Stepping back in time...........life in Florida before "the mouse"

Today Beth, NaNa and I took a little field trip.  Our destination was Sarasota Jungle Gardens, which is located around 30 minutes from Anna Maria Island.  Although it was just a short drive it was like turning the clock back.  Florida has been a tourist destination since Ponce de Leon discovered the "Fountain of Youth" over near St. Augustine.  The white sand beaches that make up most of the 1,350 miles of coastline have always been an attraction.  We've also had, for as long as I've been roaming the planet, a number of "tourist attractions" throughout the state.  When it comes to "tourist attractions", you can divide Florida's tourism history into two distinct time periods, PM (Pre-mouse) and AM (After Mouse).  Having lived through a bit of both I can attest to the differences between the two.
The Florida tourist attractions back in the pre-mouse days were small (by todays theme park standards) and plentiful.  As you made your way south through the Sunshine State there were attractions like Silver Springs and Six Gun Territory in Ocala.  Weeki Wachee Springs (home of live mermaids!), Cypress Gardens (famous for it's water ski show), Lowry Park Zoo, Sunken Gardens, Bok Tower and Gatorland in Central Florida and the Seaquarium and Serpentarium in Miami just to name a few.  Then the mouse arrived!
I remember stopping by the Disney Preview Center with my mom and dad sometime back in 1970 and getting a sneak peak at what was to come in the next few years.  I was around 12 years old and couldn't wait until it opened.  I think in my young skull I was thinking "there is no way I could ever visit some place as far away as California" (where Disney Land is located).  Now Disney World is going to be just up the road, who needs California anyway?  Once the Disney World theme park was announced I lost interest in all the attractions that I had previously enjoyed, as well as those that were on my "wish list" to visit.  Soon I'd be zooming across the galaxy on Space Mountain, spinning in circles until I turned green on some oversized tea cups, riding on a flying elephant and more, all at the happiest place on earth...……..Walt Disney World! 
Walt Disney World Preview Center
Miraculously some of the little guys of yesteryear have survived and I'm so glad they are still with us.  Today's visit to Jungle Gardens made me realize just how special these little jewels from the past were, and still are today.  It was a combination of stepping back in time and a trip down memory lane all for one low admission price.
Jungle Gardens opened in 1939.  It sits on ten acres which at one time may have qualified as being in the "jungle" but which now sits in the middle of a neighborhood.  There's a small sign at the entrance that could easily be missed if you weren't paying attention.  Beth and I used to make occasional trips  here when Ben was little and before Sarah arrived on the scene.  It was an easy stop just off Highway 41 between where we lived in Port Charlotte and Beth's parents (NaNa and PaPa) house out on Anna Maria Island.   At one point we were even season pass holders, which probably set us back fifteen or twenty bucks back in the day.
Sarasota Jungle Gardens
Ben is now thirty so it's fair to say that today's visit was our first in over a quarter of a century.  I was pleased to see that not only had it survived but other than a fresh coat of paint, that it remained pretty much unchanged as best as I can remember.
Parking was free and plentiful.  As a matter of fact, just for kicks I counted the cars in the parking lot as we were leaving.  There was a grand total of nineteen.  Given the number of "guests", I'm pretty sure that included staff cars as well.  (A little explaining on the crowd size, and a "Visiting Florida Tip") The first two weeks of December are a great time to visit Florida.  The weather is usually very pleasant and the crowds are small.  I know todays crowd reflected the time of year and the fact that it was a Monday, otherwise they would have closed their doors years ago.
You enter the gardens through a small but well stocked gift shop. We got a kick out of seeing some cool looking small shells that have been glued together to look like animals.  They were selling for a buck (they would probably sell at Disney World for around $15).  If we had a house to put them in I'm sure we'd be the proud owners of some of them (just what every home needs).  Once inside you can enjoy the wonders of a bird show, a reptile show, feed live alligators with a pair of what must be the worlds longest forceps, get close to numerous animals that are housed in decent sized habitats, walk through the Garden of Christ which tells the story of the bible from birth to resurrection in 8-10 small displays, and walk the path around and through a palm forest and much more.  All this fun can be had for less than $20, but being big spenders we are now once again proud annual pass holders.  The cost for an annual pass, about the same as the cost to park your car and buy a coke at Disney World.

Parrots can live up to 70 years in captivity.  Even though we hadn't been here in over 25 years we may have seen some of these guys before.

We were the only humans in the picnic area, but we were joined at the table by this guy

Fluttering our way through...……...

