Peacock Baby!!

Ok, so less of a baby and more of a teenager...but we'll get to that.  We're finally back in Orlando, land of sun and warmth and Disney!  Our first stop (since we had to be out of the Thousand Trails system for a week after our last stay) was at Magnolia Park, an Orange County park sadly a bit of a hike to Disney World...that said, I think it might be my favorite county park, so I was still happy to stay here!  Now, you may recall from our stay last year that this park sports a decent population of peacocks - much to our surprise, this year we saw a juvenile peacock in the crowd!  We noticed fairly quickly that there was one more peacock than last year, and as we watched the peacocks we realized there was a not-quite-right colored male hanging out with the females all the time.  Must be the new baby!!  Very cool.

Our campsite at Magnolia Park

The juvenile - he was skittish so I had to zoom in from 
far away - note the speckles on his breast (the adults don't
have those).

The juvenile peacock with the peahens - note how he has a much
bluer head than the females, which is why I'm assuming he's a male

For completeness, an adult male

We're just making an assumption on the juvenile male based on the fact he didn't exist last year and looking at his emerging colors, but honestly I had trouble finding information online so I *could* be wrong, don't quote me!  I did see something that said male peacocks don't begin developing their tails until 2 years old, which would be consistent with his presumed age and current tail growth (nonexistent).

We tried out our new waste tote for the first time!  This allows us to haul wastewater from our holding tanks to the dump station at parks like this where we're not on sewer, without having to drive the RV to the dump station.  Before we bought this, I used to collect each dishwashing's water and carry it in a bucket to the restroom's outdoor sink to pour down the drain, so this was a huge improvement!  It was great to use the RV sink like normal and only have to have Aaron haul wastewater once during our stay.

Hauling the tote to the dump station

With just about a week left before our Disney annual passes blocked out for the holidays, we spent several days in Disney World even though it was a long-ish toll-filled drive.  We were able to experience Epcot's long-awaited new Space 220 restaurant, ride Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, and see the holiday decorations at all the parks.  

Inside Space 220 at Epcot - the idea behind this restaurant is that 
you take an 'elevator' to a space station, and once there the 'windows'
show you a view of Earth far below, with astronauts and spacecraft
floating by.

Also at Epcot - one of the many bronze statues Epcot put out 
for the 50th anniversary celebration.  This is Rocket from 
Guardians of the Galaxy.

Decorations at the main pond in Hollywood Studios

Christmas decorations on Main Street, USA (Magic Kingdom)

We'll see Animal Kingdom at our next stop.  Overall this was a great stay and we're glad to be back in Orlando!