Lake tahoe > The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour - Entertaining, Informative and a Visual Delight

The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour - Entertaining, Informative and a Visual Delight

by: Susanne Pacher

The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour, founded in 1938 and located just 15 minutes north of downtown Orlando, is one of these lovely side trips that combine beautiful scenery, a bit of local history, some close-up exposure to local wildlife and vegetation with a relaxing outing in a slow-moving 18-passenger pontoon boat, all complete with expert (and sometimes humorous) narration provided by the boat's captain.

The tour takes you through 3 lakes: Lake Osceola, Lage Virginia and Lake Maitland. On this gorgeous day, with brilliantly blue skies, the boat whisked us past hundreds of beautiful water-front estates, many of which were originally built in the 1920s and originally sold for $20,000, while fetching between $500,000 and several million in today's booming Central Florida real estate market. Even boathouses are worth between $30,000 and $40,000.

In Lake Virginia we came up close to the grounds of Rollins College, one of the top rated private liberal arts colleges in the South Eastern United States, founded in 1885 by New England Congregationalists. Rollins College is the oldest recognized college in the state of Florida with a small student body of 1,700 students, housed on a beautiful 70 acre Mediterraean Revival Campus. Our expert captain / tour guide mentioned that tuition at the college is $38,000 and the ratio of students to professors is 12:1.

Condos are located right next to the college, selling today for between $450,000 to $1 million. As we approached the narrow Venetian Canal that would take us from Lake Virginia to Lake Maitland, our captain made us aware of all the interesting vegetation growing alongside the canal: Egyptian papyrus, Spanish moss (an airplant and not a parasite), the Princess flower, colourful bougainvilleas and resurrection fern. We saw a variety of birds, including an Osprey eagle, a snake bird, a great blue heron and a white egret, which used to be the good luck bird of the Seminole Indians.

On Lake Maitland we learned that there was an alligator cave from which 150 alligators were removed into the Florida Everglades to prevent a rather dangerous collision between local wildlife and civilization.

Along the Venetian Canal we also saw variegated ginger and banana trees, as we slowly passed under the arched Palmer Avenue Bridge. Philodendrons, palmgrass, bamboo, a plant called firespikes and an interesting arrangement of "air potatoes", round tubers hanging down from a tree branch, adorned our journey through the canal.

At 450 acres and 30 feet deep, Lake Maitland is the largest of the 3 lakes covered by the boat tour. A dam controls the water level and interestingly, the lakes all drain northwards into the St. John's River which flows into the Atlantic near Jacksonville. The Kraft Azalea Gardens, located on Lake Maitland on Alabama Drive off Palmer Avenue, feature thousands of azaleas, tropical shrubs and trees. Azaleas are in full bloom January through March.

Our expert captain also pointed out various mansions that have been used as backdrops in various movies and commercials. Lake Maitland also features several small islands with rather naked looking trees that house colonies of cormorants, fishing birds that consume up to a pound of fish a day.

We slowly made our way back from Lake Maitland to Lake Osceola where our relaxing and scenic boat tour came to an end. On this gorgeous day it was a fabulous outing that provided an appropriate historical context for a further exploration of the beautiful city of Winter Park.

The Scenic Boat Tour, a Winter Park institution for almost 70 years now, is located at the end of Morse Avenue on the shores of Lake Osceola. It is a very affordable outing at $8 for adults and $4 for children (children under 2 ride free). Boat tours run every day from 10 am to 4 pm (except Christmas). For further information contact the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour.

About The Author

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

"Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons".

The story with photos is published at Stories and Photos (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/orlando_regional_history_center.htm)

Susanne Pacher sq@travelandtransitions.com

The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour - Entertaining, Informative and a Visual Delight

The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour - Entertaining, Informative and a Visual Delight

by: Susanne Pacher

In...

The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour - Entertaining, Informative and a Visual Delight

Lake tahoe > The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour - Entertaining, Informative and a Visual Delight

Lake Vouliagmeni And Its Medicinal Waters

Lake Vouliagmeni And Its Medicinal Waters

by: Jakob Jelling

The Lake Vouliagmeni is not only famous as a very beautiful spot but also but also as containing medicinal waters. This spot has been visited by people who wish to enjoy its waters for centuries, and is one of the most attractive areas in the Greek region of Peloponnese. Visitors approach in order to enjoy its beautiful shores, practice different water sports, relax in front of unique landscapes, taste excellent local dishes, and have a great time in a picturesque environment.

Lake Vouliagmeni has an extension of about 26 km or 15 miles, and is located within the municipality called after it, Vouliagmeni, at about 20 kilometers from the central area of Athens. This lake provides an ideal destination for all those who enjoy water related activities, and it is very common to see visitors fishing, swimming and even windsurfing in this region.

