Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Florida hosts the ICE, a frozen winter wonderland of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The very first ICE! experience was presented more than two decades ago, in 2001, at Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn. ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort debuted in 2003. This year our daughter bought tickets for them and us to see the Grinch brought to life with colored ice. The drive up to Kissimmee from their house was a long 1-1/2 hours, then hauling all of our winter clothes into the hotel, and then standing in line for 45 minutes before actually getting into the show. The temperature inside the area was kept at 9 degrees, so we bundled up to withstand that temperature.
We went to visit Uncle Sandy's Macaw Bird Park, a sanctuary for macaws, parrots and parakeets that have been surrendered, their owners died, or were found somewhere.
Who is Uncle Sandy? Was he a real person? Yes, he was. The founder, Sandy Carl Kirkconnell, the son of a Honduran man and an American woman, grew up on a little island off the coast of Honduras where macaws and other majestic birds flew free. He fell in love with the creatures, and opening a free-flight organization during retirement was his dream.
Thursday, November 10 we drove down to Orange Beach, Alabama, a 33 mile drive one way. We did not even get to see the beach as we went to the Indian & Sea Museum, then a small inland beach called Orange Beach Waterfront Park. This was not much of a beach as there was construction there. It looks like they were installing a new pier out to a gazebo. It was getting chilly so we decided not to stay. We took a longer way back because coming down we paid $2.75 just to cross a bridge into Orange Beach.
