World Travel

Nothing better than traveling around the world...

Semi true story....

Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Sometimes a mixture... a semi true story.
Believe it or not....

Perspective on emotions... civil war

Perspective on emotions... civil war... civil unrest.
Nice weather abounds... as does the pain & suffering of those that are adversity and dramatically affected both mentally & physically, and no doubt spiritually & psychologically, when they have to endure the constant painful reminders that are invoked by civil war statues & monuments.
If you side with those that feel that the quality of their life is adversely affected by history... perhaps we also need to remove reminders of the country's founding fathers that owned slaves. Rename, rededicate, of tear down national monuments of the founding fathers and historical patriots that owned slaves. Remove them from our currency and the history books.
Why you might ask? Why so those that seek to feel better about their lives now will not be affected by events from 155 years ago, nay even 250 years ago when the country was first beginning.
Since the events of last year, I'm sure that the tearing down and removal of confederate statues & monuments has greatly changed and influenced their lives in numerous positive ways. They can feel that their lives are so much better now.
AND YES.... I'M BEING 100% SARCASTIC!
Recent polling shows that 62% favor leaving the monuments alone. And those that seek to remove & rewrite history should find other ways to get a life and get on with their life. 
Like everyone else in the world, learn to ignore what you find offensive rather than letting it emotionally control your life. That's basically exactly what it is... an emotional response to something you choose to blame for your own lack of well being which is nothing more than your own fault.
No one is throwing it in your face. No one is making you look at the monuments. No one is making you feel the way you feel except yourself. And the rest of us that are emotionally matured to deal with issues can not find any sympathy for your inability to deal with issues and your own emotions.
Solve the issue by a majority vote, loose with grace, and get on with your life.
Just something to think about logically... not with irrational emotions.

Into the wilderness

Into the Wilderness.
Our favorite Disney Resort. Not only is it majestic in every respect... reminiscent of Old Faithful Lodge, but much grander, at least for the lodge itself. And while Old Faithful Lodge is in Yellowstone National Park and the grandeur of its nature is unmatched... There's much to be said for Disneys Wilderness Lodge in the heart of Disney World.  Located on Bay Lake, Magic Kingdom is a mere boat ride away, which is our favorite form of transportation. Buses give you quick assess to the other Disney Parks. Boat launches also give you easy access to Fort Wilderness Campground and the Hoop-de-doo dinner show, as well as the Contemporary Resort Hotel, the Polynesian Resort Hotel, and the Grand Floridian for your dining pleasure. One important note that we always found to be of great benefit is the transportation.  When closing Magic Kingdom boats & buses to the lodge afford you with quicker less crowded transportation, verses the economy &  moderate resorts which always seem to have much longer crowd waits for buses.
The lodge itself is peaceful and relaxing.
Whispering Canyon Cafe has average food verses the resorts, but certainly a cut above the parks.  Artist Point restaurant is definitely a cut above for finer dining options.
And its always nice to have a mid day return to the lodge for a relaxing time around the pool and dinner before returning to the park for the evening.
The Wilderness Lodge... Majestic and captivating.

Social isolation

Social isolation.
After 15 years of having a lifestyle of beginning very socially active... full time rving will do that to you... the past year has been quite the adjustment.  Complete opposites going from a very high level of social interaction to living out in the country. Farm country where the nearest town, 10 miles away, although very friendly, is quite small and offers little in the way of attractions besides a few country museums and the town national cemetery. But we have been to a couple of middle school & high school choir events. As for the actual home setting, things are spread out, and social interaction is generally limited to going into town to shop. It started out as geographic location isolation. And though we enjoy the quiet peaceful setting of country life, and the beauty of nature... farm country, and the mountains... it's changing our mental out look from missing social interaction to actually wanting to avoid social interaction. Becoming socially introverted. So the physical change has now become a mental change. Not sure if this is good or not. Kinda slipping into the habit of staying home verses going out to social events... not that there's much to actually do nearby.  Any major towns are 45 minutes away in any direction. Beyond that it's Washington DC,  Richmond, or Baltimore... 1 1/2 to 2 hours away.
Still, social isolation is an emotional let down.
Other sources of keeping in touch with others like Facebook is deteriorating quickly as more and more people drop out, don't post, don't comment, or live a life of hitting the" share" button 20-30 times a day.
Hearing of friends that have passed away or have severe health issues only adds to the increasing feeling of isolation, since they are also socially isolated.
Such is life isolated in the country. My solace is the beauty of nature. The peace & quiet. Wildlife watching. And simply enjoying blue skies and a gentle breeze, sitting in the porch swing taking it all in... becoming less & less active.
Quite the change from Disney and other nearby attractions, and areas that offer lots of tourist attractions & events.  But there are the great memories of times, places, and people that made full time thing an adventure. 
Oh look, there's a squirrel... see what I mean?

