| One of my husband's favourite places is | | | | Golf Links we enjoyed a wonderful picnic by |
| Florida, since he is an avid golfer and likes | | | | the waterfront in sunny downtown Kissimmee. |
| to get away from the cold Canadian winter for | | | | Then, on a beautiful Sunday morning we drove |
| his birthday in early December. | | | | about an hour outside of Orlando to reach the |
| | | | quaint town of Mt. Dora, where I hopped on |
| For a while now we had planned to visit | | | | the "Herbie Express", part of the Mt. Dora - |
| Orlando, but neither one of us are into theme | | | | Lake Eustis Scenic Railway. |
| parks. So there was the challenge for me: | | | | |
| would we be able to visit Orlando without | | | | From midweek in the second week onwards the |
| setting foot into Disney or Universal | | | | weather took a turn for the worse. While |
| Studios? For someone as curious as me this | | | | planes were sliding off runways in Chicago |
| was a suitable challenge and I had been doing | | | | and record temperatures were registered in |
| weeks of searches on the Internet and | | | | the mid-western states, we were freezing in |
| communicating with the Orlando Convention and | | | | Florida where the mercury hovered around 68 |
| Visitors Bureau to find out about interesting | | | | to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (around +20 degrees |
| destinations off the beaten path. | | | | Celsius). So I bought a rain jacket, and |
| | | | determined not to let the freezing cold |
| Well, I am happy to say, we arrived back | | | | interfere with our plans, we headed out to |
| safely yesterday from our trip, and the trip | | | | continue our explorations. |
| itself was quite an adventure since we | | | | |
| decided to drive from Toronto to Orlando, | | | | On a day that was forecast to be rainy, but |
| about 2100 km each way! Actually, the drive | | | | just ended up being a bit grey and clammy, we |
| was not as painful as I expected. The drive | | | | went out to discover Loch Haven Park, |
| through Pennsylvania and West Virginia was | | | | Orlando's center of science, art and culture. |
| nice and hilly, and I particularly enjoyed | | | | We then continued our explorations further |
| coming over the ridge of the Appalachians, | | | | south to discover some of Orlando's historic |
| right where Virginia and North Carolina meet, | | | | neighbourhoods and parks such as Lake |
| where you get a beautiful view of the | | | | Cherokee and Lake Lucerne. |
| piedmont area around Winston-Salem that | | | | |
| spreads out towards the Atlantic in front of | | | | As the drizzly weather continued, we went on |
| the mountain chain. | | | | to visit Florida's Natural Visitor Center in |
| | | | Lake Wales, about an hours drive south of |
| And I am even happier to say that in the 14 | | | | Orlando, where I got a really good |
| or so days that we spent in Orlando, not only | | | | understanding of Central Florida's citrus |
| did we get to play a lot of golf (to make my | | | | industry. I spent the afternoon in another |
| husband really happy...;) - including Mystic | | | | famous attraction in Lake Wales which holds |
| Dunes, Champions Gate, Royal St. Cloud Links, | | | | two National Historic Landmarks: the Historic |
| Hawk's Landing and Timacuan Golf and Country | | | | Bok Sanctuary, where I got to see the beauty |
| Club, not to mention the Walking Hall of Fame | | | | of the Bok estate and its historic carillon |
| experience of the PGA Father Son Challenge at | | | | tower, combined with a tour through the |
| Champions Gate, but I also got to explore | | | | historic Pinewood Estate, which was decked |
| some really interesting places, destinations | | | | out in full Christmas decorations. |
| I would not have expected in Orlando and its | | | | |
| surrounding region. I also had a chance to do | | | | During these 2 weeks in Florida, we got |
| an interview with GolfOrlando to get a much | | | | exposed to a lot of its plants, flowers and |
| better idea of why Orlando is called "The | | | | wildlife, much of which you run into casually |
| Ultimate Golf Theme Park". | | | | even while playing golf or picknicking by the |
| | | | waterfront. Florida has a surprising amount |
| We started off our first week with a visit to | | | | of natural diversity and I enjoyed watching |
| the Orange Country Regional History Center, | | | | the various types of birds, lizards, and |
| which gave us a suitable historic background | | | | squirrels. The only thing we didn't get to |
| of Orlando and Central Florida. Then, for | | | | see was a live alligator (with the exception |
| some sociological and cultural insights, we | | | | of the well-hidden rear end of a small |
| visited the Well's Built Museum for African | | | | alligator during our swamp buggy tour - |
| American History and Culture in Orlando. To | | | | unfortunately I couldn't even get a good |
| top off our first day of exploration we | | | | picture of that one..). Apparently winter |
| enjoyed a walk around picturesque Lake Eola | | | | time is too cold for these creatures to come |
| in downtown Orlando. | | | | out of the water... |
| | | | |
| The next item on my off-the-beaten path | | | | On our drive home, on a bright sunny day (of |
| agenda was a discovery of the City of Winter | | | | course...), we stopped off in St. Augustine, |
| Park, a beautiful suburb of Orlando, | | | | a historic town founded by the Spaniards in |
| reminiscent of Old European towns. I also | | | | the 1500s, and the oldest continuously |
| went on the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour, | | | | inhabited town in the United States - a |
| which was an entertaining, informative and | | | | mighty photogenic place, I should add. |
| visually appealing excursion. | | | | |
| | | | So, you ask, is it possible to spend 2 weeks |
| The adrenaline revved up significantly on our | | | | in Orlando without even setting foot inside a |
| next outing: a very high-speed airboat ride | | | | theme park and still have a good time? Well, |
| at Boggy Creek, that was followed up by a | | | | based on the above itinerary I'd say that my |
| much lower speed swamp buggy ride in a | | | | plans to explore Orlando off the beaten path |
| custom-built monster truck that took us | | | | came to full fruition. |
| through authentic Florida landscape. | | | | |
| | | | Mission accomplished. |
| After our golf outing at the Royal St. Cloud | | | | |