Bravely wrestling a concrete alligator

Along the path...…...a nice stroll

Real ones, not the ones you buy at Wal-Mart

If I was an artist I'd title this picture "Reflecting on Flamingos"

We easily got the price of admission worth of fun out of our visit and look forward to going back soon.  Especially since we missed both the bird and reptile show.  Even living life in the fast lane, you gotta pace yourself!
Disney, Universal, Sea World...……..they're great!  But don't forget the classics!
Classic Florida Attractions You Can Still Visit

Crisis in Florida...............

No, the elections down here are finally over.  All the ballots have been counted and recounted, even in Broward County.  The winners have proclaimed victory and the defeated have reluctantly conceded.  I'm talking about a real crisis that we're going to be dealing with for the next three days.  High temperatures that are not expected to get out of the middle 60's!
Although it is the "sunshine state", it can get a little chilly down here every once in a while.  As a matter of fact, I often tell folks that the coldest I can ever remember being was at a football game in December, 1980.  The game was in Orlando and while the temperature probably wasn't but in the mid to high forties there was a strong wind blowing out of the north.  I can't really remember but I was probably roaming around in shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops which would have been a major contributor to my teeth chattering.  I've been in much colder temperatures but I really don't think I've ever been colder.
It's quite enjoyable to be in Florida when these "artic blasts" roll through.  The local news and weather people lose their minds covering the "breaking news".  As an added bonus you have the opportunity to see people walking around in parka's, gloves, and ski caps.  When I took the trash out this morning there was a group of landscapers working in the neighbors yard.  You would have thought they had just arrived from Minnesota, Wisconsin or some other northern state.  Heavy coats, thick pants, wool caps, etc.  I felt downright silly and unprepared for the elements making the 50 foot walk to the street in my typical attire (shorts, t-shirt and flip flops).  Thankfully, by the grace of God I made my way back to the house before hypothermia set in and froze me dead in my tracks.
It's not all gloom and doom down here.  A quick check of the weather shows that we'll be back in the high 70's and low 80's by Friday.  We'll hunker down for the next three days.  We've got plenty of food and water and with a little luck we'll survive.  Whatever happened to that global warming thing?

Some things never change.........

She whips me even with one arm in a sling!

We're back on AMI and looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving in a couple of days.  It's a great time of the year out here.  The crowds from the summer are gone, the temperatures are comfortable and the snowbirds haven't shown up yet.
While we were gone NaNa had a little fall that resulted in a broken arm.  She's had great care and is recovering nicely.  In spite of her not being at 100% physically, her ability to kick my butt on a regular basis in rummy hasn't changed.  I'm 0-2 today...……...some things never change!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Time Travel..........

This shows why I may have been laying awake in Little Rock, Arkansas at 4:51 am!

It's Sunday morning, November 18, 2018.  I know that my body is in Nacogdoches, Texas.  I'm reasonably sure that what's left of my brain will be arriving soon, especially after getting a good nights sleep last night.  We've spent time in five different time zones this week ranging from 15 hours ahead in Seoul to the eastern time zone in the US.  It's enough to mess you up for a while.
Since leaving Seoul on Tuesday we've been fairly busy.  First, it was visiting with Sarah, Joey and James in the San Francisco area.  Fortunately they live in an area that has not been impacted directly by the terrible fires in California.  Unfortunately they are living in an area that has been severely impacted by the smoke from the fires.  Yesterday, the air quality in their area was listed as the "worst in the world".  Having been to both India and China I can tell you first hand that's not a title you want for what is typically a beautiful area.  It was somewhat smoky when we were there, but it has apparently gotten a lot worse.  Hopefully there will be some relief soon for everyone who has been affected, especially for those who have lost everything.

