Osborne Family Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

My brother, his fiance and I decided to buy Florida residents passes to Disney back in October when we went to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  We thought it would be fun to go to the Osborne Family Light show since it is going to be the last year that the show would be put on and I had never seen it before.  At the time we didn't know I would be living quite so far away, so last weekend I made the trek back up to Orlando to see my family and the lights.  Hollywood Studios is definitely my least favorite of the Disney theme parks.  It's very heavy on Star Wars and that is just not really my thing.  I did really enjoy the exhibit on Walt Disney, his life and how the Disney empire became what it is today just from one man with a dream.  Did you know that Mickey was originally named Mortimer??  Mr. Disney's wife thought it sounded too stuck up and suggested Mickey instead.  Smart woman.  Originally there were plans to build a park in St. Louis as well.  I wonder how that would have changed things.  I think it is sad that Walt did not live long enough to see his dream of Disney World completed.

The big reason we went to the park was to see the Osborne Family Lights Spectacle and it did not disappoint!  It is truly magical to walk through sooo many twinkling lights and looking around trying to take it all in.  Watching the faces of people around you and the children getting excited to see the lights was amazing.  Then, all the lights dim, the music starts, and the light show begins!  A dazzling display of lights turning on and off and dancing to the Christmas music playing over the loud speaker.  Incredible.

The concept was originally from the Osborne Family who lived in Arkansas and this was their actually light display that they put up every year!

Hopefully Disney decides to bring this back some day because as corny as it sounds, it really is magical and put me right into the Christmas spirit.  Happy I could share this with my family!

Turtle Hospital

I'm a bit behind but I had the opportunity to visit the Turtle Hospital in Marathon the weekend before Thanksgiving.  It is an $18 donation to the hospital to visit and all the money goes directly back into the care and rescue of injured sea turtles.  The hospital has both permanent residents and ones that will be released back into the wild once they are fully rehabilitated.  The injuries occur mostly from humans... whether hit by a boat that is speeding past and causing damage to its shell or from pollution and trash that the non discerning turtle has consumed and is unable to digest.  I've been pretty good for a few years about bringing my own cloth bags with me to the grocery store but after seeing turtles injured from eating plastic bags, it makes me want to be even more vigilant and avoid using plastic baggies in general.  Also, balloon releases that are often done to honor someone who has past away eventually end up in our ecosystem and into the stomachs or turtles or other animals that don't have the ability to digest the item and can eventually kill them.

The visit to the Turtle Hospital is well worth the time.  Any time I have taken a tour like this, the pure love and excitement of the tour guide, who is usually a biologist, is so infectious.  There was no doubt our guide just loves what she does and gets so excited to be around the turtles and see them heal.  The first 45 minutes is an inside tutorial portion, explaining more about the turtles in residence and sea turtles in general including what they eat, how big they get, and the problems that usually bring them to the hospital.  Then you get to walk through the hospital portion and see the operating rooms for the turtles.  The equipment is the same kind of equipment that is used on humans.

The final part of the tour is going out to actually visit the turtles.  You are not allowed to touch the turtles but the experience is still up close and personal.  There are two huge swimming pools with turtles swimming and playing that come for a closer look when the guide throws food to them.  These turtles are relatively healthy turtles that are either close to being released back to the ocean or are permanent residents due to a condition called "bubble butt" where their shell has been damaged allowing air to get into it and they are no longer able to dive down to get their food.  The scientists have come up with a weight system to attach to the shell that allows them to be better balanced but a turtle's shell is similar to human finger nails and will shed the outer part of the shell and eventually shed the weight itself so the weight will need to be reapplied.

Overall, the visit to the hospital was a great experience!  I came away from it more educated on the environment and the impact we have on it, plus just look at these cute faces :)

Boat Races!

One of my favorite things about traveling is encountering the unexpected.  The things that you didn't know existed there but make the experience more authentic and in some way more thrilling. When I drive into work everyday (about 16 miles over islands and bridges) I expected to see the beautiful water and maybe some amazing sunrises and sunsets but what I didn't expected to see was the Navy planes from the base on Boca Chica Key practicing overhead on my way into work every morning.  Every time I see them doing maneuvers on my way into work it makes me smile and I feel like I'm getting to witness something that most people either never see or take for granted that it happens on a daily basis for them.

My first weekend living in the Keys and I was able to encounter another unexpected event... the Key West Boat Races!  I have been to car races before and even got to go to the Formula 1 race last year in Austin but this was my first time seeing a boat race and I had no idea what to expect.  One great thing about working in physical therapy is that I spend all day with people who live in the area and give great tips on things to see, places to eat, and things to do.  So after getting the tip from a patient to go watch the races in Mallory Square, I got there about 40 minutes before the race started and staked out my place in the square to get a good view.  Across the water from my view point, boats lined up to watch the races and I had fun mentally picking out "my" dream boat while I passed the time.

After waiting and wondering for a little while, finally the boats came racing by!  I watched two different races and the boats that won, won by a long shot, but it was exciting to see the speed and the beauty of the boats as they whizzed by and feel the excitement and energy of the crowd around me. It's not an event I would suggest that you HAD to come to Key West to witness for yourself but it was definitely a fun and unexpected way to spend my first weekend of this new adventure.

Leap of Faith

Last year I was going through some life challenges and took a vacation to the Florida Keys with my best friend to escape for a little vacation.  While I was there, I bought a cup with a picture of a hammock hanging between two palm trees and Key West was written on the back of it.  I decided that whenever I was having a hard time I could look at my cup and picture myself lying in that hammock and taking in the beautiful view that is the Florida Keys. Fast forward a year and a half later, I sold my home and most of my stuff, said goodbye to some amazing friends and made the giant leap of faith to change jobs and lifestyle and start doing travel physical therapy.  Little did I know that my first job would be in Key West!  I plan to use this blog to write about the different experiences that I have while on this little adventure both to share with friends and family and to document for myself.