Family Florida Fun

With the pandemic, most members of my immediate family has not been traveling much. I have not been to Vermont since 2019. And my brother Tom and most of my nephews have not been to Florida. Of course, my nephew Brandon lives in Melbourne and my niece Lori and her family visited within the last year from Virginia.

So it was a real treat to have my nephew Jared and his wife Sarah and daughter Paislee visit the Melbourne area. They stayed within the apartments where Brandon works, which is just five minutes from my home. They flew into Orlando on a Tuesday and flew back out this past Tuesday,

My first day seeing them was on a Wednesday at the beach. With them is Jared's good friend Adam. I told them about Paradise Beach, formally called Howard E. Futch Memorial Park. It is a favorite beach of mine because it has free parking, bathrooms and showers, and a really nice beach. They also have pavilions for picnics.

I was able to take my regular walk along the beach while they enjoyed the sun and surf. There were a few Man o' war jellyfish washing up, but the seas were not too rough. My grand niece Paislee was a little afraid that the water would be cold (her experience with oceans is Maine) but her dad explained it was warmer in Florida. It looks like she enjoyed.

Of course, after they finished at the beach we went up to Lou's Blues for some food and drinks on the back deck. It was a beautiful day. Both Sarah and Paislee got specialty drinks where you can keep the glass. Paislee got a gator. I got a beer. I introduced the family to Jenn, our regular server at Lou's.

It had been a while since I had seen Paislee and she had grown so much. I want her to know that she had sat on my lap before, at Mister Ups in Middlebury Vermont.

On Thursday morning, I told them to meet me at the Brevard Zoo parking lot. Since I am a member at the Zoo, I told them  I could get one adult in on my annual pass so they only had to pay for two adults and one child. They did the transaction online and we all passed through the gate quickly together. When we arrived there were two Disney Cruise busses letting off people. Mostly kids, I assume it was a school charter.

Adam informed me he had never seen a giraffe up close before. We headed to the Africa Expedition section of the Zoo first. He looks happy here...

Since it was morning, the giraffes were all just coming out from their barn where they spend the night. One of the younger giraffes spent a minute widening his legs so he could see and smell what was on the ground. It happened to be a fresh pile of poop and boy did that giraffe jump up in a hurry. I wish I was using movie mode; I only caught the sniff.

Part of the plan was to beat the large groups of kids here so we could feed the giraffes first. Sarah and Jared got Paislee up to where the giraffes were but Paislee realized that their heads and mouths were very big. She did not want to have her hand eaten. She is right, they are very big.

Since Sarah had bought a few Romaine lettuce leaves to share with the giraffes, she had the pleasure of feeding them. This one giraffe was being a long-necked pig and eating all her leaves and not sharing. I think Sarah got over it.

As I mentioned, Adam had never even seen a giraffe before. I think he had a great time feeding them,

The giraffes are pretty smart and they know when you have run out of food. In actuality, I was trying to capture the far off giraffe between Adam and this near giraffe. I think they have 8 or 9 giraffes out there.

This giant tortoise in the Land of Change section was really enjoying its breakfast. His name is Tate and he is an African Spurred Tortoise. He shares the area with the kangaroos. Some other Brevard Zoo members say they call him Tater Tot.

Jared and Paislee were enjoying Tate the tortoise too.

We spent a few more hours at the Zoo and saw many of the animals including the cheetah, Jaguar and the three new lion brothers. Of course, I took a ton of photos. After our visit, we headed to the Grills on the Indian River in Melbourne. There we enjoyed a good lunch. To my surprise, they had a special of rock shrimp which I have not seen in a while. The others had never had them so I ordered some. They were great and consumed by all. Adam, Paislee, and Jared at the inside table, we had had a lot of sun at the Zoo.

On Friday morning, I had Jared and all meet me at the beach behind Lou's Blues at 5:30 AM. There was going to be a SpaceX launch and I knew there was a great chance for the "Jellyfish" cloud formed by the rocket as it goes into the sun rays at a higher altitude. I think it looks more like a sperm but that is my opinion. I did catch this photo of Adam, Sarah (with phone), Paislee, and Jared. It was a beautiful early morning launch.

 I went home and back to bed and they went back to the beach. Since it was Friday, I usually meet friends at Lou's Blues. I left Lou's early to meet up with the group at Squidlips in Melbourne. They were having a late lunch so I had one more beer. We sat on the sandy beach by the river. This bird came and checked out the fries left by Paislee. That is the Eau Gallie Causeway in the background.

On Saturday I promised to take them out to the Viera Wetlands to see some real wildlife. I rode with Jared in his rented truck and when we arrived, the gate was closed. I checked online and found that they were closed on weekends. Not sure how long that has been going on but I usually go during the week. I asked if they wanted to visit the Port and they said yes. My pass to Jetty Park was in my vehicle so we stopped at the boat ramp to see the Mardi Gras, the largest ship owned and operated by Carnival.

There was tons of traffic at the Port since four ships were loading for cruises. It was nearing lunchtime so I took them to Rising Tide. It is one of my favorite places and after a wonderful lunch, my relatives loved it too. Here are Sarah and Paislee in the bar area waiting for our order to come out. Rising Tide is a scratch kitchen so everything is made as you order.

While eating, Sarah noticed that UVM was playing Lacrosse on the TV over the bar. It was playoffs and the Catamounts were beating UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) 9-7. I checked later and UVM did win the America East Conference. They had to play Manhattan as a play-in game which they also won. They play on Sunday(May 15)  against #1 Maryland in the round of 16 teams. Go Cats!!

On Sunday, I met up with cousin Patti Provoncha and the gang at Wickham Park where they had the Vietnam Memorial wall set up. There was music and a big party. We visited the wall and I took these photos.

After the park, I took them to Cabana Shores for a drink and some food. No photos but it was the first time I was actually there at 4:20, when they give everyone a free drink. The staff does a short cheer and then you drink.  Brandon & Debbie had us over for a Sunday (and Mother's Day) dinner. I took no pictures there either but Brandon had cooked a nice roast. Very tasty.

Monday came and I was hoping that the Viera Wetlands would be open. We got there and it was. We got to see our wild alligator, plus some birds too. This guy was happy to see us, see him smile?

Paislee had brought her stuffed animals, all very cute. The purple zebra was purchased at the Zoo. I really like the little kangaroo. Sarah and Paislee on one of the stands at the Wetlands.

I pointed out the garden which had little signs for the plants. I noticed the Porter Weed. Appropriate since Sarah works at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury. It is the hospital I was born in. I don't remember them having Porter Wedd though.

After the wetlands they went back to the beach and then we met up at Squidlips again for dinner with cousin Patti. A great meal and a great week visiting with my family (and friend Adam). I though it be nice to end with a parting shot of Sarah and Adam taking parting shots at the Viera Wetlands. I hope they remember which was the giraffe and which was the alligator.

It always is nice to have visitors. I had a wonderful time.