The Legacy Trail....The Train Depot....a Magic Shop and Gelato

2014 has had a great start. Denny bought a new Townie bike and we've been trying get in some good rides. We saw these guys in our neighborhood....

....last weekend we rode about 22 miles on The Legacy Trail. This is a "rails to trails" path and it's wonderful . It goes from Sarasota to Venice. It was finally a warm and sunny day and we took off. We found a new place to park and off we went. The trail was really crowded but the real problem was the wind. Peddling against the wind was a PAIN....I was glad to see the restaurant. I had a wonderful Lobster Roll and enjoyed sitting in the sun. It's been rather chilly and gloomy here in south FL. We have managed 2 good days on the beach and a nice walk across the big bridge that leads to St. Armands Circle...but it was great to get out on our bikes.

Here's a few friends we met along the way......

He crossed the trail right in front of me...he was about 4' long and big around in the middle..YUCK

Yesterday we went on an outing with some church friends to the Old Venice Train Depot. We'd been here before but it was nice to hear more of the history. The depot is the end of The Legacy Trail so sometimes we start here and get on a different trail or sometimes we end here....it's a great place. All because of one man having a vision to build the city of Venice the train and the depot came to be. Many people used the train through the years including The Army and Ringling & Barnum & Bailey Circus. Venice was the winter home for the circus. This little depot has much history.

 

These posters give some history of the depot.

 

 

This is a picture of the engine from the train.....

 

Here is the sign that hung outside to welcome the train and travelers

 

The old caboose is the only train car left and it is now partial office and partial display

The Railroad used to put "sayings" on the cars to encourage the men to be safe

Inside the caboose....

 

At one point it was decided that there should be 2 circuses...to make more money. This created the need for an animal trainer...they went to Europe to find a good one. He stayed with the circus many years and his son and grandson still live in Venice. This life size statue of him is at the depot.

 

 

It was a fun but chilly day. Then we had lunch at a great little French place....then off to the Magic shop. The owner was a Magician in NY for many years. He did a few tricks for us...very good. He does nightly shows and they are probably very good. We bought a few things and headed for the Gelato shop. It was wonderful. If you are in the Venice, FL area it would be worth your time to visit Ciao Gelato....

Thanks ladies that was the perfect end to a great day.

I have a holiday weekend coming....wonder what we'll find to do!! 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas...2013

Whew...this will be my last 2013 blog catch up....I think a 2014 resolution should be to do a better job of keeping my blog caught up.....u think???

Christmas was in Atlanta at my Mom's....Denny and I flew in on Saturday before Christmas. As soon as we got off the plane we went to the Delta Holiday Military Lounge....Delta has had this lounge open for 40+ yrs. I got very involved about 4yrs ago and it's become something my family helps with now. They count on baked goods from the folks and volunteers to help staff and get the word out.

.

This is inside of the lounge. It's a converted conf room across from Gate B33. There's food, TV, free  wi-fi, kid stuff and a great place for the men and women and their families to relax. We took a sign advertising the lounge and a basket of goodies and walked the other concourses letting folks know to come visit. It was a great way to give back a little.

 

After this we zoomed to Mom's...changed clothes and went to dinner with good friends Kathy and Karen. We went to The Hil in Serenbe and then to a musical review "Naughty or Nice" that was down at The Farmhouse, also in Serenbe. It was a very nice evening.

I took 2 weeks off work so it was a great to not have to get up and work.....woohoo!!!!

 

Was good to attend Southwest Christian Church...our home church when in ATL. Always nice to see the folks there. It was a bad weather day and a nice day to stay home. Niece and nephew Ashley and Chad came down for the annual cookie making with Grandma, so Denny and I helped around the edges, but tried to stay out of the kitchen elves way.

On Monday I got the call I'd been waiting on that there was a family in the church that needed some Christmas help....2 girls and a Mom...so I started shopping. Then we go 2 teenage boys added to the list, so we were busy. Was 2 days till Christmas and we had to buy and wrap and have it ready by Christmas Eve...with lots of help we got it done and delivered ....was so nice to know that maybe we made a difference for these families.

While out shopping I saw these bumper stickers....cracked me up!!

Not sure why my pics are so blurry, these say....

"Sarcasm...the bodies natural defense against stupid"

and

"A clean house is a sign of a wasted life"

Gave me a chuckle for the day!!!

 

 

Our family Christmas day was great....all of us were al Mom's...that means 20 of us...and 4 of those are 4 little boys where the oldest is 3!!!! Can u say BUSY!!! But FUN!!! We had a blast.

Dylan got to spend the night and the next morning we had some fun before having to give him back to his Mommy.

Great-Grandma..Muma got to read a little...Dylan loves books

 

 

After taking Dylan to his Mommy we had some chill time at Mother's. The next day Mom and I agreed to keep all 4 little boys so the big kids could shop and do big kid stuff. Mom had fun at lunch time with the twins Witt and Jase....such sweet little boys.

 

We were whopped, but we had fun. The next day on Saturday it was time to head back to FL....we came back to sun and warm....it was nice to see palm trees!!!

Went to a new place for dinner with neighbor Bob .....Monk's....great seafood, raw oysters...YUM. Had a great time...thanks Bob!!

New Years was quiet...just the way we like it. We always stay home for New Year's...Denny says ew Year's Eve is "amateur" night...so we like to stay home where it's safe. We'd gotten some great lobster tails at Costco...added a steak to split and some asparagus and we were set. We played Monopoly that day and had a nice day evening. We brought in 2014 on the couch....it was great.

New Year's Day was quiet ...pork and sauerkraut in the crock pot and football.....and I was busy learning a new PC that has Windows 8.1 on it....WOW it's different, but I'm getting there.

 

So long 2013....I'm looking forward to 2014!!!!!

 

 

 

Disney.....that's all I need to say

Why is it that the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to fly by. You always have way more than you can do, and it seems less time to do it in. We came back to FL to warmth and Disney. I had a condo in Orlando for a week at the beginning of December. If you love Disney and you love Christmas, you MUST see them collide...it's amazing. My mother and 2 sisters, 1 niece and her son all piled into a 3br condo for 4 nights...it was wonderful. We went to EPCOT...Animal Kingdom and Sea World.....what a fantastic time. There is just no way to describe the decorations .....Disney does everything top notch.  We started at Downtown Disney...had some dinner and a little fun.

Aunt Shea-Shea and Quinton ride the carousel....

 

The next day was EPCOT.....we saw shows, rode everything we could and saw the fireworks that night, it was a wonderful day and evening. Some of the group went back to the condo for a mid-afternoon rest but Shea and I walked over to The Boardwalk, had some lunch and did a little shopping. We got some cool Christmas gifts and we finally went into the USA pavilion to see the show. It was wonderful...they had carolers for entertainment in the lobby, but the movie you go upstairs to see is wonderful. The animated people on stage looked so real, the way they moved and their expressions were so real. Disney is just amazing. The others rejoined us in the early evening and it was time for some dinner and French pastries. Oh my they were good. After the fireworks show, it was time for a shower and bed.

Sunday was Animal Kingdom....we had been told to go early and go straight to the Jungle ride because the animals are out in the mornings...so that's exactly what we did and the animals were out. Britt had never been to Animal Kingdom and she had about as much fun as Q.

Look Q...there's the rhino and giraffe.....cool

 

Next came the lions....and zebras....can you see the lion on top of the rock

 

We'd had a great start to a wonderful day. Britt was dying to go ride Mt. Everest...so off we went. The others took Q to a petting zoo area...we had a blast and screamed like kids. We met the others in an area that has kid rides where Q could ride some things. Then it was time for a bird show....was pretty amazing.

 

The birds were beautiful and very well trained. After a bit more walking we decided to call it a day. We went back to Downtown Disney and had dinner at T-Rex....very cool. It's a lot like The Rainforest, but it's all about dinosaurs....very cool. Dinner was great....then we walked a bit...and no trip to Downtown Disney is complete without a stop at Ghiradeli for some ice cream....YUM-OH!!  Tomorrow Sea World....time for a shower and bed....

 

It had been many years since I'd been to Sea World so I was very anxious. The highlight for me was feeding the dolphins...I bought 5 fish and got to feed them...it was waaay cool. I've always wanted to swim the dolphins, now I'm sold...I will do that one day very soon. The first show we saw was the seal and walrus....they were great.

