Sunday was sunny and bright and perfect weather for heading over to Fort Steilacoom and watching the MFG Rad Racing Cyclocross races. This was Lori’s first time at the races and for Peter it was his second time at a cyclocross, so he came prepared with his cowbell.
September 2nd was a really big day in the McDonald household, it was Peters first day of school. He started in Mrs. B’s class at St. Charles Borromeo school in Tacoma. He was very excited about starting at his new school and couldn’t wait to go. The 2 weeks prior to starting he would ask every day if the next day would be his first at St Charles. So when the first day came all went well, some changes to the routine include having to wear a uniform & eating breakfast before getting to school instead of once there. Lori & I took the day off work not only to see Peter & his big day, but to volunteer with the hot dog feed put on by the parent association. We helped with prepairing 900 hotdogs for the kids & familys to eat when school got out at 12:00. He really enjoyed not only his first day at school but the whole first week. Even though he is at a new school, he knows a few friends from Little Church Learning Center that are also going to St Charles as well has his cousin Olivia who started in preschool.
Our last full day in Florida called for another road trip. This time we were heading up the Atlantic coast to St Augustine. St Augustine in the oldest city in America, being founded by the Spanish in 1565, it had been around 55 years when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth rock. One of the main attractions is Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in America. It had been used by the Spanish and then by the British during the American Revolution. It is also rumored to have some of it’s original occupantsstill roaming around. It is also the home of “Ripley’s Believe it Or Not”, where you can find a museum full of the items collected by Mr Ripley on his world wide travels looking for the unusual and strange. The way home took us through a thunder storm that had the traffic on I-95 down to a crawl, and a lighting bolt hiting a pole on the side of the highway 100 feet from the van. Even with the full day Peter & I managed to find time once back in Orlando to head out for a round of mini golf before dinner.
What vacation is complete with out a road trip? With this belief we loaded up the rent-a-van and head towards the Gulf Coast. Our destination for today is the Homosassa State Wildlife Park in Homosassa Florida. Recommended by a friend of Lori’s mother, the state park is home to a Manatee rehabilitation and exhibits with other wildlife found in Florida. When you park in Homosassa you board a boat for a ride to the main park. Along the way we were able to see some great sights that included nesting fish and a huge spider that had made a web over the top of the river. After the drive back to Orlando we headed back to Seaworld for a dinner Luau and a little more time wondering through the park. Complete set of pictures from Homosassa Springs can be found at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/themickeyd/sets/72157622053892840/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/themickeyd/sets/72157621929818327/ for the Makahiki Luau pictures.
Our first day in Orlando was a rest day. We lounged around the pool and generally did allot of nothing. The Embassy Suites had a very nice and large swimming pool. But on our second day we headed out to Seaworld Orlando for some shows and general fun. The first show we saw was the Dolphin show, and WOW, it has changed a bit since my last Seaworld visit in 1987 or so. It seems the stylized shows of the Cir de Sole has really taken over every place. I guess those stile shows are popular but it is hard for me to get into. But the stars of the show, the dolphins, were great as ever. After the show we made a be line over to Shamu Stadium for the Orca show, good thing we got there early as the stadium does fill up early. When Shamu was over, we spent some time looking at sharks in a cool exhibit where you walk though a glass tube with the sharks and rays swimming around you. We then caught the Seal Lion Show and then went to the the Manatee rescue and petted some small ray’s on the way out. All of our pictures from our day at Seaworld can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/themickeyd/sets/72157622053366502/
After our time in Melbourne, we headed over to the Orlando area for a few days. One of the things on our to do list was an airboat ride. Based on recommendations from both Wallace and a couple other locals, we decided to head off to Lone Cabbage Fish Camp for the Twister Airboat Rides . The weather was hot (as usual) but with some luck it started to get cloudy and slight sprinkles started and brought down the temperatures to an almost comfortable level. The trip started out with a quick alligator sighting which is very unusual for hot season. After watching the gator for a while the boat got going with lots of sights along the way. All the pictures that I took at Lone Cabbage can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/themickeyd/sets/72157622052954892/
Later in the day family got together at Wallace’s house for an Open House. While at the party Peter & Olivia got to meet with a cousin they had never met, Mallory. To help the get the party started for the kids, Lisa brought out her ballons and starting making critters. Later the whole group was treated to a BBQ dinner by Tracy. The next day the full party was held at the Indian River Country Club. Links to all the pictures for the pre-party are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/themickeyd/sets/72157621924387797/ and the link to the pictures at the country club are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/themickeyd/sets/72157621924746873/
Our 3rd day in Florida took Peter and I along with Uncle Mike, Cousin Olivia and Grandma on a short road trip to Jungle Adventures Nature Park near the town of Christmas. Meeting us at the front was “Swampy” billed as the biggest Alligator in the world at 200 feet long. After a few quick photos we went inside and got our tickets. Along with our tickets we were able to buy food to feed the various Turtles, bears and even baby alligators we would see during our visit. To find all the pictures from this outing got to http://www.flickr.com/photos/themickeyd/sets/72157621923518731/
Our second day in Florida brought Peters Uncle Mike and Cousin Olivia to Melbourne for Papa Wallaces birthday party in a few days. Friday was hot and sunny, so in other words, a perfect day to head to the beach. We loaded everybody in the rental mini van and headed off to Cocoa Beach. We found the place to park for us was Lori Wilson Park, nice size free parking lot with board walks down to the beach. The water was warm and fun sized waves to kept smiles on all. But after I came back out of the water, the sun block must have washed off and I got a really bad burn on my feet and ankles that kept me from walking much the next 2 days. Both Lori & her mother also ended up with a bit of sunburn but to a lesser degree.
We are in the Viera Florida area for Wallace Fields 90th birthday party. Our first day here we headed out to the Kennedy Space Center to tour the grounds and get a look at the space shuttle while sitting on the launch pad. We will have all the pictures uploaded to flickr when we find a decent internet connection since the one at here at the La Quinta is WAY on the slow side.
