Thursday’s installment
Thursday was relaxing. We spent the day at the resort in Kissimmee and just enjoyed the weather. I was happy to get almost 13,000 steps walking around the grounds of the resort. Okay, basically going from one interesting plant to another. Which reminds me of today’s prompt. Express your opinion about some issue or another. I was so excited to see the plants and birds that are native to this area. I was not excited to see anything that looked invasive. There are a lot of invasive species, and many landscaping companies will try to sell you on something they call an ornamental pear tree. Please don’t fall for it! Most likely, it’s a Callery pear, also known as Bradford pear. Yes, it does produce a fruit, albeit small and inedible for humans. Birds are opportunistic and they can eat it. They will poop out the seeds anywhere and you will see those trees in ditches, along the road, etc. They crowd out native trees. Please don’t let your landscaper plant those trees! They are banned in South Carolina because they are so invasive! Please ban them on your property, as well.
Friday’s installment
Well, so at the resort, the problem with plants wasn’t invasive species (I don’t think); it was more like dead trees that needed to be removed before they fell into the road and plants that just needed water and a little help. Anyway, we left the resort, which really was a fun place, to head to our next adventure. Some of the best things about the resort were the spaciousness of our apartment and the giant bathtub (the best bath ever), the very cool rowing machines in the fitness center (as you row, you can look at a cylinder and see it fill up with water), and the beautiful gardens. It was a sweet place to stay. The laundry machines in the apartment were definitely nice and we did get our laundry done. In addition, the restaurant was great. The servers were very friendly, and the food was delicious (it’s always nice not to have to prepare food and do dishes).
Things that need work include tree care, the timing of the lawn being watered (early morning, instead of late at night), and the fire alarm, which went off every morning at about eight o’clock. Oh, and the key card, which shut off too early, causing us to need help to get our luggage! These are very fixable problems!
After the key card disaster, we started walking to the main building to check out and to meet our taxi to the Orlando airport. My backpack suitcase somehow gained weight along the way until I decided that it needed to work out more and eat less. Or was that me? Who knows? The shuttle driver picked us up when we were more than halfway there and we were soon on our way! So many palm trees! And so interesting to see the signs leading you to the Magic Kingdom and Universal studios and other places, which look like they would be all fun. Something to explore in the future, although that’s lower in my bucket list than the Everglades. What can I say? I am nature girl so that’s what I will always choose.
And now, off to breakfast! I hope to update you tomorrow, probably in the evening!
I appreciate you calling out the invasive pear trees! I am just starting to learn about what is native to my area of New Jersey and it is baffling how many invasive plants people will bring into their yards for the aesthetics. I’m also starting to explore how I can start bringing in more native plants. We thankfully don’t have a heavily manicured lawn so I am excited to see how we can transform it come Spring. Enjoy the Everglades!
Alice, so you’re off to/with your adventures in Kissimeeland! I have relatives in the area and have watched the development of Florida generally for decades. When my mother was a child, Florida had no drivers’ licenses, as they wanted to attract visitors. So my grandfather taught my mother to drive when she was 13. There were large stretches of countryside then. I was blessed to tour the Everglades with Mom and a wetlands expert, in a small motorized boat, in the mid-sixties. I hope you’ll share images of your own tour! Have lots of fun!
I like how you addressed a controversial topic without talking about American politics. Yay!! Invasive plants not native to a given area is quite the topic these days, and controversial , too! I liked hearing about your experience.
I love your journaling along the way! Looks like you picked the perfect time to get away from the cold! Enjoy!
The timing couldn’t have been better!
Beautiful drawings – thanks for sharing your journal!