the house tour. The beautiful grounds are free for all to enjoy. It also included a short film on FDR’s life.

The tour and the movie was quite interesting. Franklin’s father purchased the 110 acre estate in 1867. The property included a house overlooking the Hudson River and a working farm. FDR was born in the house on January 30, 1882. He was the only child of Sara and James Roosevelt. He loved it there, and in later years he expanded the land holdings to almost 1500 acres and he planted over half a million trees. In 1943 he began the process of deeding this home to the National Park Service, so it would be available for everyone to enjoy. Eleanor and Franklin are both buried in the rose garden on the property.

My next stop was Val-Kill, only 2 miles away. This was Eleanor Roosevelt’s home. Franklin built it for her in the mid 1920’s, and after his death she lived there full time. My NP pass also got me on this tour for free.

You learn here on the ranger-led house tour and through a short movie they show that she never felt at home in the big house as it was Franklin’s mother’s house. It was in this house in 1926 that she, Nancy Cook, Marion Dickerman, and Caroline O’day started Val-Kill Industries. It was designed to provide local farmers and their families with necessary crafting skills to supplement their income. They made  furniture and pewter products. Later New Deal programs were based on this model. The house is very down-to-earth, and when you stand in the small living room and look at the corner with 2 chairs facing each other it is hard to believe that John F. Kennedy sat with Eleanor here. The presidential nominee had come to seek her support. She only consented after he agreed to make civil rights part of his platform. She was probably one of the most influential women of her time.

Throughout her life she was a champion for social welfare and civil rights. This woman was so amazing. She wrote 27 books, 2500 articles and over 550 columns in her life. And to think I struggle to write new postings for this blog.
Hyde Park is also home to The Vanderbilt Mansion and the New York Culinary Institute. These will have to wait for another day. From Val-Kill I wandered down to Poughkeepsie for a very late lunch on the Hudson.

I also found a farmer’s market that they have there every Monday afternoon. I bought some radishes and some chocolate truffles. I think I bought the radishes because I was feeling guilty about the truffles!

I am currently working in the New York City North / Newburgh KOA which is neither in New York City or Newburgh. It is actually in Plattekill NY which is a rural area and quite pretty, situated in the Hudson Valley region. The Big Apple is about one and a half hours to the south. As an attraction at the campground we offer a New York City tour. A big tour bus with a great driver and knowledgeable tour guide picks everyone up at 7:30 am and returns them close to 12 hours later back at the campground. The tours don’t go out every day, they need at least 14 people signed up for it to warrant the cost of the bus, driver and guide. I was able to snag a seat on the 2nd tour of the season, which was on June 5th. I was very excited, as I was able to go for free, and it costs $109 for an adult. Even at the full price it is a great value. It includes the amenities of a nice tour bus and guide, and the entry price for the Statue of Liberty ferry (the ticket says $18.50) and the Empire State Building 86th floor observatory (which is a whopping $37.00). On my own I would never want to drive into New York and then try and find and pay for a day of parking. If you take the train from the closest station to the campground, Beacon, it is $33.50 round trip in off peak hours, and then there is the challenge of finding parking at the train station. And once you get dumped at Grand Central you are on your own, to either tackle the subway system or get a double decker tour bus which is $30, but doesn’t include any admissions. By 7:30 that morning I was in a comfy seat with my day pack and water bottle in the seat next to me, ready for adventure.

 

The bus drops off the group at the entrance to the ferry ride. There are long lines here to get through security. Kind of like the airlines but we didn’t have to remove our shoes. Packs were x-rayed, belts were taken off, and I even had to take off my fitbit. Once we got to the island we were given a time to meet back, giving us enough time to circle the statue and go into the visitor’s center and gift shop.

 

 

 

After our walk around the statue we get back on the ferry, which stops at Ellis Island but there is not time on this tour to disembark here. I would like to visit it one day.

The next stop is the 911 Memorial. Here is some information I have copied from the 911 Memorial website:

The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the 2,977 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.

The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.

The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.

As time is limited on the tour at any one spot, we did not go into the museum. At this stop we had time to see the memorial and grab a bite to eat. There was a couple of malls in the vicinity. One was the Oculus. It is very modernistic. It doesn’t look very big on the outside but most of it is underground and it is huge.

 

I opted for lunch at the other area mall, Brookfield Place. I had some kind of Asian Pork dumplings with a spicy sauce. Yum.

As we gathered back at our bus, the next stop would be the Empire State Building.

It was built on the original site of the famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and was completed in 1931. At 102 stories tall, it was the tallest building in the world for 42 years. It contains 72 elevators. The elevator that lifts you from the 2nd floor to the 80th floor only takes 40 seconds. Amazing! there is an enclosed observation area on the 80th floor, and from there you take another elevator to the 86th floor which has the outside observation area. It is incredible to walk around every side and take in the views.

 

 

This stop allowed plenty of time to walk around all sides, and shop at the gift shop. The bus had parked around the corner, and was close to a cheaper souvenir shop also if we wanted to shop a little more.

The last stop for the day was Times Square. I have been there before, as recently as early May when my friends Kay and Les Dennison and I took the train into the city. It is just so amazing to just stand in one spot and look at all the huge jumbotrons advertising all kinds of things. I have not been here at night yet, and that is on my list of things to do before I leave this area in October.

 

By this time it was about 5:30 and very crowded on the streets. We hopped back onto the bus for our comfy ride back to the campground. I think a good day was had by all. Kudos to the bus driver Gary who had to maneuver New York traffic. He also stayed with the bus at all times so it was safe to leave our belongings on the bus. Keaton, our tour guide, was always careful that everyone was accounted for, and he was always pointing out things as we passed them. He was knowledgeable, and had no problem answering questions. I would definitely give this tour a 2 thumbs up!