Brrrr! Another Day of Winter with Anders

Thursday, March 16, 2017
It is 7:30 am and we are up with the heat turned on high to warm us up cause it is 32 degrees outside with a wind chill temp of 29 degrees.  But the skies are clear and the sun is rising so hopefully it will be much warmer soon.  In fact, the weatherman says we should reach a high of 62.  That is a sign it will slowly start warming back up to more normal weather.  Unfortunately it won't happen before Anders has to get back on a plane tomorrow and head for home.  Where has the time gone??  This is going way too fast!!!

But we look forward to another exciting day together before we have to think about packing and going.  As I was writing this, he came out of his room anxious for his clean clothes to come out of the dryer and getting on with the day including visiting Busch Gardens.

After our scrambled eggs, strawberries, hot chocolate and Toast Pastries, Grandpa was off for choir practice, and Anders and I had time for another game. Then while he played on his phone, I got dressed in my jeans that were finally out of the dryer and put the other things away plus washed the dishes.  By then Ken was back and we were off for another day of fun.

We climbed into the car for the half hour ride to Busch Gardens.  While riding Anders and I had a bit of competition both playing the solitare game I taught him - each with our own deck of cards.  Two rounds and both times he won big - first with only 2 cards left and the second with 4 left.  Meanwhile I had 12 and 14 left.  He definitely has the magic touch!!!!!!!

Even with all our gear on, we were chilly because of the stiff winds as well as the temperature.  I couldn't help but fell sorry not only for him but so many others who were there who were enjoying their long planned vacation in the "warm, sunny south" only to have it be the coldest it has been all season.  This is crazy!!!

These statues made of car parts were outside one of the theaters.

During the day we attended several shows: Iceploration (as ice show with fabulous animal costumes and a story of a grandpa taking his grandson who seldom goes outside and lives with his electronics to see the Great Barrier Reef, North Pole, Africa, and the rain forest.  There they see all the creatures of the area); Opening Night Critters (essentially a show with all kinds of animals doing a variety of tricks many of which happen with noone else on the stage but them.  It really is quite cute and certainly shows off all the skills that have been learned while telling a bit of a story); and a Rock A Doo Wop music show while we ate our lunch (that was filled with music from our high school days - not especially Anders type of music but he really seemed to enjoy it)

Anders had a chance to "drive" both a boat

and a truck using a steering wheel on a panel

to guide the remote control vehicles.  We watched the bumper cars for a bit but he decided he didn't want to do that but he did see kids on zip lines and did do that.

While standing in line we could look down on the orangutans that were playing below.

I got a picture of him by one of them that was resting by the window.

 And then we went and checked out the tigers - white ones.  There was a spot where he could go underground and then come up in a glass booth and look right down on the tiger that had laid down by it.

We road the train all around the park and through the plains so we got to see all the animals that were out wandering that area including zebras, gazelles, giraffes, hippos, and many others.

 The guide on the train would not only point them out but tell a bit about them as we wound around through the area.  We also saw all of the roller coaster rides the place is so well known for since we rode by or under most of them on the trip.  Anders agreed with us that people are crazy to get on those things and do 90 degree drops, flip over to hang upside down, etc.  Still it was fun to watch them from a distance and just see what all they did.

At the end of the day when we were walking toward the exit, we stopped to see all of the alligators that were simply resting alongside the water so very close to the fence so we could get a real good look at them.  This was a great follow up to all the ones we saw when out on the swamp boat yesterday.  Most of the biggies we hidden so now we could see ones that were the typical 7-8 feet long.

We came home exhausted and all just sat for a bit playing with our phones and just zoning out.

 Then we got the computer set up again and watched Dolphin Tale 2 with the continuing story of Winter and her "playmate".  The original one died and for a long time she had no one and had major depression problems but eventually a new one arrived and they finally connected.  Her name is Hope.  That is the one we saw at the aquarium when we went on Sunday.  It really was fun learning lots more about the story of that aquarium, its focus of rescuing, getting them better and then releasing back into the wild if at all possible.

Anders had time to chat with his mom, dad, Dagny and Karsten for a bit following the movie but they were getting ready for bed so had to say good night.  Besides it was time for him to do the same.

Ken read him a bit more out of his Percy Jackson book

before we had our hugs and all settled down for our last night together.  How could the time be up???  It is hard to think he'll go home tomorrow. There is so much more we'd like to do but just no time left.  And he never even got to go swimming or run around in shorts.

I forgot to mention that the latest edition of the Senior News came out today (the Zephyrhills based paper) and my newest article about happenings at Hillcrest had made the front page.  Kind of neat to see my name in the byline and also photos I'd taken.  This one was about the breakfasts served here every Monday. Ken's picture was included since his job is taking the orders and collecting the money. He and Paul make a great team and really enjoy working together.