Category: Travel

Posted in Life, Travel

Traveling the world on a drive through Florida

Posted on by William Douthwaite
The tower of a citrus processing plant somewhere in southwest Florida

We took two of our grandsons to an Atlanta Braves spring training baseball game at Cool Today Park, a beautiful stadium nestled between Port Charlotte and Venice, Florida. Our drive from northeast Florida took us down interstate highways through Daytona Beach and Orlando, before the GPS routed us down back roads to avoid ever-present slowdowns on I-75.

I took in a part of Florida I had not yet experienced. Some of the roads took us through abandoned orange groves. Others took us through vast cattle ranches and expansive strawberry fields. We passed thetowering citrus processing plants, endless rows of fabric-covered infant orange trees, tobacco stores, gun shops, and Latin-American food trucks of southwest Florida.

I thought I understood redneck Florida. I was wrong. Our drive took us through a whole different world, a strange new world in a state where I have lived for thirty years.

I trusted the Airbnb host’s recommendation for a casual supper place. I haven’t been out to eat in a place where people were smoking for a long, long time. The seating area was technically outside, so they got away with the few patrons who lit up a cigarette. I was happy when they finished up their meal and left.

On the way home, we were the only English-speaking folks inquiring about the restrooms. Nevertheless, everyone was friendly and helpful.

I don’t have to travel far to experience other cultures. They are right down the road.

Posted in Travel

I wonder where they’re all going

Posted on by William Douthwaite

What a beautiful morning for contrails! The atmospheric conditions were just right to preserve the telltale path of jets heading up and down the east coast of Florida.

Early morning flights take people to business meetings. Families load up the kids to vacation destinations. Couples take off for their honeymoons. Others return home to be reunited with their loved ones.

When I’m up in the air, I look down and wonder if anyone is watching us pass overhead. Unless there’s a nice contrail, I don’t notice all the planes overhead. From the ground, I wonder if anyone is looking down at me. From what I’ve seen, most fliers are asleep or watching a movie, not paying attention to anyone down below.

Flight still amazes me. We can travel so far so quickly. It’s a paradox though. It’s slow getting to the airport, through security, and waiting to board at the gate. But a few hours later we’re in a different country, in a different part of the world, where many speak a different language.

One source says that a million people may be in the air at any given moment. That’s a lot of folks squeezed into metal cylinders miles above the ground!

Posted in Life, Travel

Yard art for everyone

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We’ve passed it dozens of times on our way to Ocala, Deleon Springs, Blue Spring State Park (to see the manatees), Eustis, and Mount Dora. Finally on our way home from Umatilla after a grandson’s baseball game, we stopped to see what the Barberville Yard Art Emporium was all about.

The emporium is three acres of every size and shape of aluminum, glass, wood, concrete, ceramic, and clay animals, pots, mailboxes, birdbaths, fountains, lampposts, and any other kind of statuary you can imagine. Right out front is a twenty foot tall giraffe alongside life-size cows, lions, elephants, and flamingoes. Lots of bigger-than-life chickens and roosters line the road. These large animals are bolted to the ground, as if a thief would have the means to steal one.

The emporium is filled with over 800,000 pieces in every shape and size. Most item’s aren’t cheap. A modest three-foot rooster was $445. A life-size ten-piece aluminum nativity had a $7,995 sticker price. (Where would you store that after Christmas?) We looked at walls filled with Haitian tin art, hammered from used oil drums. Overhead we saw shelves filled with brightly painted pots. This is the place to find that six-foot extraterrestrial giving a one-finger salute you’ve been searching for.

We didn’t purchase anything this time. At least we know where we can find a gorilla or unicorn when we need one.

So I wonder who would buy a giant chicken for their yard? A farm sellling eggs? A fried chicken restaurant? How about a huge cow by the entrance to a dairy farm?

Now that I think about it, I used to ride my bike past a house in our community that had a triceratops statue in the front yard. A friend has a life-size dog statue by their front door. Giant Santas smile at me from lawns in December. Some day I’ll have to count all the flamingo statues I see on a morning walk.

Posted in Food, Travel

A little cheese with our wine

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We had time for some wine and cheese at the Antler Hill Village wine bar before our Christmas tour of the Biltmore House last night. The Fireside Ember & Oak Flight featured a Cabernet, red blend, and a Zinfandel. The cheese plate we ordered to go along with it was huge!

Before (a fourteen inch oval plate)

The generous slices of Swiss, Gouda, and Brie were joined by some balls of fresh mozzarella, dried cranberries, Marcona almonds, little bitty toasts, long crackers, peach preserves, and some coarse spicy mustard. And olives. Lots and lots of olives. When I ordered, the server asked if I’d like to add olives. “Sure.” There must have been about a hundred olives in the bowl.

After

We gave it our best shot. We made a respectable dent in the cheeses, nuts, crackers, and olives, but couldn’t finish it off.

Another option on the wine bar menu was a meat and cheese plate. We could have had all the above and three cured meats, too! And olives. Lots and lots of olives!

Posted in Travel

A lot of pocket change ends up here

Posted on by William Douthwaite

On our way to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, I looked down from the upper level of the ferry taking us from the parking area to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando. I was surprised – but not really surprised – to see a pier littered with coins, beads, and elastic hair ties. No matter where people gather, they like to throw coins into small bodies of water.

Why is that?

From what I’ve read, it all stems from the idea of a wishing well. You make a wish as you toss in a coin, hoping to spur some entity to grant you a blessing of some sort. It’s similar to a philosophical vending machine, I guess.;

So coins end up everywhere. I’ve seen them in koi ponds, zoo habitats, shallow streams, museum exhibits, swimming pools, and waterfalls.

