Rainbows & Silly Signs

Hi All,

We had more rain yesterday than we have had since late October. Our reward was this rainbow above the Settlement.

Earlier in the week Sandy was shopping for candles and fancy soap in a shop. To kill time, Carl was reading the silly signs for sale. These are his three favorites.

"After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says, WTF !"

"Deal with stress the way dogs do. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away."

"Why does cat fur stick to everything but the cat ?" This is certainly true in our motor home.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Another Wonderful Weekend

Hi All,

We started the weekend helping out at the Settlement yard sale.

In the afternoon, friends Walt and Betty stopped by on their way home to Charlotte, NC. We gave them a tour of the Settlement then had lunch in Deland. It was a great visit but too short.

Sunday we drove to New Smyrna Beach to walk on the beach for a while. Even though it was a warm Sunday afternoon, the beach was pretty deserted.

Almost more birds than people. A large flock of royal terns with laughing gulls mixed in

a small group of red knots

and a Snowy egret !

We must have gotten a little too close.

After a few miles on the beach we drove to the old historic downtown where we discovered an art fair under the spreading live oaks.

The winter is flying by.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Hopkins Prairie

Hi All,

No school groups today so we drove to Ocala National Forest to hike along Hopkins Prairie. This was one of our favorite hikes when we volunteered at Ocala.

There is also a beautiful no-hookup campground here. This is the entry road.

The trail at Hopkins Prairie is part of the Florida Trail which runs from the Everglades to the western end of the panhandle, an incredible 1,300 miles!

The "Prairie" is a short grass wetland.

There are numerous dead trees along the edge of the prairie, more than we remember from 2010.

Some of these trees have had a tough life. Check out the twist here.

Here's a nice patch of Christmas lichen, indicative of very clean air.

In case you forgot what lichen was, Alice Algae met Freddie Fungus and they took a Lichen to each other😉

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Winter Park with the Farnams

Hi All,

Our NH friends Jean & Geno Farnam are in Florida for the winter so we arranged to meet them in Winter Park.

After a great lunch at the Briar Patch and some shopping (Jean and Sandy are a world class shopping duo), we visited the Morse Museum that houses an incredible collection of Tiffany glass.

For starters there's this stained glass window mural.

Lest you think that Louis Comfort Tiffany only made windows and lamps, check out this awesome bracelet.

Another window panel with remarkably detailed birds.

There were lots of lamps with stained glass shades but this one has a stained glass base as well.

Tiffany created this chapel as an exhibit at the 1893 World Columbian  Exposition to showcase his work. He won 54 awards!

The coloration and detail in these pieces is just astonishing.

This piece titled "The Tree of Life" has panels illustrating Geology, Astronomy, Science, Religion, Creation and Entombment.

At the end of our visit, Sandy shopped in the store of a museum with priceless Tiffany works of art. What could go wrong🙀.

We had a great day with the Genes and made plans to do it again (when Carl will get a picture of them).

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Another Visit to Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge

Hi All,

No school groups today but we were up early to feed the animals.

After lunch we got photos taken for the visas we need for our May Southeast Asia trip. 

We then hiked at Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge.

We were greeted by some black vultures.

By the observation platform there were lots more vultures

Along the impoundment we saw lots of turtles

as well as alligators and limpkin.

As we returned along the dike we encountered a roadblock.

We approached slowly and soon the flock of white ibis departed.

About this time the rain began and we hustled back to the car.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Circle B Bar Reserve

Hi All,

We completed our weekend getaway with a visit to the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland. This place is a lot like the Disney Wilderness Preserve, a restored wetland created from a former cattle ranch.

We took a one hour tram tour that gave us a good overview of the Reserve then hiked along the lake

to check out the great egrets

and to get inspected by this great blue heron.

These cypress trees hung with Spanish moss filled part of the wetland

and the numerous alligators kept lookout.

We will get home just in time to watch the Patriots.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Arts and Acrobats

Hi All,

Another weekend getaway began at the Mount Dora Arts Festival. Hundreds of vendors and millions of people!

Yet another beautiful pendant comes home with us.

Next we drove to Orlando to see the Cirque du Soleil show. All of these photos are from their web site.

Phenomenal break dancers

breathtaking aerial acts

a graceful flier with an incredible body

a trapeze act like none we have ever seen

and great clowns to match.

An extraordinary experience.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Peacocks & Pancakes

Hi All,

We did the pioneer program today then greeted friends Evalyn Campbell and Pat & Del Lewis who came to visit the settlement.

One of the peacocks was displaying but the female ignored him.

As we showed our visitors around the settlement we found another visitor. This female wolf spider is about 3 inches long!

Once we finished the Barberville program we went to Deleon Springs State Park for lunch. They have a restaurant in an old sugar mill where the tables have griddles built in. They bring you pancake batter and you cook them yourself. It was fun.

We then hiked around the park wondering at the magnificent live oaks 

and we found this manatee swimming near the spring.

Good friends and good times.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Markets & Murals

Hi All,

We started the day at the Wednesday Farmers/Flea Market at the Volusia County Fairground. We bought veggies, snacks, pickles etc. The market was enormous. 

After a great lunch at Santorini's in Deland, we walked the "Mural Tour". With a guidebook provided by the tourist bureau we checked out over a dozen murals on buildings throughout the downtown area.

Henry Deland came here and loved the place

In the 1870's, access to central Florida was by St Johns River steamboat.

This huge mural shows all of the northern tourists that wintered in the Deland area.

Florida black bears.

During WW2 the local airport was turned into Deland Naval Air Station.

Palm trees and swamps can be seen throughout the area.

Another fun day exploring the area.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502