You know you're getting old when "living on the edge" means taking an eight-hour road trip at 37 weeks pregnant. But, I'm happy to say that we made it to Florida and back without having Cutie in Florida. In addition, we had a much-needed hiatus from our computers, giving more attention to sleeping, walking, and fishing.
Wednesday, we drove through a dark and stormy night and arrived in Orlando around 5:30 AM. Sea World in the rain has its merits, mostly that the crowds are much lighter. For the heavier downpours, we draped a large poncho over the tandem stroller, with the front child peering through the headpiece, and the rear child looking out through the back. Why we didn't take a picture of this setup, I don't know. It was something to see, and amazingly, it worked nicely. After lunch, we headed to the car for naps. When we woke up, the skies had cleared; the rest of the day was a little cooler, and the weather was a bit less miserable.
Friday morning, we were getting ready to leave for Crystal River to kayak with the manatees when New Daddy checked his voice mail. The kayak tour lady had called to let us know that with the wind being above twenty knots, they weren't launching any kayaks. On to Plan B: day two at Sea World.
We got to see the stuff that we didn't see the day before, thanks to my painstakingly slow pace. Not only are New Daddy's legs almost twice as long as mine, he's not carrying a baby. But, even with him pushing the stroller most of the time, his pace resembled the proverbial rabbit accelerating, and then screeching to a halt. I was the steady tortoise. He waited for me all day, both days. I also have to say, being with two young children, and having five pounds of baby sitting on my bladder, it was especially nice that Sea World has restrooms everywhere.
Late Friday afternoon, we headed up to Steinhatchee. Saturday morning, we drove New Daddy to the Dallus Creek landing, where I attempted to walk with the kids on the river bottom at low tide. That was a big, mucky mistake. After New Daddy went off on his fishing adventure, I discovered a much cleaner, 1.2 mile nature trail-loop, where the muckiest thing we observed was dried deer excrement. An hour and a half later, I found myself carrying a tired, hungry, fussy Bubby piggyback for the last .4 mile. Precious was the little trooper who carried their jackets after we heated up.
While we were out nature-trailing and napping, New Daddy was fishing Dallus Creek and the Gulf of Mexico grass flats that it emptied out into. We were there during a cold snap that pretty much shut down the fishing, but he didn't completely miss out. He did catch one red drum on a shrimp, just an inch short of a keeper. And, at least he was outside fishing, instead of indoors, staring at a glowing screen.
All in all, this was a much-needed vacation. And we got the satisfaction of knowing that we had done something somewhat adventurous, a sort of last hurrah, before Cutie got here. The kids were at a perfect age for Sea World to be really exciting. And, we are rested!
Wednesday, we drove through a dark and stormy night and arrived in Orlando around 5:30 AM. Sea World in the rain has its merits, mostly that the crowds are much lighter. For the heavier downpours, we draped a large poncho over the tandem stroller, with the front child peering through the headpiece, and the rear child looking out through the back. Why we didn't take a picture of this setup, I don't know. It was something to see, and amazingly, it worked nicely. After lunch, we headed to the car for naps. When we woke up, the skies had cleared; the rest of the day was a little cooler, and the weather was a bit less miserable.
Friday morning, we were getting ready to leave for Crystal River to kayak with the manatees when New Daddy checked his voice mail. The kayak tour lady had called to let us know that with the wind being above twenty knots, they weren't launching any kayaks. On to Plan B: day two at Sea World.
We got to see the stuff that we didn't see the day before, thanks to my painstakingly slow pace. Not only are New Daddy's legs almost twice as long as mine, he's not carrying a baby. But, even with him pushing the stroller most of the time, his pace resembled the proverbial rabbit accelerating, and then screeching to a halt. I was the steady tortoise. He waited for me all day, both days. I also have to say, being with two young children, and having five pounds of baby sitting on my bladder, it was especially nice that Sea World has restrooms everywhere.
Late Friday afternoon, we headed up to Steinhatchee. Saturday morning, we drove New Daddy to the Dallus Creek landing, where I attempted to walk with the kids on the river bottom at low tide. That was a big, mucky mistake. After New Daddy went off on his fishing adventure, I discovered a much cleaner, 1.2 mile nature trail-loop, where the muckiest thing we observed was dried deer excrement. An hour and a half later, I found myself carrying a tired, hungry, fussy Bubby piggyback for the last .4 mile. Precious was the little trooper who carried their jackets after we heated up.
While we were out nature-trailing and napping, New Daddy was fishing Dallus Creek and the Gulf of Mexico grass flats that it emptied out into. We were there during a cold snap that pretty much shut down the fishing, but he didn't completely miss out. He did catch one red drum on a shrimp, just an inch short of a keeper. And, at least he was outside fishing, instead of indoors, staring at a glowing screen.
All in all, this was a much-needed vacation. And we got the satisfaction of knowing that we had done something somewhat adventurous, a sort of last hurrah, before Cutie got here. The kids were at a perfect age for Sea World to be really exciting. And, we are rested!
After the dolphin show- The Family Vacation Picture
Rides at Shamu's Happy Harbor
top right: Precious' first roller coaster with New Daddy
staring at a bucket of shrimp on Dallus Creek
Dallus Creek at sunset
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