Spring Harvest
Greetings to everyone.
One of the things we wanted to accomplish before heading down to Mississippi was get the yard cleaned up, and to have the garden tilled. Several times we planned on renting a tiller and doing the work ourselves. In the end, we acknowledged we were fooling ourselves.
We hired the same man who dug out the garden from the lawn for us last year. He had a last-minute opening if we agreed to let him do the work today. We made things work out to accommodate his schedule.
Rebecca was in Wyoming this weekend, but said we needed to have the leaves and whatnot raked away from the chicken wire fence so the tiller could get to it. So, Xavier and I, shovels and rakes in hand, marched into the yard.
Xavier contented himself with raking (we have a broom rake which will collapse down to his size; he loves it). As I raked, I found under the leaves onions growing. After poking in the dirt, we discovered them to be nicely sized. Not wanting them to get tilled, Xavier and I dug them up.
We also found carrots and got them out of the ground, although these were less impressive than the onions. The largest carrot we pulled measured about one and a half inches. Still, we pulled them. I thought if Xavier helped harvest them he might eat them also.
Xavier not only harvested these, but insisted on carrying them into the house and washing them. He was very proud. We planned on having some of these for our lunch. We decided on hot dogs for the onions and cooked carrots and mac & cheese as sides.
We did all the prep work. Got out the hot dog buns and the condiments, and boiled the macaroni. We went for the hot dogs, but none were to be found. It was too late to hit the store as the yard guys were to be here soon. So, we sadly scrounged for second choices, none of which included our onions or carrots.
The Trip Home
Greetings to everyone.
We spent the remainder of our mini vacation relaxing. The hotel had a pool, a splash park and hot tubs.
Xavier first played in the splash area, then came to the pool. Following Mom's and Dad's example, walked down the steps into the water, sitting down on each step while he acclimated to the temperature. The water was cool, but not cold. After a few minutes, he was ready to Xavier-paddle around.
With Dad to support him, we chased Mom from one side of the pool to the other. Then, Xavier looked up at me with wide, expectant eyes which clearly held in them his intent and hope.
"Float," he said. I was somewhat taken aback by such precise and clear word usage. He wanted to float on the water rather than be carried through it. We found a position he liked and I held him at that level, then we bobbed around the pool.
During this time, Mom disappeared; the hot tubs called to her sore feet. Xavier noted Mom was missing. "Mama?" he asked with a concerned inflection. I answered him, "In the hot tub" while pointing in its direction.
Out of the pool and to the hot tub we went. At first, Xavier did not know what to make of it; the water was much warmer than he generally likes. But both Mom and Dad were now soaking in the tub, so he—needing to be a big boy and do whatever his parents did—slowly stepped down the stairs into the water., holding the hand rail all the way.
Once in, he loved it. We bobbed him around the tub (we were the only people in the tub). He explored all parts of it, walking along the circular seating area or sitting on a lap. Then Daddy popped out and turned on the bubbles. Those were the deal clinchers!
The next morning (Tuesday), Xavier waded into the pool, got wet, climbed out and ran to the hot tub (there were two, so he ran back and forth trying to choose which one he liked best). Never again did he go to the pool.
We took it easy Tuesday morning, then packed up and headed to the airport. This airport trip turned out to be more harrowing than in Denver, which is ironic since there were two adults to assist with luggage and Xavier. We were all tired, and a little uncoordinated.
I thought the Miami airport was horribly organized in its security line. Orlando International has Miami beat, no contest—you have to work to be this disorganized. What a wholly random, inefficient mess that was! The only plus was we did not have to remove our shoes.
Xavier and I got through the line, but Rebecca was stopped. Security saw suspicious items in her backpack and the TSA simply had to have a look. Rebecca packed two bottles of Pediasure® for Xavier (when I asked her "why?" she answered "because we spent ten dollars on it.")
After getting through security, we found a food court and ate lunch. Rebecca and I took turns watching Xavier and our carry-on luggage while the other visited the rest room. Then a diaper check/change for Xavier and to the gate.
The plane was about 95% full, but left on time. Half way through the flight, Xavier settled down. We had to move him from the window seat and put him between Rebecca and me for him to quiet down. He slept the rest of the flight. Even when Rebecca had to get out into the aisle, all the jostling did not disturb him that much.
A very tired little boy; the vacation wore him out. He needed to go home and rest.
Sea World
Greetings to everyone.
Now in Orlando, we had tickets to Sea World. We thought it would be something Xavier would like while not overwhelming him, and he could still get his afternoon nap.
A nice secret to this park is buying your parking permit on-line prior to arriving. You get to park up close to the entry gate, and it's cheaper. Rebecca did just that. We parked under some of the few trees in the lot, grabbed our packs and Xavier and headed in.
Rebecca also reserved a stroller, but after the zoo yesterday we learned two things. The first was that Xavier refused the stroller, so it carried our stuff, but never him.
The second was having a stroller made it more difficult to move around the park; it was an unnecessary encumbrance. Our first order of business in the park was to get our $15 back (that, by the way, paid for half our lunch).
Xavier did not find the park that interesting. He was bored by the dolphins (we did not pay for the privilege of getting four and a half minutes of petting the animals. He may have enjoyed that).
He did like the various aquariums. The sea turtles held his attention as did being able to crawl into the viewing area of one of the tanks. Guess who is folded up like a pretzel on the floor in the cramped tunnel and lifting Xavier up into the viewing area.
The web site and several signs in the park itself advertised you could pet a penguin. We have been excited about that since reading it on-line. It was one of the highlights we expected to experience in the park.
We found the penguin exhibit. We stood in line (the same line was both for the ride and the exhibit). We watched the animated propaganda film. We took the shortcut to the exhibit and bypassed the ride. After fifteen minutes, finally, we were through!
Stepping through the doors and into the sub 30 degree exhibit, all of us dressed in light shirts and shorts, we saw the penguins. They were very active. Diving, swimming, leaping from the water, posing for pictures. We walked up and down the exhibit, watching the birds and looking for the ones we could pet.
We met a mother with her four year old looking for the same thing. She also read the web site and saw the signs. We found no place where penguins could be touched. I decided to ask one of the staff. After all, we had come all this way and we were amped for Xavier to pet a penguin.
"Oh, yeah. You can do that behind the scene if you want to pay for that tour" was the answer. We did not pay; it was already too late in the day and the cost was not trivial, nor the timing convenient.
Xavier did enjoy the killer whale show with Shamoo. He liked the splashing and the whales jumping. It kept his attention the whole show.
As an editorial note, the show was so much better forty years ago. A lot more action then, as well as a lot more tricks by the animals. And, forty years ago, there was none of the "One Ocean, One People" world view the show spent its energy trying to convince the audience to embrace.
All of us were growing tired. We found a shaded area, bought some ice cream and took a few minutes to relax before returning to the hotel. At least Rebecca and I relaxed. Xavier thought the squirrel behind us needed to share his ice cream. The squirrel did not agree, but Xavier insisted and kept the animal cornered for a while.
When the squirrel at last managed its escape, Xavier turned to the sparrows in the bushes to share his ice cream with. They had the same reaction as the squirrel. Finally, he decided to share his ice cream with himself.
