Rando Reflections

Sunday, November 2, 2014

DeLeon Springs

With a cold front on the move, we thought it'd be a great day to revisit Deleon Springs being its been a year and a half. I really had my heart set on seeing some wildlife. My thought was if it's cold and windy, not many people will be on the trail, the wind hopefully will carry the human scent away from the wildlife so they wouldn't know we were there, and animals might be out and about because of it being so cold (for Florida).

We started with a big breakfast at the Sugar Mill. We got there just as they opened so we were seated immediately. The waitress said, "because you both have on jackets, would you mind sitting by the window? There is a draft, and it will be cool until the griddle heats up." We didn't mind.

We filled the griddle with pancakes after I was done cooking my eggs.

My tummy is satisfied and full. Now I am ready for a 5 mile hike.

Clif decided to use his new camera to get some shots of the park. I hid trying to dodge the wind coming off the lake. You can see the white caps heading toward the waterfall.

Okay, Clif, you caught me hiding. :)

A nice shot taken across the spring just before we head out toward the trail. Of course, no one was swimming, it was 44 degrees outside, not to mention the wind chill factor!

Let's go find some wildlife. The trail was much more overgrown from the last time we were here. There were lots of downed trees, limbs, and overgrown brush hiding the trail in many places.

A spider is not exactly what I had in mind for wildlife viewing.

Nothing was in the wetlands.

Nothing was in the clearings.

More overgrown paths.

A small turtle about the size of a mini football. Not exactly what I had in mind for wildlife either.

Oh well. At least it was beautiful day for a hike. Perhaps another time we'll be lucky. Patience, persistence, perseverance: one of these days while we're hiking, Clif will have his camera, and he'll get some great shots of the wildlife we're seeking: bears, deer, fox, bobcat, and raccoons.

Chloe

Valerie and Michael have sent some candid shots taken recently of Chloe. She is so cute, she makes me laugh!

Enjoying Fall Activities at a pumpkin farm.

Time for her first snow suit! Good thing she has one. It has already snowed, Oct 30!

Reading with Daddy.

Helping Dad assemble the new desk unit.

Helping Mommy and Daddy rearrange the furniture.

Halloween 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014

Halloween 2014

I love Halloween. Most people often wonder why. It's because it has always been the one holiday I can be myself (fun and goofy) and not be criticized for it. I can laugh my boisterous laugh, not worry about the way I dress, and give just because I want to, not because I have to. As a kid, I always looked forward to Trick or Treating and seeing how much loot I could collect in one evening. I did this all the way through my senior year in high school.

With that being said, I have special treats for those older kids who come knocking at the door. Word must have gotten around this year because I went through 35 regular sized candy bars and ran out! I had to resort to giving them 4 pieces of the snack sized candy instead.

Most people would be rattled to have trick or treaters looking like this coming to their door, but I LOVE IT! The boy is an alien lizard. I have substitute taught him throughout elementary school (name withheld for security reasons), and he informed me he is now in 9th grade. This year he brought his friend along with him. I inquired about this exquisite costume. He told me it took him 5 months to make and he won 1st prize at the Mall for having the best costume. That didn't surprise me.

I had fun trying to guess who each child was hidden beneath their costume, and they would giggle and eventually take off their mask to reveal their true identity. This is truly one holiday I look forward to year after year. It just warms my heart to see the young children I once taught in elementary school blossom into confident young teenagers. As for the younger kids, I always chuckle when the kids say, "hey, you're my substitute teacher!", then have their parents come to the door to introduce me to them. Ah, the warm fuzzies, I never tire of that feeling!

Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 24, 2014

St. Isaac Fall Festival 2014

I can tell by looking at my stats that you all were anticipating the blog being completed last weekend. Surprise! It wasn't. I was too exhausted!

Onto this weekend, I finally have gotten caught up on my sleep, have a day off from work, and have completed most of my to do list needing to be done. Aaahhhh, now I get to relax and reminisce about a wonderful weekend. :)

October 19 is the Feast Day of St. Isaac Jogues. He is one of many French missionaries who came to America and converted many Native Americans to Christianity. It is his feast day weekend that we have our festival. The event lasts for 3 days. Now that Clif has his new hobby with his new equipment, I get to share his talent with you!

One of the more popular rides with the older kids is O Gravity. It doesn't look too bad.

This will get you spinning.

Are you getting dizzy yet? This is a great ride to boost those soda sales. :)

My personal favorite ride is the Cliff Hanger. Although this year was a first in that I didn't ride any rides. I spent my entire weekend at the festival, but I was either helping out with ticket sales, socializing, or dancing my feet off. Oh, I did taste some of the many cuisines offered. I had a blast! :)

It looks pretty cool at night too.

Of course, bumper cars are always fun. :)

This year they added a rock climbing wall, bungee trampoline jumping, and a shark that bucked like a bronco.

You won't catch me on any ride that goes upside down. Yikes!

Too much for me.

I'd rather be dancing. The English Choir presented line dancing back by popular request from last year. Only this year, we did 2 performances; one Friday night and one Saturday night. We rallied up the crowd.

We started our routine. And little by little they started to trickle in. I guess they needed to muster up the courage. We started with the Electric Slide. Everyone knows that dance.

We moved quickly from song to song. This one is the Cha Cha Slide. Everybody clap your hands!

Hands on your knees, hands on your knees. Can you just hear the song in your head?

How low can you go? Can you go to the floor? It looks like some of us are taking a (*)!
The spectators enjoyed watching. :)

We did the Cotton Eyed Joe going around in a circle.

The Cupid Shuffle was a fun one.

When it came time for the Boot, Scoot Boogie, most sat down because they didn't know the steps.
Line Dancing lessons anyone? Perhaps we should have lessons once a month so that next year everyone can participate in all the dances. Yeah. Great idea. :)

The YMCA was fun to do.

Norm and his granddaughter Samantha danced on the sideline.

I miss my granddaughter Chloe, and being Samantha is only a couple months younger, I think about her as if Chloe were here. It's easier that way for me to visualize what fun I'd be having with Chloe.

We ended the evening with the Happy Dance. The only thing is no one knew it even though it was easy to learn. Perhaps more will join in Saturday night.

Video of Happy

On Saturday night we had different choir members to dance along that weren't able to make it Friday night, and those that were there Friday weren't able to make it Saturday. It all worked out. :)
Good thing there are many English Choir members! The crowd is waiting to start.