James teaching us how to put together puzzles

From San Francisco we flew on to Indianapolis to load and move Ben's furniture to Texas.  In addition to the time zone changes we encountered a pretty significant temperature change.  In some parts of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos the temperatures had been in the 90's with "feels like" temperatures around 100.  In Indianapolis the temperature was in the 20's and the "feels like" temperature was...……...cold.  At least we didn't sweat as we loaded the rental truck!
Traveling the way we do has helped us sharpen our skills of working together as a team.  From navigating our way around, deciding where to go and what to do, to simply making sure we're not leaving anything behind (99.9% of the time this is me).  We needed all our teamwork skills to load the 16 foot truck, which was completely full from front to back.  Once loaded we hit the road for the thirteen hour drive to Nacogdoches.
We were thankful for clear, sunny skies for the drive and also appreciative that it took us through some scenic areas, especially in Arkansas where the leaves still had some color.  Although getting from Indiana to Texas quickly was our goal we did manage a few adventures along the way.
After driving eight hours we arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas.  We had never spent any time there previously and were quite impressed with their downtown area along the Arkansas River.  There are tons of trails along both sides of the river, a nice River Market section with shops and restaurants and other amenities such as museums, a convention center and a very nice minor league baseball park.  After arriving, and at the suggestion of a couple of nice guys working at the hotel we ate at Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, which was spicy and good enough to qualify as world famous.  Before leaving the next morning we enjoyed a nice walk along just a fraction of the miles and miles of connecting trails.

River Market Little Rock
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

This was on the museum grounds in the River Market area.  When we saw it Beth said "that's from South Korea".  Sure enough it was donated to the museum by a gentleman from South Korea.  It was built in South Korea and transported to Little Rock.

Arkansas River Front-Little Rock

From the other side of the river

Home of the Arkansas Travelers.  Minor league affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. 

A selfie with Little Rock's most famous former resident...….William Jefferson Clinton!  Actually there were tons of bronze statues along the river front...….we thought this one was appropriate for the season.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks to my trusty Texas Monthly Bar-B-Que finder app we ended up at Joseph's Riverport  Barbecue in Jefferson for lunch.  It was listed in the Texas Monthly Top 50, which is no small accomplishment when it comes to bar-b-que.  It certainly lived up to expectations with moist, perfectly cooked  brisket and spicy sausage in a crisp casing.  Just writing about it makes my mouth water!  We knew we'd be getting some good food, what was totally unexpected was the city of Jefferson.  It was a small historic town that at one point, thanks to traffic along the river that runs through it, was the sixth largest town in Texas.  That was in the mid-1800's.  The riverboat traffic is gone but what remains is a really cool little downtown, tree lined streets with well kept homes and a few bed and breakfast places.  It's only about an hour and a half north of Nacogdoches and someplace we look forward to visiting again in the future.

Jefferson, Tx

Riverport Bar-B-Que

Jefferson Downtown

Nacogdoches, Tx

This is the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math building on the SFA Campus.  The pod inside is a planetarium.  It's an impressive building.  Ben treated us to a show at the planetarium.  Space is both interesting and confusing!

We made it to Nacogdoches around 3:15.  It was good to see this nice little college town again.  Thanks to two young healthy men (Ben and his friend Chris who was a roommate back in the college days) we had the truck unloaded in about an hour.  Chris, his wife and two children live here and have been kind enough to let Ben stay with them until he finds a place.  It's good to have friends.  It's good to have arrived safely and it's going to be good when our brains and bodies reconnect completely!

A Sunday afternoon walk on the Lanana Creek Trail

Short but sweet adventure in Seoul

Free!  We love that word.

Seoul's Incheon International Airport is the number two ranked airport in the world.  Singapore has held down the number one spot for several years in a row.  We've flown in and out of Singapore but it was quite a while back so I really have no memory.  All I can say that is if it's better than Incheon it must be something else.
There are a number of amenities that Incheon offers travelers.  They include a "transit lounge" that is open to all passengers.  In the transit lounge are sleeper couches, showers, a digital workout area, a children's nap area and massage chairs.  We even read that there is a parade through the terminal three times per day.
Incheon Airport Transfer Amenities
One other amenity that is offered are complimentary city tours for passengers with long layovers.  They have a complete menu of different city tours that are available.  You simply sign up, meet at the appointed place at the appointed time and you're whisked off to see a bit of the city.  Our layover is around eleven hours so we easily qualified.  We signed up for what was advertised as the "traditional" tour.  It included a visit to the Changdeokgung Palace that was built in the fourteenth century, lunch and some time to roam around the Isadong neighborhood, which had a nice collection of small shops.
There was a $10 charge for lunch and admission to the palace grounds, so it wasn't completely free but a great deal nonetheless.  Other options included shopping tours, temple tours (we've had enough of those for a while), industrial tours and traditional village tours.
Transit Tours
It was about an hour bus ride into the heart of the city, which gave us a chance to see it a bit on the way in and out.  The palace was huge and quite nice.  Lunch was very good and we enjoyed walking around the neighborhood.  Especially since it was around 55 degrees which felt very refreshing after the warmer temperatures we'd been experiencing.  There were even some very nice fall leaves.  Here are a few pictures from our short but sweet time in Seoul.

