Herrmann's Royal Lipizzaner Stallions of Austria

Yesterday Bev and I visited Herrmann's Royal Lipizzaner Stallions in Myakka City, Florida. During the winter months they have training sessions; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; that are open to the public. We attended the training session 2 years ago and were so impressed we had to return this year.

Founded in the 16th century for the exclusive use of the Hapsburg Royal Family of Austria, the Royal Lipizzaner are unquestionably the rarest, most aristocratic breed of horses in the world.

Only a few hundred have ever existed at any one time and is a miracle that this precious bloodline is not extinct, having been saved by General George Patton from the Russian advance during World War II. The Lipizzans' celebrated escape was recounted in the Walt Disney movie, "Miracle of the White Stallions".

Assisting Patton in the clandestine mission to rescue the regal Lipizans, Colonel Herrmann and his father, Colonel Ottomar Herrmann, Sr., smuggled the horses out from behind enemy lines, riding at night and hiding by day.

Colonel Herrmann's family maintains a 200 acre ranch in Florida and the ranch is now under the direction of Gabriella Herrmann. In addition to the stallions with which they tour, the Herrmanns' maintain a herd of over forty Lipizzan mares. Gabriella's breeding program exists exclusively for the propagation of the breed. Occasionally a few select horses may be purchased and several stallions are available for breeding.

The Herrmanns' Lipizzans present a widely varied program. Classical dressage combined with the difficult "Airs Above the Ground" which are a series of higher-level movements where the horse leave the ground.

The trainers and performers are all female because the Herrmanns' children are mostly girls. They also have employment opportunities for riders, grooms. Requirements: Must be an animal lover and have one year experience handling horses; Must be over 18 years of age and free to travel: Must be resourceful, eager to learn with good work ethics.

OH! Someone should tell Danielle Robillard about this. She loves horses and is a great horse women.

Oh what a beautiful mane.

Here is the next generation of Herrmanns, future performers.

We had a great treat, a group of Santa Clauses on vacation in Florida attended the training session.

Santa wears shorts in Florida.

After the show Bev and I went in the barn to see these magnificent horses up close.

Yes, That is Bev with a smile after visiting with the horses.

Every year there is a group of campers that have a rally at the ranch. What a great place to have a camp out.

We really enjoyed ourselves, it is such a pleasure watching the horses perform and get to see them up close and personal. We will definitely be back here again and we would like to locate a show someplace during the season to see them on the road.

After we left of course we had to stop for supper on the way home to Peace River. Did I mention we like to eat out?

We got back home in time to attend karaoke at the meeting room. Along with singing there is dancing and of course line dancing.

All of the singers and dancers did a great job. No, I did not sing!

You can click the photos to enlarge.

Cape Coral and Cabbage Key with Don & Joni

Saturday 1/7 we headed back to Cape Coral to spend the weekend with Don & Joni. The weather was great and we always enjoy the scenic trip down Highway 17.

It was a relaxing day but the best part was the Baby Back Ribs Donnie made for us. Actually Joni worked on them too but Donnie was the grill master. As usual I ate too much but it is impossible to stop with such great tasting food. We finished the evening playing Dominoes.

Sunday 1/8 we went to Frannie's house (Joni's sister) for a belated Christmas dinner. Frannie spent Christmas up north so she had to have another Christmas with her family in Florida. We had a lot of fun visiting with family, opening presents, and of course eating. We did watch the Bronco's win the game which I'm sure made my niece Elizabeth and her dad Kent happy. (They live in Colorado and are avid fans.)

Thank you Frannie for including Bev and I as part of your family.

Monday 1/9 we had to get up before the crack of dawn because we were taking a boat ride to Cabbage Key Resort Island. You can see Bev heading for the boat located on the Jug Creek Pier. (Jug Creek was named for the jugs of booze bootleggers hid in the creek from the revenuers.)

The tide was out so as you can see the water just off the pier is shallow. The pelicans are wading around looking for breakfast. I guess the boat doesn't need much water.

The boat left from Pine Island and took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Cabbage Key.

Below is a view from the boat as we left the pier.

Along the way we stopped at Cayo Costa State Park to drop off some people going to the beach for the day and also campers that will be tenting on the Island. God bless the people who camp in a tents.

The next stop was Cabbage Key which is a neat little Island Resort. It has a few rental cottages, nature trails, observation tower, gift shop, and a great little restaurant & bar. The Island is owned by Rob & Phyllis Wells who have lived on and maintained the unique charm of the island resort for the past 30 years.

Owners Home 

Rental

Cabbage Key Restaurant

The restaurant has a famous Dollar Bill Bar which has dollar bills covering the walls and ceilings. Click image to enlarge.

Yes, it is really covered with dollar bills and Donnie and I didn't take any. There are two rooms covered with dollar bills and they estimate there is about $70,000 on the walls and ceilings. The staff says about $10,000 fall off each year which they give to charities. All the bills are signed and dated so you can't take them off the walls (to pay your bill).

