Two weeks with family…
On our way back from Panama, we flew into Florida for a few weeks of family time. Sean’s parents were unfortunately going out of town around the same time we came into town, so we didn’t get to see much of them. However, they graciously did the airport run (twice) and let us borrow one of their cars (the nice Mustang) to travel to Panama City to see my parents. Here are some highlights:
the girls sharing Madeline’s chair in the car; Miss Madeline playing in the ocean
We really missed our pups while we were gone, but Mackenzie really had a wonderful time at Camp Kritter. She hung out with her mom, Madeline, all day chasing cats, lizards, squirrels, etc… while my mom cleaned and fed all the rehabbing wildlife. What. A. Helper!!
a baby possum (one of many); mom and I rushing off to Kritter eating breakfast in the car; a very baby squirrel napping after a large meal
Mom had a bunch of possums at home…cutest things ever! We went to Kritter pretty much every morning for cage cleaning, morning feedings, and general everyday duties. Kritter is a lot of work, but it was mostly all fun.
Miss Marsha, an osprey being raised at Kritter; a woodpecker whose appetite could drive even a chef up a wall; a hungry pelican with a hurt foot
Mom has been raising this osprey since she was a baby and while very nervous around others, Marsha was doing great. The woodpeckers were my little project…or nightmare, whatever. They were always hungry…ALWAYS. And when woodpeckers are hungry they just squawkandsquawkandsquawkandsquawk. Sheeesh! The pelican came in and lived with Miss Marsha for a bit; he had a broken foot and a hole in his side, but recovered nicely.
a pirate ship, clearly; my parent’s boat, The Pretty Lady (i.e., my mom); Sean being captain for the day
We finally got to go fishing after about a week and had a blast! All the tourists boats were out and about, but we made it through the pass just fine. My parents have a nice boat, perfect for fishing! Sean didn’t catch anything on this trip because he spent most of the day driving the boat, but he had just as much fun.
Mickey plays tug with a dolphin; I pose with my red grouper; a beautiful gulf coast sunset
At our first waypoint, Mickey caught a grouper…but the dolphin wanted it too. He spent so much time reeling and resting, reeling some more and finally the dolphin surfaced. We were so worried that the dolphin had eaten the fish and would be hurt by the hook in his stomach. We hesitantly cut the line and hoped all would be well…then mom and I spotted something floating on the other side of the boat. Guess what! It was the grouper! The dolphin just wanted to play, so as soon as we cut the line, he dropped the fish which floated to the top. We retrieved it and celebrated!!
shark, shark, shark!!!
A little while later, I got a big bite!! I tugged, reeled, pulled, rested…then started the process all over. Nothin’ givin’. We thought it was a big huge grouper who’d gone under a rock or something. After about a half hour of fighting, we were finally making some progress. From the depths of the sea, I saw a very large fish coming up. As he got closer, I realized…it. was. a. SHARK!!! Yikes…I’d only seen sharks this close in aquariums, with very thick glass viewing walls (which I stand far away from). Now here I’d caught one! We pulled it up to the boat to snap some photos, then cut him loose. I have no idea what kind of shark it was (I should probably look him up), but he was mean looking. and cool. AWESOME!
Mackenzie meets a grouper, she likey; our catch for the day, 4 grouper and a scamp; Mackenzie is fascinated by the jumping bait fish
Mackenzie was excited to see all the fish we caught…she likes fish. Sean and Mickey filleted all the fish and brought it up to the condo for me to cook. My parents were skeptical about my fish tacos, but when they tasted them their skepticism turned to serenity.
Sean poses underwater; a sand dollar scurries back under the sand; a shot of me swimming with my snorkel
After fishing all day, we stopped at Shell Island for a quick dip. Sean and I had bought some new snorkeling gear and got to use our new underwater camera to capture some memories!
the owl is getting situated being so close to me; a barred owl ready for release; one push and he’s off into the real world
Around the end of our trip, mom had a barred owl who was ready to be released. After a long drive out towards the area where our old cabin is located (which brought up fond memories of my adolescence) we found the perfect place to release him. All went well and the owl went off into the big world to find his own path…it was sweet.
We drove back to Jacksonville on a Friday morning to hang out with Sean’s dad for the evening. I cooked short ribs with cous cous and steamed broccoli for dinner with Adam and Bethany…all enjoyed the food treat. We left on Saturday morning for Phoenix…more on that part of the trip later!
the Philkade going through the MiraFlores Locks (what a coincidence); the MiraFlores Locks control center; one set of locks closing after the boats went through
the old bell tower lit up at night; part of the old fort wall lit up along the old highway to the airport
