A Disney Success Story in July

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As part of the vacation we ventured to the Magic Kingdom to spend quality time together and with Mickey Mouse and his friends.  

A day at Disney in July? Yup. Crazy. But, as it turned out it was a good decision. 

The day was mostly overcast with  about an hourlong rainstorm in the middle of the day. Why was this good?  It meant we did not bake in the sun! The temperatures were more than moderate. No sunburn, no stifling July heat. Sweet. 

We also had a good plan. Four rides during the first hour and smart use of the fast pass system for the rest of the day. No hurry.  We opened the park and left after the fireworks. 

Ready for Thunder Mountain Railroad

Was it a long day? You bet!

Was it fun? Yup!

Hear are some random thoughts:

Get there early and plan to stay late

Sit down for dinner

Don't wear a watch, that way what time it is or how long something took doesn't matter. I got on Disney time and the day flew by. 

Thunder Mountain railroad has been slowed down and is no longer a thrill ride. 

It's a Small World is as bad as I remember. 

Beating the Rain

Don't let a little rain dampen your spirits. 

The new Be Our Guest lunch and the Beast's Castle are must do's. 

Don't do souvenir shopping at the end of the day when everyone else is doing it. 

Don't do souvenir shopping during the day so that you have to carry stuff around. 

There is no good time for souvenir shopping.  

The transportation to and from the parking lots needs work. Especially when everyone is leaving. 

There were a lot more cast members yelling at me to move along than i remember, especially in some of the attractions. 

You Will Get Wet

You will get wet on Splash Mountain, get over it. 

The  Magic Kingdom is a lot more fun with my grandsons than i remember it being with my kids. 

Crowds are a fact of life. 

The Dole pineapple ice cream float is a must do!

Ibuprofen saved the day when my back started hurting. 

Thanks Nicole and Mike for letting us tag along.

- Bob Doan, Writing from Florida's Turnpike (no, I am not driving)

Best Day so Far

Pork Fish off the Beach

I finally got a great day of snorkeling yesterday--which resulted in my being in the water for over 1.5 hours snorkeling and snapping images of the marine life. I write marine life because the animals that I saw included a loggerhead turtle, a green turtle, a barracuda, and an assortment of other fish and crabs.

It was the day that I had been waiting for for over two weeks. The day was complete with sun, blue skies, mild waves and clear water--something that I have not been able to get all together since I have been in Florida.

Green Turtle off Jupiter Island

Chasing down the green turtle was exciting. It was swimming fairly quickly and allowed me only a few moments of access before turning sharply and heading off into the deeper water. The barracuda was significant, but far enough away on the edge of visibility that the picture did not come out. I knew it was a stretch at the time.

The real excitement of the day though was Ethan's first ocean snorkeling adventure. He performed fabulously and had a great time--even in the deeper water. We were able to finally fit him with a mask that kept the water out and he snorkeled for almost an hour. It was a huge accomplishment and it was great to have him along to begin to see and appreciate the life in and under the water.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trusty underwater camera.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL

Bird of the Day - Osprey Finds Dinner

Osprey with Dinner

It happened so quickly as we arrived at the beach Sunday afternoon for some enjoyment and Happy Hour. We saw the osprey soaring low over head, right above us and were awed by its appearance. Quickly, as the camera was being taken out of its bag and set to snap some great shots of the bird overhead, it dove to the water and surfaced with a fish--a good sized fish.

It was awesome!

Osprey in the Water after Dive

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL

Monday Musings - July 22, 2013

1. During this week in 1969, two men from the United States became the first humans to set foot on the moon. Sadly, that is a feat we cannot replicate today. The U.S. is no longer capable of putting men into space, let alone sending them to the moon and returning them safely. How far we have fallen!

2. When you take a new car to the beach, the beach always remains in the new car afterwards. Your should see out new Highlander--and we have vacuumed it religiously.

3. Sunny afternoons and happy hour on the sandy beaches--what could be better?

4. When vacations end, they become fond memories of what could have been.

5. I continue to be amazed at the reaction to the Zimmerman verdict--it seems that some people in America would prefer vigilante justice to the rule of law and juries. Just because we may not agree with the verdict does not mean that the finding was wrong.

6. I saw the movie Red 2 -- Liked it a lot. Review coming later in the week.

7. What if you survived the crash of an airplane, but were subsequently killed by a first responder fire truck? That is just tragic.

8. Where is the happiest place on Earth? Some say Disney. I'll let you know, later in the week.

-- Bob Doan, writing form Jupiter, FL

Bird of the Day - Egret View 2

What are you looking at?

I know I have already offered an image of an egret as the bird of the day, but I just love the way this one was captured, looking at me as I snapped its image almost as if to say "What are you looking at?"

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the egret hunt the tidal pools at low tide and occasionally find some morsel as a meal.

-- Bob Doan, Writing from Jupiter, FL

From Beach to Turtle Center

Ethan and Jax Scouring the Shore for Treasure

What can I say about another day on vacation in Florida with the sun, the clouds, the passing rain storms and the excitement of life along the Atlantic Ocean? I love it!

