December 11, 2015 - Orange City, FL to Celebration, FL

Another pleasant morning when Edith went to the spring to take more videos of the manatees.  It was 62˚.

Not too many people at the spring, but there was this guy with his GoPro mounted on a tripod. He looked at Edith quizzically because she did not have GoPro with her two days ago when he was there.  He asked her if she had just bought it.  “No, I already had it”, Edith replied.  We went about our business and tried to find spots to film manatees.  There were not many manatees close by and the lighting under water was not favorable.  She was able to get some good shots.  The memory card got full, so she packed up her gear and left. 

Edith with GoPro camera mounted on the pole

Erwin started to get our Lil’ Home (LH) ready when Edith got back from the spring.  Next door campers from New Jersey had already left.  Edith transferred videos from GoPro to the hard drive, formatted the card, went back to the spring.

Edith got a couple videos done before the female ranger came and told her that underwater videoing is not encouraged. "Why?", Edith asked her. "Because it is a refuge and manatees are protected", she explained.  Edith decided not to argue with her because the day before there were two rangers who saw her doing it and did not say anything.  More visitors started to show up making it hard for Edith to try to video again after the ranger left.  

Edith was thrilled to see the red shouldered hawk on the branch of a tree that is near the staircase.  It stayed there a long while and was still there when Edith left to go back to the campsite.

When Edith arrived at the campsite Erwin and the LH were not there!  Apparently, Erwin gave up waiting for Edith to come back from the spring and decided to go to the dump station.  Actually, while Edith was at the spring Erwin was waiting for Edith's laptop to be  fully charged before disconnecting the power and when it was, he left to unload the holding tanks and just as he was finishing up, Edith showed up at the right time to get the jeep hooked up to the LH!

We had already reserved to stay 7 nights at Mystic Dunes Resort in Celebration, FL. It is a timeshare resort and we had remaining points that needed to be used up before end of the year.  

Orlando Eye

The exit to Mystic Dunes from I-4

Construction on I-4 is still going on, seems like it will never end each time we visit Orlando.  The sign said the project will be finished in spring 2016 (will it?).  Orlando Eye is the newest ferris wheel attraction that was officially opened to the public last May.

After arriving at the Welcome Center at Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club we asked about where we can leave our LH.  We were advised to leave it at the golf club parking lot.  We collected stuff we needed during our stay at the resort.

We were assigned to a 2 bedroom suite on the first floor in Building #30 that is right next to the swimming pool. The kitchen is fully equipped and has a stackable washer/dryer.  There is a screened porch in the back that is accessible either from the living room or the master bedroom.  The master bath has a garden tub, shower, double vanity and a separate toilet room.  

We spent the night resting and watching TV. It has been a long time since we watch TV.  We cut off cable service two years ago for two reasons: the monthly fee was ridiculously high and we had hobbies that kept us busy and did not have much time to watch TV.