Good to the last drop

A week ago, we were settling into our Savannah hotel room & I was discovering I'd just gotten the worst sunburn I can remember getting.

But, to back up...

We began the day in Saint Augustine. Jon had his eye on this nature preserve, so we could learn about the Florida ecosystem and the wildlife while there. Learning about nature in an air-conditioned room? Fine by me! Also, for us, Florida is an extremely exotic experience. The kinds of birds, plants, and landscapes around there are just so foreign that this visit made the trip to Florida seem more thorough.

Miles did a scavenger hunt. Adele scampered around naming animals and touching the exhibits inappropriately. Jon & I read as much as the kids allowed us to and gazed at the estuary with binoculars, trying to see a bald eagle. We found their nest, but didn't see any birds. I think they're avoiding us. 

Loads of pelicans, though!

 On the way out, I just had to pause & capture this guy's truck bumper.

Priceless, no?

 We found a very quiet little beach, the Ponte Vedra Beach, to spend some more quality time with the ocean. Miles was so. happy.

 I was in heaven.

 Adele... was ready for a nap.

Fortunately, we'd dragged the stroller to the dune right behind us. Fortunately,that stroller has a sunshade. She napped more than an hour like this!

The sand was a bit grainier than that of the Gulf. Still, it was good enough for a sandcastle.

 We made more use out of that castle mold than it'd seen in it's life with us.

The moat really filled!

Ta-da! Isn't it majestic? 

Oh Florida. I do miss you. 

This is my Florida suit.

 Miles took a couple of pictures of his parents frolicking.

 It was divine. We had to drag ourselves away.

I am going to try to forget last Friday evening as soon as I've mentioned it here. The kids, having napped in the car, were wide awake and BONKERS. My newly acquired horrible sunburn (so I put sunscreen on every inch of the kids and on me too! just not on the places I don't usually burn. Because that's safe.) was giving me chills and muscle soreness. The first Day's Inn where we arrived at 9 pm looked fantastic and so, of course, was the wrong one. There was another at that exit. When we got to that one, it was just at the end of a really terrific rainstorm and something had broken their credit card machine. I still don't understand why the management made that poor clerk stand there with Jon and try it over and over for 30 MINUTES. In the end, they seemed to come to the conclusion that I'd been at since about minute three, which was that they already had our credit card information and could jolly well wait until morning to charge us.

Ok. I'm over it now.

It was a lovely little room and a great night's sleep. Morning dawned sunny and muggy and hot. So, pretty much, Savannah.

Jon took us on a car-based tour of the city. I'd love to come back on some kind of romantic getaway; Savannah is SO gorgeous.

 We found out the Spanish Moss is NOT a parasite, but co-exists symbiotically with its host trees. The moss apparently helps absorb some of the excessive amounts of moisture in the air, which is good for the trees.

Also, as the kids say, it makes the trees have beards! So we love it. 

 These guys were troopers. They got each other through, took several naps through our extended day of driving, and we've been sleeping in every morning every since.

Summertime... and the livin' is easy.

At least until we leave for Louisville to visit Buddy in 10 days!