The White Cliffs of Dover and Vera Lynn

I've just discovered a new singer that I can add to my list of favorites, and as is pretty typical for me, I came across her by way of the movies. 

Last night I was watching The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) starring Irene Dunne and a supporting cast that included Alan Marshal, Frank Morgan, Van Johnson, Gladys Cooper, Dame May Whitty, Peter Lawford, Roddy McDowall, and uncredited Elizabeth Taylor (just before National Velvet) and June Lockhart. 

The story is about an American woman living in England during both world wars.  She loses her husband in the first World War, and the film opens with her waiting for word on her son who is fighting in the second.  It then flashes back to the beginning of the story.  Though perhaps not of the same quality as Mrs. Miniver, I found it to be a very effective and moving homefront war film from both the English and American standpoint. 

The story begins when Susan Dunn (Irene Dunne) and her father (Frank Morgan) visit England for a week and Susan falls in love with and eventually marries a wealthy English army officer.  The story continues to unfold from there, but throughout the course of the film, Susan continually longs to return to her home in the United States.  Perhaps among the most powerful scenes in the film are when the American army enters each war and marches into England playing The Stars and Stripes Forever, Over There, and When Johnny Comes Marching Home.  It is easy to feel along with Susan her loyalty to her country and her nostalgia for her home.  This is probably one of, if not the best of Irene Dunne's film performances.  Often playing comedic roles, she was just as wonderful in the serious part of a homesick American longing for her English husband and son away at two different wars. 

As I started looking up the movie The White Cliffs of Dover on the internet, I came across a song by the same title sung by Vera Lynn.  This song does not appear in the movie.  Since I love music from the same time period as my movies, I thought I'd give it a listen.  I was pleased to hear a lovely song, and a lovely voice.   Here it is:

 

 

I am really excited to explore more of Vera Lynn's music!  I hope you have enjoyed it.  

 

Disney 2013 and New Fantasyland Editions!!

I'd like to take a moment and write about my trip to Disney World about a month ago.  Having grown up in south Florida, I've visited Disney too many times to count with all possible combinations of family and friends, but I was especially excited for this trip because of the latest editions to the Magic Kingdom! 

It is probably common knowledge that many of the rides in the Magic Kingdom were beginning to feel a little outdated, especially in Fantasyland.  Rides such as It's a Small World and Peter Pan's Flight haven't gone through major changes since Walt Disney World opened in 1971.  Personally, I don't consider those rides outdated.  I enjoy the classic Disney feel of them, but I can also understand that Disney runs the risk of losing popularity if they don't stay abreast of the changing times and technologies.  One of my favorite rides is already long gone:  Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  And in 2011, Snow White's Scary Adventure closed. 

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2012/06/tribute-snow-whites-scary-adventures-permanently-closes-a-walt-disney-world-classic-dark-ride-since-1971/

Of course as the article states, more Snow White attractions are currently under construction. 

However, Disney very rarely fails to please, and so I had confidence that anything new they bring to the park would be just as wonderful, and hopefully more so. 

One of the new editions is Prince Eric's castle (from The Little Mermaid) which houses Ariel's Undersea Adventure, a slow moving ride in traditional Disney fashion that takes you through a summary of the movie.  You ride in a clam shell, of course (what else??!).  Through the use of animatronics, one can no longer see the joints when any given character moves, and the effect is much more life-like. 

Here is Prince Eric's castle!

The next new edition that was well worth the wait is the Be Our Guest Restaurant.  It's about time Disney did this.  Be Our Guest, by its very nature, is a perfect Disney restaurant theme.  Reservations are necessary for dinner, but lunch is provided by quick service.  As you go in, you are directed to one of several computer stations where you punch in your order on a touch screen.  Then you can choose your seat in one of three dining rooms: the ballroom, the library, or the west wing.  Your food is brought out to you. 

 

Pictured above is the outside of Be Our Guest, Beast's castle.  The food was excellent, as most Disney food is, and it featured French-inspired cuisine.  The quick service was very efficient, as it should be in a crowded theme park. 

