Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Heading South for the Winter ... or a Weekend


We just got back from a big Florida adventure, where we visited Grandpa, Grandma Julie, Auntie Ro and Uncle Reggie in the Tampa area. It was a short trip, but we made the most of it!

We flew out last Saturday, and Auntie Ro picked us up at the airport. When we got to Spring Hill, Grandma Julie, fresh off a trip to clown graduation, answered the door with her clown nose still painted on! Once Grandpa arrived, we headed to the park to play, where Mason herded us all aboard his bus.

Then, he took a long ride on the swing.



Back home, we played a bit in Grandma and Grandpa's pool. We started out throwing a grapefruit in (they float!) but by the end of our adventure, Mason was stripped down to his skivvies, and the rest of his clothes had to be tossed in the drier!



Later that evening, we went to a little Halloween fare where Grandma was volunteering on the Haunted Nature Trail. Grandpa watched the Mace man while we big kids took part in that, but there was plenty of fun for him. Our first stop was a pony ride.





Later, we took a haunted hay ride. Grandma picked us out in the crowded line from her post on the nature trail. She recognized Mason's hair as he sat on Dad-O's shoulders. So, she joined us and got to sit right up front with the driver. This was my favorite part of the night, even though I was the only one of us who got scared on the ride! Seriously...



Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa took us up to Crystal River and the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. This was REALLY cool. For starters, we rode a little pontoon boat on the Homosassa River from the visitor's center to the wildlife park. While on board, we saw a real live -- wild -- alligator!

Once we arrived back in the park, our first stop was to see the manatees. Mason was so excited when he spotted the first one, Amanda, coming in to feed on some carrots that had been left there.



After all of us posed as manatees...





We got an underwater look at some schools of fish. They were so thick that you couldn't see beyond them.



Our next stop was to visit Lu, the 48-year-old hippopotamus. You see, the park used to be privately run, and Lu was one of a bunch of *exotic* animals housed there. When the state of Florida took over the park, it was decreed that only animals native to the state could be housed there. After failing to find a suitable home for Lu, he was granted honorary citizenship and allowed to stay on.

Lu treated us to a little show. Turns out hippos like to eat watermelon. Our melon-loving Mason thought this was pretty cool. I liked the way Lu opened so wide to get his juicy treat tossed into his mouth.



Living right next to Lu are the Florida gators. This one swam right up to us.



We also got to see a ton of birds, some black bears and Katie, the possum before we headed home.




Monday we went to Orlando and took in Sea World -- something we had done on our last visit, when Mason was a mere 14-months-old. He loved it so much then, that we really wanted to get back!

We weren't disappointed, either.

We petted some rays...



Fed some dolphins...



Then watched them swim underwater...



Took in the dolphin show...



Saw some penguins -- I'm not sure who is more penguin crazy, Mason or Grandma Julie. We let the two of them get a head start on the Penguin Encounter, because we all knew they'd be in there for a while!



And, of course, what's a trip to Sea World without visiting Shamu!



We were in the splash zone, as you can see. But, Mason loved it, which made our soaking wet selves as happy as could be. That was truly worth the price of admission!



Later, we visited the sharks, sea lions and a few more fish. We even found time to pose for a family shot before we all headed home exhausted at closing time.



Tuesday was our last day in town, so Grandpa took us out to MacDill Air Force Base, which was a first trip on-base for both Mason and I. We got up close and personal with some retired airplanes and Grandpa took great joy in explaining each one's function to Mason, as well as how he had worked with them during his time in the service. It was pretty special to see. We also drove out the the base's private beach, which was beautiful. And, we got to see some planes that had just taken off overhead.





After meeting up with Auntie Ro, and grabbing a little lunch, it was back to the airport for us, and alas, back to reality.