Florida Trip Day Six New Year's Day 2008

We woke up late on January 1, 2008. I guess we were all tired from the drive. The traffic on 192 was bumper to bumper and it took us a while to get to the restaurant. We ate at Perkins and then headed to Sea World. The traffic was still bad, but once we got past the entrances to Disney World it cleared up. We were glad we had decided to go to Sea World

We arrived at the gates of Sea World at 11:30, which was late and we knew we wouldn't see it all in one day. So once we were inside we got a map and let the boys decide what they wanted to see.

The first thing we saw was this beautiful Christmas tree below. It was so pretty and right by the water.

Then we saw a group of beautiful birds. I believe, but am not sure, that they are some kind of storks or cranes. Any help here would be appreciated.
To the right, we saw Shamu's Stadium. We hoped to head that way a little later.
The gardens at Sea World are beautiful. As we neared the sea lion's area, we saw the area below.
Here are the sea lions. They also had some seals in this area. The boys loved seeing these beautiful animals. There was a lot of noise as the bull that has his head up was warning all the other males to stay away. He seemed to have his very own harem and wasn't about to share.
The fellow below had been rescued and was missing an eye. Once he is healed and rehabilitated, the keeper said he will be set free. All of the sea lions and seals in this area have been rescued. The keeper fed them while we were there and this guy is looking for his share of the fish.

Below the boys poise by a sea lion statue. It was beautiful and a designated photo area.

Next the boys wanted to see the stingrays, so we headed in that direction and bought some fish so they could feed them. Brandon was keen on feeding them. Jordan was a little leary at first, but he finally did it. You feed a stingray by putting a fish between your first and middle finger and placing your palm flat on the bottom of the tank. The stingray will swim over your hand and take the fish. We did get to feel them as well and their skin is smooth as glass.

Then we stopped by the stingray pups. They have several and they ranged from very tiny to the size of the one below. The boys wanted to stay around the stingray tank for a long while. They found these creatures very interesting. Stingrays glide through the water and they are fast.
Next we headed for the dolphin area. They weren't feeding the dolphins while we were there. Here is the view we had when we headed that way.
Here are a couple of photos that were taken from the underwater viewing tank. It's hard not to get the reflection from the glass.

The above photo was taken from above the dolphin tank. A wonderful man by the name of Wayne, who works with the dolphins at Sea World brought along a bucket of ice and threw it in the tank right in front of the boys. The dolphin came right out of the water and almost hit Brandon in the face. The boys got to touch it and they were ecstatic.

As we left that area I was taking a photo of the boys and a lovely couple from Japan stopped and offered to take a photo of all of us. I am not a photogenic person. Everyone else looks great, but I look terrible. LOL That's why I never post photos of myself on my blog. I do get a good one once in a while, but this is definitely not it. However, it is a family photo and I guess that's what I must look like.

We sat down for a while in the area below. It was peaceful and quiet and the surroundings were beautiful.

Next we headed over toward the horse stables. I didn't know that Budweiser, Anheimer Busch owned Sea World, but they do and this area was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

A statue of one of their very famous horses. I couldn't resist this shot, but the menfolk started calling me a shutterbug. That's okay. I have some lovely photos.
This beautifully landscaped area below was not far from the horse barns. More heckling about being a shutterbuy. I ignored them. LOL
On our way back toward the main gate, we saw this area with the pink flamingos. Brandon loves to tell everyone that flamingos are pink because they only eat shrimp and he is correct.
We stopped at the gift shop on our way out and the boys picked up a couple of stuffed toys. Brandon's favorites are manatees, so that is what he bought. Jordan chose a seal. By this time it was 6:30 and Sea World closed at 7pm. When we got to the exit, we were given an update on our tickets that allowed us one free day at Sea World as long as we went back before January 11th. We were glad to be so honored and accepted. The boys were thrilled that they might get to go to Sea World another day. There was so much we hadn't seen and Brandon said it was better than Disney. Remember, we had the boys with us three years ago at Disney World.

We went and had a light dinner and then went back to the hotel. The boys and I went swimming in the heated pool that was 105 degrees. It was lovely and relaxing. I was hoping that the boys would be so relaxed they would go to sleep early. No such luck. They were so excited about their day in Sea World that they didn't fall asleep until 11pm. That is late for Brandon, but Jordan is a night hawk. I was glad when Grandma could finally crawl into bed. I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, but we had had a wonderful day and made some great memories.

