So, besides the beach, we did do a few things. Jim and Diane treated us to a pontoon boat ride on the Matanzas River. Alyssa, Jeremy’s cousin, came down from Jacksonville to join us for the afternoon and evening. While the weather was a bit dicey, it was a good time. We pretty much tried to outrun the rain for about an hour of the ride. We actually did a pretty good job not getting caught in the drenching kind. Then, it kinda cleared off and just remained a little cloudy and cooler. I definitely didn’t mind the clouds; the sun would’ve made it pretty intense. Jim drove a majority of the time; Diane took over for a time.
A bit of the crew…
Then, we were off and boating.
We saw some small pods of dolphins on our way out and back. It was extremely cool; it was hard to keep the boat moving and not just settle in for the show. You can see a number of them surfacing here while the girls watch. I have some video, but it always a trick to upload, so we’ll see if I ever try.
We watched this tug boat maneuver this monster, too.
We made it to this fort before heading back. It is Fort Matanzas National Monument which was built by Spanish soldiers as the back door protecting the city by preventing the British sailing through Matanzas Bay from invading St. Augustine. You can access it via a ferry for a tour during regular times. We also saw this cool sail boat, which looked like a pirate’s boat and seemed fitting to have anchored near the fort.
Diane had a few fun things planned for while we were there. There was the painting of the toenails night. They all had the bright pink beach color. Diane confided that her mom never allowed that color on her when she was little, so she asked my permission first. How times have changed!
I gave Ellie double French braids for the first time. She rather liked them.
She organized a painting night as well. Jeremy and I worked together on one beach scene. The girls both did their own. While they are all a little different, there is not much variety – all beach sunsets/sunrises/moonlit. It was fun. I’ve never really painted before, so I had very low expectations for myself. I was pleasantly surprised how it turned out… not good enough to become an artist by trade. (I’ll leave that to my cousins and uncle; see some of their work here, here, and here.)
Diane said she usually tried to walk on the beach most mornings. Jeremy and I headed out the first morning and found a great bike/walking path that was almost entirely shaded. I used it two mornings. Jeremy went one day, and biked two others. Diane and the girls beach walked and looked for shells. They also saw turtle tracks from where the sea turtles had come ashore, laid eggs, and returned. There were many nests protected by tape on the beach. You can see the tracks to the right of the girls in this picture.
Jeremy and I went out on a date to JT’s Seafood Shack on our last night. We ate outside on a patio with live music. It was relaxing. (Ignore the poor photography; I am awful at selfies.)
While we were there, the girls had extra alone time with Diane. (This was really the reason we were invited to come – so Diane could hang out with the girls. Jeremy and I were just leeches in the big scenario.) They baked brownies,
Witnessed a double rainbow from a hammock on a 3rd floor deck,
Finalized their artwork,
And Snapchatted some pictures.
Thank you, Jim and Diane, for being such gracious hosts. Our memories were magical!
We headed home on Friday morning. Entertained mostly by electronics. (When they were little, I never allowed that much screen time – even in the car; I’m slipping.) We did have a fun moment where we shared the Legend of Falling Rock with them. It is still up for debate how much of it is true.
Then, we finally saw home (well, about 3 hours before home, but still…)
We were home by Saturday at 3pm. Mom invited us over to collect the dog they graciously watched while we were gone. She also fed us, which was helpful since there really wasn’t anything left in my fridge. Welcome back from vacation, right?
This was a good break from life, from home, and from the same 30 mile radius.
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