Leu Gardens

I promise this will be the last post about Orlando, Florida, until June, when we have to go back there for another wedding (DH's Nephew is getting married June 6th).




After my Mother-in-law died last summer, because of Alzheimer's, her children chose to honor her with a dedicated bench at Leu Gardens in Orlando, because it had been a place she had always enjoyed going. DH and I had been with when the location of the bench had been chosen, but we had not gone back for the dedication,
so while we were in Orlando this past weekend, we went to see it.



The gardens are really beautiful and I can see why she enjoyed taking walks there. One of DH's sisters held her wedding there, as well.

Bonsai!

Thanks to the beautiful bonsai trees at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, I now have a new interest. I took lots of pictures of them at the park and purchased a kit for growing one from seed, at the Japanese pavilion, along with a bottle of special bonsai fertilizer.










Just before leaving Orlando Sunday evening, we stopped at Ikea and I bought this miniature Elephant Foot Palm Tree. It's not exactly a traditional bonsai tree, but it's a start.




Then Monday, I went to the used book store and found this book, which will hopefully teach me how not to kill my new tiny trees.

A new addition to the transportation theme

After looking at some of the other "Corner View" posts this morning, my husband wanted to contribute a transportation picture.

This is not a new picture. It was taken when he was working on a dig in Mexico in the late 90's.



He showed me this picture and pointed to where his hand rests on the door handle, "You see where my hand is? We drove through water that deep and the car didn't stall."

I said, "That looks like a camouflage vinyl tablecloth on top."

"I think it might have been." He replied.

Corner View: Modes of Transportation

I am participating in a new group blogging project this week, called Corner View. It's hosted by Spain Daily, which is a lovely blog about life in Spain. I just discovered Corner View last week, when participants from all over the world were sharing what they ate for breakfast. This seems like such a simple subject, but it was a lot of fun to read how breakfast differs from person to person.
This week's subject is "modes of transportation", so here are some of the modes of transportation we used in the last week.

This is our daily mode of transportation, a maroon colored, 1998 Toyota Corolla (it really needs washing).



The stuff in the trunk of the car.


We've been driving around with all those shells in the trunk since our trip to Sanibel Island last Summer.


For Blaze's 6th birthday I made a toy pirate ship for him, along with a set of bendy doll pirates. The navigator from that set has become our road trip mascot. This is our navigator, Gaspar Perdido:



This was a strange scene I photographed as we were driving around Orlando (men dressed as Confederate, Civil War soldiers)




This past weekend, after the two hour drive to Orlando, we used some other forms of transportation. This is the bus that took us from our hotel to the Walt Disney World Park, Epcot.



Blaze riding in the back of the bus:



Sunday afternoon, we went back to Lake Eola because Blaze had been talking for two days about how much he wanted to go on one the Swan Boats on the lake. From a distance, these boats look like a relaxing thing to do on a sunny afternoon, but actually they're quite a workout, especially if the wind is blowing against you.





Blaze sat wedged in between us and he loved the ride, but he didn't have to do any of the peddling. DH hated it and I found out just how out of shape I am.



When we got back to shore and tried to walk again, it took awhile for my legs to stop feeling like they were made of wet noodles.




Watching the real swans on the lake was really much more restful.

Happy Birthday Nika!

Today is Nika's 18th Birthday, but she will no longer let me take pictures of her, so I decided to do a little retrospective of her younger days instead of showing what she is doing today.


This picture was taken right around Nika's first birthday. I'm in the back, then Ula, then Nika.


This one of Ula and Nika was taken on Nika's first birthday:



Taken in Allegheny County, North Carolina, Nika was 3 years old:


This is another from when she was 3, with 5 year old Ula playing in the back ground.


4 year old Nika having a tea party among the bluebells at Great Grandma's house:


Nika's 9th birthday (Columbia, Missouri). Ula is the one wearing the tie-dye shirt. Nika is the one in the blue bathing suit.



Nika at our Chinese New Year dinner last year, when she was almost 17.

There Is More To Orlando Than The Mouse

Disney is not the only thing worth seeing in Orlando. According to DH, Disney is not technically even part of Orlando; it's its own autonomous place, like the Vatican.

We stayed at the Veranda Bed and Breakfast and that was also where the wedding reception was held.



The handsome men ready to go to the church:


Blaze showing off his new cowboy boots


St. Luke's Church, where the wedding was held:







Pre-reception cocktails in the courtyard outside our room at the B&B:



One of DH's brothers is a chef, who does amazing food art. He is the one who did the cheese carving.








Sunday morning, before DH and Blaze were awake, I went out for a walk.
We were staying only a block away from Lake Eola, which is a beautiful place to take a walk.