A great Day for The Manatees

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Beautiful Weather for a Swim with Manatees

Manatee Face

Today’s the day I’ll swim with the Manatees. That is if I can find the tour group.  I’m up before dawn. Pick up time is 7:30 but I’m not sure where. I have an address but no internet. Google maps gave me directions on a map but then told me they couldn’t help any more because my phone was off line. I propped my phone where I could see the map, crossed my fingers and headed out in the dark. Walgreen’s was the only landmark. When after 30 minutes I had not found Walgreen’s I turned around.

Entry at Mainegate Lakeside Resort Ah The Miracle of Technology

As the sunrise turned the sky a gorgeous red my cell phone blinked on and google maps decided to cooperate. I managed to get headed in the right direction before it went off line again. I passed my resort and kept on going. Just as I reached the intersection of RT 192 it popped on again telling me to “take a left”. 2 blocks farther and there was Walgreen’s and my phone started yelling for me to turn right, turn right! Sure enough there was the resort, Maingate Lakeside Resort. My pickup location! It only took me 1 hr and 15 minutes to find it. It was really only 10 minutes from my resort, The Mystic Dunes.  I guess you could say I took the long way around!

My Fellow PassengersOur tour bus

I was the first to arrive but right behind me was a family of 4 from England. We chatted a bit until a big blue bus with Florida Dolphin Tours written on the side pulled up. Our ride was here. We piled in still chatting about England and America and travel in general. We stopped at several more resorts adding passengers until the bus was full, At that point our guide, Madeline, did a head count and handed out our breakfasts. Not bad for fast food. It quickly became clear that Madeline and I were the only American’s. We had the British Invasion on our bus. One fellow quickly advised us he was the exception. He was from Wales!

Greetings from Sunny Orlando

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Sunny and 80’s is the word of the day.

Orlando is sunny and hot! A typical Florida experience. I want to thank everyone who has been checking in regularly even though I haven’t been able to post anything. It’s great to see you dropped by.

No phone No Internet

I’ve been out of touch because my resort was without phone or internet. Cell phone service was spotty at best. When I checked in the lobby had a huge hole in the ceiling, no A/C and huge fans going. The poor desk clerks were seated at folding tables with lap tops to process the guests. Half of the resort was without any power but my unit had everything except phone, cable and wifi so no Facebook or Aroundustyroads updates and no TV at night. I guess I can handle that.

HangglidingAll Thanks to Hurricane Irma

I picked Joe up at his work so he had a chance to see the resort. By the time I got settled in it was getting dark out so I didn’t have a chance to really survey the damage. Joe said some of the rides and attractions at Disney were still closed. They had a lot of trees down. We had planned to enjoy the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort but due to the property damage from Irma it was canceled. Instead Joe managed to get Fastpasses for Soarin’ at Epcot. I loved the old ride but its changed now. Today you go Soarin‘ the world. Fantastic! I highly recommend this ride. I could go over and over if only they let me!

Loved the Show Skip the Food

Soarin’ was as great as I remembered. There were breaching whales and Polar bears! A calving glacier and shifting sand with camels and Pyramids. Look quick! It’s the Eiffel Tower all a-light! Around the world we go! After the ride it was definitely time to eat. It was almost 9 pm! There’s a food court right there where the ride is located. Since it was raining that seemed like the best option.  I was very disappointed in both the food choices and finally the food. I can’t recommend the food here but I can recommend the ride.

 

Yes I’m still Florida Bound

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Heading to Florida In Spite of Irma

I’m Florida Bound after all. I really thought my trip would be cancelled not just postponed. I had this nightmare vision of lounging at the pool while  all around me work went on to repair the hurricane damage. I’m feeling guilty before I even get there! But several things came into play in my decision. The first thing is an all day tour to swim with Manatees.

The Manatees are still at Crystal Springs

manatee and snorkeler

I called the tour first. A very pleasant young woman assured me that the damage wasn’t that bad. They were still running the tours. She promised I would have a great time. She said around Central Florida it was just like a bad rainstorm. The winds weren’t that bad and the biggest gusts were only about 70 mph. She said getting the tourist dollar back into the state was really important too. She was very convincing. Besides I really want to see these gentle giants up close and personal.

Diamond Resort Logo

We Love To Say YES!

Next Call, the Marketing Department of my Resort

My trip was a promotional trip. I had tried to cancel it before but would have incurred huge fees to do so. I was pleasantly surprised when the marketing rep immediately agreed to reschedule. The only problem, he didn’t have anyone to do my “update” (aka sales pitch). Finally he suggested I call another department to see if I could use my points to get a resort. That call went very well. So many people were canceling that they had tons of rooms available. Once more I heard how getting the tourists back was a real necessity. He set me up with another 4 day block. I called back the marketing department and they canceled that trip and agreed to refund my $150.00!

Delta, can you help me?delta airlines

I held my breath as I called Delta Airlines but I shouldn’t have worried. I got a former “Tauntonite”. We compared notes on the changes in Southeastern MA and Logan vs T.F. Green before we tackled the reason for my call. I had a non-refundable ticket that I needed to change. To my pleasant surprise she immediately offered me a new itinerary that worked perfectly with my new dates. Even better she gave me the hurricane waiver so there were no charges or penalties for making the change.

All the little details

Now that the big things were done all of the little details began to fall into place from rental car to pet sitter.

Rocky my cat

 

To have all of this work out this easily must mean I am meant to take this trip. Can’t wait to see the Manatees!

We Cannot Forget 9/11

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We will not forget 9/11

We cannot and will not forget 9/11. 16 years ago the US experienced the worse terrorist attach on our soil in history. Today we face threats from both inside and outside our borders. We should never let this tragedy be forgotten. We should take it as a lesson. The world needs to stop these battles. We can’t go on hating because of  color,  religion, where you live or whether you are rich or poor.

Global Warming or Fake News

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Is Global Warming real?

If you ask President Trump, Global Warming isn’t real, It’s FAKE NEWS! But if global warming is fake, why are we getting so many major hurricanes? Hurricanes gain strength and grow from the warm water of the Caribbean. When they pass over cooler water they loose energy. “The U.S. has never been hit, since we started collecting records in 1851, by two Category 4 or stronger hurricanes in the same season.” Jeff Masters

It looks like that is about to change. Hurricane Harvey just left Texas and now Irma is about to make landfall in Florida.

What’s causing these “Storms of the Century”

It’s a bit confusing actually. When we have an El Nino  year extremely warm temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, push strong winds into the Atlantic, creating high levels of wind shear that stops hurricanes. In a La Nina year the opposite happens.  Pacific sea temperatures reverse and cool which tends to drive hurricanes. But here’s the thing (there’s always a thing), this year is neutral! It’s neither El Nino or LA Nina.

hurricane Andrew

2005 was Neutral too

In 2005 the conditions were much like they are this year. Think back. We had  hurricanes Rita (Cat 3) , Wilma (cat 4) and of course Katrina, (cat 5).  Katrina was like Harvey in that much of the damage was due to flooding. In the case of Katrina levees failed but Harvey stalled and rained and rained and rained!

Why I Believe in Global Warming

I’ve heard all of the arguments about the weather being cyclical and I agree. But I do believe that the water is warmer so storms are more extreme when they happen. Something is making the oceans warmer. Something is making the ice caps melt which is making the earth warmer. I’m not a scientist but I’m sure all of our human polution can’t be helping the situation.