October 9, 2005 - Clermont, FL - 2

After lunch, the plan was to visit the botanical gardens.  Eric and Martha have an annual pass, and the person at the gate let us in for free.  "Free" works for us real well, as you know.  Thanks E&M!  Eric's favorite flowers are the yellow roses, and he knows all their names.  George, Bob, Nancy....no, not really.  Their "real" names.  Barb and I know them as yellow roses.

Getting decent bug shots is a constant challenge for me, and I think that's the first bee on the wing I've ever shot.  Eric is showing that some of these bushes are pretty tall, too; he is, I think, 6'3".

Reenactments are fun.  I enjoy watching the kids watch the actors as much as I enjoy the actors themselves.  The fellow in the tent with the armor was explaining how the wars were waged, and the kid in the blue shirt is being taught how to hold a sword bigger than he is.  The horse up there didn't like being washed, and the people handling it had their hands full.

Yup, it's the Virginia Medieval Arts Association alright, and we'd been enjoying the Kingdom of Cornucopia without even knowing it.  Lot of tents, booths, and displays throughout this huge garden.

And the medieval folks weren't the only ones on display.   I was impressed with the old rifles on display there.  The couple was explaining to the onlookers that some safaris were failures because the porters would revolt and steal everything from the hunters and leave them on their own, while some safaris were successful because they'd hire porters from different tribes.  While these porters would squabble among themselves, they never would organize enough to rob the hunters like the porters from only one tribe.  Meanwhile, Barb, Eric, and Martha had wandered off.

They were looking at some WWI campers, and I caught some actors on their way to or from somewhere.

With all the flowers, it's no wonder there were butterflies.  E&M knew all their names too, and even had a book to verify the questionable ones.

This gazebo was pretty well taken over by this vine that had neat little trumpet flowers.

E&M took a short break while Barb alternated between chuckling and taking pictures of the cat whiskers.  And isn't this an aptly named flower?  They look exactly like cat whiskers, too.

And that big iron butterfly was actually a bench, we found out.  And yup, this was indeed the "Butterfly Garden" part of the gardens.

These tall "weeds" are called "milkweed" according to my three companions.  Not at all like the milkweeds this old California boy knows.  And those delicate white flowers among those heavy leaves smelled wonderful.  E&M have some in their yard, and called them ginger.  We enjoyed some they'd brought over for several days.

Just some more enjoyment in a wonderful place with great friends and good weather.

As usual, the women were walking ahead of us talking about who-knows-what.  Eric and I are used to this, believe me.  Nice stone work on that bridge under that old oak tree.  Eric said it reminded him of England where he'd taken his family (including daughter Stephanie) on some kind of a teaching exchange a couple of times.

That grassy ally they're walking is home to sculptures of a lot of ancient artists, and the last name of each artist carved in their pedestal.

The person who built this statue must have thought that "Angelo" was Michael's last name.  Eric pointed it out to me, and I did a google on "Angelo" and didn't turn up any artists.  Some computer geeks, some writers, some musicians, but no artists, so maybe the story is right.  If you know differently, let me know, OK?

On the way down to visit the antique car collection/display, we went by this very tall lily.  Pretty nice coloration too.  Plant must have been over 4 feet tall.

There simply isn't enough time to do all the things we'd like to do.  Every time we're around these antiques, we dream about what it would be like to play with one.  The friendliness among the owners is fun to be around as well.  I had a business partner who had a Model A, but didn't spend any time playing with it.  And what's that way up there in that tree?

Why, it's an eagle's nest!  Right here in the middle of town.  E&M said they cordon off part of the park during the nesting season, and there's a tower nearby where spectators can watch the progress of the birds.  And then some fuzzy flowers.  Yeah, sure, they have other names, but to us they're simply fuzzy flowers.

Another fuzzy flower, and then a very aptly named plant.  Must be a fairly new one, because we've not had fiber optics for too many years.

I was taking pictures of some pepper plants, and the rest of the group was taking a break.  Isn't that a neat fountain?  Lots of them in here, as you'd imagine.

Well, that's not the best shot I've ever taken of Eric's tongue, but we're older than we used to be, too.  And we can't pass up the opportunity to play with something fishy.  Norfolk is the "mermaid" city, so there are decorated mermaids all over the place.

Outside the main garden, between the wall and the parking lot, are these interesting pavers.  And a really big blue pot with a very tall flower--a Solenostemon or "Sky Fire" for short..

And there's an example of just how tall it is.  The colors don't quite match Barb's blouse, but almost.  Pretty flower, and we all liked the colors.

After leaving E&M we drove the 480 miles to Clermont, FL, and then found out we needed to do some paperwork including a background check before reporting for duty at the campground in Alva, so we'll sit here and enjoy the area for a while.  Plan is to pick up the mail on Tuesday, and if the paperwork we need is there, we'll fill it out and mail it  and then move a bit south to the other TTN park in FL, Peace River, before heading to Alva to be campground hosts.

Friend John put up some great maps on his blog, and I got real envious.  I'd been trying for some time to figure out how to do that, and after seeing what he'd done, I simply stole the idea and now I have some maps too.  And then added some information on fuel too, since it seems to be a popular topic of conversation lately.