Legoland Wind-up

Way back when—and, no, I won't name the year—my husband and I stopped at Cypress Gardens on our honeymoon. What a contrast from our wedding in New Haven when it was snowing so hard some of the guests couldn't even get there. Or the chilling cold at Colonial Williamsburg as we watched New Years' Eve fireworks, including eighteenth-century-style set pieces. But Cypress Gardens? It was glorious. Warmth and beauty - not only from the gorgeous plantings and flowers, but from the elaborately garbed young women in antebellum gowns. And I'm delighted to report that Legoland has kept some of the magic of Cypress Gardens. No, the water show on the lake was but a pale imitation of the acrobatic grace of the performers in the "good old days," but the portion of the Gardens left intact for present-day visitors to enjoy is truly wonderful. A world away from the rides, Lego skyscrapers, and Darth Vader. I was so busy enjoying the peaceful ambiance I didn't take as many pictures as I should have. But I hope you enjoy the ones below.

On the way to the lake

Antebellum greeter to the Gardens - made of Legos

The classic post-card view of Cypress Gardens- except the girls used to be real!

A forest of cypress knees

A meandering stream

The banyan tree below was planted at approximately the same time—about ninety years ago—as the many banyans at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. And although the trees there are large, they are nothing compared to this one, leading me to believe that the salt breezes in Sarasota may have kept the banyans there from developing to their full potential. Or else banyans truly thrive in the soil on Central Florida's "ridge," where so many oranges are grown. Experiencing this one, which I could only photograph one half at a time, was like standing in a cathedral. Truly amazing.

Yes, I know it looks like several trees, but from what  the brochures say,

 it's all one, which just kept putting down aerial shoots

From the sublime . . . back to more Legoland 

Yes, it's really made of Legos

Cassidy at the helm

Riley

Hailey, docking, as the sun hangs low

And a fond farewell to Legoland Florida

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Special note:   Airborne - The Hanover Restoration, a Steampunk Romance, will be FREE on Tuesday, March 26, 2013.  A young woman is caught up in the effort to restore a Hanover, also young and female, to the British throne a decade after the Duke of Wellington seized the government.

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Thanks for stopping by.
Grace

Coming soon: A surprise, followed by Dictionary for Writers, Part 5

Click here for a list of Grace's books as Blair Bancroft