Star Wars Imperial Walkers

I went to Hollywood studios on Wednesday and had lunch at a restaurant called The Backlot Express.  

It is the least expensive sit-down air-conditioned restaurant that I have found in Hollywood Studios.   After having done a lot of walking and standing in lines in the Florida heat it just feels so good to sit down in an air conditioned place to rest and get cool.  

I had the Angus Bacon cheeseburger with french fries.   The condiment on the right is ketchup which is for the french fries.   The darker condiment on the left is barbecue sauce which went on the burger which then made it a barbecue Angus bacon cheeseburger.   I have an annual pass so I got a 20% discount on my meal which is a pretty good deal.   I know in the picture it doesn't look like a lot of food but it really is.    You won 't leave the table hungry.

The Backlot Express restaurant is located between the Indiana Jones stunt show and The Star Tours attraction.

After eating I left and headed to the Star Tours ride and gift shop.   And then I saw it through the trees.   It looked like an Imperial Walker.   I snapped a quick picture of it.

Yes, it was definitely an Imperial Walker.

They have a stage in front of the Star Tours where they let young children interact with Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters.    I think that they call it a Jedi training academy.   It must be awfully hot inside that dark colored Vader costume.   The Florida sun, heat, and humidity are a terrible combination.   Hopefully they have a cooling room for the individual.

I had a really fun day and enjoyed myself.   There is just something magical about Disney.   As they say, "The happiest place on earth".   So true.    Here is a picture that I got off the internet showing an Imperial Walker in the parking lot.

If you have ever visited a Disney Park then you know about the long single line of cars following the directions of the parking lot attendants.   It is actually a very efficient that they have and they are able to park a lot of cars really quick.   Hope you enjoyed the blog.   Hope even more that you get to experience Disney for yourself in the near future.   Have a nice day and keep an eye out for those Imperial Walkers.   LOL.    Lew

sinkhole tragedy

In the past I have used the title of "Good News, Bad News" when I write about sinkholes.   The "Bad News" is that a sinkhole opened somewhere in someone's front yard.   The "Good News" is that it wasn't my front yard.   But in this sinkhole there is no "Good News" because it involved a fatality.   I am shocked.   I didn't think that people died in sinkholes.   We have sinkholes open up in people's yards from time-to-time here in Central Florida but no one gets hurt.   This is the first one that I am aware that had a fatality.   Where was this sinkhole?   It was at 240 Faithway Drive, Seffner, Florida which is about 15 miles east of Tampa, Florida.   It is also 73 miles southwest of Orlando, Florida.   Seffner is located where the purple dot is in the lower left corner of the picture below.

It was 11:00 pm on Friday, March 1 and Jeffrey Bush was in bed when a huge hole opened up under his bed.   

A hole?   How can a hole open up under the bed?   This is the stuff that nightmares are made of.    But with a loud crash the cement floor, the dresser, the bed, and Jeffrey sunk down into the hole.  

Jeffrey’s screams for help were heard by his brother, Jeremy Bush.  

Jeremy ran to Jeffrey’s bedroom and what he saw was a large hole with Jeffrey’s bed in it.   Jeffrey was screaming for Jeremy to help him.   Jeffrey was still alive.   Jeremy jumped into the hole and tried to help his brother but couldn’t.    Now Jeremy was also stuck in the hole and couldn’t get out.   Jeremy was a real-life hero to jump into a sink-hole as the dirt was going down the hole making the hole even deeper.   I take my hat off to Jeremy for his bravery and devotion to his brother.

A police officer, Douglas Duval arrived at the house in response to a 911 call by a family member.    When the police officer entered the bedroom and looked into the hole he could see Jeremy Bush trying to get out of the hole.   He also saw a bed and a dresser in the hole.   Everything in the hole was sinking.  Officer Duval reached into the hole and helped Jeremy Bush get out of the hole.  

