But (of course!)... I had issues transferring and changing the file type of the pictures. But now I have a new computer and appropriate software to do this! (Thanks, babe! And Merry Christmas!)
That means that this post will be the last month little while all in one :)
St. Petersburg
Vinoy Park
On the coastal side of Tampa is the calmer scene of St. Petersburg. It has an eclectic mix of people and homes. Professional, yet laid-back, with plenty of outdoor events and spots to entertain.
We went to Vinoy Park in downtown St. Pete. They hold events here occasionally, but this day was quiet (and sunny!). We took a video that -almost- shows how pretty it is there.
Locals!
Light Up Clermont 2015
We braved the traffic (small towns have traffic too!) on a Friday night to attend the local Light Up event downtown. The trees that along the streets were decorated with lights and a large tree sat in the center of it all. There were a lot of vendors, booths of local businesses, food trucks, and music.
Santa Fun Run 2015
The South Lake Rotary Club hosted the Santa Fun Run in Clermont this year. It was a 10k/5k/1k open to anyone interested. It benefited the Greater Clermont Cancer Foundation and Rotary scholarships. It was great seeing the kids so excited.
Waterfront Park
That night, we headed back to the park for the sunset. It was a calm Saturday evening. The colors in the sky were a beautiful mix of blue, pink, white, yellow, and orange.
This is the video we did of Waterfront Park on the Friday after Thanksgiving (I'd much rather hang out here than shopping on Black Friday).
On Saturday, we made the hour drive north to The Villages to visit the beautiful home of friends moving down from the Panhandle.
When driving into the community, there is an obvious old-school charm. Roundabouts lead through the landscaped drive with side roads (for golf carts) flanking the way.
It was raining when we arrived so we stayed inside and caught up. Shortly after, they showed us the pool area and lake within their neighborhood.
Then we headed over to the Eisenhower Recreation Center, which has a museum quality with military memorabilia from the era. The center also houses rooms for residents' clubs, including various art mediums and special interests.
The restaurant we were going to for dinner (City Fire) is located in the Brownwood Square, which has an old-time, country feel. All of the squares in The Villages have different themes and provide live music/entertainment seven days a week. We had a delicious dinner, saw part of the show, and continued on to Lake Sumter Square. This one had different shopping and restaurant options, as well as entertainment. The theme is seaside, complete with a long boardwalk. By this time, it was dark, but still a lovely walk along the water. We completed our evening with coffee.
Good company and good times.
All in all, The Villages was definitely designed well with a lot of thought for its residents. I can see the appeal in retiring here (or visiting in the meantime).
We spent 10 days in the Dominican Republic so this is a long post with many pictures/videos. Enjoy :)
*A little bit of everything we saw in DR*
Wednesday
The 9th of September started very early. We left out of Orlando, had a layover in Puerto Rico, and arrived in Santiago by 12:30 PM. Thankfully, the family was waiting to pick us up. His aunt graciously let us stay at her house for most of the trip.
We met up with the rest of the family and had lunch there. Lunch was a main meal with most of the family. Everyone is so busy with work and school schedules that it seems to be the best time to get together (at least from what I gathered). We spent a while there, then stopped by the Monumento on the way to a family friend's house. Then we went to Abuela's house.
Monumento
View from her house
Thursday
We stopped in La Vega on the way to Jarabacoa. We met up with the sister of the family friend and she got us in touch with a reliable taxi driver to take us to Santo Cerro.
It's a long, winding drive up the mountain to a beautiful church on top, steeped in history. It was an awesome sight seeing the valley below.
There's a school right next to it and the children there loved the drone.
*Santo Cerro*
We took a guagua from La Vega to Jarabacoa. We booked a night at Hotel Gran Jimenoa for that night. It wasn't originally planned, but I'm glad we did. Someone riding with us told us where we should get off in order to be "10 minutes up the road" from the hotel. Awesome. We walked a little, ate lunch at a small plaza place (where I realized that merengue soda is delicious), and started to walk up the road. After about 15 minutes, there was no sign of a hotel so we stopped to ask someone. Again, up the road. So we started again through the country. Little traffic and nice houses. Another 15 minutes or so, we saw signs for the hotel, but they were just attached to the street signs. No distance or direction listed. So we asked again. This time, we were told it is far and to follow the signs (the people here walk a lot and when they say it's "far," you can bet on it). A couple streets up and the sign said to turn. We walked down a dirt road, between cows on said road, and finally saw the hotel sign. Thankfully, it's right on the river and a peaceful place.
tl:dr It was a long, hot walk through the country, but I enjoyed it. We experienced things we wouldn't have otherwise and got to see rural DR.
Hotel road entrance
Hotel lobby entrance
*Hotel Gran Jimenoa*
Friday
We checked out and took a taxi (that is maybe a 10 minute ride) to the bus station. We went back to Santiago and spent time with the family. We were invited to have dinner with another aunt/uncle at their country club that night. It was a nice restaurant, where we had good company, good wine, and good paella.
Saturday
*San Jose de las Matas*
We went to San Jose de las Matas with Aunt/Uncle/Cousins. Along the way, we saw more mountain ranges than we had in Jarabacoa. It was one of my favorite drives, especially coming back at sunset. While there, we spent some time at a river park ironically called "Aguas Calientes."
Sunday
The family kindly offered to take us to Santo Domingo.
Along the way, we stopped for limoncillos (also tasty) and chicharron. There were plenty of vendors right along the road everywhere we went. Talk about fresh!
Once in Santo Domingo, we stopped at Jardín Botánico. We opted for the train ride through the park and the guide explained the various plants. We then walked around the front side of the park. There were a few joggers and I could see why this would be a perfect place to get some exercise.
