Our Grandson, Anders, Comes for a Visit

Sunday, March 12, 2017
Very early this morning (extra special early as the time  change happened today) Anders climbed on a plane in Dallas, Texas (7:00 am) and flew to Tampa where I picked him up at the gate at 10:15 am.  The very first thing we did was move away from all the people and let Anders talk to his mom so she would know he made it safely.  Then we were off to baggage pick up where Grandpa was waiting for us.

Once we got the luggage and transferred it and ourselves to the car we set off for the Clearwater Beach Aquarium to visit the famous dolphin Winter who resides there.

Winter is the "star" of the movie Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2, a Hollywood version of his life from the time he was found beached with a badly injured flipper - so badly that it had to be removed.  Ultimately a prosthetic was created for it.

 It is a fascinating story of the affect it has had on so many handicapped people - especially kids.  Anyway, we saw Winter along with a variety of other aquatic animals.  Anders had the chance to "pet" a sting ray,

watch huge turtles, see a bit of the hospital area, (they specialize in animals that have been injured in a variety of ways), and at the end watch a 14 year old dolphin do some tricks taught to help him when being treated as well as keep it challenged and busy.

We saw Rufus, the white pelican, too.  He is the comic relief in the movie.  But obviously needs lots of strokes as is evident in the picture where a keeper is holding and stroking him as he shakes all over.

From there we drove over to the Clearwater Beach and walked the pier out into the Gulf of Mexico just to see the neverending beach, people and hotels.  Then we walked across the sand so he could collect some to take home for his collection as well as put his feet into the cold water.

We picked up a few shells too while we were there.

Then we set off to find a Ruby Tuesday where we were going to eat but never did locate it so ended up at a Red Robin where he was quick to order their fish and chips platter (with four big fillets) that he polished off  Well the fish that is - he left the chips.

It was late in the afternoon by the time we were done so we set off for Hillcrest.  He was anxious to see where we lived and Ken needed to get back for the Gospel Concert which was in the evening.  While Ken was changing, I took him for a walk to show him not only our backyard and the cow pasture but then our small clubhouse and the pool.  We had fun walking down two streets just checking out all the lisence plates on the cars.  He was intrigued to discover how many of them were from provinces in Canada: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

By the time we returned Ken was gone so we quickly gathered what we needed and headed to the clubhouse too.  This is an ice cream social so I purchased ice cream for him and we found seats after stopping to visit with a few people who wanted to meet him.  We enjoyed the concert together.

And he patiently waited while I helped with the prize drawing afterwards for all the handmade items we had been selling tickets for the past couple of months.

He led us back carrying the flashlight while we delighted in the view of the sky with the huge full moon trying to peek through the clouds. Then he and I enjoyed teaching each other a couple of card games: Kings in the Corner (he won both games), Black Jack, and Speed.

He gave a call to his mom and dad, brother and sister via his I Phone so he could enjoy Face Time with them.  Then he got ready for bed and his grandpa read to him for a bit before he settled down in bed.  It was truly a FULL DAY!!!!