I hope you've enjoyed the photos of our first day at Sea World. ~Blessings, Mary~

Show and Tell Friday - Florida Trip Day 5

This is my first Show and Tell Friday since before Christmas and it's nice to be back on track. It's easy to find something to show and tell about today. I know you're all looking forward to hearing more about our trip and seeing more photos.

We got up in the morning and were glad to leave the Days I*n. We drove a little way up the road and had breakfast at the Golden Corral. If you've never eaten there you are missing a real treat. There was every kind of breakfast food imagineable and it was delicious.

After breakfast we took the boys mini golfing. No one wanted to go to Disney on New Year's Eve. I have been there before and it is a mad house. Wall to wall people and you can't move. Brandon sometimes has difficulties with crowds and I knew he definitely would have with one of that proportion. The golf course resembled an old western gold mine and we had our choice of either an easy or difficult course. Being the mini golfers that we are, we chose the difficult one.

After mini golfing, we went back to 27 Highway and went to Wal M*rt. The boys found more of the Disney Pixar Cars that they collect and of course there were a couple that they didn't have. They bought those and I tried to buy some gravol. No such luck.

We stopped at a couple of gift shops and looked around because check in time at the R*mada wasn't until three. We had lunch and just spent our time checking out attractions. Finally it was time to go to the hotel, where I had made the reservation the day before. When we got there we were told it wouldn't be ready for another hour or two. That didn't please me as we were all tired. We looked around their gift shop, discovered an indoor pool and tried to put in time. At 4:30, the room was ready. We got our key and headed up to the room - a kids' suite. The boys were ecstatic. This is what they saw:

The sign said "No Adults." They got a real kick out of that. Of course they'd like to be a little independent and have no adults around. Can you blame them. They sometimes get into it with one another, but at times I hear them laughing and giggling. They have their own little secrets as all brothers and sisters should.
The room had a lovely mural of animals. Here is Brandon watching TV. The hotel actually had a kids' station and the boys hadn't seen much TV since we left home. Jordan moved just as I took the shot and you can see his shoulder in the front left.
Jordan claimed the top bunk. He's always wanted to sleep in a top bunk but since the boys have their own rooms, there's no need for bunk beds. He was thrilled in the beginning but then wanted to know if he could fall out. LOL
Here are the boys watching TV. Jordan has that pesky little penguin in his hands that he bought at the Newport, Kentucky Aquarium. It was cute and he bought it with his own money, but about two hours down the road we found out it squeaked. Grrr! It ended up being our mascot and sitting on the dashboard when we were driving. A very important job for a penguin. Grandpa told them he would give it flying lessons by tossing it out the window. There were times when Grandma also felt like it. Now penguin is home where Mom and Dad have to listen to it. LOL

For New Year's Eve, we decided to stay in the hotel and go swimming in the heated indoor pool. It was wonderful. Everyone was more relaxed when we headed back to the room. Brandon was asleep by 10. Jordan wanted to stay up to see the New Year in, but didn't quite make it. He fell asleep at about 11:30. It was a wonderful way to spend New Year's Eve.

I hope you enjoyed my show and tell this week. To participate or if you'd like to learn more about Show and Tell Friday, be sure to visit Kelli at There is No Place Like Home.

I've Been Tagged for a Fun Meme

Deena, my beautiful friend at Can I Be Pretty in Pink has challenged me to a meme. The meme was created by Jan at Bold and Free. I am to list 15 things that make it great to be me, so here goes.

1. I am a mother of one beautiful daughter.

2. I am the grandmother of two handsome and loving grandsons.

3. I am the wife of a good and loving man.

4. I love nature. Watching animals and birds and all of God's creations, brings me great joy.

5. I have wonderful blogging friends who stand by me when things get tough. Thanks to all of you.

6. One of my friends and I have been together for about 35 years. Jo Ann is awesome. She lives within a 5 minute drive of my house.

7. My parents were loving and taught me the lessons of life that I needed to become a good citizen.

8. Grandma taught me to love God as well as many other lessons of life.

9. I was blessed by God with a talent for writing and have realized my dream of having my writings published.

10. I enjoy living in a country where I can express myself without fear of retribution.

11. God has allowed me to climb mountains and trudge through valleys in order to make me both a stronger and better person.

