Reload Time

First of all, a shout-out to the twins, Sarah-Jean and Ewen, who turned 18 a couple of days ago.  Sure makes a grandpa feel old!
We intend to stop in at the greenhouse tomorrow on our way to Buffalo so I hope we'll see them.

We headed for the Orlando airport at 5 a.m. this morning.  Had lots of time there for breakfast...our flight home was delayed by an hour and a half.

At the Buffalo airport we picked up our Nissan Sentra from Dollar Rent A Car (Hertz), stopped for two bottles of Canadian Club at the Duty Free, and breezed through the border (our Nexus cards only saved us about a minute...there was virtually no traffic at the border).

Then it was a list of errands, etc.  Stops at both of our banks to shuffle some funds around, a doctor's appointment for me to get my old man shot of B12, then I dropped Mardi and her knitted toques off at A.J.'s so he could hand them out to the homeless, and so she could enjoy some family time with A.J. and Reggie, while I had my monthly blood test.  

Next up a perusal of the accumulated mail.  

We had dinner at the Banana Leaf Asian Cuisine before dropping off some brochures for my friend Maurice Hughes on the way to Theatre Aquarius.  Unfortunately, the theme of "Sweat" was very dark, relating to the closing of mills in Reading, Pennsylvania and the violence and racism that resulted.  By intermission we had seen (and heard) enough and headed home.

I think that next year we will look into season's tickets to the Binbrook Little Theatre instead, where they concentrate on comedies and farce.  That's more what we enjoy.

And so, here we are, a busy 17 hours after our alarm went off, tired but content.  Tomorrow at this time we'll be arriving back at our southern "home".  Can't wait.

We're a third through the holiday.

It's pretty sad when the only picture I could come up with today was of a live weather vane!

We played Remington today.  The only memorable moment was on the par three fourteenth, when two of the group (not named Mardi or Matt) made birdies.  Our first "birdie juice" double!

Tonight, the boys won the second series of Skip-Bo games.  So it's two games to none so far.  The ladies are off to a good start on series three, but it's not over yet.

Tomorrow, Mardi and I head to Orlando Airport for an early flight home.  It's time to restart the thirty day out-of-province health insurance plan.

A couple of errands after we get home, read the mail, and then we're off to Theatre Aquarius for the show "Sweat".

Maybe Matt and Maureen will find something to report to you.  If so, I'll add it to tomorrow's blog.

Blah Day

Nothing newsworthy today.

My arm is mostly back to normal, so I took a two mile walk this morning to buy vouchers for future golf here at Orange Lake.

We had planned to try out the nine hole walking course, but the weather forecast didn't look too good, so we went shopping instead.

Matt's meat sauce from yesterday's dinner turned into chili tonight.  Well done Chef Mateo!

Tomorrow we'll try Remington Golf Course.

Skip-Bo Champs

By this morning my arm was swollen from the base of the thumb to half way up my bicep (to the pen line).  Red, hot, achy and itchy.  So I begged off golf.

The others played The Reserve here at Orange Lake.  They didn't brag about their scores.  No pictures.

The inflammation stopped at the pen line and by the time the others should have finished golf I felt good enough to go for a hike...about a mile.  As I pen this post things seem to have settled down and I'm feeling much better.

When I returned, I watched the golf vultures as they looked for errant shots.

The really big news is that after 13 hands of Skip-Bo over three days, and being behind for the first 11, the guys finally took the match!  And we're two hands ahead as we play our second round.
The world is definitely unfolding as it should.

Tomorrow we will explore somewhere (it's Maureen's turn to pick) and then we plan to play the 9 hole walking course - under lights if the weather cooperates.

Feathers and Fowl

If we needed more evidence that the last residents here fed the birds, we got it today.

Our door seems to be a magnet for the birds!

Mardi and I walked over to the Marketplace to book our tee time for tomorrow and then to the drug store for some Hydrocortisone for my wounded arm (allergic reaction to a bug bite) which is swollen from the wrist to the elbow.

We then headed out to Golf Passion for the ladies shopping pleasure.  A big surprise just 100 yards from the front door.

First the Eagle, then a Black Vulture.

The target, a Possum carcass.

The Maintenance crew were waiting to take away the food.  Shame!

Next, it was off to Golf Passion for shopping.

Nice shirt Mardi!

Oh!!  And a jacket too!

Then it was on to Millers Ale House for my home cooked ribs.

Finally, we'll be playing another game of Skip-Bo.

Tomorrow we play the Reserve here at Orange Lake.  Mardi has painted a stripe on her putter so she'll be even more of a challenge for me.

Swiss Fairway Reprise

It very quickly became obvious that, either the Association of Water Skiers were ignoring Sven's warnings, or they felt that Matt and I posed little risk of actually hitting them.

Matt cleared the water but didn't hit the green.

Bud cleared the water, but didn't hit the green either (actually he hit a tree on the hill behind...just a little aggressive).

We both missed the lady on the slalom ski.

Did I mention how unfair this game is?  This is the ladies' tee on #2.  Just 80 yards and no water in the way.

Same story on #8.  A much easier shot from the ladies' tee than from where I am standing on the men's.

Nevertheless, my par beat her bogie.

Too bad I couldn't keep up the tempo.  Was two holes ahead at that point.....ended up losing by three holes.

Tonight it is Matt's turn to cook.  Spaghetti and meat balls.

Tomorrow it's my turn.  Baby back ribs..............at Miller's Ale House.

Practice Makes Perfect

The ladies went shopping so Matt and I headed over to the practice range.

Matt is in mid season form on the driving range.

