Florida

We spent several delightful days in Florida before our cruise with our friends Sally & Ange DiTomaso.  We had met them on a previous cruise and discovered that we had quite a bit in common.  They were originally from Western New York (near Rochester), where Ange had worked for Kodak and Sally had taught school.  We had also both taken the Grand Voyage in 2009, and we had met on the 2010 cruise to the UK and Norway. Since we were both taking the Voyage of the Vikings in the summer of 2011, we arranged to dine together each evening.  After the 2010 cruise, they generously invited us to spend time with them before the World Voyage.  

So we decided to fly out on New Year’s Day.  Despite threats of high winds, the flight went off without a hitch, and we took off and landed right on time, enjoying a very smooth flight all the way to West Palm Beach.  We aren’t sure if this is SOP for the captain, but he shook hands with every passenger as we left the plane, wishing us a Happy New Year.

We were kept busy the entire five days we were in Florida.  Sally had planned a variety of visits to nearby sites, giving us a great overview of the area.  On Monday we enjoyed a picnic at Jupiter Beach and where we walked along the water and took pictures of the Jupiter Lighthouse.  Our visit was dampened slightly with a quick-passing rainstorm, but it didn’t deter us from finishing what we’d set out to do.  A scenic drive past million-dollar mansions with beautiful vistas of the waterfront completed the outing.

The next day was spent visiting several wildlife centers that were reminiscent of my excursions to Wisconsin each year with my fifth grade students.  We took a nature walk right near their home in Hobe Sound and got a good idea of the local flora before exploring the indoor displays of indigenous animals, including a spotted skunk, a red-tailed hawk, and a barred owl.  After a brief stop at a newly-opened river center, we continued on to the Loggerhead Turtle Center, where we had the opportunity to learn a lot about the turtles who nest along Florida’s coast.  We watched the intravenous feeding of an injured turtle, and then saw the feeding of new addition to the center, Eggnog, the green turtle.  Our final stop was at the Busch Wildlife Center, where we saw a wide variety of Florida animals, ranging from a Florida panther to pelicans and roseate spoonbills.  It was great fun watching the feeding of the birds and seeing how the pelicans positioned the fish in their “pouches” before swallowing them.  We took the opportunity to attend a program that introduced us to a king snake, a barn owl, a skunk, an armadillo, and an alligator.  The day was full of natural wonders of Florida!

Wednesday found us traveling inland to Lake Placid, which is known for its outstanding murals.  Lake Placid’s first mural was painted in 1993, and each year more and more were added, creating a very picturesque and quaint town.  Each mural depicts some aspect of life in Lake Placid, either honoring people, historical events, and industries important to the area.  Most of the murals have items hidden in them that the viewer has to locate.  One that drew our particular attention was that of three early physicians.  One of the physicians, originally from Morris, IL, was Dr. Alfred Eide, who was of Norwegian descent!  It definitely had us wondering if he might be related in some way!   

Not only were the buildings decorated, but even the trash cans were colorfully and artfully decorated.  It was amazing to see something that basic being transformed into a work of art!  Our time spent in Lake Placid, wandering among the beautiful works of art on the buildings was really delightful!

Our last day was spent visiting two different locations.  The Florida Oceanographic Center in Stuart gave us a chance to feed the stingrays – an experience that was quite different from our stingray feeding in Moorea back in 2009.  The stingrays swam right up to us and with small sucking motions, took the fish right from our hands.  What beautiful little animals they were!  We had the chance also to visit two of the three major turtle species in Florida – green and loggerhead turtles who were being rehabbed in the center.  We also did a short nature walk and strolled through the swamp on a walkway, seeing the mangroves up close. 

One of the highlights was a visit to the Manatee Observation and Education Center.  Although one never knows if any manatees will make an appearance, our patience paid off as we were able to see a couple of manatees surfacing time after time to catch a quick breath at the surface.  In this case, the cooler weather worked to our benefit as the manatees came into the warmer inlet rather than staying out in the colder waters.  What a pleasure it was to observe these gentle giants!  

We have truly enjoyed our stay with Sally and Ange, who were wonderful hosts! Now we are looking forward to setting sail on the Amsterdam.  If you are interested and want to watch us sail away, you can check out this link and look for the ms Amsterdam (Holland America Line) on the map. Hover your mouse over the diamonds for ship names - cruise ships will be dark blue. We’ll give a wave from the ship in case you’re watching!
http://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/

Because we are working from Sally’s computer, we are unable to post pictures yet. Hopefully once we are established on the ship and hooked up to the Internet there, we’ll be able to put some pictures in.

BT