Just down that way from this pier was another that had some paper money, business cards, a pen, and an empty pill bottle. Part of the sport is getting your item to stay there without bouncing into the water. It’s like an arcade game, except there’s no prize to win.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions, Travel

How much do you really need?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
 Photo by Totte Annerbrink on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Luke 9 and 22.

Jesus said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics” (Luke 9:3).

 Jesus said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:35,36).

So should you pack light, or take everything you need?

Those who aspire to international mission work in our world must raise enough support to last three years. The sending organization wants to make sure they have enough funding for housing, food, transportation, and health insurance. Support comes from family, friends, churches, and church groups. It can take as long as a year raise enough support to embark on the mission.

Does anyone go with nothing but the clothes on their back, a bible, and a zeal to reach the unsaved? I suppose. But to travel to and stay in another country usually requires a visa, passport, cash for those who enforce entry points and transport your from one place to another.

Jesus was sending out the twelve to other towns in Israel, to Jewish communities where hospitality was the rule rather than the exception. They spoke the language, shared a heritage, and would know someone who knew someone who would have a place for them to stay.

Later, the apostles would face the same opposition Jesus did. So they needed to be prepared to fend for themselves in a hostile world. They would be hated and rejected just like Jesus. Equip yourselves with a sack for money, extra clothes, and a weapon. It’s going to be rough.

When my wife first went to Haiti just weeks after the 2010 earthquake, she followed instructions to pack as lightly as she could. Upon arrival, she watched people unpack ginormous luggage packed with clothing, food, fans, and other first-world comforts. The definition of “minimal packing” varies greatly from person to person.

We learn a lot about what we need with every trip we take. Basically, lay out everything you think you’ll need. Put half of it back in the closet, and pack the other half in the suitcase. You’ll still have packed way more than you need.

Spirit Airlines charges extra for carry on bags as well as checked luggage. You can bring on personal item, no more than 18x14x8 inches in size. I bought a backpack exactly that size, and am amazed at how much I can pack in there. I love the challenge of traveling that lightly!

Posted in business, tourism, Travel

All kinds of business cards

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I took a quick picture after I stuck our bakery business card in the middle of this bulletin board in a coffee shop in Bar Harbor, Maine. I ran across it today and marveled at the diverse people and businesses. See if you can spot them all.

  • A “horror artist”
  • Professional cellist
  • Old-time fiddle lessons
  • “The Broth Alchemist”
  • A “death midwife”
  • Flight instruction
  • Body piercer
  • Level 3 Reiki master practitioner
  • Chiropractor
  • A wellness lounge
  • Tattoo artist
  • DJ
  • Chainsaw art
  • Watercolor artist
  • Life coach
  • Masonry contractor
  • Golf professional
  • Various writers
  • Peer support specialist
  • Custom cookie bakery (lol)
  • Graphic arts

I really want to contact some of these people and request, “Tell me about your business and your trip to Maine.”

Posted in Travel

A week in a 19th century Airbnb

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We just got home from a trip to Bangor, Maine where our Airbnb was half of a double house built in 1874 by Captain George Poole but designed by George W. Orff.

I tried to research the history of the house, but there’s little online. It’s a blend of Gothic revival and Italianate architecture from the late 19th century. It no longer has a slate roof, but the granite foundation remains. I believe many of the wood floors are original.

The right-hand side of the house is divided into two long-term rentals. The left side, where we stayed, is an Airbnb.

When we arrived, we discovered that the house keeps going and going. From a front sitting-room, you walk through to a living area, then into a dining room, back into a galley kitchen, and even further to a laundry/bathroom. It reminded me of a Baltimore row home where we lived for a year (a long, long time ago).

A long staircase just inside the front door takes you up to two large bedrooms, a bathroom, and a drawing room. (The empty back bedroom had a drawing pad on an easel!) I suspect that a locked door led to a full attic or perhaps a third floor.

The fireplaces that ran up the center of the house between the front rooms and the bedrooms had been sealed off.

I did explore the spooky basement, which was only about 6 foot high. The furnace was new, as was the shiny copper maze of plumbing that supplied hot water to all the modern looking radiators in each room. I can’t even imagine what all that new plumbing cost.

I was impressed by how quiet the house was. Three-quarters of a mile up the hill from downtown Bangor, there was little traffic. As I sat looking out the front window early in the morning, I enjoyed the silence.

I only heard from the adjoining neighbors one morning when they chased off a homeless person off the property with some vivid language. Other than than, I never heard a peep from them.

Here’s the listing if you want to learn more.

Posted in Travel

Countries to visit

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Daily writing prompt
What countries do you want to visit?
View all responses
Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash

This is a great prompt. My wife and I are tying to figure out the answer to this question.

We want to visit the British isles. We are going to Ireland next year. We’ll do Britain and Scotland after that. Our family trees both trace back into England, so that is on our bucket list.

We would love to visit Greece (especially Santorini), and some other Mediterranean spots, including Italy and Spain.

I know it is a long, long trip, but I would love to go to Australia and New Zealand. I would love to see places where Lord of the Rings was filmed on New Zealand and snorkel at the great barrier reef off the n northern coast of Australia.

Germany and Austria are on our list of places to visit. We want to see (and spend the night in) castles. Lots and lots of castles.

I’ve only been in Canada for a moment. After an Alaskan cruise, we flew out of Vancouver. I would love to visit the maritime provinces. I would also love to see the Canadian rockies, too.

There are many places we’d like to return to. We’d like to spend more time in Israel, exploring Jerusalem. We have connections in Haiti, and we would love to see them again. We would love to return to Africa, to stay at the Giraffe Lodge and revisit the elephant orphanage in Kenya.