Jungle queen cruise

Crispin was too interested in strawberries from Public to face the camera.  Visiting this grocery store has become another tradition on Sebastian trips.  When Grandpop lived at 873 Haverhill, we would pick up French bread, Boar's Head Lebanon Bologna, and Alpine lace Swiss cheese.

Hiram's

Group shot at one of great Grandma Edna's favorite restaurants.   The cook is from Maryland, and she always talked up their crab cakes and soup.  In her memory I ordered crab soup for dessert.

Grandpop and salads

For the past five years or more, Liam's great grandfather has found it remarkable how much Liam likes salad. It is a soothing ritual.

Philosophical digression

Reading Eckhart Tolle has inspired me to seek the joy in or at least accept the present moment rather than worrying about past or future or what I might be missing.   I notice in myself a tendency to want to try to do everything to get my moneys worth, to see every animal or walk every trail, to wonder if I have chosen the best path.   Today I tried not to worry about what was next but to let things unfold.   It wasn't seamless; one boy might want to rush ahead while the other stayed at an exhibit.   But it was pretty relaxing.   It helped that I gave us the whole day for the zoo.

The roadside restaurant with great Grandpop gave us more chance to be patient.   We had to wait for a table, got stuck behind a banquet, and were there for 2 hours.  The boys were noisy,  but so were other people.

They are sleeping.  Liam discovered that our room has a sofabed and volunteered to sleep there, so we each have our own bed, which should help excited boys sleep longer.

Fishing at the zoo

While Crispin splashed, Liam spent an hour fishing off a retired fishing boat in the children's zoo.  While there were no hooks, there was food at the end of the line, and real fish nibbled the food Liam offered.   A young volunteer seemed quite pleased to help Liam tie more food to his line over and over; this was a present and calm interaction in the midst of boisterous children's play.

Brevard zoo

Both boys found activities that fit them like a glove in the children's zoo.  Crispin enjoyed moving and dumping water in buckets.   He also enjoyed holding a button down to make a pretend whale spray water.

To bed in Melbourne

Here are the boys helping upon arrival in Orlando.