Star Tours

Mary and I went to the Hollywood Studios at Disney World.   Being a Star Wars fan I have wanted to see the Star Tours attraction for a while.  

They already had their giant Christmas tree set up.  

Do you notice the pin on the left lapel of Mary's shirt?   That is a Disney pin of the It's Tough to be a Bug show.

That is the show that I use to work in when I was at Animal Kingdom.  

We each have a pin and we always wear our pins anytime that we go to Disney.

As we waited in line to board the ride, the whole area was bathed in this intense blue light.   It was kind of neat and added to the excitement of expectation for the ride.

The lines weren't real bad and we didn't have a long wait.  

Here is Mary waiting for the doors of the space craft to open.

It was an exciting and bumpy ride.  

  We both enjoyed the ride.  

Disney is such an adventure to visit.   Truly magical.

This is what we saw as we were on the ride inside our space craft.   It was very realistic and it really felt as if we were flying.   Star Tours is definitely a must-see attraction.  

We will be returning to Disney whenever the temperature drops below 80 degrees so that we don't have to put up with walking around in the heat.  Have a nice day.    Lew 

simple pleasures

Sometimes in our fast paced and high tech world we forget the simple pleasures of life such as the pleasure of scratching an itch like Tammy the cat above or enjoying the beauty of a flower.

I really became aware of this when I visit Disneyworld.   Everyone, including myself, is in such a hurry to get from one thrill ride to the next.   We were missing all of the little things that Disney has on display for people to enjoy.   Such as this beautiful waterfall next to the Tree of Life.

Or this Mayan pyramid in Epcot.

Or sometimes I just like to admire the beauty of a pretty woman, Mary.

Have a pleasant day and take time to admire beauty wherever you may come across it.   I do.   Lew

passion

I went to Sears for an oil change and as I parked the car I saw an incredibly beautiful flowers growing on some vines adjacent to the parking lot.   I had never seen a flower like this before.   I returned a couple of weeks later but the flowers were gone.   But there was something that resembled a small green lime.

I wondered if it could be from the flowers.   I checked on the internet and discovered that the flower was a Passion flower and that the green thing was actually the seed pod of the passion flower.    I returned about a week later and couldn't find any seed pods on the vine.   But I did find one that had recently fallen on the ground.

I picked it up and brought it home.   I removed the seeds from their individual little sacks and cleaned the gelatinous material off of the seeds.   I am giving the seeds a short time to dry a little and then I shall try planting some of them.    I am looking forward to seeing the incredibly beautiful flowers.

Have a wonderful day wherever you may be.   And for those who are getting snowed upon so early in the year, just try to think positive.   Like when I was a child and got a day off from school because of a snowstorm and so I got to play all day in the snow instead of sitting in a classroom.   Be happy.   Lew

atomic craters

Is this a picture of the surface of the moon?   No, it is the atomic test site located in Nevada where they set off the atomic bombs.    Our country went from exploding atomic bombs on the surface of the ground

to exploding them underground.   When an atomic bomb is exploded underground a subsidence crater is created from the ground settling back down after the explosion.    These craters can be of various sizes.  

What I found fascinating was how many of them there were and how much they reminded me of the lunar surface.   My favorite crater (if you can have one) is the Sedan crater because of its enormous size.

You can get an idea of its scale by the road around it.   I like it because I got to personally visit the crater and stand at its edge.

This is an observing platform that I got to walk out on and peer over the edge down into the crater.

The explosion that created the Sedan crater was a part of Operation Plowshare on the peaceful uses of using nuclear explosives for peaceful excavations.   It certainly did move a lot of dirt to make that huge crater.   It was fascinating to visit the atomic test site for training for radiation emergencies.   This is my class out at the atomic test site.   Can you spot me?

Here I am.

How do you like those pork chop sideburns?   That was the style then.   Really.   The history of the atomic testing program is really fascinating to read about.   It is one of my hobbies.    Have a great day.     Lew

Mary's chair

This is Mary's computer desk where she surfs the internet and checks her emails.   This chair use to be hers but it looks like it has now been claimed by Tammy.   I see something suspicious hanging down from the chair seat.   Do you see it?

Yep, it is Tammy the cat taking a little nap on Mary's chair.   She is so tired that she can hardly hold her eyes open.   A sweet kitty who is treated like a princess.  

            This week Mary and I went to see the new version of the movie The Thing.   This is the third version that I have seen.    In each subsequent version the special effects are better.   But this latest version I would classify as a horror movie as opposed to sci-fi.

            Who likes going to Disneyworld?   I do, I do!   The weather here in Orlando is finally turning cooler and that means Mary and I will be visiting Disneyworld very soon with our annual passes which is a terrific buy.   Disney is such a fun place to visit and I never seem to tire of it.   Do you have any special memories of Disneyworld or Disneyland?   Please post them in the comments section.   Time to go.   As they say at Disney, "Have a magical day".    Lew     

the brain from outer space

I went out to the mail box and saw this "thing" on the ground.   From a distance it looked like something from one of those old science fiction movies like "The Brain From Outer Space".   Not knowing what it was, I approached it cautiously.

As I got close to it I realized that it was just a large mass of numerous toadstools.   But it does look like something out of those sci/fi monster movies. 

I have never seen anything like this before.   But what the heck, this is Florida and most everything grows in Florida.   We have had a few days of constant rain which makes the fungi grow.   I bet that I have seen at least 6 or 7 different varieties of toadstools in the yard at one time or another.   Even Tammy our cat had to come over and check it out.

Whenever our cat sees me doing something in the yard she always has to come over to me to check on what I am doing.   The proverbial "curiosity of a cat".   Is everyone getting ready for the cooler temperatures of fall?   After a hot steamy humid summer here in tropical Florida, I am looking forward to the cooler weather.   Not a believer in global warming?   Come to Florida in August.   As Buster Poindexter sings, "hot, Hot, Hot".    Stay cool and be cool.    Lew

curious wasps

Mary noticed some wasps on the backside of the porch light.   And just look at the corrosion on the metal.    When we first purchased the porch light a couple of years ago it was all shiny brass and really looked nice.   I guess living in Florida with the salt air from the ocean caused this rapid corrosion.   Or maybe the price was too good to be true.   But, back to the wasps.  

The wasps just seem to be congregating on the back of the light fixture.   And I don't know what material the back is made of but it is still shiny and reflective, and not corroded at all.   The only part of the light fixture that isn't corroded.

The wasps look like the wasps that make their nest out of paper, but they have been there for over a week now and no sign of any kind of nest building.   They just seem to gather there.   I wonder if perhaps they are seeing their own reflection in the shiny material?    I need to take the lamp down and clean it up and paint it, but not right now.    I want to see first if they eventually build a nest.   It is just very interesting, or as Mr. Spock would say, "fascinating".   Have a good day no matter where in the galactic universe you may live.   "Live Long and Prosper".    Lew