MY QUEST...

Benny-Maintenance Manager, here at our park was telling me yesterday about a large woodpecker he has seen on one of the trees.  Today he caught me at the pool and told me it was on a nearby tree.  I saw it as soon as I left the pool area. 
        A Pileated Woodpecker!  Exciting! 
I ran home for the camera/it was gone by the time I returned, but evidence of it being there was clear.  

 Pileated Woodpeckers excavate large holes in trees, leaving the shavings, in a pile, at the bottom of the tree. There must be bugs in this tree. 

These holes are on another tree, the woodpecker is working on this one.  I will have to take my chair down there and watch for it.          Hopefully, pictures of it will soon be here!

NEW LEGO SCULPTURES AT DOWNTOWN DISNEY

We like to walk around Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island.  Our favorite place to eat is the English Pub/but this time we ventured over to The House of Blues.  We were glad we did, as the sandwiches were delicious!  
The Lego Store has been under construction all winter.  Finding it open and with new sculptures was great.  These lego structures are made overseas and shipped here.  They are huge!  Wonder why our Americans can't make these?  Sadly, it's probably cheaper to construct them and ship from over seas.  

The Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and Dopey

Hey, Josh!  Woody!

Slaying the dragon.

The family is still there/updated with hats and outfits.

"Adios Mickey ~ see you next season!"

DID YOU WATCH?

I watched the highlights.  I thought it was well done and not too elaborate.  Thought some of the hats were crazy/some were fun/some were elegant.  A "feel good" event.
       

RANDOM PICTURES

An Easter Lily that just randomly came up this week, across the street from our cottage.  Timely!

PEDRO ~ a new addition to the side of our porch where I planted my "Floridian" greenery.
My "yard art" in Florida is all metal objects.
Pedro fits right in!

Beautiful palm trees at the Vinoy Hotel, in
St. Petersburg, FL.  We went to the beach today and "visited" the Vinoy/a grand old lady.  The hotel has been "cleaned" up since the early 1990's when it was in disrepair and the homeless took up residence.
Joe and I saw it when fenced, with broken windows, campfires in the building and people sneaking around to get in.  Renovation took place; a few years later we took Grandma Cramer there to see the Vinoy she used to know.  We sat in the comfy wicker rockers on the veranda as she told us stories of how it 'used' to be in Florida years ago.
Ahhh ~ memories!

A SENIOR DAY

"Senior" moments or days can be "A good thing!"
We bought tickets to Busch Gardens when Ceci, Brian and Ciera came to visit.  It was a fun day with them at the park.  If you buy a ticket for a day/it's good for a year.  But wait--if you are a senior--it's good for 15 months!  
We can use our tickets until the middle of April 2012.  

We went to see Jack Hanna this past week, at Busch Gardens.  He had a wonderful program about strange animals.  An advocate for animals of all kinds, he was so kind signing autographs for every child (& some adults) in the audience!  

I took children on "field trips" for 31 years.
I had a great time doing it!  The kids always loved every trip we went on.
Now, it's time for my field trips!  Having always tried to teach the children about animals and nature/I now get to see professionals, preserves, nature centers, etc. when ever I can!   FUN...

JOHNNY ROCKETS

A "fast food" place to eat/labeled as a restaurant on the directory at the Millenia Mall, on Conroy Rd. in Orlando.

We 'dined' at Johnny Rockets, before making it over to the First Baptist Church Orlando. 

The waiter smiled as he made happy faces in the small dishes each person gets for their ketchup.  He prides himself in doing it upside down. He seemed to like his job/but not a skill that will get you far!

Chili Cheese Fries~Joe politely removed his hand for my picture.  Look ~upper right corner of picture, his hand is ready to ponce on those fries!

Leaving Johnny Rockets and the Millenia Mall, we found the First Baptist Church Orlando,
where we had tickets for ONE.

Those are people sitting on each side of the steps ~
they are in the choir of 150! They were fabulous!

THE LAST SUPPER

THE CRUCIFIXTION 

THE RESURRECTION

The Passion Play depicted the story we all know. 

The set was simple but your imagination and prior knowledge made it very real. The cast of 100 also made it come alive and kept your attention centered on the story being "relived" with much 'passion'.

NOTE: The First Baptist Church Orlando seats 6,600 people. The estimate was that there were 4,500 attending on Wed. evening. Wednesday was the first night of the play! We will now watch for more events at this church, very professionally produced. 

BIKE RACE IN WINTER HAVEN, FL

The race is on!
We watched the end of the first race, then the kids race (all the kids received 'gold' medals), the Pros were up next.  An 80 minute race-through the town of Winter Haven-rounded eight corners, at top speed, on a bike!

The coveted trophies/along with money! 

There were about 50 racers, ranging in age from 16 to 47.  I was cheering for the 47 year old/I didn't know any of the racers, but I figured if a 47 yr. old was racing with these young guys--good for him!

There he is - in the middle of the three.

He won!!  80 minutes of riding/turning corners/warm weather/younger competitors/and he won!
Come to find out: he was a favorite!
Guess this racer is well-known in "bike world"!