File This Under Life Goes On

I apologize in advance to those of you who follow us on Facebook.  Some of this will be a repeat, but for those of you who don't....

On the day my mom died

Some of my mom's proudest moments, that she spoke of all her life, were guiding canoe trips as a young Girl Scout leader, leading young girls from what was then St. Rose Orphanage, on canoe trips. This was long before she got married and had a family of her own. Seems fitting that today all things came together for me to be in a canoe for the first time in 40+ years.

We're loving this campground on the Chassahowitzka River and after spending 2 days driving around looking at other nearby RV parks, we were lucky to snag a site for another 2 weeks.  So on Monday we'll move 20 yards to a different site, but basically we're staying put.  Best travel day ever!   This will be nice for Robin as I fly home from Tampa for my mom's funeral next week.  Since we're staying so long, we feel like we should go to the campground Superbowl party on Sunday.  This will be the first time we formally socialize at a RV park.  We're to bring a "covered dish to pass".  We're still debating what that will be.

Time to wrap up the Disney experience.  We agreed that some of the dazzle is off the castle.  Fewer of the cast members are outstanding.  The technology troubles with their new wristband system are frustrating.  One day, 2 of our 3 FastPass+ rides were inoperable when we got to them and contradictory instructions from cast members and long lines made the situation worse.  The restrooms are not necessarily spotless all the time.  Campground wireless requires getting on a waiting list to borrow a modem and coaxial cable from campground.  The truth is, all of our expectations for Disney are so high, impossibly high, that we may be doomed to disappointment.  What would be considered a really good experience at Great America is not good enough at Disney.  And it's really expensive, which makes the little issues rankle even more.

Nonetheless, it's still a lot of fun with experiences you can't have anywhere else and 97.325%  of the time it is as perfect as you expect.  Animal Kingdom was fantastic.  Epcot has great food, fireworks and charm.

Epcot ibis with Italy in the background

Epcot fireworks show

Magic Kingdom had most of our frustrations but then it's the most kid-focused and all the kids who weren't crying with exhaustion seemed perfectly happy.

Gourmet Magic Kingdom lunch-see I can do food photos too!

So yes, you should go to Disney World and take your kids of all ages.  You will have fun, you will have stories and you will spend a lot of money.  Don't worry about that, just lower your expectations a bit, go and enjoy.

Now we're back in the Nature Coast area of Florida and we're enjoying the wildlife and the setting.  Yesterday air temps were in the 40s and it was damp and rainy.  We went down to the dock to watch the mist rise from the 72 deg spring water and saw easily a dozen manatees in the water just off the dock staying warm.  It was amazing and so peaceful.  Bird life abounds and even the abundant vultures are fun to watch.  

Yes, there are manatees in the water

Red-bellied Woodpecker

So that's all for now.  We'll have a total of 3 weeks here before we leave.  Yippee for long stays!