The 9th Day, She Rested

My first day off felt great.  I fell asleep around 8:30 p.m. on Monday night and woke up at 9:30 in the morning.  I really needed that re-charge.  I was not interested in unpacking boxes and my fiance (who has done most of the unpacking while I have been at work) was not interested in boxes either.  We decided to get out of the house and away from the park for the day.  We headed to another nearby park to play some disc golf.  We really moved into a great area for disc golf.  Several city and county parks have nice courses.  Many of them are free, but the one we went to today cost $4.  It was a small price to pay to spend the day on a beautiful course.  They actually have two 18-hole courses on the property.  I will have to work my way up to a 36-hole day.  I only had the energy for 18.


The park was an Orlando City Park called Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake.  We have dubbed it Turkey Leg though, which is much more fun.  The course that we played was very challenging, but fun.  It was different from the majority of the courses that we have played in Florida because there was so much variation throughout the course.  There were hills and elevation changes, a LOT of water, holes with some trees and holes with lots of trees.  Also, because of the water and elevation changes, the wind does some crazy things to a disc in flight.


One hole, I didn't even attempt.  There was water all along one side of the fairway and you had to throw over a stream that flowed into the lake.  The wind was strong near the water as well.  There were just too many chances of a lost disc on that hole and I didn't want to risk it.  There were several ducks in the water, but they didn't look interested in retrieving discs.


I'm not sure if I enjoyed the course more for the disc golf playability or for the picturesque views.  I had my camera out almost as much as I was throwing.  There were several Pink Trumpet Trees in bloom.  I don't think that I have ever seen one before, but they are stunning.  They are an ornamental tree and not native to Florida, but they are not an invasive threat.


Another beautiful, non-native that I saw there was Lantana.  These multi-colored flowers almost look artificial because of the color variation between blooms.  They seem to be weed-like here.  I found this one growing very close to our parking spot.

In the evening, we joined a large group of employees and volunteers at a local bar & grill for a get together.  It was a fun time at a fun place.  It was nice to be able to enjoy everyone's company outside of work.  When I returned home, I expected our internet connection to be operational so that I could blog.  It wasn't.  I called the company and found out that I would have to wait another day before they would be able to start our service.  I apologize for the late blog this time.

Thought of the Day #93
Do you know what kind of park your favorite local park is?  Do you know the difference between a state park, a city park, a county park, a national park, a state forest, a state recreation area, a wildlife management area, a water management area, or a historic site?  Many people don't realize how many different kinds of parks are out there and how they are different.  There are more than what I have named, but those where the first to come to mind.  The different parks have different funding sources and different missions.  Overall, most of these parks allow people to recreate on land set aside for one reason or another.  The differences lie in how the area is managed.  Some parks will focus more on recreation and some will focus more on land preservation and restoration.  Some parks focus on utilizing the land and resources and some focus on making sure that the animals can use the land.  Florida State Parks are a nice balance of many of these ideas.  Trying to serve so many purposes and balancing the needs of people and wildlife can be difficult at times.  This balance is something that takes place in all parks to some degree.  It might be fun to find out more about your favorite local park.  Look at their organization's mission statement.  It might help you to understand why they have the rules that they do.