planetpayne

Yesterday we dropped my mom and sister and her kids off at the airport, to head back to California. I felt really depressed to see them go, and I’m still feeling that way today. Ingrid is fine, though, so that helps. It’s wonderful how children deal only with what is in front of them.

One thing that is helping is the change of scenery. We moved to a beautiful county park, Easterlin, this morning. I think I was fortunate to get a spot. It’s less than half the price of the last place, and it’s tropical and cozy and the playground looks fun. There are lots of kids around too. The weather finally warmed up and so Ingrid is out front having a picnic under the awning. I see that she placed her stuffed animals everywhere. Chip and Dale are climbing one of the trees and I saw some some leopards in the bushes. Her new dog Pinky, given to her by her much loved cousin Bella, is sprawled out getting a tan.

My family’s visit was short. They stayed only four days, and unfortunately the weather was cold for Florida on all four of those days. We did get some breaks in the middle part of the day where the sun was beating down nice and warm and we were warmed up on the beach, but us adults kept our regular clothes on the whole time. The kids on the other hand seemed not to notice the weather at all, and were in their swimsuits and splashing in the waves everyday. They happily played on the sand, building houses and castles, and decorating them with shells and branches and whatever they could find. They buried Nathan, they played queen and her servants, they chased each other. Nathan played some private games with the ocean. I saw him talking to it and shaking his fist at it, sometimes kicking it. Then he would look around quickly to make sure no one was watching. The beach was lined with restaurants and gift shops and the kids loved running down the path. We didn’t try to stop them since we knew they had only four days together and we wanted them to make the most of their time. They did a great job of getting along.

We spent time in the hotel a bit, and the kids had diaper throwing wars, forts were built, Oliver loved having Ingrid there. He kept sneaking little adoring looks at her and she loved being able to touch him and kiss him and help him. Ingrid slept over one night and I hear it was lots of fun. We also had a fun and exotic time at the Everglades Alligator Farm, about an hour south near Miami. The car trip was long but very much worth it. We saw tons of alligators, some ten feet long, plus a snake and alligator show. Nathan was picked to hold a snake for one of the shows. We also took the airboat ride along the Everglades. Oliver wasn’t happy at first but toward the end he was wanting the boatman to go faster, waving his little arms and legs in excitement. It’s a really unique experience and I wish the ride had been longer. They take you through these narrow channels where you see alligators and big birds just a few feet away from the boat. The boat itself is a trip, because it just glides over everything. It seemed to me that it was just floating above the water, and sometimes over tall grass with only a little bit of water there. I kept expecting it to bump on the land but it was completely smooth. When we got out to the clearings the driver would spin the boat 360 degrees and everyone would scream in silence (we were wearing heavy duty ear protection). The kids loved it, the baby loved it, even my mom loved it!

On the way home we stopped at Robert is Here, a famous fruit stand. There we got some amazing shakes. I don’t know what they put in there other than fresh fruit and ice cream, but the taste is incredible. I highly recommend them if you’re ever in the area.

Now that the weather is finally warm, we hope to snorkel and enjoy some beach time. I can’t believe it’s almost March. Soon it will be time to head back to California for Syncro de Mayo and Carnaval.

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We’ve been in the Florida Keys for almost a week. The weather has not been ideal, more cold than usual like the rest of the country. It was a bit tricky to find a spot to stay, so we’re in our second campground now. Key West is interesting but not really what I expected. The islands are scenic, but absolutely flat. As for downtown, it is mostly gift shops and restaurants and bars. With an emphasis on bars. Most of the people walking around are drunk and showing it. The gift shops are pretty much all selling the same old tired junk, like teeshirts with sayings that are only funny here where everyone else is drunk too. Ingrid and I spent the evening  browsing the shops and many times I had to turn around and walk right back out. It was either clothing that belongs in a strip club or the teeshirts with the obscene sayings.

For Valentine’s day, we took a boat trip to Fort Jefferson, about 70 miles out from the Keys into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s part of the Dry Tortugas National Park. The boat trip there took about two hours and was very bumpy at times. Almost everyone on board got sick. None of us did, but we all came close enough that we were holding sick bags.

