the Friendly Taxi Cab Company

Lady on phone:"Good afternoon...this is the Friendly Taxi Cab Company...how may I help you?"

MOI: we need a ride tomorrow.

LOP: where and what time?

MOI: we are going to the Ft. Lauderdale airport at four o'clock.

So, they showed up right on time! They honked for us, called us wondering where we were.

EXCEPT - they showed up at 4 A.M.

I had neglected to mention we were leaving at 4 P.M.

I'm wondering if they will be so friendly when they come again at 4 p.m.

The Talk

She led the singing,

And, she was also the first speaker. She is a convert, a mother/wife, teacher, and lover of music.

Her assignment was to talk on MUSIC.

Powerful talk; very inspiring, personal, faith based, and informative.

Then, to bear her testimony, she sang a short collage of one-lines from favorite hymns.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

And, that was RAH's favorite part of the entire trip.

Taxi Ride; a new way

It's just like a taxi - taking you where you need/want to go.

Only this taxi takes you on the water in Ft. Lauderdale.

And, it's amazing to get around the city using the water taxi, learning about the millionaire homes on the water, and other sites in Ft. Lauderdale.

The trip is winding down, and it's been F*A*B*U*L*O*U*S..

I've learned so much about Florida, the Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, Deseret Ranch, Bonnet House, etc.

Now, in all that positives, any negatives???????

Flat tire on the freeway, far away from anything,
FINAL NOTICE for car to be towed away,
Rain in the Bahamas,
Thinking the phone was lost,
Losing a pair of glasses....

but, mostly it's been a great, great time....one of my favorites.

Thanks, Allen, for putting together a great trip.

Bahama Blues

What comes to mind when you think of the Bahamas?

Blue skies?
Sandy beaches with lots of bikini-clad young and old ladies?
Relaxing on the beach with a good book?
Warm, sunny afternoon...

Well, normally that would be the case...
except the ONE day that we went to Grand Bahama Island....

The weather we encountered was rain, rain, rain, and then, did I mention, it poured buckets....
And believe me, no one was basking in the sun or reading a book,
but it was definitely an experience!

Well, I''ll Be!

For a lot of years, whenever I have a brownie, I eat potato chips along with it....don't ask me HOW that got started, but it's a great combination.

Apparently, someone else thought so too, because today in Kilwin's Ice Cream Store in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, I saw these chocolate dipped potato chips.....

that is just way too funny!

And, no, I didn't buy any....

Betcha Didn't Know....

that the church owns the largest for-profit cattle operation in America....

It is over 300,000 acres,

Has over 72,000 head of cattle,

Is leased by hunting groups who hunt for white-tailed deer, wild turkey, some wild boar, and very large alligators,

Also grows potatoes - yes, that's right - potatoes in FLORIDA!

and citrus fruits,

Sells many, many palm trees on the land,

And is home to lotsa alligators, which roam freely in all the water holes.

In central Florida, the challenge is to get water off the land, rather than to get water on the land.

If you eat at a fast-food restaurant, your chances are 1 in 10 that the french fries you will have come from the church's ranch in Florida. The potatoes are harvested in May - at night or they will spoil in the heat - are driven to a processing plant in central Florida, are processed, bagged, and potato chips in 8 hours!

One other thing about the Deseret Ranch is that it is very committed to the environment, and has improved the land since it was purchased in 1950.

Visiting the Deseret Ranch will definitely be a highlight of this amazing trip that RAH has put together.

Epcot Center

Others may post pictures of the incredibleDisney characters shaped as bushes, or they may post a picture standing by the big space ball in future world, or by the Japanese pagoda, but I think this picture says a lot about our day at Epcot Center. (Keep in mind, 10,000 is the goal, and it's mighty challenging to get that!)

During the day, we had:
HOT, HOT, HOT sunny weather
Sprinkles
Rain coming down in BUCKETS!

We had it all, and we tried to do it all.

Thanks, Epcot for a great day, and thanks Disney for the opportunity to go for free!