How to fill time in retirement

On Saturday, April 29, I was asked to attend the Orlando City SC game in Orlando with my cousins. Jim and Janis Provoncha, were celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary and wanted me to come along. Their son Jason was going and they needed a fourth. They have season tickets and have had them since the inaugural season. This year they have moved to their new Stadium in downtown Orlando, near the Amway Center on Church Street. The first game was played on March 5. The Orlando City stadium as seen from Church Street The stadium juts right against the street, an unusual design but kind of convenient for the fans.  The part of Orlando is called Parramore, and historically has been home to people of African descent. There is much history and this area and one hope was that the new stadium was help the area. That remains to be seen but as you walk to the game, many people have set up parking areas and others are cooking fresh barbecue and other food. The aromas were amazing. Ji...

On April 18, 2017, there was an Atlas V launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Station. The unmanned cargo ship named the SS John Glenn was on its way to the International Space Station with 7600 pounds of food, supplies, and experiments. I had decided to go to Jetty Park to capture some photos of the launch. It was a beautiful day with a few clouds. People were swimming in the ocean to the south toward the pier at Cocoa Beach.... Cocoa Beach Pier from Jetty Park There were no cruise ships around but there was plenty of activity. I caught this photo of the Orlando Princess, a fishing charter that leaves from Port Canaveral... Orlando Princess fishing charter Another fishing boat, this one commercial, cruised by on its way to the Atlantic Ocean for a day of netting. I assume they were looking for shrimp but it could be fish too. Miss Lynn Another charter, this one a little smaller and called the Ocean Obsession II, was also headed out to the ocean for ...

When I first moved to this area, Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB) use to hold the annual Air Shows. Of course, the government was showing off their power and strength, and the world was a different place. PAFB had no gates when I moved here, anyone could drive onto the base. hell, you could drive on to the runways if you were a daredevil. My first picnic with ENSCO was held at the survival area located on the Banana River. You had to drive acorss the end of the runway to get to the park. Times have changed. A big change was that the Air Force stopped holding the air shows. I guess they said it was to save money, but I also think it was because of security. Why invite 10,000 people to come onto your property? (I think that was a rhetorical question....) So the air show moved around. It was in Cocoa Beach a few times and then over the beach in Melbourne. Now they hold it at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport, a six minute drive from my house. This year they had the Thunderbirds...