I swear this isn’t a cycling blog …

Friday, May 16, 2008, is National Bike to Work Day. I know this because I was in my local Starbucks a couple of days ago and while waiting for my Venti Iced Brewed Coffee with Classic, I saw Mayor Buddy Dyer’s face on a flyer …

Mayor Dyer is celebrating Bike to Work Day by riding from his “neighborhood” Starbucks in College Park to City Hall. Starbucks is offering free coffee if you ride your bike and bring your own mug.

I still haven’t figured out if riding with hot coffee is smart (thanks, Dan!) but I’m gonna swing by that very Starbucks tomorrow and attempt to make my way — by bike — from Downtown Orlando to Maitland.

I apologize in advance to my co-workers because, sadly, our building has no shower facilities.

Do you “aspire” to live in downtown Orlando?

If you’ve lived in the Central Florida area for at least two years then you know downtown Orlando is growing at a rapid pace. Heck, the outskirts of downtown are even expanding at an insane pace (see College Park, SoDo.) While I’m pretty certain we’ll ever be a New York City or San Francisco, it’s at least good to see both residential and commercial entities moving downtown; one can’t really survive without the other.

I had the opportunity to check-out one–if not the only–new “rental” property in the center of downtown Orlando — “Aspire.” Now, the name I’m not necessarily fond of. The exterior of the building, however, is magnificent. Certainly one of the most interesting in the downtown area, I think.

Aspire recently opened itself up to public showing, and is looking to have residents occupy the building by June or July. Various floorplans are available — everything from studios to 3BR/2BA. There’s also a penthouse. Units start at $1,040 per month, and includes washer/dryer and one (1) parking spot; additional parking spots cost extra. Here’s an offering of the different floorplans:

I’ll leave my opinions about the apartments–namely the quality–themselves out of this post, and let you make up your mind for yourself. What I will say is that I really like what the property is trying to do, and it has some stunning views of the downtown Orlando and Lake Eola areas. For just a short minute, one might have the feeling we live in a big city!

Interesting in seeing what the building and some of the units inside “Aspire” look like? Check-out this photo album:



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Pet Pulse: Bonzo Lamberson-Murphy

Bonzo Lamberson-Murphy is a 9-month-old Miniature Schnauzer. Her daddy gave her to her mommy for her birthday last year, and she’s the best present ever!

She is a lovely little girl that enjoys socializing both with other dogs and people, chasing her toys and cuddling (she would do it constantly, if possible.)

Be smart when deciding where to stay on your next vacation

The words “travel” and “Orlando” have pretty much grown to be synonymous with one another. Most often, though, one thinks about incoming travel versus outgoing. But those of us who live in the Orlando/Central Florida are usually looking to escape the hustle-and-bustle of the tourist-flooded city, even if we rarely spend time on International Drive or the Downtown Disney area. So once you’ve gotten over the hurdle of where to GO on your vacation, the next big step is where to STAY.

TripKick.com is a new site that launched today, actually, and goes beyond the service that sites like TripAdvisor provide, and focus on the more detailed things hotel-goers are interested in. Things like elevator noise, exterior doors closing and opening, noise coming from the bar, crappy views from the room, and late night parties at the pool are all things that could easily ruin a trip. TripKick aims to help eliminate these things before you ever leave your house.

Since the site is in its infancy it’s somewhat limited with its capabilities. However, in the cities–the main US metropolises–where information is available consumers can look for specific, targeted information on rooms and can even get down to things such as room views, whether the hotel allows pets, or if the room has a golf view.

The site also maintains a blog at http://blog.tripkick.com/, which is always useful tool; you can engage and interact with other users, and obtain information you might not normally get on the website. I’m really looking forward to seeing how well TripKick is accepted, and even more how consumers use it.

If at at point you use this site to plan your vacation, make sure and let us know how it turns out!

Share the Road

I don’t know how else to say this, but please … Share the Road.

If you see this sign, and you need further instruction, it means back off the cicylists who have no where else to ride, but on the street with you. Trust me, if there are bike lanes we’ll be in them, but if you’ve been around Central Florida, bike lanes are few and far between.

You’d think with gas prices soaring and the obesity epidemic that cities would do more to encourage alternative transportation, but it doesn’t seem that’ll be the case here any time soon. So, from an avid rider, thanks in advance for sharing the road, see you out there!

A Challenge for Charity

For more than 20 years, Central Florida charities have benefited from Charity Challenge, an athletic event where teams from apartment complexes and the hospitality industry compete in childhood games such as tug-o-war, canoe relay and basketball hot shots, all in the name of philanthropy.

If you’re looking for a reason to spend your Saturday outdoors, head down to Charity Challenge XXIII, Saturday, May 17, 2008, and cheer on the teams as they compete. Afterall, it’s for a great cause, Charity Challenge has raised more than $3 million for local charities … $300,000 in 2007, alone!

Charity Challenge
Citrus Bowl - Downtown Orlando
Saturday, May 17, 2008
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Just what you’re searching for

Remember reading something you liked somewhere on “Pulse” but you can’t specifically recall where it’s located? No worries! We’ve just added a search widget so you can find exactly what you’re looking for, without having to waste a lot of time.

To use the search widget–located in the upper right-hand of the rightrail of each page–simply type your keyword into the box and wait for the results. That’s it!

Let us know if there are other features you’d like us to consider adding to “Pulse of Central Florida.” It’s all about our readers, baby!

It’s wild in Winter Park!

Just when you think living in Central Florida is boring and nearly everything’s predictable, along comes a little surprise to renew your interest. Recently while at a residence located in the Winter Park area, I discovered a family–or perhaps just a gang of friends–of owls living in a Birds of Paradise plant. Yes…I said owls! They’re definitely in a well-hidden place, but look closely and you can see them:

In doing a little research about this encounter at TheOwlPages.com, I believe the owls I saw are the Eastern Screech Owl, although according to the information on the site these creatures are primarily nocturnal.

If you’ve seen wild animals lurking around the Central Florida area we’d love to hear your story or see your photos. E-mail them to us by clicking here. You’re also welcome to leave a comment in this post.

A guardian angel

If you look closely the Central Florida and Orlando areas have some interesting artwork and architecture. This particular piece has held my interest for quite some time:

(Location: Saint James Catholic Cathedral in downtown Orlando.)

A Mother’s Day gift idea: FreshFaceSkin

If you’re like me and you wait until the last minute to purchase a gift [for any occasion] then you probably often find yourself irritated with…well, yourself! And with Mother’s Day only two days away, you certainly want to make sure you’ve got all your bases covered — a Mother’s Day without a gift is not something you want to risk, if you know what I mean.

My mother doesn’t live here in Orlando but if she did I’d certainly take advantage of the great offer that arrived in my e-mail earlier this morning. The flyer explains it all:

After all, what mother doesn’t like to be pampered? So visit FreshFaceSkin.com now to set your mother’s appointment! Heck, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home!