| The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour, founded in | | | | eagle, a snake bird, a great blue heron and a |
| 1938 and located just 15 minutes north of | | | | white egret, which used to be the good luck |
| downtown Orlando, is one of these lovely side | | | | bird of the Seminole Indians. |
| trips that combine beautiful scenery, a bit | | | | |
| of local history, some close-up exposure to | | | | On Lake Maitland we learned that there was an |
| local wildlife and vegetation with a relaxing | | | | alligator cave from which 150 alligators were |
| outing in a slow-moving 18-passenger pontoon | | | | removed into the Florida Everglades to |
| boat, all complete with expert (and sometimes | | | | prevent a rather dangerous collision between |
| humorous) narration provided by the boat's | | | | local wildlife and civilization. |
| captain. | | | | |
| | | | Along the Venetian Canal we also saw |
| The tour takes you through 3 lakes: Lake | | | | variegated ginger and banana trees, as we |
| Osceola, Lage Virginia and Lake Maitland. On | | | | slowly passed under the arched Palmer Avenue |
| this gorgeous day, with brilliantly blue | | | | Bridge. Philodendrons, palmgrass, bamboo, a |
| skies, the boat whisked us past hundreds of | | | | plant called firespikes and an interesting |
| beautiful water-front estates, many of which | | | | arrangement of "air potatoes", round tubers |
| were originally built in the 1920s and | | | | hanging down from a tree branch, adorned our |
| originally sold for $20,000, while fetching | | | | journey through the canal. |
| between $500,000 and several million in | | | | |
| today's booming Central Florida real estate | | | | At 450 acres and 30 feet deep, Lake Maitland |
| market. Even boathouses are worth between | | | | is the largest of the 3 lakes covered by the |
| $30,000 and $40,000. | | | | boat tour. A dam controls the water level and |
| | | | interestingly, the lakes all drain northwards |
| In Lake Virginia we came up close to the | | | | into the St. John's River which flows into |
| grounds of Rollins College, one of the top | | | | the Atlantic near Jacksonville. The Kraft |
| rated private liberal arts colleges in the | | | | Azalea Gardens, located on Lake Maitland on |
| South Eastern United States, founded in 1885 | | | | Alabama Drive off Palmer Avenue, feature |
| by New England Congregationalists. Rollins | | | | thousands of azaleas, tropical shrubs and |
| College is the oldest recognized college in | | | | trees. Azaleas are in full bloom January |
| the state of Florida with a small student | | | | through March. |
| body of 1,700 students, housed on a beautiful | | | | |
| 70 acre Mediterraean Revival Campus. Our | | | | Our expert captain also pointed out various |
| expert captain / tour guide mentioned that | | | | mansions that have been used as backdrops in |
| tuition at the college is $38,000 and the | | | | various movies and commercials. Lake Maitland |
| ratio of students to professors is 12:1. | | | | also features several small islands with |
| | | | rather naked looking trees that house |
| Condos are located right next to the college, | | | | colonies of cormorants, fishing birds that |
| selling today for between $450,000 to $1 | | | | consume up to a pound of fish a day. |
| million. As we approached the narrow Venetian | | | | |
| Canal that would take us from Lake Virginia | | | | We slowly made our way back from Lake |
| to Lake Maitland, our captain made us aware | | | | Maitland to Lake Osceola where our relaxing |
| of all the interesting vegetation growing | | | | and scenic boat tour came to an end. On this |
| alongside the canal: Egyptian papyrus, | | | | gorgeous day it was a fabulous outing that |
| Spanish moss (an airplant and not a | | | | provided an appropriate historical context |
| parasite), the Princess flower, colourful | | | | for a further exploration of the beautiful |
| bougainvilleas and resurrection fern. We saw | | | | city of Winter Park. |
| a variety of birds, including an Osprey | | | | |