"Day Tripper"

 While some family were down from Vermont, we did two excursions, also known as a Day Tripper.

The first was on Tuesday, April 21, where we drove the hour to the Orlando Wetlands. It is actually located in Christmas Florida, far away from the bustle and hustle of the city life of Orlando. Sarah had seen some of my recent photos and wanted to visit. We picked a perfect day with mild temperatures and lots of Florida sun. One of the first wildlife to greet us was a Common Gallinule. I like to call their beak Candy Corn.

Having been here a few times, I took them first to the boardwalk where you walk among the fish, birds and, of course, alligators. That is Adam in the foreground with my nephew Jared and his wife Sarah and daughter Paislee.

One of my favorites are the Roseate Spoonbills.

There were plenty of baby alligators. The green stuff floating on the water made it hard to see the fish that are usually plentiful.

Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy the view...

A wood stork flew over with some sticks. It must be building a nest...

I was happy to see a Purple Gallinule. My last visit I did not see any. I love their coloring.

In the Wetlands, you can enjoy the animals off the path while just behind you may be an alligator.

I pointed out this sign to Adam because he wanted to grab an alligator tail.

Around every corner may be something new...

Like an osprey out fishing, flying above you...

We got back to the Visitor Center and even there, alligators were hanging out on the bank.

Paislee and Jared after seeing the alligator. Look at that background.Wild Florida with very few people.

After the Day Trip to the Orlando Wetlands, we stopped at Lone Cabbage, sitting on the Saint John's River, for lunch and I let Adam pull some Gator tail, off Jared's plate. Paislee was game for the picture.

Our second family Day Tripper was to the Brevard Zoo on Saturday, April 25, 2026. I had some errands to run and ended up meeting the others at the Zoo. Jared, Paislee, and Sarah enter into a snowstorm. Well, it was just tiny bubbles...

I guess Sarah and Paislee did not have enough alligators on the first trip, so they were viewing a few more in the Wild Florida Area.

Joining us on this visit were Debbie and Brandon (nephew), and cousin Patti. Jared and Adam are behind Patti and Sarah and Paislee are on the right.

Debbie and Brandon walking near the Bobcats in Wild Florida.

As we entered the Land of Change Area, the small creek had a Mommy duck with two ducklings. They were not ugly.

The Komodo Dragon was watching as we walked by the exhibit.

Now it was time to feed the birds. Paislee was told to cover her food but the birds were not as aggressive as usual. The Zoo lady said it was because most of the birds had already eaten their fill; Saturdays are extra crowded.

There were plenty of  Rainbow Lorikeets willing to eat even more, and maybe even crap on you as a bonus. Jared?

The Laughing Kookaburra was posing for me...

Paislee finally found a Lorikeet to feed...

Next we went to visit the Kangaroos. Just a month ago, I took a photo of this small Joey, still in Mommy's pouch. The Zoo volunteer said it crawled out recently and decided to not get back in. It still feeds from Mom (on left), but now gets around on its own.

I think this Galapagos Tortoise was trying to slide on the tray...

Both of the Zoo's large Pythons died recently, and they got a replacement (April 6), this Albino Burmese Python. They just named him....Al Dente...because he looks like a large noodle.

The last thing we did in Africa area is feed the giraffes. Here is Paislee after the giraffe grabbed the lettuce. The Zoo Volunteer said she was pregnant and eating for two. Not Paislee, the giraffe. That is cousin Patti's phone on the right.

Paislee in a stare down with the Momma Giraffe... Adam is in the back with his own Giraffe.

Although not easy to see, I did catch this shot of one of the new Monkey sisters. It is a Colobus and has a very long white tail.

We ended the Zoo Trip with lunch at Cabana Shores and then Brandon and Debbie invited us over to the Apartments, where Jared and family were staying, for a cookout by the pool. I did not bring my camera to either and just enjoyed the company of my relatives.

 It was not one, but two Day Trippers.

About Title

"Day Tripper" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney and was credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the band's Rubber Soul album. The single topped charts in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway. In the United States, "Day Tripper" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and "We Can Work It Out" held the top position.

"Day Tripper" was written early in the Rubber Soul sessions when the Beatles were under pressure to produce a new single for the Christmas market. John Lennon wrote the music and most of the lyrics, while Paul McCartney contributed some of the lyrics. Lennon based the song's guitar riff on that from Bobby Parker's "Watch Your Step", which had also been his model for "I Feel Fine" in 1964. In a 1980 interview, Lennon said of "Day Tripper": "That's mine. Including the lick, the guitar break and the whole bit." In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, McCartney claims that it was a collaboration but Lennon deserved "the main credit".

Lennon described "Day Tripper" as a "drug song" in 1970, and in a 2004 interview McCartney said it was "about acid" (LSD). The song title is a play on words referring to both a tourist on a day-trip and a "trip" in the sense of a psychedelic experience. Lennon recalled: "Day trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But [the song] was kind of ... 'you're just a weekend hippie.' Get it?"