THE GREAT DISNEYWORLD ADVENTURE 2008

The entrance to Disney World. After a little boat ride over we arrived here...then headed inside to let the adventure begin...Makes you feel like a kid all over again. The memories just come rushing back. Seeing the castle. Then seeing Mickey and Minnie roaming around...I loved it. We watched to fireworks display from the courtyard just in front of the castle that night. If you can imagine just what you see on the TV but times it by 100. It is AMAZING to see it all happeing right before your eyes. Then to see all the kids around you with the look of wonderment!!!!!!!!!!!!Just the coolest thing....
Adventure Land. We went on the Pirate of the Carribean ride,
and Magic Mountain roller coaster in Frontierland....
And a Jungle tour...........

We also went on a number of other rides that day...including Space Mountain. Which was a rough and bumpy ride...I remember my mom on this ride in California, back when I was younger. It hasn't changed Mom....still twisty and turny and dark and bumpy!!!! LOL

SOUTH BOUND AGAIN

We decided that we had gone too far north...lol. Actually, we went for a drive south the other day and found a awesome area south of Pine Island that is so beautiful. The area is called Naples Florida and also a area called Marco Island.
Here is a pic of a gorgeous home in Marco Island...nothing to shake a stick at hey?
In Naples there is a awesome street called 5th ave where you can find lovely things for men and women and kids as well. The architecture has a spanish influence and there are great places to eat on the ave as well.
We found an amazing RV resort called Pelican Lake. It is actually a motorcoach resort that allows only Class A motorhomes with a minimum lenght of 32 feet. We got very spoiled here. As you can see, the streets are all paved with super large lots that are lanscaped just perfectly so you didnt see your neighbors at all. This is a pic of the lake itself...

And this is our sight...notice the cassitta. Each lot had one that the owner could put in a bathroom/shower facility, laundry room or storage area. They had some great ones. So much so, that they have tours of the cassittas. Funny!
Here is the veiw from our side of the street.
They also had some very fun "golf carts" at this resort. I have never seen any built like this...here are some samples. I actually saw one that looked like a miniature Cadillac Escalade! Made me think of my friend, Dana.

Dont they look great!
Marco Island itself is a tiny spot filled with high end hotels and resorts...as well as gorgeous homes. A very desireable destination, mainly because the island is surrounded by white sand beaches...and the Gulf of Mexico as its main body of water. Warm gentle waters and soft winds. Very easy to relax here...

Like most touristy spots, they have great restaurants to serve the customer base. We had a couple of lunches here (Snooks Inn) It sits on the "Marco River" so you can enjoy a great meal and watch as boats cruise up and down the river, or dock right at the restaurant. They also have live music every day from 3 pm on. Lots of fun.

We left the east coast and headed west over on Highway 41 through the Everglades...seeing over 100 alligators lounging in the canals along side the roadway....We have a great view from the motorhome because we are sitting up higher than in a car, truck or bike...
We headed to a RV park just north (aghhh very hard to do after travelling south for so long...lol) of Naples, FL
Just outside of Ft. Myers Florida is a couple of Islands called Big Pine and Little Pine Island. They join up via a couple of bridges. On the big island, there is a old fishing village that is called Matlacha...the little town has some great restaurants and wonderful art stores....
Come enjoy our day with us........................

The waterways of Florida

Our lunch stop...on the ocean and very cute. Notice the outside patio. We sat inside and enjoyed a very pretty view. And a great waitress.
Daniel ordered the soft shell crab sandwich....coming from the west coast this is very cute to see... and it was tastey as well.
Upclose and graphic...lol
The shops in Matlachay...how fun are these buildings???? Makes me think of sunshine and warm beaches.
This one is for Sue...my friend who does really great mosaic stuff...Sue, this is on a brick...neat idea hey?

A old painted window for sale in a art store....do you think Jimmy Buffet had anything to do with this artists thoughts?????

And finally, Daniel found his market on the main street...lol

MEXICAN WEDDING and YA YA (partial) REUNION

So, I headed for Mexico on the 19th of January for a lovely couples wedding.
This is Lisa and Jayson (now Sinnott) They had everyone that they wanted to share their wedding with come and join them in Akumal, Mexico for their big day on the 21st of January.
As you can see, the bride and groom looked wonderful.
And after it was all said and done, they had even bigger smiles for all of us.
The service was very nice (I, our course, cried) and it was also quick. Which is good for me as well...lol.
The food that they had arranged was wonderful...ceviche, soup, a choice of entrees, and of course wedding cake.
Then, there was time to relax.....


