Jan. 5 - 27 Kissimmee

We enjoyed sun and scenery at our condo in Kissimmee.

We bought the condo in 1993, have stayed at it for a week to a month every year, and we rent it out the rest of the year.  There are photos of it, and information about renting it, on the website below:

http://www.vrbo.com/13309


Bob rode his bike every day, and I went for my 3-mile walk every day (or walked that far on days I went shopping!)  One of my favorite places to walk is downtown Kissimmee.  It is a funky place, with a lot of old buildings and an old train station now used by Amtrak.  It is also is right on Lake Toho, and there are lots of unusual (to me!) birds walking around that I like to take pictures of.  I also enjoyed walks and a bike ride around the Disney development "Celebration," designed with a small-town atmosphere, with beautiful homes and its own charming downtown.

We usually spent an hour or two at our condo development's pool every day.  They have a nice warm bubbly spa that we love, and which soothes our aching bones after our morning exercises!

We did some minor repairs to the condo, like we do every year:  Touch up paint, replace broken blinds, shampoo the carpets, etc.

We are finding the residents here to be more diverse every year.  Nearly half the population is now Hispanic.  A big change from Rome, NY, where only 6% are minorities.  So it's a good chance for me to practice my Spanish!

 

We did some shopping, went to see the movie "Lincoln," and went out to eat two or three times a week.

We also attended a mini-reunion of Bob's high school classmates, who live in Florida in the winter or full-time.

Below are some photos:

BLACK BIRD IN LAKE TOHO

HERON AT WATER'S EDGE

BIG WHITE BIRD

ANOTHER HERON

NOTICE HOW HE IS RESTING ON HIS LEGS.

CORMORANTS AND DUCKS IN A ROW



ODD MAN OUT -- BUT THEN, THESE CORMORANTS ARE ALL A LITTLE ODD!



PELICAN?  ALSO SITTING BACK WITH HIS "KNEES" FOLDED BACKWARDS ...

GOOD TO KNOW!

CRANES -- THESE ARE ALL OVER.

OLD FISHERMAN TAKING A NAP

MOSS HANGING FROM THE OLD OAK TREES.

BOUGAINVILLEA AND PALM TREES

THE FAMOUS KISSIMMEE MONUMENT, WITH ROCKS AND INSCRIPTIONS FROM ALL 50 STATES AND SEVERAL FOREIGN COUNTRIES.  I LOVE THIS FUNKY LANDMARK!

SIGN ON OLD RAILROAD STATION, NOW USED BY AMTRAK.  BUILT IN 1911 BY THE ATLANTIC COAST LINE, OLD-TIMERS REMEMBER CATTLE BEING LOADED ONTO THE TRAIN FOR SHIPMENT TO CUBA.  THERE WERE ONCE A LOT OF CATTLE RANCHES AROUND HERE -- STILL SOME, BUT MOST REPLACED BY HOUSING, BUSINESSES ... AND DISNEY WORLD, UNIVERSAL, ETC. ...

THE OLD COURTHOUSE.  BUILT IN 1860, IT IS ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. 

OLD FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DEDICATED IN 1886.  IT FEATURES STEAMBOAT GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, WITH WOOD TRIM SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS USED ON THE STEAMBOATS ON NEARBY LAKE TOHO.

OUR TWO-BEDROOM CONDO IS ON THE SECOND FLOOR

THE FOUNTAIN IN ONE OF THE LAGOONS IN OUR CONDO DEVELOPMENT.

BOB'S ST. ALOYSIUS HIGH SCHOOL MINI-REUNION -- OF WINTER AND FULL-TIME FLORIDA RESIDENTS.  FROM LEFT, BILL AND CATHY TAYLOR DEMARE OF TAMPA, PAULA (MONDRICK) AND BOB GIRARD OF MICHIGAN AND THE VILLAGES, FL, AND CHIP AND BOB OF ROME, NY, AND KISSIMMEE, FL.  ANOTHER COUPLE, PETE AND SHARON FAVRETTO,OF MECHANICSBURG, NY, AND TARPON SPRINGS, FL,  HAD TO LEAVE SHORTLY AFTER THEY ARRIVED, DUE TO A HOSPITALIZATION OF HER FATHER.