
Orlando
2003
This
trip was a surprise trip as I just found out I was going about a week
before I left. The weather here was in the mid 90’s with about 100 percent
humidity. Needless to say, this is weather I am not used to and had a bit
of a challenge adjusting to it, especially going in and out of buildings
that were air-conditioned!
The
first picture is of our hotel on the left and crape myrtle trees…there
were many of these trees in the area we stayed in. The hotel is right on
International Drive and the convention center (where Tom was doing a trade
show) was just next door to us. Notice they are getting ready to plant
some annuals. Many, many coleus being planted here. The close-up pictures
are of the crape myrtle.
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Now
just across the street is the Peabody Hotel…why do I mention it?
Well, everywhere you go, if you look hard enough you will always
find something that not only amuses you, but could even be a secret
except for those that have been there and know. This was one of
those times. Those little ducks that you see here have quite the
history. It all started in 1930 with a schoolboy prank by the
general manager of the Memphis hotel and a good friend who had
sipped a bit too much whiskey and thought it would be a great idea
to place a duck in the Peabody fountain. They loved the idea and to
this day ducks have been housed in each of the three hotels. They
have their own duck palace and each day at 11 a.m. come down the
elevator and parade across the red carpet to their fountain, remain
there until 5 p.m. then go back upstairs. One male and his little
harem of four females are quite the sight to watch. The children and
grownups there that day just loved it!
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The
outdoor statues are placed along International Drive and represent
the wildlife in the area.
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On our
free day on Saturday, we made good use of our time. First stop was
the Harry P. Leu Botanic Gardens…50 acres of ‘Old Florida’,
featuring wonderful collections of camellias, palms, cycads and
bamboos plus many other gardens, the Leu House Museum and the Garden
House that welcomes various garden groups and also houses the
botanical library.
We had
the pleasure of meeting Robert Bowman, the executive director of the
gardens who took us on a bit of a tour which included one of his
favourite areas of the gardens – the grasses. He and Tom are
standing in the Home Demonstration Garden area. One of the plants
you will notice is the variegated banana – quite unusual and not
often seen. The red brick raised beds were filled with a planting
medium called ‘Mickey Muck’ that Robert told us came from Disney
world.
There
is a picture of me sitting in the Herb Garden, looking drained and
it’ s only 11 a.m.! Tom is looking up at a tree just dripping in
spanish moss. Many trees here have that on them. I loved the urn by
the building filled with tropicals and see the use of grasses?
Everywhere and very nice to look at.
Robert
was telling us that this year they have 350 weddings booked…I can
see why, it was truly a magical and tropical place to visit.
For
more information on this garden visit
www.leugardens.org
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Following
this visit we headed towards the Winter Park community. We parked
the car then walked down to the pier to book our little tour around
Lake Osceola. This area is central Florida’s cultural heart. Filled
with art galleries, museums, and the scenic Winter Park Boat Tour.
This tour has been in operation for 65 years. It covers 12 miles of
Winter Park history, flora and fauna, and opulent lakeside mansions.
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Our
boat tour ended, then we walked around the area a bit. Found
wonderful little alleys to visit, a garden store, a tiffany
reproduction store that I just loved and really do want to visit
again. I also visited the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American
Art with the real Tiffany Collection. This museum houses the world’s
most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. It
includes his jewelry, pottery, paintings (Tiffany was a painter
before he got into glass) and art glass as well as his lamps and
leaded-glass windows. The highlight is the restored
Byzantine-Romanesque chapel interior the Tiffany designed for the
1893 World’s Columbian exposition in Chicago.
A
wonderful place to visit - but hurry, because the 40 lamps on view
are only there until the end of the year.
International
Drive has a great trolley bus service that you can use to get to
some great eating and shopping areas – both of which we did while
here.
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