To Build a Drip Castle

The kids love the sand as much as (if not more than) the ocean. A concept which is completely lost on their father (Is he even really their father? One has to ask.)

 They could make drip castles for hours.

 Could?! They DID.

 While they worked, Stayc sat inside the condominium, working.

My work was, however, to be sure, the more difficult. I had to look up from my reading under the beach umbrella every now and then to document the kids' childhood. Someone has to do it.

Castillo San Marcos . . . We're Back!

The kids really wanted to visit Castillo San Marcos while we were in St. Augustine (I don't think we went during the summer of 2014 because we had just visited it during Spring Break), so we headed there on our last full day in Florida.

As usual, Phoenix just wanted to walk around and do his own thing . . .

. . . while Lutece felt compelled to complete the Junior Ranger program and earn her third (?) badge for el Castillo.

She's such a driven little nutter.

So while Lutece spends her time studying plaques and writing answers down, Phoenix lounges on ancient relics that he shouldn't even be touching. (Sorry for my complicity!)

But they both want their picture taken as if they are in prison. Looks more like I'M the one in prison.

Until next year, Castillo San Marcos!

Weird Florida Outings

As I mentioned in a previous post, Lutece was in charge of our activities whilst in Florida. She does a rockin' good job of it, even with the basic parameters I have set for her (i.e., only ONE expensive outing per year). This year, Lutece decided that our "expensive" outing would be the Alligator Farm.

I have eschewed this seeming tourist trap in the past, but Lutece read the reviews (which were good), and really wanted to go. It was, after all, her decision to make.

So we went, and we found that it was, in fact, quite fun, and if not *completely* worth the money, at least it entertained us for half a day and now we can say we've been there. 

It was nicely kept, very clean, and there were TONS of alligators and birds. Holy Hannah!

We especially enjoyed the Animal Talks the zookeepers gave throughout the day, which were highly informative and interesting. I would be happy with this one excursion to the Alligator Farm, but the kids have already decided that they want to go back in a couple of years when they are both old enough to do the zip line adventure over the alligator enclosures. Sounds like fun! :|

Another quirky outing that Lutece planned for us one afternoon was to the Mission Nombre de Dios, one of the first Catholic missions built in North America.

The grounds were serene and bordered the Intracoastal, which lended itself to lovely views . . . and sparked some good ideas. The kayakers we saw on the intracoastal made me want to try that out next year.

Was it a good outing? Huh? I don't know?

YES IT WAS!