You know we had to have lunch at the restaurant and the food was great.

We had a great view from the restaurant.

After lunch we walked to the Historical Cabbage Key Water Tower to check out the view.

The Cabbage Key Water Tower is the last standing original water tower in this area. Years ago, many of the neighboring islands had water towers similar to this one. Some of these towers were made of steal where others, like this one, were made of wood. Of these towers this one is the only one not destroyed by hurricanes, although the tower did sustain heavy damage during Hurricane Charley in 2004. The tower, which is approximately 60 feet high and holds over 6,000 gallons of water, was completed in the early to mid 1930's.

There was a great view from the tower so we all climbed the 41 stairs to the top.

We were on the island for about 1 1/2 hours then back on the boat to head home. Along the way we passed multi million dollar vacation homes owned by the other half.

Don and I relaxed in the sun on the boat ride back.

Back at Don & Joni's we relaxed and had another great meal. Evening arrived too soon and it was time for Bev and I to say our goodbyes and head back home to Peace River.

It was an amazing weekend, we always have a very enjoyable time when we visit Don & Joni. Thank you both for being such great hosts and friends. We are looking forward to being with you again soon.

It's Getting Warm Again.

The last few days it has been very cold here at Peace River and everybody has been hunkered down including us. It has been below freezing at night and our electric heater has been running non stop. Thank heaven for my electric blanket.

We finally got a reprieve with the temperature so yesterday I connected the water and sewer to the camper. It still wasn't balmy but warmer. Today it is 72 degrees and everyone in the campground is sitting on their patio enjoying the sun. I spent time on my bike riding around the campground and down the trail by the Peace River. I even stopped by the campground store for ice cream.

On the Peace River some water birds were enjoying lunch.

We have a nice site here, Bev is close to the activity center so she can line dance and hang out with her buds. I enjoy sitting on our patio under the trees with the Spanish Moss.

I spent the day fixing one of our day/night shades. They are a pain to fix because the string running through the shade has a complex path back and forth through the different sections. I have repaired them before by repairing the string but this time I have a repair kit with new string. Because of the valance it is tough to get the shade down and then reinstalled. I hate day/night shades especially since I very seldom use the day section, our windows are dark tinted. I would rather have just plain old pull shades and maybe someday I'll replace them.

Last night Bev played bingo while I stayed back at the camper watching TV. My back was sore from bending over the darn shade for so long. I didn't want to sit in those uncomfortable metal chairs.

My back feels great today so Bev and I will be heading for the entertainment tonight. They will be having karaoke and of course you know Bev will be line dancing to the music. I sing in the shower so I probably will not make a fool of myself singing to the group.

Tomorrow we will be up early (not to early) to head back to Cape Coral to spend the weekend with Don and Joni. Donnie will be doing Baby Back Ribs on the grill which is always a hit. We love spending time with them and of course Maggie.

To Cape Coral for New Years Eve - Winter comes to Florida.

Saturday 12/31 we were up at the crack of dawn heading south to be with Don & Joni for the New Years weekend.

We followed Highway 27 south and shortly after we left the campground we saw a couple of hot air balloons flying over head in the clouds and haze. They almost looked like a mirage or ghost balloons without any color.

There is always a lot of traffic in the Orlando area but once we were out of the area the traffic on Highway 27 eased up and it was an enjoyable scenic trip.

They do have a lot of cattle in Florida and if your not driving by orange groves you are driving by cows.

Of course we passed orange groves after orange groves.

And there are the never ending number of trucks hauling oranges to the processing plants.

Just before we arrived in Coral Springs we passed by this large Walmart distribution center.

New Years Eve Don, Joni, Bev, and I went to a small family restaurant Little Sicilly (their spelling). The food was fantastic and if Bev and I lived in the area we would be their regular customers. The rest of the weekend we relaxed, played Domino's and ate constantly. Of course I did get my puppy fix with Maggie.

We had a lot of fun and it was hard to leave but Monday morning it was time to head back home to our camper at Thousand Trails Orlando.

Last night winter came to Florida with a vengeance. The temperature dropped to 34 degrees and the wind rocked us all night long.

Today (oh it's cold) we were up early and on the road to Peace River in Wauchula, Florida. Our maximum stay at each campground is three weeks so we have been moving back and forth between Orlando and Peace River. We will be here for 3 weeks then back to Orlando. This weekend we will be visiting Don & Joni again and the trip from Peace River is only one and a half hours instead of three hours from Orlando.

Winter is here with us in Wauchula. It is 3:00 pm and the temperature is only 50 degrees. Tonight it's suppose to go down below freezing. What's up with that? This is Florida and it is suppose to be warm. We will not be sitting out on the patio or riding our bikes today. When we got here I only hooked up electricity not the water or sewer (oh it's cold). We get the water from the on board tank when it's freezing because I don't want the water hose to freeze. It is a great clear day though even if it is cold.

No cooking on the grill while it's this cold so tonight I guess we will just have to eat out. Did I mention that we like to eat out?