Summer 2006 - Florida

Once again we have the good fortune to be off on a three month adventure. The flight to Jacksonville was uneventful, except, of course, for the 5 AM departure from Boston that required a 3:30 AM pick up and hence a 2:30 AM wake up!! It was great to see the kids again and we spent much of the afternoon watching them swim in the pool. Wyatt easily dives to the bottom of the deep end to retrieve sunken toys while Garrett plays with numerous dinosaurs, sharks and barracuda. At one point a 12 inch diameter gopher tortoise wandered into the yard from next door. Tara said he was an occasional visitor and Carl picked him up and carried him back where he came from.

After our long day yesterday, we slept late and were up just in time for breakfast. Just like our previous visit to this delightful B&B, the four course breakfast was terrific. Since Tara and the boys were busy in the morning, we spent a leisurely time walking the beach and shopping. After lunch we picked up the boys and went to a museum then hiked a couple of miles through the Timacuan Preserve where we saw lots of little crabs, butterflies and an armadillo. Along the way, Wyatt picked up then threw 546 sticks and 324 oyster shells. Garrett asked a lot of questions about dinosaur bones and whether they had all been dug up. When we assured him there were lots of bones left to discover, he announced to our amazement, “Then, I want to be a paleontologist!” We all went out to dinner at a great new restaurant, Bonefish Grill. Back home with the boys in bed, we played games through the evening and didn’t get back to the B&B until almost 2 AM!.

Our 9AM breakfast time came too quickly this morning but it was worth it. We thought about a run along the beach but opted for a nap instead. After lunch we picked up the boys and went to the zoo. The boys loved it and so did we. Lots of new exhibits since our last visit. In the evening, Tara and Scott went out to a party and we watched the kids. It made a very long, full, wonderful day of grandchildren.

The six Greenbaums celebrated Father’s Day with a barbeque and pool party. After three hours in the pool, we noticed that Wyatt had not stopped moving. Even during quiet times when Scott, Tara and Garrett were in the hot tub end, Wyatt was swimming laps and climbing out to cannonball back into the pool. It was exhausting watching him. Sandy and Scott made and grilled chicken and steak kabobs and we had a wonderful dinner. After dinner we were treated to a preview of Jurassic Park 4, a movie written, directed and photographed by Garrett Greenbaum. Garrett sketches scenes of which dinosaurs fight in each scene then uses Scott’s digital camera with video mode to shoot short segments of video. We watched five or six and it was a lot of fun. Stephen Spielberg, watch out!! We made an early night of it since we had been up until 2:15 AM and 3:15 AM the previous two nights.

The ten hours sleep felt wonderful. After another delightful Pelican Path breakfast, we walked the beach for a while before getting some lunch and picking up the boys. On the way to their house we spotted a swallow-tailed kite! We headed to the nearby Tree Hill Nature Reserve but a thunderstorm arrived first so we diverted to Toys are Us. After the boys picked toys and the rain stopped we visited the nature preserve with snakes, goats, butterflies, tortoises etc. A fun place. Back at the house, we watched the boys play with their new toys then the six of us went out to dinner. We then said our good byes to Scott and went back to our B&B to pack. We’ll see Tara and the boys tomorrow before we fly to Vegas.

Another bright sunny humid day in Florida. After breakfast and a short beach walk we got packed for our trip to Las Vegas. After shopping a couple of nice book shops, we met Tara and the boys for lunch. A short visit back at the kid’s house, a sad goodbye and we were off to the airport. Two long but uneventful flights brought us to Las Vegas. Tomorrow we move into the motorhome.

We have traded hot and humid for very, very hot and dry. A hotel staff member drove Carl to the storage yard to pick up the car. It started easily but it was filthy with souvenirs from numerous birds (or the same bird for two months). We checked out of the hotel and went back to get the motorhome. It was in fine shape but it was hot. A short drive to the campground and we were off to fetch the four boxes of clothes, books and miscellaneous stuff we had shipped to ourselves. As we were unpacking and settling in, we grew more concerned that the fridge was cooling down very slowly. Of course, it was 105 degrees outside. We put off food shopping until tomorrow. We had pizza for supper and spent a couple of hours at a local casino. When we got back to the coach, the temperature was down to 85 and the fridge was cool.