Grand Trip with the Grandkids

Before beginning to read our updates, let me (Lydia) apologize for being so tardy in posting. Jim does the initial writing, I edit and put in the pictures ... and I've been the hold up! I've been appropriately chastized and do humbly apologize. Mea culpa! Even though they're dated, I hope you enjoy reading about what we've been up to lately.

After months of talk and weeks of planning, our camping trip with Olivia (age 8) happened. Oh, there was one slight change right before we left. Zoë (age 4) wanted to go camping with her big sister. All the adults had some concern about Zoë being away from Mom and Dad for a few days might be a problem.We kept in touch using video calling on Skype, but it soon became apparent that seeing Mommy made things worse. After several tearful goodbyes, Zoë herself decided it made her too sad to see them, so we ended the calling.  After that, all was sunny-peachy and Zoë was a great addition to our camping trip.

We picked up the kids Friday about noon and headed south. Two short trips seemed a good idea, so we stopped in Tifton, GA for our first night. The kids were excited, so we unhooked the trailer and drove to town for dinner at a Chick-Fil-A. Back at the campsite we began the first of many "moving the piles of stuff", so we could make up the kid's bed. Believe or not, everyone was asleep by 10PM.

After a late breakfast we headed for our final destination in Panacea, FL. Our campsite was between the pool and a beach on the Ochlockonee Bay that connected to the Gulf of Mexico. We checked out both those locations that afternoon. A nice breeze off the water kept the bugs away, but it made eating out on our picnic table a challenge.

Our first major outing was right down the road at the Gulf Marine Specimen Laboratory. This facility has dozens of small to large tanks filled with everything from 6 foot nurse sharks to tiny crabs and star fish. You could reach into some tanks and pick up the creatures. The kids ran from tank to tank yelling "Papa/Dede, look at this!" Part of the mission statement for this facility included saving and protecting the loggerhead turtles.

On Monday, we spent the day swimming, grocery shopping, shelling, driving around the area, and more swimming. Both the girls loved the water, so Papa and Dede were pretty busy trying to keep up. The beach where we looked for shells seemed familiar to us. Lydia and I finally remembered our first camping trip with our kids before we were married was in this area about 35 years ago. How serendipitous.

We spent our last day at Wakulla Springs State Park. This spring pushes out about 13 millions gallon per day that forms a river and flows into nearby marshes. A one hour guided boat ride gave us a real eyeful of local plants, birds, and animals along the river. Zoë loved the gators probably because she's been brainwashed by her father, the ultimate Florida fan! We pulled into a cove just loaded with manatees which was the highlight of the trip. These gentle giants look so serene swimming in the clear waters of the spring. We also passed the area where the early Tarzan movies were filmed – maybe Zoë’s alligators are descendents of the ones he wrestled. The kids bypassed swimming the cold spring water (much to Lydia's delight), so after a nice lunch in the lodge dining room we returned to the campsite and spent the rest of the day in the pool.

On Wednesday we said good by to our campsite, packed up our stuff, and headed north. We stopped for the night after a four hour drive. Our campsite had a pool and we relaxed there for a few hours. Lydia fixed us a great dinner that we ate outside.

Even the dog was tired!

Again, everyone was asleep by 10pm. An hour later the first of several T-storms passed through our area. They brought thunder, lightning, heavy rain, wind, and hail. Each storm woke Lydia and I, but the kids slept blissfully through it all.

The next day we returned the grand kids to their parents and listened as the kids started telling stories about our trip. I hope they remember it for a long time. I know we will.

Next Blog: the Decker family gathering.