Let's Go To Florida Circa 1977!
Pulling a 33' Master Coach trailer that weighs 6,000 pounds empty takes a little getting used of at first, believe me! The day I picked it up new at Niagara-on-the-Lake Trailers from Doug Petrie, I got as far as near Erie, Pennsylvania and had to quit because of a terrific snow storm. We couldn't see the bloody road let alone the highway signs! I talked to a trucker on the c.b. and he told me there was a Rest Area ahead of me somewhere. After almost missing it, we pulled into one and after pushing some buttons, got the trailer levelled and the weight off the car and went to bed right off. At that time there was nobody else around. The trailer had all the conveniences of home including forced air heating system, etc. so we had a great night's sleep. Up at daybreak and had it snowed!! The temperature was fairly mild but there had to be over two and a half feet of fresh snow on top of the trailer when we awoke! As Joyce was making breakfast, I sat in the "dining booth" watching out the window as that rest area had filled completely while we slept!
I was particularly interested in this beautiful big new Airstream just across from me as there was all this snow on it and as you may be aware, is rounded everywhere for better areodynamics while being towed. However ... there was only a tiny little "gutter" over the door of it and the snow was actually "hanging" from it over two feet high! I said to Joyce that we must stay long enough just to see the owner come out of that trailer. You see ... "Airstream Trailer Owners" are generally a "snobbish" lot because they are considered to be the ultimate in trailers. I just had to witness one of their trailer's failings:-) I didn't have long to wait as it turned out. A rather bald-headed little man opened the door and stepped down onto the steps of his Airstream. He only had his pants and underwear top on as it was really not that cold and he was stretching and yawning deliciously. At that very moment the big pile of snow did what I was really hoping for ... (evil ain't I?) ... and down it came all over him ... beautifully!! You know .... that made up for all the "up tightness" of the rough driving the night before. The "drenching" that man got and the speed of his re-entry into that beautiful Airstream of his was as good as any comic show could be. It gave us all a good laugh to continue our journey anyway.
I don't remember exactly where this was but I rather think it was either Tennessee or Georgia alongside the highway. We decided to stop early there and have a good sleep for an extra early start in the morning as we wanted to get to Davenport, Florida for the next night. We had friends there that owned a Trailer Park and it was just 12-15 miles from Disney World. We had Harry and one of his buddies with us on that trip so we intended to do Disney World for a change. When we lived there, Disney was just buying up property in the area and it was mostly swamp and some citrus farms at that time. We had been to Florida many times without going there until this trip and further on I'll drop a couple pictures in of some of the places we did visit because Harry's buddy had never seen Florida before.
Well we got there. Here we are parked for a couple of weeks in a great, quiet location. Mostly senior citizens lived there all winter and just left their trailers the year 'round so it was very relaxing and well kept. I just have to tell you about me trying to put that trailer onto the cement "pad" of the site. Try as she may, poor Joyce did everything she could to give me the proper "signals" when I was attempting to park the bloody thing. However, I do have to admit that I had no experience doing it and I must say "the air got to be fairly blue" at times .... tempers too! Two elderly gentlemen were standing nearby watching this dilemna for some time ... kind of sucking on their pipes and smiling a bit. One of them came up to me while I was behind the rig having a "discussion" with Joyce over signals. He said in a quiet voice, "You seem to be having some trouble with that thing. Would you like me to park it for you?" To make a long story short that man got into my car and without hesitation or "zig-zagging" like I had been doing .... he parked that sucker exactly on the cement pad the first time! He explained to me later that he was a retired trucker so at least I didn't feel too bad.