The hole sunk to a depth of 60 feet and was about 30 feet in diameter.   But what about Jeffrey Bush?   He could no longer be seen.   Emergency responders came but it was deemed unsafe to have rescue personnel go down a 60 foot deep hole because of the danger of the sides of the hole collapsing.   A camera and a sensitive microphone were lowered into the hole but no sign of life was detected.    Anyone going near the house had to wear a safety harness with a rope tether.

The rope was held by a firefighter.

On Saturday, the ground was studied with ground penetrating radar and it still seemed that the hole was just too unstable to send someone down into the hole.   It was felt that Jeffrey was no longer alive and it would be another tragedy to have the hole collapse on people who would be trying to recover Jeffries body.   It had to have been a tough call to make.   The house was razed to the ground and the debris taken away.

It had to be tough on the family to see their house end up piece-by-piece in a dumpster.   The owner had sinkhole insurance which was fortunate but when you live in a house for a long time there are so many memories.   Over the course of a few days the house was cleared as it had never existed, the hole filled with gravel from dump trucks and now the site looks like an empty lot.  

His brother leaves a memorial of flowers to his brother at the site.

At the age of 36 Jeffrey Bush died too soon and too young.    His family will remember him always, especially at Christmas time.

Live each day to the fullest because you just never know when tragedy will strike.    Lew

Barbara Lee

This is the ship Barbara Lee, a genuine paddle-wheeler.   You can see the name on the front of the wheel-house at the very top of the ship.

And let me say that the paddle-wheel really is the means of propulsion.   Those paddle-wheels sure churned up the water like a giant kitchen egg-beater.

The Barbara Lee sails out of Sanford, Florida which is northeast of Orlando.   The ship cruises Lake Monroe and then up the St. Johns river which feeds water to Lake Monroe.   It's a three hour cruise.   Yeah, I know,  the S.S. Minnow on the television series Gilligan's Island was on a three hour cruise.   Remember the lyrics from the theme song Ballad of Gilligan's Isle?   The cruise is a dinner cruise (or luncheon cruise)  and both the luncheon cruise and the dinner cruise serve prime rib as one of their meals.   My wife and I love the prime rib and we always get it.   The meals really are very good.   Plus the ship is quite elegant inside.

We were fortunate enough to have a table next to the window so that we could watch the world go by at a leisurely pace.

Did I mention the appetizer buffet before the big meal?   Yummy!

See those papers and pencils on the table?   Those are for selecting which meal you would like to have.   And yes, that is real butter and half-and-half creamer on the table.

Oh yeah, my choice was easy, the prime rib.   The cheesecake for dessert was a nice finishing touch to the meal.   The cruise was just a nice relaxing trip with a fine meal.   I enjoy it and I go often and am a "frequent floater" as they say.   There were many more amenities but this blog has gone on long enough.   Let me say that I don't work for the Barbara Lee but rather I am just a satisfied customer who sometimes just likes to sit back and relax rather than going on a roller coaster ride in a theme park.   Sailing on one of these dinner cruises is one of my favorite things to do to just relax and calm whatever stresses that I might have.   Here is hoping that everyone has a great day wherever they may be and that there is a similar dinner cruise near you.     Lew

 

 

good news, bad news

Let's get the bad news over with first.   A sink-hole opened up and the car fell into it.   

This happens in Florida from time-to-time.   You can be washing your car and you go inside the house to have lunch.   And when you come back outside your car is gone and there is a hole where it once was.   You look down into the hole and there is your car.    How to get it out?   I have no idea.   So what is the good news?   How can there be any good news about something terrible like this?   The good news is that this wasn't my house or my car.    I know, I know, someday a sink-hole may open up and swallow my car.   And then somewhere someone will be writing on their blog about my car being swallowed by a sinkhole and that they are so glad that it wasn't their car.   Could this be like the old expression "what goes around, comes around?    And in closing here is a riddle:  "how daddy is doing".    Have no idea?   If you watch the movie LA Story starring Steve Martin you will find the answer.   Good luck and have a great day shopping amongst all those crowds.    Lew