 It was a really good show. By today it was getting really warm, we were sorry we had to sit in the sun for the show, but it was still well worth it.  Next was some walking and just looking. They too were well decorated for Christmas....very nice. Britt and Shea and I rode the log ride...aka the ride where you get really wet...and we did. It was fun, but we did get wet. This is when you are glad it's hot. We stopped a few times to eat and drink...was a nice slow day.
The penguin ride and viewing was fantastic...

The crowd was small so we had a really nice day. Mom and Shea and I went to see The Polar Express ride....well done....and as you leave this ride you get to see white Buluga Whales....he was playing with a ball....

 

Our last stop was the Shamu Show....amazing...there were 5 or 6 whales and it was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time.

 

My pictures are not very good, but the show was amazing. We headed for home and were really happy to order pizza. Britt, Deb and Q left the next day and Mom and Shea and I had a slow day. We did some shopping and had a really nice lunch. Then they left and I was alone for 1 night....Denny came the next day and we had 2 nights. Wed night we met Denny's grandson Joseph and his girlfriend Courtney for dinner, it was a lovely evening and was very nice to meet Courtney. The next day we took it slow....got some breakfast and then made our way over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Sometimes you can see the animals up close and I wanted to see the lodge all decorated. Well....nothing disappointed....the lodge was gorgeous and we got some great pictures of a giraffe. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Talk about limber!!!!

 

Now it was time to ride the Monorail and see the hotels decorations...so we parked and The Polynesian and jumped on the monorail.....The Grand Floridian is wonderful. They not only have the 2-story Ginger bread house, they have a jazz band playing all the time....it's just wonderful and very festive......

After buying, and eating some gingerbread "shingles"....we headed for The Contemporary....it was not as decorated as the others...but I loved this HUGE set of lit up mouse ears on the big glass window/wall....

 

 

Now it was time to go get some dinner and head home...but it had been a wonderful day. Not far from the condo was a Brazilian steak restaurant...we'd never been so we decided to give it a try.....not bad.

Tomorrow we have to head back home, but what a great week.

We came home by way of Solomon's Castle....a very unique place. One mane turned his hobbies into a home....a must see if you are in the area....

 

What a great way to get in the Christmas spirit.....Christmas at Disney.....as Q would say...

AMAHHHHHHZING!!!!

 

  

 

 

 

Thanksgiving...2013

Ok...so I'm a little behind on posting...but better late than never!!! right???

We headed to ATL on Saturday before Thanksgiving...and it was good to get home for a while. Home is always where Mom is... :)......The house was looking and smelling like the holidays.

The next day after church Denny and I headed down to Callaway Gardens. We were staying for the night. We had an overnite package in a cabin that included breakfast and a Jolly Trolley ride through the Christmas lights. Around 6p 9 more family members came down to ride the trolley and enjoy the evening. It was COLD and we were very glad we had some "special recipe" hot chocolate. Yum.... The ride was wonderful and the lights were beautiful...it was a great start to the holiday season.

Everyone else left  around 9p and we headed back to the cabin...we lite the fire and had a wonderful evening. The next morning we went to the lodge for breakfast. It's served buffet style and was ok. Honestly, the breakfast we had several yrs ago when we did this was much better, but this was not bad. Then we had the rest of the day at Callaway to explore and do whatever we wanted. It was a bit chilly for biking so we rode around and saw some things, and then headed to see the animal show. It was really neat. It was outside, but the sun was out and we were dressed warm so we were ok.

Here's a few pictures of the "birds of prey" show.

In flight, heading to the trainer standing in the back

 

 

I got some good pictures of the Owl as the trainer walked past me

 

 

 

It was a wonderful show even if it was chilly. We drove around a bit more and headed for Mom's. Only 2 days until Thanksgiving and there was much to do.

 

Cousin Bill and his wife Debbie and their 2 girls, Jessica and Alyssa always drive up from FL for Thanksgiving and they arrived on Wed. Holidays are all about family...and actually we were missing a few this year that had to go in other directions, but we still had almost 20.....it was a great day.

A few of us went out that night for our annual shopping.....let the madness begin.

 

It was a great Thanksgiving with all the trimmings. Bring on the Christmas music....