BACK TO ORLANDO (OVIEDO)

Saturday - 11/8 - Second day in a row that we have had really nice weather. This morning I am conscripted to help Mike and the boys pick up toys in the area for a Boy Scout toy drive.

After Mavis read my preceding draft diaries, she pointed out I had forgotten to write about a couple things. After leaving Crane Point on our way to Key West last Monday, we needed a place to eat lunch, so Mike looked for places on his handy GPS unit and found a Tiki Bar called Porky's listed. He followed the directions given which lead us deep into a residential area, with no sign of Porky's. A GPS failure!

Heading south on the main highway, a few miles down the road I spotted a sign saying "Porky's" and we did a "U" turn, finding a delightful little tavern/restaurant, with seating right on the water overlooking a boat basin. Very enjoyable and enhanced with a very cute waitress with an accent. There are more accents around here, many people coming from the Caribbean area.

We read somewhere that the original African Queen boat was displayed along this road but never saw a sign indicating such on the trip down to K.W. However, returning to Miami after leaving Key Largo Tuesday morning, I saw the sign. To our amazement, there was no viewing fee! The old craft was in a boat basin, suspended over the water with a protective weather cover, and was surprisingly large. Fun to visualize Bogart and Hepburn chugging through the African waterways in this very boat. Mavis was ecstatic as she loves these kind of historical things.

I finally have dredged up a couple Corinna stories, as I have already worked over Mike. A couple days ago she came home from picking up Caleb at his pre-school, just fuming. Apparently there is a hefty fine for running over a turtle in the roadway, and there are turtles everywhere. She had come across one trying to cross the road, and like a good Samaritan, stopped to move it to safety. Her reward, it peed all over her legs as she was setting it down. Into the shower she went.

The second incident happened last night while we were all attending a big pep-rally activity at Christina's high school. It had won an award for excellence and was awarded a "A-1" rating, so, they had a celebration at the football/soccer stadium, with all kinds of entertainment and booths set up. We had taken two cars and as we arrived at the packed parking lot, Mike parked some distance from the grandstand.

I just don't get it. EVERYONE was running around in shorts and T-shirts, and Mavis and I were QUITE chilly. Thank goodness I wore a heavy sweatshirt, jacket and Cabella's hat. Mike insisted it was well over 70 but I guess the humidity is what we are not used to. Anyway, the two boys DID get cold so I offered to walk back to the SUV to get their coats, giving me a chance to stretch my aching knees. As I was walking back, I saw several parking spaces close to the field and thought Mavis would appreciate not having to walk so far, so decided to move the SUV closer. When I got back to the grandstand with the coats, Corinna was missing? Talk about coincidences, while I was gone, Corinna got a phone call, and she couldn't hear with all the celebration noise, so decided to walk back to the SUV to call back. When she got there, and found the SUV gone, she freaked out, thinking it had been stolen. (In Arizona they DID get their SUV stolen and never got it back). She immediately called 911 to report it, but couldn't remember the license number, so that sort of dead-ended. So, I was in trouble again. Fortunately, every member of the family, except the boys, carry cell phones so the mystery was quickly solved. Poor Scorpi (her nickname).

Oke, back to Friday afternoon - one reader severely criticized me for jumping around a lot in my Blog, but, I write as things come to my mind. Sorry. Anyway, I feel sorry for the Florida kids, trying to find things to keep us busy, without spending a fortune. Well, I TOLD Mike, "three days....." so it's his own fault. Anyway, they came up with a winner this afternoon. After Caleb got home from school, M&C, Mave, Cabe & I headed to another Orlando suburb called Winter Park. We were going on a boat ride! Hey, anything to do with water and I'm good.

In what was originally Everglades Swamp land, they have developed six lakes, all connected with narrow waterways, and a company offers open boat cruises throughout the day. It is quite popular and there were so many Tuourons waiting for the 4:00 PM cruise, they had to put a second boat into service. Geese Louise, if you every want to see how the "other half" lives, take this narrated tour. The waterfront mansions are unbelievable and there are hundreds of them, framed by gigantic, moss draped trees. The captain/narrator explained who lived in many of them which was quite interesting, and, as we passed through the narrow connecting channels, pointed out the names of the widely varied trees, bushes and flowering plants.
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The Cub Scout food drive turned out to be quite an undertaking. Four fathers and five sons, with me handling the dangerous part, driving Mike's SUV, completely walked a large residential area next to the one we are in. They all had to walk, I would guess, more than a couple miles, picking up sacks of groceries people had left on their doorsteps. It started out with pretty meager pickings, but by the time they finished, there was a huge pile of bags in the back, which we took to a shopping center were dozens of Scout groups were dropping off their donations. Very rewarding.

Well, the world's healthiest man is the only one in the whole family to have escaped illness. A couple days ago Mike came down with a bad cold. Mavis' throat congestion is pretty well gone and the rest of the family seems fine. I am really going through the hand sanitizer however. Either that is working or the Mono-Vie Acaci antioxidant drink the Thews put me on has built up my resistance to germs.

Last night M&C invited a Scottish couple over for dinner, parents of one of Christina's friends. VERY enjoyable people, with delightful accents, and we had great fun talking with them about our trip to the British Isle a few years ago. Corinna continues to prepare great, and unusual dinners for us.