Seoul mates at the palace

Traditional semi-formal/formal dress of South Korea.  It's called a Hanbok.

The traditional dress of North Korea is ????????

Jongro Millennium Tower in the background.

Insadong Neighborhood

The neighborhood is famous for it's alleyways

Still celebrating the winter olympics

  

Utopia?..............maybe right here in Luang Prabang

Little did we know we'd be only 150 meters from Utopia!

Thank you veterans!  Today is Veterans Day in the United States.  Your service and sacrifice should never be forgotten.
We knew a little bit about Vietnam before the start of this journey.  We knew a tiny bit about Cambodia.  We knew absolutely nothing about Laos.  Beth told our travel agent (Dzung with Tonkin Travel) that we might like a few days in Laos as well.  She sent a suggested three day itinerary.  We looked it over and told her "it looks good to us".  So here we are in Luang Prabang, Laos!  Laos is a landlocked country that shares borders with Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and China.  It has a total population of a little under seven million people, and is considered one of Asia's poorest countries.
Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage City in Northern Laos.  It has a population of around 55,000 and is located at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers.  The city is surrounded by green tropical mountains.  Right now the mornings and evenings are a little cool, probably around 65 degrees but it warms up during the day.  President Obama visited Luang Prabang a few years ago.  There is a picture of him standing along the riverfront across from our hotel.  He's drinking coconut water from a freshly cut coconut.  President Trump would probably enjoy visiting here as well...……..as long as it wasn't raining!
When we arrived on Friday it was already dark.  We checked into the hotel and did a quick walk through the night market that is conveniently located one block behind our hotel.  We really couldn't tell much about what the town looked like other than we could see the river and make out the shape of a couple of mountains on the other side.  We were up early the next morning and decided to get in a walk and do a little exploring.  I think within about 10 minutes we had each said "wow" about a dozen times.  We walked along the riverfront which was peaceful and quiet.  The dodging motorized vehicles and bikes skills we had perfected aren't needed here.  The buildings are beautiful and the landscaping is very tropical, meaning lots of palm trees, flowering bushes and plants everywhere.  We had walked about two miles and just before turning around I saw the Utopia sign.  I knew instantly that it was picture worthy.  Is this place Utopia?  I don't know, but is sure is nice!

Riverfront park

Rush hour traffic while on our morning walk.  Note the temple at the top of the mountain (Phousi Mount)

The villagers across the river build a bamboo pedestrian bridge across the river every year.  They use it during the dry season as a shortcut to town.  Once the rainy season hits it gets washed away.

Mekong River in the background, Nam Khan River in front

Along the Mekong River

Saturday morning we met our local guide (Sak) at the hotel and started reviewing our itinerary for the day.  He had a concerned look on his face and asked us if we really liked visiting wats (Temples).  We both chimed in that we find them interesting but that we had already seen plenty of them.  Besides, I was completely out of wat jokes (if you don't get it you're a few blogs behind).
We made a few adjustments that seemed to be more to our liking by reducing the number of wats down to 2-3 of the major ones.  Fortunately they were all in town and close to other sites we were visiting.
We enjoyed visiting the Royal Palace which is located in the center of town.  Laos no longer has a king.  Their current form of government is a one party socialist/communist system.  In other words you can either vote for candidate A or candidate A.  Speaking of elections, we were so excited to think that it would all be over when we returned to the US. But then again Florida is still a part of the US, and Broward County is still in Florida!  Sorry for the momentary digression.
We enjoyed the palace, as well as the temple located on the grounds that contained the Buddha statue that helped give the city it's name.  Luang Prabang translated means "Royal Buddha Image".  It was located in the temple where it remains on display year round with the exception of the lunar new year celebration in the middle of April.  At that time it is taken out, cleaned and paraded through the city on a carriage that is pulled by citizens.

The hotel breakfast was outdoors along the river

Wat May where the Royal Buddha is kept.  You can see him but you can't take pictures

Wat Xieng Thong

Mid-morning break for a little fresh Lime Juice at one of the many restaurants along the river

Afterwards we went about 15 miles out of town to the Kuang Si waterfalls.  We've seen bigger waterfalls but as far as scenic this one may be the best we've ever laid our eyes on.  Spring fed water makes it's way downstream for about 2 miles before cascading over limestone cliffs that give the water a bright blue color.  As the water makes it's way down it forms several pools where swimming is allowed.  We didn't bring our bathing suits but quite a few people were swimming.  We did stick our feet in to test the temperature.  It wasn't too cold, but then again it was just our feet.