Well here is the original attraction of Disney World at that time. The Magic Kingdom. It is unbelieveable how beautiful and well kept the grounds are. You never see a delivery truck anywhere in the public eye and there is no garbage in evidence at any time! If you drop a cigarette on the ground and walk a short distance, then turn around ... the cigarette is gone! The same with chocolate wrappers, etc.. Disney hires and trains students from all over the world and the waiting list for a job there is very long. The training they give to the young people stands them in good stead all their life and they go to all lengths possible to apprentice there. They do not want people chewing gum on the grounds because the pavement gets awfully hot ... it just melts into the pavement making an awful mess and is almost impossible to clean up once the sun is on it long enough. There garbage is all taken out underground through a great network of tunnels and taken to some place on site where it is burned and converted into electricity to help power the place! No waste whatsoever!
In 1977 they only had the two hotels at the Magic Kingdom. The one on the left is the Polynesian Village Hotel and the other one I do not have a picture of is called The Contemporary Hotel. The elevated rail cars go right through the Contemporary Hotel and right up to the door of the Polynesian Village. Epcot Center was just in the planning stages at that time and we have never gone back to see that part of Disney World.
If you want to see something typically Florida, then you just have to visit Cypress Gardens. On the left is a "man-made mountain" complete with waterfalls. On the right is typical of the landscaping expertise you'll find throughout the State. Oh yes they also have their ugly places but I would rather devote this site to the beautiful ones. Cypress Gardens is/was the site used for backgrounds for a famous Gospel Choir on television in those days. I cannot remember their name but have seen them on television often. The choir was made up of half female voices and half male. We watched those poor kids standing in that hot sun for hours waiting patiently for the camera crews to get just the settings they wanted. I felt so sorry for them as they were dresssed "to the hilt" for the show and had to ever be ready for a "take" whenever the director called. Those "dressy clothes" were very hot to wear for hours in that hot sun. I know that more than one of them passed out in the heat but it was so important to them to try and get a start as singers so they "hung in there!" I never thought of taking a picture of them though.
Well although these pictures may not seem to belong among all this beauty, I'm afraid that what you see to your left and right is a fact of life in Florida. These critters grow to up to 14-15 feet and live to well over a hundred years old!! They, being "true survivors" of the dinosaur age have an uncanny knack at adapting to almost any environment. Somwhere I have a slide picture of a lady actually slapping and scolding "her pet alligator" ... that is the one in the picture on the left in her back yard. It always came out of the swampy area behind her house near Kissimmee! I was standing at the corner of her house at a respectful distance when I took this shot. She was actually scolding it at the time for something then and it was "bellowing" right back at her! They sort of hold liquid in their throat and make a sort of "gargling" sound which comes out very loud. It would generally come right up to the back door of her bungalow for snacks. It was about 13 feet long and when it stole anything, she would actually slap it and scold it for doing its mischief! Unbelievable!
The picture on the left is a "biggie" that I took somewhere that it was being kept in capitivity. I can't remember if it was at Owen Godwin's "Gatorland" between Kisseeme and Orlando or not. More than likely it was. Just thought I'd toss it in here to show you another way they behave at different times. You know ... like a woman with her "variety of moods" :-) This one was obviously upset about something so it must have been a female for sure :-) Maybe she just missed a nice "human dinner" or some such "alligator-type disaster:-) The photo on the right definitely doesn't belong on this page but as I wasn't into photography then, I do not have too many with my daughters in them for that reason. The picture on the right was taken in the winter of 1968 when Joyce and Harry and I were living there. The girls were finishing their high school in Shelburne and were staying with Joyce's Mom here in Honeywood. I believe this was the March break they came down for and the picture looks like it might have been taken at Fort Desoto Park which was one of our favourite places. Either that or the original Dunedin beach, another favourite spot (now filled up with homes, etc.) Dunedin is where the Cardinals always held their winter games. My uncle Tom Richards, inventor of the original turn signal also lived in Clearwater in a large mansion but we opted to stay on our own most of the time. His place was so big, three families could have lived there without hardly ever running into each other. Too "posh" for my blood but aunt Eve (my Dad's sister) and uncle Tom were real Angels just the same.
Enough for this session. To be continued ....
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