Following the park, we went to Acuario Nacional. It is an interesting aquarium located right on the ocean.
It began to rain (the only time our whole trip, although it was cloudy a lot) so the family dropped us off at our hotel (Hotel Portes 9). When the rain subsided, we walked the area around the hotel. It was in the Colonial Zone and we were able to walk it easily.
We were warned that Santo Domingo is dangerous so we were cautious there. We had dinner when it was just getting dark and then walked back to the hotel. It was busy and felt safe then. There was also a tourist police station around the corner, which helped ease concerns.
Monday
We checked out and took a taxi to Faro a Colon (Columbus Lighthouse).
It is a massive structure a little walk off the road. It's a museum (and supposedly contains the remains of Christopher Columbus), but was not open when we were there. We walked around the front and one side and took some pics/video. Afterward, we walked back to the taxi that had waited and went to the bus station. I really liked all the history in Santo Domingo.
We arrived back in Santiago that afternoon.
Another uncle picked us up to go to Abuela's house again. He said he wanted to show us a river he used to go to. It was tucked away right outside the city in a small neighborhood. I believe he said the government built the old land owners a new house and took over the property to make it an official park. However, due to drought, the whole riverbed was dry and cracking. The entire city has had a water shortage for a few months now. It's crazy to think he said he was swimming in this river just several months back.
Tuesday
Tuesday was laid back. We hung out with Aunt/Uncle/Cousins for the day and they took us along to a home that belonged to a friend of theirs. We went swimming, ate dinner, walked through the mini orchard in the back yard, and relaxed.
Wednesday
We originally booked a hotel in the small fishing village of Punta Rucia. We didn't anticipate travel to it being that difficult, but there were no bus lines close enough and we don't know the area in between. We decided it would cost the same to book an all-inclusive in Puerto Plata rather than blindly trying to make it to the original hotel. Since we booked the new hotel the night before, we got a really good rate.
Our bus was running about an hour late and we arrived at Be Live Marien around 2:45 PM. There wasn't anyone waiting and check-in took about 10 minutes. The room was clean and comfortable as well as the hotel grounds. It was a cloudy day (of course!), but at least not too hot. We went swimming, laid on the beach, had dinner at the buffet (themed with a good bit of selection), and met some nice fellow travelers. It would have been perfect to spend a couple days there, but one night was still appreciated. The beach did have a lot of seaweed, but employees were cleaning it up the next morning. It was a great time of year to go because the hotel seemed fairly empty and quiet.
*Puerto Plata*
Thursday
Outside the hotel is a large sign with prices to local attractions. We were already wanting to go to the Teleférico, but according to the sign, it was a $30USD taxi ride, one way (and $50 roundtrip). We spoke to an employee at the door, who contacted the taxi service, and negotiated a better deal. Luckily, we were able to do that because it was a picturesque sight overlooking the city of Puerto Plata.
The cable car goes up 800 meters (!) to the top, where there's a statue, walking trails, foliage, a restaurant, a lagoon, and a cave.
*El Teleferico*
We spent a couple of hours here. I recommend visiting if you're ever in Puerto Plata.
We left Puerto Plata for Santiago late afternoon. We spent the rest of the evening with family, who took us to Mao, and I tried mofongo for the first time. Delicioso!
Friday
This was our last full day here and stayed in Santiago. We went to Sun Street in the morning to buy souvenirs and see the city shops. We had lunch at Abuela's house and stayed there the afternoon. It was a busy day with work/school so we had a late dinner with Aunt/Uncle/Cousins at a burger place in town.
Saturday
We were already packed, so we got ready and had breakfast that morning. Family gave us a ride to the airport for our noon flight. The trip went without a hitch, landing us around 6:00 PM.
This was my first time visiting the Dominican Republic and it was great! A big thank you to the family who went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Their generosity allowed us experiences we hadn't planned on and it was wonderful meeting everyone.
On the way back from the North Shore, we passed Sugarloaf Mountain. It's one of the highest points in Florida (at 312 feet) and has some beautiful views.
There were a few sightseers and a couple cyclists (It's a popular spot because of the incline/difficulty). A house near the top had a water cooler out to stop for a break.
July 26, 2015
Minneola, Florida
Filmed with DJI Phantom 3 Pro
"Not Me" by Silent Partner - Youtube Audio Library
Last year, we went to the Showcase of Citrus and picked oranges. Turns out, we're not very good at picking oranges. However, the place is really neat. They have a country store where you can buy things like pre-picked citrus, slushies, jams, wine, and alligator meat (because Florida).
So we decided to go back on Saturday and try again.
Unfortunately, it's off-season to pick pretty much everything, but the store and Swamp Safari were up and running.
"Comfortably ride on the world’s largest 4×4 for about an hour through the 2500 acre Estate and learn about Native Florida trees, plants, and animals, as well as the history of the Citrus Estate. Guests may also have the opportunity to interact and feed the wildlife."
"Clermont, Florida, is known as the “Choice of Champions” and is located about 20 miles west of Orlando and major theme parks. Clermont was named one of the Top 20 Cities in America “Leading the Way” in economic development and quality of life."
There are hills in Florida! (Hills by Florida standards, but awesome nonetheless). We've been here for a couple years now and I still appreciate the scenery. Clermont is rapidly growing and provides a great alternative for those who want the convenience of larger cities nearby, but with all the comforts of a small town feel.
Outdoor lifestyles are popular and easy to accomplish with all the options available. There are many nature parks and activities (often free!) outside of the theme parks. There seems to be a large conservation effort here and it shows.
Years ago, Clermont was just a little town of orange groves and lakes.
