Our Grand Adventure!

What a fun time we've had!  After we left the airport, we drove to directly to Olive Garden, because we had gift cards, and we were starving!  Our "hotel" was about 70 miles away, so we needed food ASAP.  Thank you Olive Garden!  As we drove north, and I started to catch an idea of where we were headed and I started to perk up.  I hadn't slept the night before but it didn't matter!  Remember that I was only given a general idea of where we were going, but the exact location was a secret even to me!  Navigation was leading us north and right to the coast.  I was dying when we got off the freeway and drove down a long, winding road that looked like the winding road to my brother and sis-in-law's in Bellingham, Washington.  Except these were palm trees and tropical plants, of all sizes and heights!  When we pulled into the neighborhood and driveway, I was shocked, because this wasn't a hotel, but a house.

The house itself is beautiful, has a pool in the back yard, and to get to the beach / ocean, we pass 3 houses and cross the street.  So sweet!  Last night after we arrived, long after dark, we HAD to go to the beach.  The kids ran around "trying" not to get wet.  :)  This morning, we got up and spent 3+ hours over there, despite overcast skies.  Isaac is the only one that looks like a lobster today.  We flew our kite, watched fishermen (catching Pompano and Whiting), watched some kind of motorized para-sailers, the sea birds, made sand castles, collected shells, and listened to the soul changing surf.



After we played at the beach, we came home and attempted to get the sand off, and relaxed for a little while.  I laid on the couch and listened to Mat, Isaac and McKinley play RISK at the dining room table.  I don't quite understand how McK got the upper hand--I don't know the game, but she did and she slaughtered them!  It was so funny to hear them going back and forth, and I loved the outcome!  Sometimes being the youngest feels like being the under dog, but today, she felt like a winner!



When it was time for dinner, we decided to head for town.  Mat had googled out a pizza place he wanted to try, and we needed a few groceries.  The pizza place was Lenny's NY Style Pizza, and it was fantastic!  Our waiter was "Frank", was hilarious and entertaining!  He even did magic tricks for us!  And look at those pies.  It was so yummy!



We were finishing up dinner, and I heard Frank tell another couple that his name was Raphael, but he went by Ralph.  The whole dinner was an illusion!

After dinner, we went to a Ross / TJ Maxx type place where we wandered and found a few things that will have to be hauled home.  Because we were also gifted some spending money, the kids heard some YES instead of Mom's predictable answer.  Seeing the confusion on the some kids faces was priceless!  Head cocked to the side with a "Really?!"

Tomorrow we are going to play with dolphins at Marine Land, then head to St. Augustine for some fun in the colonial quarter, and then play with alligators at a farm there.  Brooklyn has been totally freaked out about alligators and crocs since we got here.  This educational visit will either throw her right over the edge, or put her mind at ease!

p.s. I wish Blogger had a better way to format pictures!!!