Florida's Coast-Melbourne area

May 2014

After a trip to Walt Disney World we needed a relaxing vacation :)

Bunny and I stayed a couple days in the Melbourne area.  Day 1 sit at the beach.  We shoved the umbrella in at a jaunty angle to the wind and read all day.

One day was devoted to seeing Melbourne.  First, the historic district which is not very large but has an art museum-the Foosaner which is quite nice for a city this size.  We saw Langdon Kihn, known for his portraits of Native Americans.  Indeed those were my favorites, but it was impressive that the museum was able to put together an exhibit devoted to him.

 A lovely park with a band shell by the Rotary club.

with benches-too cute

Then walk down to the residential section to learn some history

and see some old houses

Tours only on the weekend, otherwise we would have seen the interior.

 The cemetery turned out to be a highlight for me

It is missing many markers

but they have studied it.  A graduate student used radar to map underground anomalies and make a more educated map of likely graves.  Who knew!

In the afternoon we hit the downtown shopping area and ate at The Mansion-perfect!  We ate on the roof deck, but they have a to-go deli and a wide selection of wine and liquor.  I also have to recommend Karen & Friends Beads and Gifts.  Go explore and talk to the nice folks!

On the day of our flight we visited the Morse Museum which houses the largest collection of Tiffanys.  It was really impressive-I didn't quite realize the extent of his work and influence.  No photos again, so here are some of my favorites from postcards

He designed a chapel for a World's Fair and the museum has the whole thing!

There is a lot of information about the Tiffany house on Long Island and recreations within the museum.

The pottery above left is ferns (but I see octopus!), the window is parrots, fantastic to see in person.  

The Wreck by Lockwood de Forest.  

They had a couple other exhibits and one small room on artistic ink pens.  The type where you needed an ink well and you needed a steady hand to not get blotchy looking letters (remember poor Charlie Brown).  All in all a nice (air-conditioned) way to spend a couple hours in Orlando when not at the amusement park.

WDW Epcot, 9-pound lemons

May 2014

Disney World, wow did we have a wonderful time.  

I love planning trips to any Disney spot and this was quite a production.  First off, The World is a marathon-there are 4 main parks, 2 water parks and a 4 story video arcade which can each take a day.  In addition there is mini golf, regular golf, boats, canoes, fishing, bike rentals, horse riding and activities at all the resort pools.  I think it would take a month to do everything.  We cannot stay for a month :(

But we manage to do amazing things-First up for the whole group, Epcot.  I picked the park based on the early opening Magic Hour since most of us are early birds.  

Here we are on the last day when we chose to visit Epcot for a second day.  Do you see the cute stuffy?  That is Duffy the Disney Bear dressed as a garden gnome.  I think he originated in Japan but is now popping up  all over, like here in Epcot.

Not everyone in the group loves Duffy...

But everyone loves Mickey and Minnie

Epcot is a great place to meet other characters.  Near England you just might see Mary Poppins, my personal favorite.

She is just so lovely!

Although there are some thrill rides in Epcot, most of them are tame, no seat belt needed.  The favorite ride of the trip is Living With the Land.  A view towards more sustainable agriculture practice, but from the 70s.  The into show is forgettable but the tour of the working gardens are amazing.

winter melons

coconuts

banana trees

The tall purple and yellow near the back is Amaranth, something I aspire to grow in my own garden.

9-pound lemon tree! I am also wondering if I can have one of these

lettuces-we saw some being harvest the first day and on our return a few days later you can see them growing back.  Apparently these are used in the nearby restaurant.

lettuces on spinning racks-though I'm still not sure what the spinning does

eggplant

brussel sprouts

Most of the parks have a sort of an organized scavenger hunt.  Because of the recent movie, Epcot had a Muppets themed one that we did.  You get the book and go to the indicated countries and hunt down the item.  In Italy we had to go into a store to find the extremely rare 'Gonzo mask' hidden among the traditional Venetian masks and then type in the code you got from Germany to get your sticker.  It was a big hit with our group. 

The materials are super cute-nicely done!

Another favorite ride was Spaceship Earth inside the golf ball.  You see the history of humankind and then answer questions about yourself to get a 'personalized' message about your future.

After the ride they have some interactive "educational" games.

Much of Epcot is about other countries and on this trip I saw more of their shows than ever before.  The personality actually comes through-France is all about classical music and castles, China invokes an ancient poet to show you the scenic countryside and Canada's Martin Short gives a light-hearted look at the country and people.  Many of the films haven't been updated in decades, but still.

Canada-all about natural wonders

Germany showcases a miniature railroad

And there are even some animals

an aquarium boasts this lovely hippo

an outside pond host flamingos.

Thanks Epcot!

Birthday Game day

Happy Birthday to John and John!

Nothing Bundt Cake makes delicious, moist cakes.

Finally used up the UV Cake vodka (thanks Ed!) with jello shots.

Fun Game Day!  The epic game of the day-Merchant of Venus

It is so epic that only 15/30 rounds were played.  I only got to play the start of the game, but I love it so!  Who doesn't want to transport immortal grease across the galaxy?

We started the day with a round of Mama Mia-the pizza making game!  This is THE game to take when travelling through Italy.

 Ah, have you played Falling?  The goal is to hit the ground last.  It is not really for everyone, but it goes fast.

Oh!  We rediscovered Galaxy Trucker!  Still working out the house rules on the timer for maximum fun, but building a ship you hope will carry you through pirates and meteors is big fun and fast paced.

Part of the birthday celebration was new games from Game Kastle-yeah!

Also very fast is We Didn't Playtest This.  Definitely most hilarious game of the day.  Vroom Vroom noises and bananas are par for the course.  I'll be interested to see how replayable it is, but at this price it really doesn't matter.

Five Crowns is a nice variation of rummy and it has a solitaire variant.  From the makers of Set which we also played at the end of the night-brain hurts!

 Murder of Crows is quick attack and defend game lightly themed around murder-every story will be different, and slightly silly.  

And the latest puzzle-I love this one so much I probably redo it once a year!  It is the Tiki Room by Shag-such fun art.