riverboats

When I got married 9 years ago we went on a dinner cruise on a boat called Rivership Romance.   Very romantic name.   It sailed out of Sanford, Florida.   Sanford is a community on the northern edge of Orlando, Florida.  The meals were fancy gourmet-style meals.   Our favorite meal was the prime rib.  So flavorful and tender.   Making you hungry?

It was great.   A nice leisurely cruise on a large lake (Lake Monroe) and up the river (St. John's river) that fed the lake.   The river was slow moving and the banks were covered with jungle vegetation which made it seem as though we were going up the Amazon river.   Can you see the Spanish moss draped from the limbs of the tree on the right hand side of the picture?   I always loved seeing Spanish moss hanging from the tree limbs.  

There were alligators and white heron wading birds to see also.   As the boat went up the river there was a crew member who gave us a talk on the river, the lake and the wildlife.   

The fabulous meals that they served were included in the price of the cruise.   We always got the prime rib.   And so we always returned each year for the cruise on our anniversary.   A year ago they put the ship into dry dock for repairs and discovered that there was too much damage to the hull to repair (probably rust) and so that was the end of the boat cruises.   Unknown to us there is now a replacement boat (a paddle-wheeler).   It brings to mind that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens at the time) was a master riverboat pilot of paddle-wheelers on the Mississippi river.   Could that be Mark Twain standing in the pilot house?   After we go on the dinner cruise I will check the pilot house and let you know.

A stately dining room and how anxiously I am at savoring the flavor of the prime rib and finishing off the meal with their signature cheesecake for dessert.  

I liked these dinner cruises because they were very slow and very relaxing (not like the rollercoaster thrill rides at the theme parks).    Sometimes a person just wants some peace and leisure.  

So as we sail off into the distance (or should I say paddle-wheel off into the distance) it is time to close this blog.   What fun it is living here in Florida.    Lew