Retirement trip #1: Rehoboth Beach, DE 11.7.14 - 11.10.14
We visited with Angela's sisters and their husbands. We had dinner at Casa Dileo (good food and great entertainment). We had happy hour at the Big Fish Grill and Fins Fish House. I'd recommend both those for happy hour; happy hour is available only at the bar. We had lunch at The Buttery in Lewes, DE. Good food there too. Beautiful weather for November at the beach. This sunset greeted us on our way home.
Retirement trip #2: DisneyWorld, Orlando,
FL 11.30.14 - 12.6.14
We
visited Disney's magic kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Downtown, and Animal
Kingdom.
The
upfront prices shocked me but, during the visit, when I saw all that Disney
offered, the costs seemed more reasonable. Don't expect a relaxing vacation,
unless all you do is hang at the resort.
I
was impressed by their logistics, beginning with getting from the airport on
their Magical Express, transportation all around the parks, and ending with
baggage check-in at the resort and the airport shuttle. All the staff (they
call them cast members) were exceedingly helpful and friendly.
In
the Hollywood Studios park, there is an amazing display of xmas lights (sadly
no pics).
We
bought the basic Meal Plan (includes 1 sit down, 1 fast food, and 1 snack per
day) but wouldn't do it again for adults. The Sit Down includes a beverage,
entree, and dessert. We just don't eat in such a structured way.
Here
are some photos:
Sleeping
Beauty's iconic castle.
The 7 dwarfs...
Retirement trip #3: The Reef Resort, Grand Cayman Island 12.28.14 - 1.17.15
We visited our timeshare at the Reef Resort at the East End of Grand Cayman island for a relaxing 3 weeks. It was wonderful! The temp ranges from 78-85 and there's always an onshore breeze.
This is a great resort because you can stay as busy as you want kayaking, sailing, jet-skiing, diving, snorkeling...or you can just relax on the beach. Music is playing at the beach bar but it doesn't intrude on the sun bathers. There are 4 pools and 2 hot tubs. The resort has just recently become a Wyndham
We visited our timeshare at the Reef Resort at the East End of Grand Cayman island for a relaxing 3 weeks. It was wonderful! The temp ranges from 78-85 and there's always an onshore breeze.
This is a great resort because you can stay as busy as you want kayaking, sailing, jet-skiing, diving, snorkeling...or you can just relax on the beach. Music is playing at the beach bar but it doesn't intrude on the sun bathers. There are 4 pools and 2 hot tubs. The resort has just recently become a Wyndham
affiliate. Some pics:
This view is from the veranda of room 107, closest to the hot tub. We were there 2 weeks.
This is the view from the veranda of room 104 on a quiet, beautiful day.
This is a view of one of the natives. Notice the Spongebob towel, beach bag, and flip-flops...kindly given to me by the folks on my last project. Thanks, they came in handy.
Retirement trip #4: South Florida: Everglades, Keys, South Beach 2.3.15 - 2.17.15This view is from the veranda of room 107, closest to the hot tub. We were there 2 weeks.
This is the view from the veranda of room 104 on a quiet, beautiful day.
This is a view of one of the natives. Notice the Spongebob towel, beach bag, and flip-flops...kindly given to me by the folks on my last project. Thanks, they came in handy.
This was an interesting 2-wk trip. We visited the Everglades
National Park, the Keys, and South Beach. We learned a lot about the ‘Glades,
wildlife, the Keys, and the wild life in South Beach.
Everglades
The Everglades are endlessly fascinating. We saw alligators, crocodiles, turtles,
dolphins, manatees, and many birds: osprey, egret, roseate spoonbill, stork,
anhinga, green heron, great blue heron, vultures, white pelican, brown pelican,
cormorant; many of them close up, less than 10 feet.
Flora in the ‘glades are a function of elevation. We saw a
sign that said “Rock Reef Pass, Elevation 3 feet.” That was so unusual that I
snapped a picture. Later we found out that different vegetation grows at
different elevations, with differences as small as a foot. For example, one
type of mangrove that is salt tolerant grows at elevation 1 foot and another
type of mangrove that isn’t salt
tolerant grows at the 3 foot elevation. There are 3 types of mangrove: white,
black, and red.
We learned that a “hammock” is something more than a leisure
swing, it’s a mounded area in the sea of grass; sometimes caused by an
alligator digging out a hole and pushing dirt up. The alligator wants the hole
filled with water for himself. Over time, more sediments are deposited and a hammock
is born. We saw hundreds of them.
The sea of grass is a slow moving river that leaves Lake
Okeechobee and flows South in a river 60 miles wide and 100 miles long, approx
6 inches deep (with variations caused by local terrain). While driving thru the
sea of grass, we suddenly came upon the bald cypress forest (see the pic).
There were many clumps of bald cypress attached to hammocks. Really amazing to
see.
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