Florida 2008

A beautiful winter's day in Central Florida.

We were fortunate to once again visit Orlando for my annual business expo and trade show last week.

The show itself was well attended, and worth the time and effort business wise.

Highlights of the week included a visit to Bok Tower and Gardens in Lake Wales.
This was a favorite place for the Queen and I whenever I visited the old homestead in Bartow while we were engaged.
It had not changed much, with the exception of all but one Swan remaining in the pond there.
Polk County itself has changed, and not for the better unfortunately.
Sprawling urban strip malls, concrete and congestion do not remind us of the Florida of our youth.

We were able to spend a delightful evening at Downtown Disney.
Dinner at Fulton's Crabhouse was wonderful.
We could never have afforded it when we were young.
I guess there are some advantages to getting older, albeit few and far between!
We had our hot chocolate at Giardelli's (an annual tradition) and shopped in the huge Disney Store.
A movie (National Treasure, loads of fun!) topped off the evening.

We then headed for St Augustine on Thursday, our traditional stopover on the way to Savannah after the BICSI conference.

This year we stayed at a B&B right in the historic district.
Dinner was at the Columbia, a famous group of Florida Hispanic eateries.
It was a nice walk to dinner from the Inn, and I particularly enjoyed some of my favorite Cuban dishes that my best friends Mother used to fix for us in Hialeah.
I was also able to enjoy a Mojito with the Quenn, which I cannot normally do when I drive to dinner.

Friday we stayed over with my Aunt Kitty in Savannah.
We took her and my cousin Mike and his wife Cheryl to the Pirate's House for supper.
The food was great and a good time was had by all!
A highlight for my Aunt was driving by "Lady and Son", Paula Dean's restaurant in the old downtown area. She is a huge fan of Paula's homespun Suthern' humor and cooking.

We had to skeedaddle early due to threatening weather forecasts back here in Raleigh.
Nothing much happened, we got a tiny dusting of snow that was gone by lunch time on Sunday.
Typically when we so much as see snow on TV here the local roads are virtually closed, so better safe than sorry when it comes to Winter precip.

There are pros and cons to my business, but a definite plus is going to Orlando every January.
Nothing beats post holiday depression like a trip to good old FLA!

App Daddy with some 'friends'













A Massive Lego Transformer would no doubt impress my Super Nephew Papaya!
This is one of the 'good guys'













Ahoy the boat!













The Queen on her own personal River Queen.













Disney at Night.













Can you spot Tinkerbell in the picture?







































My lovely Queen before dinner in St Augustine.













Were the spectral figures seen here tourista on the ghost tour of Castile De' San Marcos, or Spanish Conquistadores still patrolling their fort?













A stormy winter day at Pointe Vedre beach, just south of Jacksonville.
We had lunch at a wonderful place right on the beach.