Orlando, Florida Winter
Garden, Florida
May 11, 2003, We got up early and ate breakfast, then headed fer
some new special bike trail that the old folks found in the area,
at a place called Winter Garden, Florida. It is named the
"West Orange Trail, at Winter Garden Station."
It was early on
Sunday morning when we got there, and there was only the serious
bicyclists there, cuz all the people with their dogs and strollers
and all the moseyers wasn't there yet, so the trail was fairly
free of traffic. The traffic that was there was all fast
bicycle riders, so they wasn't holding up traffic fer Lil Benny,
who rode in Gloria's bike bag and Sniffy, who rode in Jim's bike
bag.
Sniffy said the
trail was reel nice, and even cool, cuz it was still early and it
wasn't hot yet. Also, the mosquitoes didn't get up on that
day, maybe cuz it was Sunday, so the mosquito score card didn't
change. They rode about 8 miles, to jest past a little town
named Winter Garden, Florida, then they turned around and rested
at the water fountain in the downtown area.
On part of the
trail some idiot had put in a traffic circle. A traffic
circle in a bike trail?!?!?!?
Then, in the fourth
pitcher below, you ken see where trees have grown up through the
original train tracks that used to run where the trail is
now. The trail planners decided to leave them like that to
show trail users what most of the trail looked like before they
removed the rails and trees. This trail was at one time part
of a local railroad, and is now part of the Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy.
The City of Winter
Garden had the trail at the west end of the downtown area all torn
up and detoured, but since it was Sunday morning, everybuddy jest
rode their bikes right down the middle of the closed street, and
then they got to the new water fountain area in the middle of the
town. The old folks stopped fer a rest and took a few
pitchers.
Parking lot at the trail's west end |
Trail bridge over the turnpike |
Traffic circle in middle of trail |
Trees grew through tracks |
Jim & Gloria at water fountain |
Heading east out of town |
Windshield washer |
Windshield being squirted |
The Windshield Bug Washer.
In Florida there are so many bugs that some of them get mad at the
cars, and try to fly into your windshield so you'll have to stop
and get out of the car. Then they think they can bite
you. Some of them are jest mad at cars and try to mess up
the windshield. Either way, after not driving very far, your
windshield gets all messed up with bugs that lost the battle, and
it is reel hard to get them off.
Jim always had to go to a gas
station and wet the windshield 3 or 4 times then try to get them
off with the squeegee they have at all gas stations down
there. On the way back to the motel after the bike ride, we
pulled into the rest stop on the turnpike, and they had a place
that you drive your car into, and when you get over a diamond
painted on the driveway, a squirter turns on, so you ken drive
through it reel slow and turn on your windshield wipers and it
will squirt off all of the millions of dead bugs that have
collected on your windshield. It reely worked cool!
Be sure to check
out the Rails-to-Trails website:
West
Orange Trail Information
Stone Mountain,
Georgia
We arrived here and
spent the night. On the morning of May 14, 2003, after
breakfast, we headed out to see this supposedly marvelous wonder
of the world. It was cold and thinking about raining, so the
old folks jest parked and got out to try to see the famous carving
of the Civil War guys carved on the side of the mountain.
Well....the place
didn't open for another 3 hours, and then you had to pay $23.00
per person to go and see that famous mountain. But then you
could get a train ride in a little train around the mountain and
see some sort of play about something, included in the price.
Everything seemed
so confusing, and didn't seem to be at all like the travel
brochure said it was, that the old folks (especially Jim) got an
attitude and we jest took one pitcher of the old geezers on the
mountain and got out of there.
In case you decide
to find out what's so great about it, you ken click below to see
what we might have missed.
Stone
Mountain Park Information
Tupelo,
Mississippi
We got to Tupelo in
the late afternoon on May 14, 2003, and checked into a motel that
was sort of falling apart. Somebuddy said that it had been
sold and the new owners weren't taking over fer a few weeks and
the old owners didn't want to fix anything.
The restaurant in
the motel was sort of out to lunch, so the old folks went across
the street to a Shoney's restaurant fer dinner. The motel
was scary fer us guys, cuz anything we touched creaked and groaned
a little so none of us wanted to wind up squished underneath
something that might fall apart. That's why we jest stayed
in the chair and kept reel quiet.
Me and Hiram and
Dexter was watching a cowboy movie on
the big TV, but the others wanted to watch a cop show, so they
found another TV sitting on top of the fridgerater, so they went
over there to watch. The only pitcher they ever got was when
they turned the knob to the right clockwise, the screen lit up a
little and the pitcher only showed a dish going around and around,
then it shut itself off after a couple of minutes. After a
while they got tired and came over and watched the cowboy movie
with the rest of us!
The next morning
the old folks went back to Shoney's fer breakfast, cuz the free
breakfast at the motel was pretty bad. Jest some stale bread
next to the toaster and some other odds and ends, and no fruit or
yogurt, and the decaf coffee pot was empty. When they came
back they brought us a new brother. His name is "Tupelo
Bob," and he came with a Shoney's shirt. He's a little
slow, so it may take a while fer us to teach him anything besides
sitting on the couch, so that's what he has been doing since we
got home. He jest sits there all day with other members of
what is called "The Mild Bunch."
Click on the
website below and maybe you'll find out why Elvis Presley left
Tupelo:
Tupelo Tourist
Information
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