Kissimmee, Florida

My sister Linda had her time share moved to this town, which is very close to Disney World.  She, along with my other sister Julia and myself,  then planned a rather spontaneous weekend to check out her new resort condo.  We had a wonderful visit there, and no time was spent at Disney World or the other affiliates of the company located in Orlando.  By the way, I have often wondered about the unusual name of Kissimmee, and finally learned of its origin.  It means "Heaven's Place" in the Calusa Indian language.  The city started out as a small trading post, its first name was Allendale.  It was located on the northwest shore of Lake Tohopekaliga.  One of the first things we did on Saturday was to visit the lake,  located in downtown Kissimmee.

It makes a big difference in Florida whether one is on the Atlantic side or Gulf side of the state- or in the central part of the state,  as to what kinds of wading birds may be seen.  We were in the latter, and saw limpkins as well as the black ibis along the shores of Lake Tohopekaliga.  Two birds which we have not seen so far in the Tampa area.

Pictured above is the limpkin, busily searching for his meal among the marshy greens.

While walking the pathways of the park we came upon the Monument of the States.  In 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dr. Charles Bressler-Pettis decided a statue was needed to show American unity.  He wrote to every governor of the lower 48 states asking for a rock from their state.  Upon receiving them he had them mortared into a 50-foot-tall pyramid of colorful concrete slabs.

Pictured above is a section of the monument.  Over the years more rocks have been sent from corporations, 21 foreign countries, as well as Hawaii and Alaska.  Them have been placed in nearby walkways.  Another feature of this park is a rain garden, which is lush with many plants and grasses.  Florida has recently had a lot of rainfall, and the garden now is now showing off its' full beauty.