Make my day...

Go ahead make my day... and it did. Beautiful...simply beautiful!

Social decline

Electronics... is the potential for learning at the cost of social development. The more kids stay immersed in electronics, the less they develop social skills. We all know that texting very easily leads to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and controversy... and our kids and grandkids are totally immersed in social media that becomes ever increasingly detrimental to personal social interaction with real people. The ability to interact with others on a personal level, in a proper manner, is getting lost quickly. So you have a whole new generation that can not interact and deal with others in controversy,  or to simply ask questions of others, even to the point of not being able to talk to the person at the deli counter to ask for what they want. Kids can't even talk right to each other without controversy.
Welcome to a whole new world where social interactions either don't exist, or more likely will have extremely negative results. Just something to consider, when its too easily to let electronics play a major part in children's development.  

Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day... and happy Anniversary to Disney Animal Kingdom... opened 20 years ago on Earth Day 1998.

Hawaii five-0

Hawaii five-0. Currently enjoying a new channel that shows reruns of the original Hawaii five-0 TV series. Enjoyed it when I was younger... okay much, much younger. The story lines are still pretty good, so its worth seeing again (nostalgic) and its nice to see things from the 60s... cars, household items, and the buildings and scenery. The really funny part is the "hip" language of the time. "Can you dig it"... "man" ... and "the man" ...  and "groovy". The 60s Hawaiian club singing... gotta fast forward and skip those little gems! Then there's the clothes. All the men wore suits & ties, and the women's dresses certainly were exaggerated and outrageous. Hippies on the beach was another throw back to the 60s. All in all, still enjoying the reruns.
FYI... really enjoy the updated Hawaii Five-0 of today. 

Remembering Titanic

Remembering Titanic.
April 12-15 on it's maiden voyage. Y'all know the story. But for some reason I'm drawn to this every time.  Here's some photos & graphics that perhaps you did not seen before. So, why are we drawn to certain historical events when we could care less about others? Genetic DNA memories... perhaps... Nevertheless  interesting readings... Interesting possibilities. 
Remembering the Titanic... Remembering what I've learned about the ill rated ship... Or memories generated via genetic DNA information... ancestral memories that draw me to everything Titanic ... like some supernatural calling? Beckoning me emotionally. 

Mountain beauty

No one ever stood in the mountains...
Seeing this beauty...
And said that they missed the beach.

Joyous reunions

Joyous reunions...

Long trail

Long trail... the Appalachian Trail. Mostly isolated natural wilderness along a well maintained trail. Some stretches reaching a hundred miles of nothing but wilderness.  Along the way there are shelters to give you a break from camping under the stars.

Old time favorite

Growing up in the 50s & 60s. Wow, sounds so far ago (probably because it was). There was lots of favorite TV shows. And in the years that television was coming of age, it was a great influence on everyone.  The simple censored life of kids in the 50s & 60s was delt a harsh awakening with the television shows dealing with space and the supernatural. Those years were filled with realization that there were many possibilities beyond our normal reality. Twilight Zone was one of those shows that opened your imagination to those possibilities and many times kept you awake at night. The nightmares of the show made its way into the subconscious, affecting your reality, until all the windows were closed & locked, curtains drawn, and every light was turned on. Just like any other thriller horror type movie or show, your imagination could run wild, and rationalizing that it was just a show didn't provide much comfort. Seeing these shows again from a nostalgic point of view is kinda nice... and while the writing and themes were good, the special effects and costume makeup was greatly lacking by today's standards. Still, its nice to see some of the reruns and get a bit nostalgic.  Here's to the memories.  Especially to all the great actors that were a part of that journey into the fifth dimension,  simply know as ... The Twilight Zone. Some not only visited the Twilight zone,  but were famous for that five year mission to explore strange new worlds,  and Trek beyond the Stars.