 

Another change that I noticed in the Magic Kingdom was that activities were added to keep children (and really, adults too) occupied during long waits for rides.  This was especially apparent at The Haunted Mansion.  You now have a choice of waiting through the cemetery or not, and the cemetery has more headstones with funny epitaphs written on them, an organ that plays different things when you touch it, and a few other similar distractions.  I think it's an excellent idea, especially in a place where there are so many children likely to be getting bored, hot, and tired of standing. 

 

Also, I was especially pleased to see that The Enchanted Tiki Room was returned to its previous, classic state from 1971. Several years ago, it was updated to include interruptions from Disney birds Iago (Aladdin) and Zazu (The Lion King), and the sign read The Enchanted Tiki Room, Under New Management!  I always thought that it was a little annoying.  There was a lot of shouting and loud music, as opposed to the gentle singing of the birds and flowers of the old Tiki Room.  As it turns out, a fire rendered Iago and Zazu unusable in the show, but did little damage to the rest of the attraction, and so The Enchanted Tiki Room is as it always was. 

 

I'll end by just saying that the fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom literally gets better every time I see it.  They never ever show a skimpy display of fireworks....it goes on for quite some time.   And the technology used for the light show on the castle is more advanced every time I see it.  It's such a spectacular production, and for me, the best part is still when Tinker Bell flies out of Cinerella's castle. 

 

 

Here is a link to the Disney Parks Blog.

 

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/

 

 



Trip to Selby Gardens

This past weekend, in lieu of a beach trip, I went to Sarasota's Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.  They have an especially impressive collection of orchids and bromeliads from all over the world.  The ambience of the whole place is very calming, and you feel like you've been transported to a tropical rainforest. 

The orchids are in a special climate controlled house, but you walk through the rest of the outdoor gardens on a mostly paved path. 

Here are some of my favorite photos from my visit.

 

 

There are also banyan trees on the property.  The expansive roots never cease to amaze me.  If you haven't visited the Edison/Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers, that is a great place to see these special trees. 

 



 

 

An ibis looking for something to eat.

 

 

 





The edge of the gardens overlooks a beautiful view of Sarasota Bay. 

Here is a link to information about the history of Selby Gardens.

http://www.selby.org/gardens/history-marie-selby-gardens

And thus concludes another Sarasota adventure "by the sea!"

Back to the Beach!

Well, it's been over 2 months since my last post, but I've finally moved to Sarasota, FL!  Now the "by the sea" portion of this blog can be accurate. 

I've got a lot of beach exploration to do, but last weekend I started with Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island.  I arrived mid-morning on a Sunday and found the beach to be not too crowded at all, even though the busy season is just beginning.  There is a lovely park there with an extensive bike/walking path and many picnic tables set amongst pine and palm trees. 

The beach itself is overlooked by beautiful white, sandy dunes and sea oats. 

Of course any time I go to the beach, one of my favorite things to do is look for shells.  I grew up shelling on the beaches of Sanibel Island, which is considered by many to be one of the best of such places in the world.  And so my expectations are probably a little high.  They say that Sanibel is so ideal for shelling because it is situated somewhat east/west or perpendicular to Florida and therefore catches many shells that would otherwise be washed on down the coastline. 

Nevertheless, I have been excited to explore the shelling possibilities in my new home of Sarasota.  The shells that I've seen have been nothing that I haven't seen on Sanibel, but certain shells may be more plentiful here.  There has been an abundance of coquinas and calico clams, and I have found more shark's eyes than usual as well.  Like Sanibel there are also many arks, lucines, various clams, cockles, and slipper shells. 

Here is what I picked up at Coquina Beach (5 calico scallops, 2 calico clams, 1 cockle, 2 olives, 2 shark's eyes, and 1 baby's ear, a turkey wing, 4 jewel boxes, 1 clam, 1 buttercup lucine, and 1 auger).

 

For comparison, here are the shells I picked up at Turtle Beach on Siesta Key.

 

 





 

It was also a beautiful day for bird watching on Coquina Beach. 

brown pelican

 

 

sanderling

 

 

This snowy egret was definitely posing for me.

 

 

And another snowy egret, fishing at the jetty.

 

 

All in all it was a pretty good start to my beach exploration in the Sarasota/Bradenton area, and any day at the beach is a day well spent.  I'll close with some fun pictures of my Lucy bird at bath time. 

 

 

"May you always have a seashell in your pocket and sand in your shoes."