Have some good food. This is seafood paella made at the pool...

A few drinks with friends....lol......Jack and a fellow from Duncan, BC...lol
And, a little music to enjoy the time with..........
A good time to see my friends again...Nicole and Kevin.........
Julie and Joe...(and I got to see wee Julie too!)The Goodmans, Jack and Gayle

So for those who know....it was a miniature Ya Ya reunion...Julie, Nicole, Gayle and Shannon YA YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The beautiful blue oceans of MexicoThe Ya Ya's with the bride and groom...so wonderful. And so magical there in Mexico.We also got to celebrate Gayle's and Jessica's (Stephens sweet gal) birthday...nice cake that Nicole and Julie had arranged
Then, a day trip to Cozumel...very fun. Shopping, frozen margarita's, scooter rentals, drinks on the east coast of Cozumel...great time with everyone...scooting around Cozumel....

Another way to get around Cozumel....

Time for a update...its been awhile

OUR EVERGLADES AIRBOAT TOUR...with Captain Doug Brown...a man raised in the Everglades. He is one of those folks that actually had a peice of "florida swampland". He showed us where he had a home and dock and a really great piece of "land" on one of the "hammocks" in the everglades...very cool fella This is a airboat that we came across on our over 2 hour journey through the hammocks, sawgrass (very tall blades of sharp grass, careful now folks), and swamp. It is actually not swamp but a fresh water waterway that flows from Lake Okeechobee. This is truley the slow rolling river, it only moves 300 meters aday. Flowing out into the ocean. The Gulf of Mexico and then divided by the Florida Keys, the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
As you can see, this boat holds a ton of folks, but ours was built for 4 but it was a private tour with the two of us and Capt. Doug.... a smaller boat but lots of fun.
A glimpse of the speed that you can get out of this little boat...and this was only cruising along. Interesting, coming from Vancouver Island, that you are only skimmin the top of the water on this aluminum flat bottomed boat. The engine is a Cadillac 400 ci engine with fiberglass props (5 of them) GIDDE' UP!!!!!
Our first encounter...see him on the right side of the photo???? He is resting on the sawgrass, sunning himself
A better shot for you all.

The view off the front of our airboat....they have these "roadways" that you travel down. You don't have to use them with the airboats though. They skim on top of the water. Not anything like at home where you have to plow through the water....We saw tons of different birds, but the pics are not great. Sorry....but check this out.
Look very closely...do you see the littel guy on the left side of the pic???? You can right click on this picture and get it larger. I think you will love it. Especially those with kids... we actually saw about 40 of these little babies at this one spot. They hide in the sawgrass and try to diguise themselfes on fallen branches in the water. If you look in the center of the pic once you enlarge it, you will see at least 3 more...VERY COOL

Interesting facts, mama alligators will have about 40 babies, and by the time that they are around 1 1/2 years of age, they will be able to survive to adulthood. From a family of roughly 40, only 3 or 4 will make it. Their demise is not always just the elements but...this is a kid show as well so, I will leave it at that.

Then, there is this fella....I think they called him crockzilla or something crazy like that...a REALLY big guy...and they can run pretty fast too. "See ya" I am out of there
Doesnt this guy look like a colorfull roadrunner? They are kinda like our west coast seagulls, very bold and looking for something to eat. Not shy at all....prettier than our seagulls though.Oh, and then, of course, I drove the airboat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Did someone say that they wanted to buy some swampland in Florida???????????????

MEXICO...

Off to Mexico tomorow......
More on the return....
I have to tell you about our AMAZING airboat tour through the Everglades.........
FANTASTIC
talk with you soon

A REALLY REALLY REALLY BIG AVOCADO

We found a great market about 15 minutes from where we are in Florida City...it is owned, managed and run by a group of Mennonites. They have u pick strawberries and tomatoes. As well as a variety of other absolutely wonderful tasting fruit and veg. And all of their stuff comes very nicely cleaned and packaged

Here is a "little sample of a medium sized avocado I picked up yesterday. Softball anyone?

I put it in a bowl with some lemons and limes that are also very abundant and inexpensive here...I dont think you can see the ruler but the avocado measures about 5.5 inches in height...

It only cost $1.00
And, they taste soooooo wonderfull