Florida day 1

The only thing on the agenda for today was to hang out on the beach!

The kids were having a blast riding the waves . . .

. . . and digging in the sand too!  We were all having a great time until a storm came from out of no where.  The wind started blowing like crazy and those big umbrellas in the sand you can rent started to become airborne.  As Colin was exiting the water the wooden pole struck him right on the corner of his eye . . . I know it had to hurt!  We headed back to the room to change and decided to head out and explore the town of St. Augustine.  Since it was raining, we did the car tour and drove around Flagler College which has a very beautiful campus!

Since the rain sort of let up, we decided to have lunch at Burger Bucket.  It was at least a half a mile walk from where we parked which isn't a big deal but every time a car passed us they would hit a puddle and spray water on us.  Some were nice and slowed down so we did not have a wave of nasty water but most were clueless.  We laughed . . . we complained . . . we had fun.  We arrived and apparently everyone else had the same idea so we had to wait but at least the burgers were good.  We had to walk back to the car to feed the parking meter some more money since our time clicked so quickly.  Thankfully the rain had stopped so off to George Street to visit some of the shops.  We came upon a place called The Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops and they were yummy!  I had coconut pistachio, and Colin had strawberry.  About that time I noticed Colin's eye was starting to show signs of bruising . . .

. . . I didn't make a big deal about it but knew it would look much worse in a few days!  We reached the end of George Street so headed to Castillo De San Marcos National Monument.  It was closing in 15 minutes so we had to make it quick.  Thankfully I had my America the Beautiful Pass and the park ranger let us go right in for free!  The first thing the kids said was that it reminded them of the fort in Puerto Rico!

It was back to the hotel to head back to the beach.  These kids could stay out here all day!  The best part is they are all getting old enough to not be watched all the time.  Don't get me wrong when they were in the water, we were on guard, but they would play in the sand and not have to worry about them wandering off.

There was a time that putting all three this close together was total drama . . . now they all get along for the most part and thankfully the drama is less and less each year.  Colin loves the beach, sea, and sand . . .

. . . after many trips this summer to cooler places he has his tan back.  Colin had a yoga session with Marilyn . . .

. . . about that time we heard "SHARK!" . . . we just sort of ignored it and then again "SHARK!"  So we got up and looked.  There was a fin, but I have no idea what a shark fin looks like.  I do know that it was super close to the beach.  About that time someone said it was just a dolphin.  Here is the irony . . . just before we headed to the beach I told the kids if someone is fishing to not get near them.  I have read that most of the shark attacks this summer have occurred near people fishing.  Well wouldn't you know it there was a man next to us fishing and a pod of dolphins were up and probably feeding.  We stayed at the beach but no one got back into the water!  So here is your 'fin' lesson of the day . . .