2 states 2 go

We spent our final night in Florida at the Ocala Elks but since they were having a dance we went to a nearby sports bar to watch the Razorbacks defeat South Carolina ... #7 prevailed over #9. We had no clue that Reid was hanging out with the quarterback after the game. It is hard to know who is the happier of the two. Woo Pig Soouuuiiiieeeeee!

Next stop - Montgomery, Alabama to visit the cousins. We found a great spot at the Gunter Hill Corps of Engineers campground alongside a river just a few miles west of Montgomery. We were again enjoying the fall foliage.

Sunday afternoon was no problem for me to round up some firewood since there were only two other campers..

The next afternoon we left for Mississippi. When we got to Tupelo we stopped for gas and spotted the Elvis Presley Campground on Lake Elvis Presley sign nearby. Leon does like all things Elvis so off we went. It was a little county campground that suited us just fine. Leon watched the bats and we used the remainder of our firewood.

 As the flames died and the wood turned to ashes it all became just another pleasant memory. It is one of the best trips we have taken. We made it to Hot Springs on Tuesday just before the rains came.

You will find us back at the dead end until the mood strikes again!

Osborne lights at Disney

Disney's Hollywood Park closed early on the last night of our visit so the cast members (employees) could have a preview of the Osborne lights before they are turned on for the public. Marcia invited us to join her and what a treat. At 9 we arrived to be served hot chocolate and cookies with the other guests.

Marcia ran into a group of her co-workers, all young college student interns at the Backlot Resaurant.

In 1986 Jennings Osborne began displaying Christmas lights at his home on Cantrell Avenue in Little Rock, Arkansas for his six year old daughter Breezy. Word spread over the years and people would drive from all over the state to see the display. The Osbornes would stand outside and pass out candy canes to those who drove by. It caused quite a traffic jam for the neighbors living on Cantrell and after several years of court battles and scaling back the light show, in 1995 the courts put a stop to the display of over 3 million lights.

The folks at Disney World heard of his plight and offered to set up a display in the Disney Hollywood Studios section of the park. Lights have been added to Osborne's original display and are choreographed to music. They dance while the snow machines above shower the guests.

Hot Springs was also a recipient of many of his lights for a sparkling Christmas tree display on Arlington Lawn in the national park downtown.  The family would then come to Hot Springs, where they have a lake home, and pass out candy canes. Jennings Osborne died in 2011 but he sure achieved his goal of sharing his Christmas lights. Many of his lights also went to Graceland in Memphis.

Mitzi, Jennings, and Breezy's stockings hang on the chimney in Florida.

Monorail, boat, bus?

Hollywood awaits so we chose to take the bus to Hollywood instead of our morning boat ride to the Magic Kingdom.

Each park has it's central theme point and here it is the big hat! This is my method of always finding my way back to the exit because I sure can't rely on my sense of direction.

There is no need to stand in line for pictures with the characters on this trip. We just walk on by and snap someone else's children.

Hollywood is a much slower paced and smaller park and there is plenty to see and do. It was a most enjoyable day.

For lunch we stopped at the Backlot where our friend Marcia works. All the kids there are crazy about her. I learned a lot about the exchange program with various colleges and all the students that come to Disney to intern. So much goes on that I knew nothing about.

On our fifth and final day we caught the boat back over to the Magic Kingdom since we had not ridden Peter Pan, Snow White, or the train!

 Talk about some magic! What had been decorated for Halloween had now been transformed into a Christmas theme. I don't know what happened to Thanksgiving.

I realized for the first time that they are completely reinventing the Magic Kingdom which first opened in 1971. It should be ready in 2012. I can only imagine how spectacular it will be.

We boarded the train and enjoyed a ride around the park that was already getting quite busy since it was a Saturday morning. We couldn't spot anything we had missed!

We do love public transportation so we hopped the monorail for a last visit to Epcot. We had been in the campground for four days and hardly got to see it at all and yet some people go to camp and never leave the campground. We were a little shocked that we had to pay for wifi and then they give you antiquated equipment to connect through a modem. One of the park managers picked us up at a bus stop one morning and gave us a ride to the next stop. He assured us the equipment is changing but we appreciated the ride and did not complain about the 9.95/day charge for it!

 Our final stop was Downtown Disney where anyone can visit and shop. We wanted to go to Disneyquest and play on the virtual reality boat where we could shoot pirate ships. What fun!

We have had a blast and can hardly wait to return. The lines were not especially long. I think 15 minutes is the longest we ever waited and we did grab a few fast passes. We were not the only old people riding the kids' rides because I think everyone becomes a kid again when he steps onto Disney soil.

Disney daze

3 days down and 2 to go ... and that is a lot of magic! Disney World has grown temendously since I was last here and this is Leon's first visit. He is surprised at how large it is compared to Disneyland. So let the memories begin, but I wonder how much we will really remember!

We intentionally waited until after the Halloween hoopla to come to the park but it does not stop after the 31st. They were still celebrating on the first and folks go all out for the holiday here.

Our first day was spent at the Magic Kingdom after riding the boat over from our campground. I can't imagine why there are so many children not in school.

Buzz Lightyear is new since I was here and it quickly became a favorite. 

I think Leon liked it too, don't you?

Day 2 started with Epcot. We were greeted by the geosphere and soon met up with our friend Marcia who works for the Mouse.

I can't think of anyone more pleasant to spend a day with. Marcia led us right to one of my favorites where we soared over the countryside.

What better place than Japan for saki and sushi.

I decided to not get in line to visit with Donald. Somehow when you are taller than they are you feel a little out of place.

This ride depicted all the experimental work Disney does in the field of agriculture and reminded us that they are about a whole lot more than just entertainment.

Epcot is having the annual wine and cheese festival. We went from country to country sampling their food and drink.

At Mexico we were entertained by these Mariachis.

 This was my first visit with Nemo and friends. In the animal kingdom we enjoyed an exceptional musical about Nemo.

Back at the campground at Ft. Wilderness we were again greeted with all the halloween decorations at the various campsites.

Day 3 began with a visit to the Animal Kingdom. Now who is watching who here?

We were treated to the Lion King extravaganza as soon as we arrived and later happened upon the parade. All of the floats and characters were so whimsical and colorful.

And of course ears are everywhere - even Leon's ice cream sandwich has ears!

Winter Garden, Fl

When we noticed rain in the forecast we decided to hunker down somewhere for a couple of days and wait for the rain to end to go to Disney World.  The Elks Lodge in Winter Garden seemed like a strategic location. We were so pleasantly surprised with the little downtown area only a bike ride away.

Lots of folks ride bikes in Winter Garden and there is a 22 mile bike trail to accomodate them.

The water fountains were busy in the park just waiting for school to be out I guess.

I have yet to figure out why this purple cow was in front of this house.

The downtown street is paved with bricks and the bike trail runs either alongside the street or down the middle.

The streets were closed to get ready for the Halloween festivities so we just rode where we liked. All the townspeople show up downtown for face painting booths, magicians, music and treats handed out by all the shops.

The sidewalks are lined with outdoor eating places which gave us a good seat to watch the children file by.

It seemed odd to see several folks on stilts moving around so easily until we went to Disney.

 It was amazing how many parents also dressed. It seems odd to me that kids are now led to rows of adults handing out candy where they are told to say "trick or treat" and "thank you." Whatever happened to running through the neighborhood with your friends.

These were some of my favorites.