Just Like Old Times....
I got an email from Grant a few months back saying, "You're in my neck of the woods, well... sorta. Let's do something sometime." After several emails and calls back and forth deciding when and where and what, we came up with a basic, but flexible plan. This past weekend, that plan finally came to life. Grant drove down with his mom, Melanie, and his grandfather - Pops. We met up on Sabbath morning for Church. After potluck, we jumped in the car and started driving towards the Gulf coast. We drove through a sleepy little town looking at the house where his great-grandma used to live. By late afternoon, we arrived at our destination: Crystal River. As the sun slid towards the horizon, we raced to find a great place to watch it slip away. We finally found the perfect place: an almost deserted beach. The sky was ablaze and the water mirrored it's magnificence! It was one of the most amazing sunsets I've seen in a long time! Nothing compares to an ocean sunset!
Early the next morning, despite the frigid temperature of 56 F (13C), we headed to the river in search of manatees! The wind was blowing and the sun was barely up, but we were on a mission.
After a long time of searching, we finally found a shallow spring where one was hanging out. He was rather large, probably 8 or 9 feet long and had several scars on his back and tail where he'd come in contact with a boat propeller. He was very relaxed and didn't seem to mind us swimming with him and touching him as he ate and ate and ate. He kinda felt like a pig and even had little bristles of hair once every square inch or so. Soon a mother and her baby joined us and it was neat to watch them swim together. The baby was a lot more playful and active than the adults! Eventually they swam off into deeper water and our time with them was up. But we really didn't mind because it was cold! Getting out of the water was even colder, but we were able to dry off and get out of the wind a little bit. Grant was shivering so hard that he spilled his hot chocolate and dropped his cell phone! Hot showers and dry clothes never felt so good!
That afternoon, we headed for the opposite coast in search of warmer temperatures and a gorgeous beach. Here's what we found:
We hung out in Cocoa Beach, enjoying the relaxing sound of the waves crashing on the beach. We played volleyball, ran through the waves, and chatted out on the pier.
Monday was Grant's birthday, so I decided that it would be worth it to skip school to help him celebrate! He prayed that he'd see sharks on his birthday and his prayer was answered! We saw 3 of them!
He had birthday pancakes for breakfast......
And then after a relaxed afternoon of reading on the beach, he opened his stack of presents from all this family.
I didn't have wrapping paper, so I had to be creative. I used a bunch of old shopping bags and it actually turned out pretty nice (You'd be proud of me, Judith!)
Grant and his mom enjoying the afternoon...
These little birds are my all-time favorites! I had so much fun watching them. They would run towards the retreating waves to dig up anything the wave might have brought in and then they run away just in time before the next wave rushes in and sweeps them away. They run so fast that you can hardly even see their little legs! They're adorable!
See the message written in the sky? It says, "God Loves _______." You can fill in the blank!
This was our last picture taken together before Grant jumped into his car and drove away. It was great to play volleyball together again!
We had a great time! It was just like old times.....
As soon as the sky was dark we went in search of something to eat. We wound up at AppleBees. Meet Grant's mom and Pops.....
Early the next morning, despite the frigid temperature of 56 F (13C), we headed to the river in search of manatees! The wind was blowing and the sun was barely up, but we were on a mission.
After a long time of searching, we finally found a shallow spring where one was hanging out. He was rather large, probably 8 or 9 feet long and had several scars on his back and tail where he'd come in contact with a boat propeller. He was very relaxed and didn't seem to mind us swimming with him and touching him as he ate and ate and ate. He kinda felt like a pig and even had little bristles of hair once every square inch or so. Soon a mother and her baby joined us and it was neat to watch them swim together. The baby was a lot more playful and active than the adults! Eventually they swam off into deeper water and our time with them was up. But we really didn't mind because it was cold! Getting out of the water was even colder, but we were able to dry off and get out of the wind a little bit. Grant was shivering so hard that he spilled his hot chocolate and dropped his cell phone! Hot showers and dry clothes never felt so good!
That afternoon, we headed for the opposite coast in search of warmer temperatures and a gorgeous beach. Here's what we found:
We hung out in Cocoa Beach, enjoying the relaxing sound of the waves crashing on the beach. We played volleyball, ran through the waves, and chatted out on the pier.Monday was Grant's birthday, so I decided that it would be worth it to skip school to help him celebrate! He prayed that he'd see sharks on his birthday and his prayer was answered! We saw 3 of them!
He had birthday pancakes for breakfast......
And then after a relaxed afternoon of reading on the beach, he opened his stack of presents from all this family.
I didn't have wrapping paper, so I had to be creative. I used a bunch of old shopping bags and it actually turned out pretty nice (You'd be proud of me, Judith!)
Grant and his mom enjoying the afternoon...
These little birds are my all-time favorites! I had so much fun watching them. They would run towards the retreating waves to dig up anything the wave might have brought in and then they run away just in time before the next wave rushes in and sweeps them away. They run so fast that you can hardly even see their little legs! They're adorable!
See the message written in the sky? It says, "God Loves _______." You can fill in the blank!
This was our last picture taken together before Grant jumped into his car and drove away. It was great to play volleyball together again!
We had a great time! It was just like old times.....
Comments
Miss you lady! Wish I had been the one to visit you!