Rides at Busch Gardens

There are many rides at Busch Gardens. There is a roller coaster ride and there are only two of its kind in North America and one of them is in Busch Gardens. The ride is called Shricka. Guess which one we went on??

Apes at Busch Gardens

It was interesting to watch the apes interacting with one another and no I do not believe humans evolved from the ape family.

Reptiles at Busch Gardens

The crocodiles and the giant turtle are having a lazy afternoon sunning themselves in the sun. But, the lizard is enjoying the view out of his window--looking at all the girls go by.

Some of the animals at Busch Gardens

The zebras,elephants and the camels seem right at home in their spacious surroundings .

More birds at Busch Gardens

The flamingos are really unique birds to watch. They would stand on one leg to conserve body heat. To eat they would turn their heads upside down with their foreheads on the ground and pick up food of the ground. They are a pretty color as well. The parrots are a great attraction and come in various colors. there is a bird show at the gardens which the parrots have a part in. Their wings are clipped so that they cannot fly away.

In December 2006, we purchased seasonal passes to Busch Gardens which allowed us to go to Cypress Gardens at no cost only parking. We went and enjoyed the beautiful gardens ,unfortunately we left our camera at home . We have gone to Busch Gardens several times and enjoyed ourselves . Busch Gardens has several rides, children section, entertainment and several birds and animals. Here Stew and I enjoyed walking thru one of the bird sanctuary which housed the Lories.
These birds are affectionate,playful and curious. They particularly love
an audience. They have a particular habit they enjoy doing for hours and that is hanging upside down for hours from the roof of their cage. They are easy to train to do various tricks. They do have great personality.

There will be more on Busch gardens in future blogs

LETTUCE LAKE once again

During our stroll on the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake we met 2 of the local residents--Mr.Turtle and Mrs. Squirrel. Both appeared not to mind the intrusion.

LETTUCE LAKE

We took a stroll on a boardwalk along Hillsborough River at Lettuce Lake. One of the interesting and unusual sight we seen was the Bald Cypress Trees. They grow along river banks or swampy soils. The trees are very majestic in appearance and form "knees" which are woody projections sent above ground that are part of the root system. Their function at one time was thought to provide oxygen to the roots, but the thought today that the "knees" provide support and stabilization. The cypress tree grows to 50-70 feet with a spread of 30 feet and are rarely blown over even in a hurricane.

Here is a picture of the sheriff directing traffic from Bay Life Church. The web address the last blog for some reason isn't working. Here it is again www.baylifeweb.org

Here is a picture of the sheriff directing traffic from Bay Life Church. The web address the last blog for some reason isn't working. Here it is again www.baylifeweb.org

Bay Life Church Brandon, Florida

As promised here are some pictures of the church we attend while we are in Florida. We have fallen in love with Pastor Mark Saunders and the congregation. We found the church totally by accident. We arrived into our campsite at Southern Aire in Thontoassa, Florida on November 1,2006 , Wednesday afternoon. We needed to purchase a few things at Home Depot. On our way to and back we passed the church Bay Life and in front was a sign indicating church times. The church and the sign had caused a curiosity in us to the point we had to investigate on Sunday morning. Much to our shock and amazement there was a Florida sheriff directing traffic into the church grounds and the same sheriff was out on Kingsway Rd. directing traffic out of the church grounds. Pastor Mark has a unique way presenting his messages. He uses props which bring the point across. The one that really blew us away was the Sunday service prior to the American Thanksgiving which is in November. Pastor Mark gave the shortest message ever- 10 mins. He was teaching from Nehemiah 11:27-43 , stating we have much to be thankful for and as a church together we can do much to rejoice. "The power of God in our lives leads us to heart of thankfulness" At the end of his message, he brought out a toy car, toy shopping cart and a toy budget rent a truck. Pastor Mark sent us out on a mission to demonstrate our thankfulness of what God has done for us. We each were given a grocery list and were sent out to one of the two grocery stores nearby and shop for the local food banks. Families were encouraged to pick up the children from the children's church and have them to be apart of the adventure. It was exciting and up lifting to see the grocery store we were in full of Bay Life congregation shopping together. The shelves in the store were nearly empty. In the parking lot in both stores was a Budget Rent a truck where we took our groceries. As a church we supplied enough groceries for the food bank to last until May 2007. I believe the amount of groceries was approx. 30,000-36,000 lbs in total. At Bay Life there are 2 Sunday morning services and we can't wait to go to see what God has in store for us.
We also have joined a home group that meets every Thursday evening and we have met the most wonderful, Godly people. It is so comforting to know that they are only a phone call away whenever we need a prayer for a situation. To learn more about Bay Life Church and also hear Pastor mark's messages go to the following.www.baylifeweb.org