Saturday on the Hillsborough River

River Hills Park in Temple Terrace is one of those hidden fantasy lands that has no admission fee. Its beauty is a testimony to the community and its efforts to provide the simple beauty of the Hillsborough River.  It is best enjoyed just after sunrise.

The squirrels are always looking for a handout.

It was a cool morning along the trail.

Come Join us.

Iceplorations at Busch Gardens

During a recent visit to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, The Captain and I enjoyed one of the best ice shows I have ever seen in my life that features dazzling, sparkly and colorful Broadway-style costumes from a Tony Award-winning designer. 

Daily performances are held in the Moroccan Palace Theatre.  Check the Busch Gardens website for show times.

Along with the awesome show filled with world-class skaters, more than 75 original costumes, amazing aerial performances, master puppetry and live animal stars, the audience is treated to effects that seem to bring you into the stage production.

Some facts about the production from the Busch Garden website . . .

Iceploration® incorporates 21 live animals including an African ground hornbill, sun conures, Siberian lynx and Siberian huskies. 

Among the award-winning individuals lending their talents to the creation of Iceploration are a Tony Award-winning costume designer and an Olympic gymnast.

Creating the four tons of ice for the Iceploration stage required 10,000 gallons of water.

Iceploration's 77 featured costumes took more than 10 months and nearly 500 yards of fabric to construct.

This video is a sampling of the awesome show . . .

Greetings from Florida!

Back when the Captain and I went to Punta Gorda this Spring, it seemed like it was a promising start to a busy and adventurous Florida summer since we have both retired and have all this time on our hands.  We both had all kinds of ideas for Florida adventures we could experience and share on this blog.
Nature had another thing in mind.
I don't remember a summer when the weather was so nasty and rainy with storms every day to where it was difficult to do anything outdoors and have a good time.  No hurricanes this year, but more waterlogged than ever!  We haven't even been back to Busch Gardens since the beginning of the year.
It has been an eventful season of hardship that doesn't seem to end.  The huge tree that fell on our big storage shed is still there, crushing the building more every day.  All my treasures and memories are in there and it breaks my heart!
Big bummer and lots of work needs to be  completed before the adventures begin again.
But wait . . . after the tree incident, our water well system broke down.  The municipality we live in . . . within the city limits of the City of Tampa . . . does not even offer water hookup in our neighborhood.  Imagine that in a big city like Tampa . . . we pay city taxes!  But they will do the necessary prep work for a modest $15,000 just for the pleasure of having the option to hook up to city water . . . oh yes, and three others in our neighborhood have to pony up $15,000 too before they will even consider it.  They spend millions of dollars on crap stuff, yet don't provide basic infrastructure to all the tax paying citizens who live within their city limits.  Amazing!  Don't buy a house with well water!
Sorry for the rant!
It is nearly impossible to get the well people to fix our well . . . too many trees and obstructions have to be removed before they can get the truck to where the well is.  The Captain has had to troubleshoot the well problem and will be the one doing the repairs manually.  The experts are not forthcoming with helpful hints since they are all about making money.  It is a learning situation and a lot of work!  All of a sudden, in comparison, that one tree smashing the storage shed is like an ant in the forest. 

The removing of the tree adventure

will not begin until we have

running water again.

Anyway, that is why there have been no happy adventures in Florida posts!
All in all, we are still so grateful for what we do have and it is not the end of the world . . . we have each other.  Just a little inconvenience to remind us to be grateful for every little thing we have been blessed with.  
The autumn weather has been awesome and we are looking forward to spending a warm Thanksgiving with family.
Happy Holidays everybody . . . keep us in your prayers!