The fort itself was impressive, as were the cannons and other structures. The photos speak for themselves. Our guide was really knowledgeable and a good storyteller. Plus, she gave Ingrid an ice cream sandwich when no one was looking! I learned a lot about the history of the fort, including that it was built all in brick. The bricks were brought in ships from Maine. Sixteen million in all, I believe. Each trip to Maine took 3 weeks one way. Two thousand people lived on Dry Tortugas island, including “northern slaves”. These were the military men who were caught doing something bad, like sleeping on the job or visiting their family at unauthorized times. They were sentenced 3-5 years service on Dry Tortugas- unbelievable! The guide called this the mistake of their lives. The humidity on this island is 95% in the summer and fresh water is very scarce. The sewage plan never worked so it constantly stunk. Several attempted escape, but none made it alive. This fort never delivered a blow in anger, not even during the Civil War. It seems that a lot of their plans for the fort never made it to completion. There was also a handmade boat on display that had just arrived in December, with 17 cuban refugees. It was tiny, and it was sobering to see how desperate people are to escape Cuba. I was glad to see that they were all granted citizenship. Sorry if you feel differently, it’s one thing to read about this kind of thing and have an opinion, and another entirely to see the actual boat in front of you after having ridden only 1/24th the amount of time that they did to get here, on a much more comfortable and large boat!

Ingrid and I really loved the beach here. Pure, soft, fine sand and of course the beautiful pale aqua ocean with its gently lapping waves. The seashells were amazing, and easily the best I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s because I’m used to California beach seashells, which are tiny. Here there were huge conches, spiral-looking ones, huge pieces of coral, dead but vibrantly blue jellyfish, and some bright purple plants. I’d always wondered where those huge shells come from, and now I know. I just wish we could have stayed longer. I told Andrew it was surreal to see all those beautiful shells, just laying there for the picking, for free. This trip was expensive, so I don’t think many kids make it out to the island, and hence the shells are unclaimed.

There’s camping here, where the boat drops you off and picks you up the next day. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be alone on an island 70 miles from civilization, sleeping under the stars and surrounded by this huge fort with all its ghosts. We’re saying maybe to this idea. But not right now. We have to get back to Fort Lauderdale, where my sister and mom are coming to visit with us for a few days.

Ingrid met a little girl here who only spoke Japanese, except for the word “hi”. She said hi to Ingrid about 4000 times today, every opportunity she had. Ingrid was really sweet to her, and she ended up following us around most of the day. They picked up pretty shells together and Ingrid did silly things while Miaki (?) giggled.

There are also some kids next door to us here at the campground, but they’re older. Homeschooled. I knew it right away, when I heard one of them playing the flute. No kid I know brings their flute on vacation and plays it outside. They also had that open friendliness and genuine curiosity that I’ve come to know from the homeschoolers. The more neat homeschoolers we meet on the road, the more proud Ingrid is to call herself one.

Yesterday, Ingrid and I headed to Pirate Soul, a museum, while Andrew took vanny to his photo shoot. I must say it was one of the better museums I’ve been to. Every exhibit was interactive, and so well done. Authentic pistols, muskets, newspapers of the time with intriguing stories, a real treasure chest, pirate booty called “pieces of eight”, even the horrific confession from one of the more famous pirates. Each room was decorated such that it took you into a scene, like the deck of a ship or into the town square where you witnessed the hanging of a caught buccaneer. Did you know that they sometimes put the hanged body into a cage and let it rot for all the townspeople to see? We got to hold a musket and go through the many steps it took to load a pistol in those days, only to be able to fire it maybe twice during the battle! After seeing all this brutality, which was sometimes too much for Ingrid, we walked into the gift shop where to my dismay Ingrid informed me that she wanted a pink “pirate princess” flag to hang above her bed. I tried to explain to her that princesses really have nothing to do with pirates, but of course she didn’t care. Instead I gently steered her toward the dress up section, where she chose a pistol and pirate captain hat. I gave in to that. I never thought Ingrid would want to own a pistol but she’s been playing with it now happily for two days. Just by coincidence, our current chapter book is Treasure Island. We are about 60% into the book and I’ve been surprised and delighted at how much Ingrid likes this book. It is brutal, but not in a gory way. I was skeptical that she chose this book out of the ten or so that I had picked out for our next book, but it turns out this was a great choice.

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After answering a call for vanagons on thesamba.com’s forums our vanny got a job as a prop in a photo shoot for American Eagle Outfitters “77kids” line. They were looking for a van in the florida keys and we happened to be there at the same time so it worked out great. They had the choice of a land rover or our syncro vanagon, but for a beach scene the vee dub is the only way to go.

Overall the shoot went great. I think most of the shots were pretty tight shots on the kids, so i’m not sure how much of vanny’s awesomeness will be seen in the finished product, but still it was fun. The money earned will cover the not-so-cheap cost of a day trip for three to the Dry Tortugas / Fort Jefferson which we are taking tomorrow!

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