12. God has allowed me to experience certain things in my life in order that I could better understand what others are going through and help them through it.

13. God has blessed me with logic and the ability to survive through situations that weren't always pleasant. With each situation I have learned a life lesson.

14. I have been blessed with the gift of giving. I am happiest when I am doing things for others and bringing a bit of cheer and joy into their lives.

15. I am blessed to be in a position where I can work from home and take care of my grandsons while their parents work.

I had fun thinking of all these reasons why I'm lucky to be me. Now, I am going to tag:

Grams at Talk to Grams

Renie at Renie Burghardt's World

Diane at Diane's Place

Karen at Karen's Korner

Lady Di at Kitty Justice

If anyone else would like to participate, feel free to do so and please leave a comment so I can drop by and read your list.

I have been honored with an award from my beautiful friend, Denise, at Shortybear's Place. Thank you so much, my friend. I am truly honored.

I would like to honor the following people with this award.

Mary at Isabella's Closet

Deena at Can I Be Pretty in Pink

Lady Di at Kitty Justice

Denise at Samaritan Women

Pea at Pea's Corner

Thanks, Ladies, for passing on the love.

Florida Trip - Day Four and Thankful Thursday

Day four of our trip we got up and headed out to a Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We had stayed in Georgia overnight and we reached Florida about 11am. The boys were excited. We'd finally arrived. We enjoyed a glass of orange juice at the welcome center and continued on our way.

We got off I75 at Highway 27. We were a bit tired of being on the Interstate and saw some interesting sights on our way into Central Florida. We usually stay in Clermont, which is about 20 minutes from Disney World. However, when we got to our destination, there'd been a mixup with our reservations, so we took 192 and headed toward Disney. We stopped at the Ramada Inn and they had no rooms left. However, they did have a kids' suite available for the next night, so I booked it. We went back west and found a Day's Inn, but were not at all happy with the room. Oh well, it was only for one night.

We noticed that many of the orange groves along 27 had been replaced with housing. What a shame. It seems that farmland all over America is being destroyed for homes. Developers need to remember that we need green space in order to survive.

The boys were really tired and so were we, so we decided to take it easy and rest. We ordered pizza and that was another bad experience. It ended up costing us $34 just for pizza and I can tell you I'll never order from that particular pizza company again. They got the order entirely wrong and wouldn't correct it.

Jordan and I walked over the to store and he saw a beautiful leopard towel that he bought with his own money. Jordan loves leopards and lo and behold we had all forgotten to pack towels. LOL When Brandon saw it, he wanted one too and so we went and bought him one. They were very pretty. I neglected to get a photo.

That is all of day four and finally we enjoyed just lounging around and not being stuck in the van. We were all asleep by 10pm.

Tomorrow, I will try and post photos of Day 5.

Now for my Thankful Thursday post. I most definitely have lots to be thankful for. Here is my list.

1. Thankful for the opportunity to have a nice vacation and return home without incident. We didn't have any problems on the road. We did have one close call, but that is to be expected on a trip of this length. Then it was a careless driver that caused the problem in a rain storm by cutting off a tractor trailer.

2. Thankful that the van's wheelbearing didn't go until we got home. It wouldn't have been fun to be stuck along the road with two boys. God's timing was perfect, as always.

3. Thankful that we were all healthy while we were away, even though we had travel insurance. I certainly wouldn't want to have to use it. Jordan was ill one night but I think he was tired and excited. That will do it with kids.

4. Thankful that all of my loved ones were safe while we were gone.

5. Thankful that the GYN found my daughter's cyst and it will be removed soon.

6. Thankful that our home remained safe while we were gone and there were no incidents of any kind.

7. Thankful that Meeko remained healthy while we were gone and that he had fun playing with his canine friends while we were gone. He settled in within 24 hours and is doing great.

8. Thankful for all my wonderful friends both on and offline. I have been truly blessed.

9. Thankful that God sent angels to be with us on the trip, just as I prayed for. He is so good and I'm thankful to have a personal relationship with Him.

10. Thankful that God answers our prayers and that my friends lift those up who are on my prayer list. Thanks to all of you.

If you would like to join Thankful Thursday, please visit Iris at Sting My Heart. Thanks, Iris for hosting Thankful Thursday. It's nice to have you back.