Taking a break from Disney - discovering nature

My apologies for not posting anything in the past few weeks. 7/15/12 14:05 Orlando I can sit in this spot and write for days. In the distance thunder fades away. The kids are watching TV inside the house. I went for a run earlier and finished the book on Lincoln’s summer retreat - the soldier’s home. It was informative and proved how valuable this house was for Lincoln. To get away from the executive mansion, to walk among soldiers who were protecting him and his family, where the emancipation proclamation was revised and finalized. Lincoln inspires me, this book more than the others shared how he developed as a man, especially his faith which evolved as a cynical approach as a young man to a man of faith in his later years. It’s a contradiction to the other books I read, like Team of Rivals.….Last night was the highlight of the vacation for me. Nancy and Hugh reserved a sea turtle expedition at a nature preserve on the edge of Cape Kennedy. In the distance, I could see the large luminous building where the rockets the Saturn rockets were assembled as well as some of the launch pads. We were fortunate to see a sea turtle lay its eggs in a nest it dug out of the sand, then cover it over and crawl back into the sea. Out of the hundred or so eggs, approximately only ten percent will survive. Since there was a lack of any wind, the mosquitoes were unbearable, gratefully we applied some repellant in the parking lot before we walked on the beach and were protected. This didn’t stop the incessant pests from battling each other and us - attempting to get into any crevice including our eyes. Beyond all of this, as I approached the surging water, I was struck by the magnitude of the night sky - a cluster of stars so thick which was the milky way. I can’t recall the last time I was so close to nature. The event was something of a holy experience, the park rangers using glowing red flash lights to avoid irritating the wild life especially the turtles were like the warm meditative candles at church, the back drop of the night sky and the dark outline of the reflective strangers on the dark beach. It was a holy experience. As I looked up at the stars, I lost my sense of isolation. I thought back to the earliest navigators on the oceans following the stars to their destination, the astronauts on the launch pads, peering into eternity, I was in touch with nature and the supreme power. I felt a presence as if God whispered, I am with you. God is with us. Last night there were two unfortunate events, Amanda accidently lost Summer’s keys on the beach, and Aunt Nancy closed the car door on some of her fingers. She was in a lot of pain. Amanda felt horrible. On the way back, we packed into Uncle Hugh’s car, stopped at Wendy’s and McDonalds and listened to Tom Petty, American Girl….make it last all night…she’s an…American Girl.