Winter Getaway Day 5: Lemonade

Day 5 of our vacation to Florida was the day of change.  We woke up to the sound of rain and thunder and knew that our typical schedule of playing on the beach and in the pool wasn't going to cut it.  Instead, we took advantage of the rain and change of pace to do some different things for the day.

First, we walked (in the rain) over to the Seahorse restaurant on the East side of the island (about a block away).  The rain was coming down pretty good, but not too bad and there were several covered areas along the way to walk under, so we didn't get too wet.  We enjoyed our breakfast in the quaint little cafe, but by the time our meal was over the rain was coming down in sheets.  We got back to our hotel as quickly as possible, but were all quite wet when we arrived nonetheless.  Since everyone was already going to need to change anyway, Eric decided to take the "lemons" we had been given that morning and make "lemonade" as he invited the boys to run around in the rain with him and jump in the puddles.  They had a blast!

Wooden birds on the ceiling at the Seahorse.  Avery loved them.

Asher & Gramps checking out a blow fish at the Seahorse.

Family Breakfast

(3) Videos: Fun in the Sun Rain

After we had our fun in the rain and got dried up, Eric, Asher, Avery and I loaded into the van and headed North to Tampa to have a fun morning at the Florida Aquarium...

Penguins out front at the aquarium.

Me and my guys with a talking Turtle...I think this was Asher's favorite part of the aquarium.  He told everyone about the talking turtle.

Avery looking up into the aquarium above.

Avery & Eric checking out the alligator.

We loved watching the otters swim by.

Avery also loved watching the birds, but when one that he had been watching just a few feet away flew right up and over his head he was shocked!

Watching the birds...

Shocked after it flew up over his head.

The birds looked like flamingos with duck bills.

Checking out the Lemurs.

Standing over an aquarium.

These little water worms were funny to watch.

We attempted to pet the sting rays, but they wouldn't swim up high enough in the water for us to reach.

I was surprised that Asher was willing to touch the sea creatures.  He is getting braver as he gets older.

Avery also got a change to touch the anemones.

The guys met a mermaid.

Enjoying the huge tank with Daddy.

Our boys rocking out.

Shark!

Kissy Face

Asher's Photo of a Shark.

Family Photo!

When we were done walking through the aquarium, we enjoyed a lunch together at the Aquarium cafe and then walked through the gift shop.  Then we headed back outside to discover the rain had stopped and the sun was out.  We loaded back into the van and drove back toward our hotel.

Part Jedi, Part Shark.

Our little Jellyfish.

As we got close to Pass-a-Grill, we decided to head North again to John's Pass rather than to our hotel.  We had a fun time touring the boardwalk, meeting some parrots and choosing a few pieces of site-made taffy.

Asher & I swallowed by a shark!

Avery & Eric on John's Pass boardwalk

Checking out the birds

As we neared the end of the boardwalk, we saw two parrots sitting on a ledge.  I thought they were those fake, animatronic birds that you sometimes see in odd gift shifts.  I pointed them out to Asher, and as we approached a man asked if we wanted to get pictures with them.  It turned out that he goes there with the birds to take pictures and make money.  We made a small donation and both boys had a chance to take some pictures of them holding the birds.  Asher did surprisingly well.  If you would have asked me before what would have happened, I'd have guessed that Asher wouldn't go near the birds but Avery would be all for it.  Instead, the opposite happened.  Asher allowed the green parrot to sit on his shoulder and then held the red bird in his hands (although he wasn't crazy about the red bird and told me so afterwards).  Avery on the other hand, allowed the green bird to sit on his shoulder as well but was not thrilled about it and pouted the entire time.  As soon as the man took the bird back, Avery ran over to me and started to cry.

Obviously both the parrot and Asher were quite uncomfortable about this situation.

"Get this thing off of me!"

We made the rest of our way down the boardwalk stopped to look for dolphins and watch the pelicans.  We also stopped to "eat" a giant ice cream cone and also pick out a few pieces of taffy to munch on.

Avery & I "eating" the giant ice cream cone.

3 "kids" in a candy store.  Avery, Asher and I each picked out 2 flavors to try.  They were yummy!

Finally when our fun family excursion was over, we headed back to the hotel for a little fun in the sand, goodnight to the sun and then a yummy Mexican dinner before bed.

Snuggles and Stories with Gramps