Beth demonstrating her ability to remove the seed from cotton

Me showing that I have no skills with turning cotton into thread

One of the lower falls

Beth with her typical happy face...…….me looking a little constipated in this picture

The main waterfall at the Kuang Si Falls

Today was our last day with a guide. It was a pretty laid back day which was just what we wanted.  We first toured the local morning market.  There were tons of fresh fruits, vegetables and spices.  There was the usual assortment of animal parts, but we did see a few new ones on sale for the hungry shopper.  There were crickets, wasp larvae, pink eggs (from some type of duck) and moles to name a few.  And to really get your taste buds going in the morning there was freshly smoked squirrel and rat.  Too bad we had already had a nice breakfast at the hotels riverside restaurant!
Sak shared with us a great story about "hunting roosters".  If you have a prized rooster (one that crows loud and often) they can delay their trip to the frying pan by being hunting roosters.  You take them out into the woods where there are plenty of wild chickens.  They are tied to a short rope in an opening.  The hunter hides about 10-15 meters away.  Once the rooster starts crowing other roosters will come to defend their territory.  The hens will come to check out the new guy.  A single shot gun that uses a steel pellet, homemade gun powder and toilet paper for packing is used to bring home the bird(s).  Hopefully their aim is good and they don't accidently shoot their prized hunting rooster!

The morning local market

Smoked squirrel and rat on the left.  What's on the right remains unidentified

Main Street in the middle of Sunday afternoon.  A little different from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City

Afterwards we boarded a long boat for a trip up the Mekong River.  There were a few stops along the way at a couple of villages but for the most part it was just a "sit back and enjoy the scenery" ride to the Pak Ou Caves.  The caves weren't very large or spectacular but they occupied a significant place in the countries history.  First, in the fourteenth century the Royal Buddha had resided in the cave along with the king.  Second, the cave was strategically located along the river.  Unfriendly neighbors approaching from upstream couldn't see the cave until they were at the entrance.  By then the Laotian soldiers were in full attack mode.

Cruising up the Mekong River on a long boat

Mekong River- we had lunch at the restaurant on the right side of the picture.

Pak Ou Caves

Inside the cave there were over 4,000 Buddha statues

A small sample of some of the statues that have been left in the cave

Lunch along the river

Phousi Mount

The night market setting up in the foreground.  Wat May in the background

We finished the day with a climb up 400+ stairs to the top of Phousi Mount.  The mountain is located in the middle of the city giving a 360 degree view of the amazing city below.
Tomorrow afternoon we pack everything up and start the journey back to the US.  We fly first to Hanoi, then on to Seoul, layover in Seoul for around 10 hours.  We'll get a free tour of the city during the layover, a nice amenity that the airport provides.   Then it's on to San Francisco.  We'll spend two days with Sarah, Joey and James.  Then we head to Bloomington, Indiana to move Ben's furniture to Texas.  We'll then return to Florida.  NaNa (Beth's mom for any new readers) had a little accident recently.  She's been getting great care from Steve, Marilyn, Debbie and Cindy.  We look forward to seeing her and assisting in her recovery.

There was a wedding taking place around the corner from our hotel.  Buddhist hold their weddings only on certain days according to the lunar calendar.  This is the "wedding season" meaning there is a heavy concentration of weddings only on "good or normal" days of the month.  Our guide's wife attended two weddings on Saturday.  The whole wedding party is a three day event.  He described it as a lot of food, drinking and dancing with the third day for everyone to help clean up.

If you come to Laos a few items of information that may be helpful;
1.  I can't speak for the rest of the country but Luang Prabang is fantastic!  We try not to judge one place against another while we travel because they are all unique.  If we did judge  places that suited us the best on this journey this would be at the top of the list.
2.  ATM's are readily available, especially along market street.
3.  There may be a few less people who speak English here than in the other places we visited but communication was still easy.
4.  It's slightly more expensive but still a real bargain.
5.  It's a great city to explore on foot.  You probably won't need a tuk-tuk but if you do they are available.
6.  Our T-Mobile international plan worked well in all countries.  Good to Excellent (Vietnam had excellent coverage even in very remote locations) cell and data coverage.  All hotels had hi-speed internet.
7.  If you come to any or all of these countries you're going to have a rice day everyday.  It may be steamed rice, stir fried rice, sticky rice, rice noodles, rice crackers, etc. but you're going to have rice!