I headed over to the chipping area.  As you can see, "practice makes perfect" is fake news.

Then it was back to the unit for snacks.  You don't suppose that the previous occupants fed the wild life do you?

These are the same two that put on a show for us a few days ago.

For an added bit of excitement we got out the barbering equipment.

But fear kept me in line!

Maureen took a turn as well.

And she then turned her talents to a fine Pork Tenderloin dinner.  Awesome!

Following which we had a game of Skip-Bo.

The ladies seem to have our number.  We're trailing badly.

Tomorrow we play Swiss Fairways.  Sven has asked me to take a picture of Matt's drive on #2.  He has also volunteered to warn the Association of Water Skiers that we're coming.

Stay tuned.

Hello Matt and Maureen

On our own, so we took our time getting started.
Eventually, we went shopping.  Michael's for knitting needles for the toque maker, Dick's Sporting Goods for no good reason, and Bealls for a small red frying pan and a blouse for Mardi.

After lunch, we went for a hike at Orange Lake.  Saw a small gator (they relocate them when they get big enough to hurt a man).

Osprey.

Red Shouldered Hawk.

And a Wood Stork.

And our second "home", the unit on the lower left of the building.  

Then, it was back to our unit to wait for Matt and Maureen, who arrived at 5:45 p.m. as Matt had predicted.

Dinner and drinks followed.  We watched the Disney fireworks from our patio at 8 p.m. (as we have done a few times since we arrived).

Tomorrow's itinerary is undecided.

Orange Lake

For Bob's last day we decided to stay close to home, to save time.  So it was the Reserve course here at Orange Lake.

Sweater weather to begin, then it was just fine.  We had drizzle for the last two holes - on second thought, that might have been from Bob's tears at having to head home.

The fourth hole is our "home" hole.  A par five with a nasty tee shot - you choose, the lake or a condo.  Not much room on the fairway off the tee.

And this is our "home" - unit #3134 in the West Village, the one floor bungalow, weeks 52/53.

We also own unit #3522 in the East Village, weeks 52/53.

These two units have provided us with seven weeks this year at Orange Lake.  Next year (and the year after that) we'll get eight weeks out of them.

If anyone wants a Timeshare 101 primer on how it's done, just ask.

We delivered Bob to the airport at 6 p.m. for his Swoop flight to Hamilton.  We're alone now for 24 hours until Matt and Maureen arrive.

Tomorrow is a shopping, walking, recovery day.

Weather Check

We arrived at Lake Wales Golf and Country Club to find only a half dozen cars in the parking lot.  Most of them were from Ontario.

We checked in to find the lovely Shannan dressed like this.

A blanket yet!

We're starting to figure out why it was only Ontario golfers this morning.  Temperature 8 C and windy.

But our hardy group set out anyway.  Four layers and a toque for Mardi.  Just three layers and blow on your hands for Bob.  Only two layers for me, but I'm not too bright!

The conditions took Bob up to a 94 today.  Mardi's and my scores were similarly inflated.  And she crushed me.

Shots like this were part of the reason.

We were overtaken by an armada of carts.  We let them through.

Turns out it was PGA officials who were rating the fairways.  Interesting!

An emergency stop on the way home to pick up some Carolans (a Bailey's substitute) to go with hot chocolate.  We eventually warmed up.

Tomorrow we play here at Orange Lake before mailing Bob home.

A Quiet Day

We're going to be golfing two days in a row before Bob heads home, so today was an off day.

Bud got a haircut.  Mardi and Bob went shopping.

The high temperature today was 13 C.  

Dinner at Millers before we headed over to River Island to check out the music.  

Then it was home to watch the exciting Impeachment trial.

All in all, pretty boring.

Tomorrow we golf at Lake Wales again.  Not too much water there, so Mardi will be allowed to drive again.

Believe It Or Not!

We returned to Royal St. Cloud Golf Links - a cool, windy day.

Those objects beside the pond ahead of Mardi are, a turtle on the left, and an alligator on the right.  Got a close-up of the gator, but I didn't even notice the turtle.

Fortunately, Bob got both.

Then it got exciting!  Bud put a ball into the lake.  While Mardi was helping to find it, her cart decided to go for a walk.  Bob and I held on until help arrived.

Rescuers showed up and retrieved the cart so Mardi could have a do-over.

The damn thing ran just fine after its adventure.  Nevertheless, it shook Bob up to the point that he only shot 82 today.  It didn't bother me - my 101 was right on target, and I beat the Queen Bee on both score and holes.

Required a couple of drinks upon our return home.  We're good now!

Tomorrow is another off day.  We'll see if we can stir up some more excitement!

Winter Park

Today was a "down" day - nothing planned.  We coasted through the morning and then decided to head to Winter Park - the playground of the rich back in the day.

We normally visit the Morse Museum on days like this, but decided to search out something new this time.  But first, time for lunch.

On one side of the street every restaurant was full, to the point that you had trouble getting past on the sidewalk.  But on the other side we saw The Orchid, a Thai restaurant that had tables available.  

Great food.  Nice ambiance.  Good friends!

Then, it was on to the Albin Palasek Sculpture Park.  A relatively small property, but very fascinating.

This next one was interesting!  The harp strings are actually streams of water.

Some of the sculptures were recast a few years ago, but the originals were done in the 1920's.

Many sculptures had religious themes, such as this "Stations of the Cross".

The sculptures were the draw, but the gardens were pretty spectacular as well.

Well worth the visit!   We'll return.

Tomorrow we take Bob to Royal St. Cloud.  We'll hopefully improve on our previous scores.