It IS kind of nice to be here for 10 days instead of our normal seven. Normally tomorrow would be our last full day at this park, but now we have until Wednesday - cool! We've had a nice week here - the only kind of lousy day was Tuesday - it was cool (low 50's) and quite windy, but we decided to go on a bike ride anyway. T
here is a bike path running through Orange County, called the West Orange Trail, and we wanted to give it a try. It crosses the main road through Apopka (SR 436) via a pretty elaborate overhead bridge - so we parked by that and headed north, but it ended after about 3 miles. So we turned around and headed back the way we came, crossed over the bridge, and then went about five or six miles further south. There was a "station" (which was really just a small local park) at that point, so we turned around there and came back - RIGHT into a pretty strong headwind. We figured we put somewhere between 16 or 18 miles on the bikes, so we were pretty proud of ourselves that we didn't just sit home and sulk about the less-than-perfect weather.
here is a bike path running through Orange County, called the West Orange Trail, and we wanted to give it a try. It crosses the main road through Apopka (SR 436) via a pretty elaborate overhead bridge - so we parked by that and headed north, but it ended after about 3 miles. So we turned around and headed back the way we came, crossed over the bridge, and then went about five or six miles further south. There was a "station" (which was really just a small local park) at that point, so we turned around there and came back - RIGHT into a pretty strong headwind. We figured we put somewhere between 16 or 18 miles on the bikes, so we were pretty proud of ourselves that we didn't just sit home and sulk about the less-than-perfect weather.On Wednesday we just stayed in the park for the day - I went on my AVA (American Volksmarch Association) trail again and Dave tried his hand at fishing on the smaller lake on the park property (no luck!). So on Thursday we left again - this time we went to the Central Florida Zoological Park, right outside Sanford (only about 20 miles or so from here, so a quick drive). I noticed that the admission was only $8.95 so I warned Dave that this might be a pretty hokey little zoo - and I was right. But it was cute... a lot of it seems to be geared toward educating children so that's great. There were a number of little school groups being lead through the zoo by zoo employees/volunteers - it was SO cute - they all had their little clipboards and pencils and little "worksheets" so they could get answers to the tough questions like "what does THIS monkey like to do?" (answer: CLIMB). And, yes, we could ALL say the word ENRICHMENT together (that means something we don't NEED but it makes our lives better) - we think the kids were probably in the first grade - adorable. So we spent a few hours there - probably wouldn't recommend it to our friends - except they did have one thing that I thought was pretty cool! They have these "aerial adventure" routes - they consist of ropes and zip lines that you hook up to and then you follow this route through the tree tops - there are ladders and rings and logs and planks and all kinds of things you have to cross as you progress through the route. There was a little one for smaller children - mom and dad could actually walk along with the tykes and zip them in and out - it was probably only four feet off the ground. But the other two were for bigger kids and adults - one is supposed to take 1-1/2 hours and the other one is an hour. They looked like FUN - I can easily see my daughter Brenda and her girls having a RIOT doing these (not Arnie, though!). I never think of myself as too old to do anything, but somehow I wasn't thinking that having a 60 year old grandmother trying to go through the route would be a great idea!
Today was a nicer day - it was in the low 60's with thi
n high clouds, so we took the kayaks back out into the spring runs again. We went up the Wekiwa Spring run again, but took a left at the "fork" and went up th
e Rock Spring run a little ways. There was quite a strong current so we didn't go terribly far, but BOY was it pretty. For some reason the water, which is coming out of a spring about seven miles up the run, is quite "orange" in color - the water in some places almost looked RED. This was kind of strange because the water 
coming out of Wekiwa Springs is crystal clear. Anyway, we floated back down that run and then continued up toward the river a little ways. We got as far as we did on Monday, which was at this landing called Wekiwa Island. What a weird unusual place - but very cool! It's this "party" place right on the edge of the river - they rent kayaks and canoes, and they have a "tiki" bar and all these adirondack chairs set up along the edge of the river where people just come and drink their beer and watch people canoeing. They also have these little cabanas that you can rent - for parties, I guess - with all kinds of things - some have couches, some have TV's - one has a pool table - and they are all out in the open air except for this cabana roof. Crazy. So, of course, we pulled over and sat in the Adirondack chairs and drank a beer and watched the canoers - what else could we do? It was pretty fun! When we got back from kayaking, about 5:00, we went into the big town of Apopka and went to this sports bar called Mug Shots (cute name, huh?) - it was pretty big and turned out to be a hangout for young people - like 20 or so - with lots of video games and stuff. But there were 6 pool tables, so Dave and I played about 4 games. It was fun to shoot some pool again, but it's the strangest feeling to be the "old people" in a place like that - it's like the kids take one glance and realize we're "old" and we basically become invisible. I kind of liked it, because I felt completely comfortable playing pool with other people around - I KNEW no one was watching us! But it's a strange feeling...
n high clouds, so we took the kayaks back out into the spring runs again. We went up the Wekiwa Spring run again, but took a left at the "fork" and went up th
e Rock Spring run a little ways. There was quite a strong current so we didn't go terribly far, but BOY was it pretty. For some reason the water, which is coming out of a spring about seven miles up the run, is quite "orange" in color - the water in some places almost looked RED. This was kind of strange because the water 
coming out of Wekiwa Springs is crystal clear. Anyway, we floated back down that run and then continued up toward the river a little ways. We got as far as we did on Monday, which was at this landing called Wekiwa Island. What a weird unusual place - but very cool! It's this "party" place right on the edge of the river - they rent kayaks and canoes, and they have a "tiki" bar and all these adirondack chairs set up along the edge of the river where people just come and drink their beer and watch people canoeing. They also have these little cabanas that you can rent - for parties, I guess - with all kinds of things - some have couches, some have TV's - one has a pool table - and they are all out in the open air except for this cabana roof. Crazy. So, of course, we pulled over and sat in the Adirondack chairs and drank a beer and watched the canoers - what else could we do? It was pretty fun! When we got back from kayaking, about 5:00, we went into the big town of Apopka and went to this sports bar called Mug Shots (cute name, huh?) - it was pretty big and turned out to be a hangout for young people - like 20 or so - with lots of video games and stuff. But there were 6 pool tables, so Dave and I played about 4 games. It was fun to shoot some pool again, but it's the strangest feeling to be the "old people" in a place like that - it's like the kids take one glance and realize we're "old" and we basically become invisible. I kind of liked it, because I felt completely comfortable playing pool with other people around - I KNEW no one was watching us! But it's a strange feeling...So - tomorrow - Saturday - is my son's birthday (...happy birthday, Alan)
and I will be doing my first AVA "event"! There is a 10K walk in Orlando, around the Universal properties, and because it's a one-day event it will be staffed, so I can get my new walker package with my record books and get my first "official" stamp. I'm SO excited (...is this kind of weird???). I'll let you know how I do (me and the six other 75-yea
r-old walkers)....
and I will be doing my first AVA "event"! There is a 10K walk in Orlando, around the Universal properties, and because it's a one-day event it will be staffed, so I can get my new walker package with my record books and get my first "official" stamp. I'm SO excited (...is this kind of weird???). I'll let you know how I do (me and the six other 75-yea
r-old walkers).... PS - I'm also attaching a picture of our little Olympic athlete - she is a contender in the "dash-boarding" competition and is doing SO well. It seems like each time we move from one park to the next, Vixen is getting braver and braver about sitting up on the dash board for the first few miles - it is SO cute!
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