The municipality of Vouliagmeni has...

Lake Vouliagmeni And Its Medicinal Waters

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Do You Really Need A Fishing Guide?

by: Dan Farrell

"Do I really need a guide?" is one of the most frequently asked questions from anglers going on their first fishing trip to a remote lake. It's impossible to accurately answer that question with a "yes" or a "no", but we can give you the information you need to know to answer the question yourself.

Guides can frequently be worth having as long as you know just exactly what you're getting.

For example, hiring a guide is no guarantee that you're going to catch a ton of trophy fish. The guide will take you to the places known to have fish, but catching them is still up to you.

If you don't know what you're doing, the guide can only help you so much. But, that said, if that's the case, a guide may be well worth it to you.

Since you will be arriving at a lake you've never been on before, and you only have a few days to catch fish... a guide can really be a big help. Without a guide,...

Do You Really Need A Fishing Guide?

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YEEEEEHAAAAW!!!! Our High and Low Speed Adventures at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours and Swamp Buggy Rides

YEEEEEHAAAAW!!!! Our High and Low Speed Adventures at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours and Swamp Buggy Rides

by: Susanne Pacher

After my rather quaint and leisurely scenic boat ride through Winter Park, a rather different boating experience was in store for me: a high speed airboat ride through Lake Tohopekaliga, provided by Boggy Creek Airboat Rides.

We got started early in the morning and took the first tour out. The temperature must have been about 45 degrees Fahrenheit or so, and in wise anticpation we both wore our Canadian winter jackets. Good thing, because it gets pretty darn cold zooming along at high speed on the airboats.

We were the first ride out of the gate, and fortunately we were provided with white blankets which kept us reasonably warm. Off we went on our 6-passenger airboat, exploring the coastline of Lake Tohopekaliga, getting a glimpse at various types of wetland birds, including bald eagles, ospreys, egrets and cranes...

YEEEEEHAAAAW!!!! Our High and Low Speed Adventures at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours and Swamp Buggy Rides

Lake tahoe > YEEEEEHAAAAW!!!! Our High and Low Speed Adventures at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours and Swamp Buggy Rides

Words To Live By?

by: Steve Gillman

Watching the news the other day, it occurred to me that people who have "words to live by" often begin to attack and even kill others. I thought back to my own angry youth, when I could easily use words to justify violent thoughts which might have become violent actions. Words are tools, and yet it seems that they can be more dangerous than gunpowder.

Imagine two men facing each other, pointing past one another. One is pointing at a tornado that is coming, and the other at a raging fire headed towards them. Each sees their own truth and is angry at the sight of the other's hand. Each feels that the other's hand is "wrong." This may seem silly, but replace the tornado and fire with any modern issues, and the hands with words, and this scene describes how we often try to communicate.

We point past each other with our words, arguing as though we are looking at the same facts and experiences. We want to prove...

Words To Live By?

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Alien landings in the Lake District?

by: Peter Scott

News that the latest space probe has discovered a discarded Kendal Mint Cake wrapper on the surface of Mars, and, what appears to be an alien space-craft seen landing on Skiddaw and discharging small people armed with cameras, confirms once and for all that Cumbria and the Lake District is probably the most popular visitor location in the Universe.

Not only is the spectacular scenery and hospitality a tourist attraction, but an added allure is the sense of
mystery, secrecy and maybe a touch of disbelief surrounding many of the region?s venues. A century or so ago, travelers wishing to cross Lake Windermere between Ferry Nab and Sawrey on the opposite shore used the services of a boatman and his small rowing-boat. One particularly stormy night, a voice was heard to call for transport from the wooded slopes of Claiffe Heights on the Sawrey side of the water. The boatman duly set off to...

Alien landings in the Lake District?

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Looking After Leather

Looking After Leather

by: Jane Lake

With a little care, you can keep leather clothing looking its best for years, according to an expert on leater from The Olde Hide House in Acton, Ontario.

- Leather naturally repels water but, for additonal protection, look for an environmentally friendly repellent product to help prevent absorption of water and body oils. It's best to avoid silicone-based repellents which retard leather's ability to "breathe."

- Let wet leather garments dry in well-ventilated areas, away from heat. The leather may stiffen slightly but should soften again after wearing.

- Hang leather coats and jackets on thick or padded hangers to keep the shoulders in shape. Don't load pockets with heavy or bulky items, which could tear seams.

- Plastic bags tend to dry out or discolor leather. Use a cotton garment bag for off-season storage, or hang coats as usual, draping a tea-towel over the shoulders to deter dust....

Looking After Leather

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