Yesterday began with another beach experience. We rescued our second loggerhead turtle hatchling in two days, making four distressed hatchlings for the trip. This one required the assistance of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center as it was on the beach, exhausted and not able to swim strongly enough to overcome the waves crashing onto the beach.

Loggerhead Turtle Hatchling on the Beach

The good news is that we took it to the center where it will be allowed to recover and then released. The bad news is that it abruptly ended the beach experience for the day. But the entire family got into the idea of rescuing the small turtle which clearly was not going to make it on its own.

Nearly Full Grown Loggerhead Turtle at the Turtle Center

Although initially we just dropped the young turtle off to the welcoming staff, we did return to the Center later in the day to get more educated about turtles and their rescue efforts. We got to see nearly full grown loggerhead turtles recovering from injuries and many juvenile green turtles also recovering from illness. It seems that power station water exhaust channels are especially dangerous for turtles as that is where many of the ones recovering in the center were found.

Jax and Ethan received certificates for rescuing the small, helpless loggerhead hatchling. Upon examination, the turtle appeared to have suffered injuries during a probable scuffle with a predator. Hopefully, the small turtle they rescued will be one of the lucky ones who did not become a meal or escape only to die on the beach and will grow to become an adult turtle.

Just another great day in Florida!!

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL

Bird of the Day -- Black Backed Gull

Gull Along the Beach

This image was taken by Chris of a gull flying along the shore the other day. It is fun to try to catch birds in flight.

I still wish that I could fly--like a bird or a bat.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL

Turning it up a Notch

Ethan and Jackson Discovering a Nine-Legged Starfish

The arrival of grandsons to coincide with the start of my last week of vacation has been like adding spice to a recipe. Days on the beach have taken on added dimensions as the discoveries of turtles, yes we found another loggerhead turtle hatchling yesterday, shells, ghost crabs, and even a nine armed starfish have sparked questions and generated enthusiasm.

Ethan Getting Air

Watching Ethan try to get as much air a possible while jumping off a sand dune into the ocean kept my attention much longer than watching a ghost crab try to determine whether I was watching it or not--I was, by the way watching it. It was fun to see them having fun. Much like the missing ingredient in a recipe.

The day was beautiful--for the first day in over a week there was no rain and the temperatures remained mild. There were two separate trips to the beach--while visiting three beaches provided hours of enjoyment and discovery.

There was also a snorkeling expedition into the calm waters of the inter-coastal  to familiarize everyone with their gear in non-swimming pool conditions.

Jax and Ethan Heading out to Boogie

But there was also a boogie boarding for some fun in the not so huge afternoon waves.

But the best part of all of it? It was Friday and I wasn't at work! On top of that, it was a great transition into my last week of vacation.

Whoo hoo!

Did I mention Happy Hour on the beach? It's always five o'clock somewhere, right?

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL

Bird of the Day - Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone on Jupiter Island Beach

Found this bird on the beach yesterday. It is a fairly common looking bird, but I haven't seen one before. It is also more commonly known as a sandpiper. OK, Chris won that one after I found the real name.

I have not seen many of these birds on the beaches we frequent here in Jupiter and so it was worthy of a few pictures.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL

Endless Summer Vineyard and Winery -- Review

Endless Summer Vineyard and Winery Entrance

Yes, I found a winery in Florida that actually grows grapes and makes wine. That, of course, deserved a visit to check out the wines and help drive away the blues of a rainy day.

The Endless Summer Vineyard and Winery in Fort Pierce, Florida is roughly a 45 minute drive from Jupiter. The winery is just a short two miles off the interstate and has a nice tasting room adorned with a beach theme. The winery is striving to develop serious Florida wines that will appeal to many people.

Palms and Grapes

Entering the tasting room provides a great introduction to the winery. Surf boards and beach items adorn the walls. We were met be a very nice and wine savvy hostess who helped us to understand the wines and the grapes used to make the wine for this vineyard. The tasting room has been open for only a year and the vines are only four years old--so they are using juice from other vineyards to make their wine. But, next year they are expecting to produce  their first home grown vintage.

The winery provided my first introduction to the muscadine grape, which is the only one that will grow in this part of Florida. I was amazed to find that there are over 300 varieties of muscadine grape. The grape is very light and sweet. I found that it smells a lot like the niagara grape grown in upstate NY. Likewise, the wines made from this grape smell like grapes and not berries like those made from the other wine making grapes. The grape nose is in every wine that the winery offered. Some of the wines are blended with merlot and chardonnay sourced from, of all places, Arkansas. One wine blended with a mango wine.

Endless Summer Vineyards

The wines that Endless Summer wines have very creative names: I found Marlin Monroe and Rated Arrr to be the best. All of the wines are on the sweeter side and all have the pronounced grape nose. These wines are good for drinking around the pool. This winery represents the furthest south in Florida that grapes are grown for the purpose of making wines. There is another winery further south, but they do not make wine from grapes.

Driving by the vineyards, it is clear the the vines are very young--but that does not dampen my enthusiasm for this winery. I am very impressed with the location, the concept, and the idea that they are going to produce the best possible wines from the grapes they can grow.

RECOMMENDATION: A must visit if you are in this part of Florida. The whites are the best and the reds are light, summery offerings.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Jupiter, FL