Today is my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. We flew down yesterday to spend the weekend with them and my sister and brother-in-law. We arrived just in time for a strawberry shortcake, hugs all around and to get the agenda for the weekend.
Today we picked them up in the giant Ford Expedition we rented and drove to Blue Springs State Park, where we walked along a boarded path to the head of the spring. Along the way we were able to see a few manatee, one of which was accompanied by her two calves. They’s such docile, gentle, and loving creatures. Its no wonder people want to swim with them, touch them, and in one known case, ride them.
We boarded a pontoon tour boat at 1:00 for a two hour ride around the St. Johns River Watershed that in the end seemed much shorter. We saw alligators, manatee fart bubbles and an abundance of birds. We saw wood stork, american black vultures, turkey vultures, turkeys, red-headed woodpecker, red shouldered hawk, heron, ibis, and several other breeds which I couldn’t begin to tell you the names of.
When we arrived back at the house we had a walk-about and a cup of tea to revive ourselves then went to dinner at the Outback. Chris and Karl had called ahead so we wouldn’t have a long wait for a table, which turned out to be a great idea because when we first arrived we were told it would still be another 10-20 minutes. Turns out it was really only about another five minutes to be seated. Dinner was fabulous, and the manager even brought out two complimentary glasses of champagne and a sundae for Mum and Dad to share. It was the perfect ending to a perfect 50th Anniversary day.