On Thursday (Feb 16) we said goodbye to Wendy and Dan and started on our trip towards home. We first stopped at Manatee Park, a local, Lee County park not far from Wendy and Dan’s house (and right next door to where Wendy works). It is a warm water refuge for Manatees. There is a power plant that discharges warm water here and Manatees come up this canal when the Gulf waters are colder. We had been here a couple…
One thing we knew we wanted to do in Florida was to see the Everglades and take a ride on an Airboat. Wendy said they were very loud and didn’t want to go. There are literally hundreds of Airboat tours all through Southern Florida. We found one with good reviews, and they advertised a “quiet ride”. The Quiet comes from having headphones and microphones so you can hear and talk to the captain and everyone else on the boat. So,…
We had a limited amount of time in the Fort Myers area, and we weren’t sure what we should see. One of the most popular places to visit there is the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. So, on Tuesday we went there with our friends, Wendy and Dan. This 20 acre historical museum is the site of Thomas Edison’s winter home built in 1886, including his laboratory, gardens, museum of his inventions, and Henry Ford’s winter home built in 1915.There…
For a few days, we stayed with our friends, Wendy and Dan, near Fort Myers. Wendy and Lenore have been friends since elementary school and don’t see each other nearly enough. They live in a small town just outside of Fort Myers on the Caloosahatchee river with their dog, Bosco, and their 6 cats. They enjoy sailing and have a canal behind their house where they keep their boats. Wendy had a few days off from her job as an…
On Monday, we left Orlando and headed south. We stopped in Lake Wales, which is in the center of the state. First, we went to the Florida’s Natural Visitors Center. They have displays and a film about all the aspects of Florida Natural juices: their history, horticulture, packaging, and how the weather impacts that area and the fruit trees. Outside, there are many varieties of fruit trees to view. Then we went on to Bok Tower Gardens. It is also…
After packing up at Hamcation, and stopping for dinner, we went for a ride on The Orlando Eye. It is a huge lit up 400 ft high Observation Wheel in Orlando located in the I-drive 360 entertainment complex on International Drive not far from Universal Studios. The complex also has a Madame Tussaud’s Musuem, Sea Life Aquarium, Skeletons: Animals Unveiled, and many restaurants, clubs, and shops. Combination tickets are available for the main attractions, but we only had time for…
The reason we came to Florida is HamCation. It is a 3 day Amateur Radio Convention at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando. It is the second largest Amateur Radio Event in North America (Dayton Hamvention in May is the largest). This one is run by the Orlando Amatuer Radio Club, the oldest and largest Radio Club in Florida. John has a small side business selling Amateur Radio Accessories and is a commercial exhibitor. He goes to many smaller events…
The first day was a long day. We have a trailer and the tolls for a car and trailer are quite high on the NJ Turnpike. So I planned an alternate route which worked out quite well.We are in Orlando after driving for 2 days to get here. We left Shelton, CT about 5am, went through Westchester County, NY, over the Tappan Zee Bridge, then down into NJ. From there we went across NJ and Pennsylvania to Harrisburg, down through…
We are set to leave very early tomorrow, Feb 7th. For the past few days, the forecast was for icy conditions through rush hour, not only here in Connecticut, but through New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well. So, our alternate plan was to leave this afternoon, drive a few hours into Maryland, where it will be warmer, stay the night, then continue on. But the forecast has now changed to just rain everywhere we wiil be driving, so back to…