Margaret & Ian's life together, including Ian's MINIs!
I returned to Disney Springs last night, and the Christmas Tree Trail was back (seen last year too); different this year since it was dark so everything looks better!
Today was interesting for staring at the sky! First, in a rare event (next time isn’t till 2032!) the tiny planet Mercury was between Earth and the Sun so we could “see” it – though it’s just a really really tiny dot on the Sun! I took a few photos with my high zoom camera and using my eclipse lens filter (from 2017); you can see the tiny dot has moved between the two photos – I made copies and added an arrow, to help!
Later in the morning Space X had another launch and with clear skies we could watch that too (some 50-60 miles away, looking East!):
This past weekend an Alfa-Romeo club (and a few Fiats) displayed in downtown Celebration – it’s further from our home now so we don’t visit as often, but this seemed like a good bonus! Here’s some photos:
Once again Margaret and I enjoyed Halloween downtown, with so many people dressed up in costumes – and we did too! We chose a Downton Abbey theme, with Margaret getting lots of compliments 🙂
Pictures from sunset time (about 7pm); this time of year the “rainy season” in Florida is coming to an end, with less humid days and (slightly) cooler evenings. That means less clouds, so sunset was pretty quick with the sun simply disappearing and not giving much color to the sky. A few nice pictures anyway …
From this site via WFTV:
1. Settlers began arriving in the Winter Garden area in the 1850s. Attracted by the fertile muck land that bordered Lake Apopka, settlers engaged in citrus and vegetable farming, living in small settlements situated along the lake’s south shore.
2. By the end of the 19th century, Winter Garden’s business district had grown up alongside the two railroad lines that ran through the city.
3. Winter Garden was established in 1903 and incorporated as a city in 1908.
4. By 1920, there were more than 1,000 residents, and the city had quickly become the center of commerce and agriculture in West Orange County.
5. The Edgewater Hotel opened in 1927 as Lake Apopka’s emergence as “the large-mouth bass capital” attracted tourists.
6. Early residents either owned or worked in the groves, and as the citrus industry grew, the commercial district continued to expand.
7. By the turn of the century, a small commercial district had emerged along Plant Street and residential neighborhoods began to appear.
8. The historic fabric of Winter Garden remains largely intact. The historic buildings in Winter Garden date between 1915 and 1940.
Time for another car show, downtown Winter Garden … new this time I’m using my brand new iPhone 11 Pro Max; it gave me some great photos, though the new “ultra-wide” (0.5x”) lens is going to take a bit of getting used to – it’s great sometimes to take a really wide view from close to the action, but sometimes the result looks strange even though the phone is doing impressive work to eliminate distortion. Take a look at the station wagon, for where the wide view doesn’t quite work:
