Florida is called the Sunshine State and for good reason. The sun shines a lot here. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's always warm here. We are visiting Florida in an unusually cold year so all the locals are telling us. It has been cold here during our stay. Not as cold as New Mexico but we are spending a lot of time in 40-50 degree weather. That means jackets and long pants at the very least tho' some days I wished that I had worn my gloves. Some people are steadfastly ignoring the cold and wearing the clothes I would expect to see in "Sunny" Florida.....namely capris/shorts, spaghetti straps/tank tops and flip-flops. I'm not even seeing goosebumps on these people!! I stopped a couple of people wearing what I considered skimpy clothes on a cold day and asked them.....why? Invariably these are people from Minnesota, Canada, and other northern climes. They tell me that this is "balmy" weather....well, okay, I come from California and no, it's not balmy here.
We are still enjoying ourselves immensely and when you're having fun, it's easy to ignore the cold. We went to Epcot Center a couple of days ago and spent the entire day (9am-10pm) there. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I cannot abide crowds and that theme parks turn me off. Epcot Center was worth rubbing a few elbows over, and it was crowded there for a mid-winter Thursday. Lots of crying and tantrum-throwing kids there too!! Mine would have never acted like that, ya know!! We had a great time and actually had to hurry ourselves a bit there at the end to get thru it all. I believe we did it justice however, we went to each country, saw the exhibit or ride and shared a bite to eat of whatever country specialty was offered. In Mexico we had a margarita sampling of 9 specialty margaritas. Our hands-down favorite was the jalapeno margarita but the guava came in close second and the crab tostadas cut the heat nicely. Each stop had an exhibit to showcase that country, a food court or restaurant featuring regional specialties, and (sometimes numerous) gift shops to buy their wares. At a few stops we saw performances. In Japan, we ate sushi and drank hot saki (went well with the day) then finished just in time to enjoy traditional Japanese drummers. Interesting performance as well as the musical drumming. In France, we had my favorite.....creme brulee and a French Kiss (a flavored champagne drink). At the United States exhibit we went in to a theater and watched a movie about our own country that brought a tear to my eye because, of course, it showcased our great strengths (of which there are many) and we are very patriotic. The U.S. was the only country where we did not have a sample bite to eat of a regional specialty as I've already sampled many hamburgers and hot dogs in my day. We ended the evening in Great Britain which actually had exhibits from England, Ireland, and Scotland and had our final meal of fish and chips with a good ale. In case you're wondering how we managed to eat all this and still maintain our girlish figures....we shared everything (and I let Ed eat the lion's share 'cuz he doesn't worry as much about his figure as I do mine)!
The country exhibits are my favorite at Epcot but that's not all there is. Closer to the entrance are several exhibits featuring the land, the water, the future and things for children. Ed and I spent at least an hour in a children's area where we played computer games and went on a ride into the future.....what fun! The best part is that while a child (or anyone for that matter) is having fun there, they are also learning things. There's an area devoted to fire safety and the game Ed and I played was one about saving money. All in all we had a wonderful day there and arrived back home totally pooped out!
Yesterday we went out to the Atlantic Ocean to visit Kennedy Space Center on Florida's east coast. At KSC there is a special event that will occur on April 5 and we are extending our stay in Florida to be able to be here to witness this event. On April 5 the space shuttle Discovery will be launched into space! This will be one of the last few launches before the shuttle program ends (I think there are only 3 more after this one). I was privileged to watch a shuttle landing in the 1980s at Edwards Air Force Base and now I can finally have the extreme pleasure of watching a launch. I love the idea of mankind reaching for the stars and have had an intense interest in this program, especially when it first started. Tho' I'm sad that this program is ending, I do know it won't be long before we start something even more exciting and daring. In fact it's probably already being planned!!!
On the more mundane side, I did catch a quick glimpse of my very first gator in the wild. As we were driving back down the highway leading from KSC, I looked into the canal to the right of us and there it was sunning itself on a bank. Unfortunately we weren't able to slow down or stop on this highway without incurring severe penalties (so Ed didn't catch a glimpse) but now we know they're really here and will keep our eyes open for more.