Epcot and the Keys

Mark and I drove to Orlando Monday afternoon to spend the next day or two with President and Sister Berry (Mike and Beth Ann), Mary Alice and Kim and Dad.  We enjoyed a nice dinner with grilled hamburgers with all the trimmings.  

Because the mission home is set up for missionaries to stay when they first arrive, we ended up sleeping in twin beds.  Dad, however was given the GA room (General Authority) with its connecting bathroom.  It's just as well.  Between Allie and Kim and Mark and I was a connecting bathroom.  It was just fine.

Tuesday, we spent the day at Epcott.  I love Epcot.  It is one of our favorite places at Walt Disney World.  I think everyone had a great time.  We talked Dad into getting a wheelchair.  I think he was really glad he did because even on our way from the car, he was having a hard time walking.  I know he enjoyed the day much more because he didn't have to walk everywhere.

I have to say that since my experience at Harry Potter World, I've been leery about doing the rides that tell you if you have motion sickness not to ride them.  Mark has stopped going on those kinds of rides too.  I think we missed some fun.  Dad was a real good sport and rode on everything everyone else did.  He would come back and tell us it wasn't that bad.  And it probably wasn't, but since Mark wouldn't go on the rides,   I usually stayed with him.  Neither of us wanted to risk feeling miserably sick.  We still had a really good time.  

Having fun in Norway

We grabbed up some space for the fireworks and then Mark noticed a family with a couple of kids in back of us trying to see, so he invited them to come in front of us so they could really see the fireworks.  We had a nice conversation with the parents.  The family is from England.  He told us when his mother died, she left money for her grandchildren so they could come specifically to see Walt Disney World.  They had waited quite a few years for their children to become old enough to enjoy being there.  They were having a wonderful time.  It was such a pleasure to talk with them.  There are so many wonderful, friendly people from all over!  They really appreciated us letting their kids stand in front of us so they could see.

Of course, the fireworks were magnificent!

Wednesday, we went to the Orlando temple before heading home.  The others were staying until Thursday and were headed to the Church's Ranch for a tour.  It was business as usual for President and Sister Berry. 

Thursday, Mark and I spent the day driving to the Keys:  Key Largo and all the way down to Key West.  It's been on my bucket list of things I wanted to do before going home, so I was really glad we finally got to go.  I got some great pictures.  We had a lot of fun seeing things and I think we got a pretty good idea what Key West is all about.  We toured through Ernest Hemingway’s home. 

Ernest Hemingway's writing room

We climbed this lighthouse.  This is a view from Hemingway's second story balcony.

They were partial to cats.  They had one with six toes and now there are many cats from the original that is on the property.  This picture is of a ceramic cat made by Picasso and given as a gift.   The original was stolen or broken (I can't remember).  I believe this is a replica.

We went to the lighthouse we saw from the balcony of the Hemingway house.  It was originally right on the ocean, but over time is now about one mile inland.  Amazing, huh?  There is a nice museum and gift shop.  We both started to climb the 77 steps to the top, but Mark got part way up and could go any farther.  He kept looking down.  I concentrated on looking at the stairs so I was able to get to the top.  I have to admit it was a bit freaky being up so high, but there was no danger.  The rail was wired on top so no one could fall off.  The freakiness was all in my mind.  It was a great view!  I got a shot of the southernmost end of Florida.  The sign said Cuba was only 90 miles away.

Views from the top of the lighthouse.

The tip of Florida as seen from the lighthouse.   Cuba is only 90 miles away.

Looking down from the top of the lighthouse.

I took this after I got down to the bottom.

Isn't that tree cool?  What an awesome looking tree!  This was where I found Mark waiting for me after I came out of the lighthouse.

  He posed with this statue lady depicting the olden days.

It was a warm day.  The last thing we did before we drove by the beaches was we found a homemade ice cream parlor and went inside to have something.  It was delicious!

I thought this house was interesting.

This is a picture of the marker of the southernmost point of the continental United States.  It's quite a landmark, so there was naturally a lineup of people wanting their picture taken.  I found this one on the Internet.  I'm grateful to whoever took it.

What was really cool was driving across the bridges that connect the keys where the Atlantic is on one side and the Gulf of Mexico is on the other.  It makes me wonder how deep it is right there and was it very difficult to build those water bridges?  It was interesting to think of the two oceans mingling underneath us.  There was one water bridge that was seven miles long!

I think this is the seven mile bridge.

The old bridge.

We just spent the day there and got home late that night.  I tell you, if I had to drive we’d never make it home!  I just cannot stay awake!  Maybe it’s all that Coke Mark drinks.

The sign for Key Largo says it’s the diving capital of the world.  I was looking on the internet and there’s some pretty interesting information.  I did not know that ships had been deliberately sunk so a new coral reef could grow.   I’m so glad we went. What a fun day!