Airboats, Alligators Laughing and Cuban Bread!
Florida takes the cake for the longest we’ve stayed in one state since september! thankfully there are a ton of unique things to do AND the weather is typically great this time of year.
from Miami, we made a stop through the Everglades because my husband has never been on a airboat before so we had to catch him up to speed (pun totally intended) and also see some gators while we were at it.
at first i wasn’t that into it because i did this a few years ago with my family when we were visiting here but then i thought to myself “self…you’ve never done this with your husband so i bet it will be a different experience. plus you can have an ear plug war afterwards, which is totally gross but causes a lot of laughter” so i ventured back out into the Everglades.
i found out that alligators swimming slowly at me is something that absolutely creeps me out.
they freaked me out less when they were stationary and i was safely in a boat. look at this good hider!
airboats are super fun and if you haven’t been on one, i would highly recommend it! it’s crazy how they just zip over grass and the water. it was a fun morning date together.
afterwards i had the opportunity to hear some jokes from these guys like “what do you call an alligator in a vest?” – AN INVESTIGATOR. these guys.
we made a stop to see some of my husband’s aunts and uncle in Tampa for a quick visit (no photos because i left my camera in the car boooo) and then we ventured a bit farther to have dinner with his sweet grandma and other aunt! how sweet are they?!
we walked in and his aunt Cheryl straight up hooked us up with delicious snacks! she made us her famous white cheddar queso and i even ate 4 carrots to offset the 49 chips i had. go me. inside joke about the fiery cheetos but holy cow those are too hot for me. i found myself in this terrible cycle where they tasted good, then burned my mouth but was then subsided temporary by shoving more fiery sticks in my mouth. thankfully my husband intervened and gave me a drink and took away the bowl.
she was so kind and prepared for us that she pulled out not one but two massive loaves of the best cuban bread ever! one year for christmas she sent us SIX LOAVES because it freezes well and is honestly the best bread. if you are ever even remotely near Tampa, FL, do yourself a favor and go to La Segunda Central Bakery and pick up no less than 6 loaves.
i do a poor job in the picture depicting that is loaf of bread is over 3 feet long. amazing. i witnessed my husband eat about 1.5 feet of this bread and i’m not even exaggerating.
they also had their home decorated all chrismas-y and it made my heart happy! i also loooove minature things, particularly villages that are christmas-themed. they also had little sleighs full of mini-candy bars and i totally took 9 pieces…sorry cheryl! i am so thankful we are able to pass through different states to see our family as we are on this tour. i get to see my sister in less than 2 weeks and i haven’t seen her in 11 months-yay!
now we are in Bradenton/Sarasota, FL for District 48’s fall conference! they have already welcomed us with an amazing basket of all of our favorite snacks! i have already eaten a whole bag of the sun-chips, drank half of the green smoothie (gotta get my veggies in some way) and opened the chocolate. YUM. thanks D48!
the new wifestyle: even if you’ve already done something, it’s a whole new experience when you do it again with your significant other!
questions:
1) what is something that you don’t want to see slowly coming closer to you?
2) when do you start decorating for the december holidays?
3) what do you want in your snack basket?
Heather Hawkins
November 16, 2013 at 10:36 am
1) any type of gigantic stupid bird. My brother’s goose doesn’t count because he isn’t aware he’s a bird. He thinks he’s a strangely shaped human. Very strange howard goose!
2) I don’t. Usually it spontaneously happens after thanksgiving. I can’t deal with it happening any sooner. I hate hearing Christmas music on loop especially any earlier than Dec 1. I worked at a store that only had one christmas cd and they ruined my need for any christmas music ever by just playing it over and over and over.
3) I’m weird. Its not that I don’t like candy, I just don’t like the way it makes me feel. It throws off all my blood sugar for the day. So when I do eat snacks, probably some super dark chocolate, hot apple drink stuff (can’t call that cider because it means something COMPLETELY different in australia), green peppers, cheese of any kind, and if I’m feeling a bit naughty, something wrapped in a tortilla. Don’t tell my trainer about the cheese and the tortillas though! 🙂 But if I do eat candy that isn’t dark chocolate, its probably a couple skittles.
chelsea
November 16, 2013 at 3:33 pm
let’s first talk about heather that you nochalantly mentioned your brother has a goose. A GOOSE?! that’s nuts but funny that it think it’s a human! i have heard of people having christmas music ruined for them because of working in stores and it being on repeat-yuck. i also force myself to hold out until dec 1 so i don’t get burned out either because it’s so magic to me 🙂 mmm you snack basket sounds delicious and i won’t tell about the cheese and tortillas. ah i can’t wait to start being able to workout consistently again!
Heather Hawkins
November 16, 2013 at 3:56 pm
My little brother likes to save wildlife. When he found his Giant Canadian Goose, it was so young it imprinted on him so it wouldn’t be okay living in the wild. He had to obtain permission to have it in city limits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprinting_(psychology) More about imprinting there. So that’s why he thinks he’s a human. Bobby is a human. Bobby is his dad. Howard must be a strange shaped human. I was absolutely terrified of tiny howard, but then he grew on me and giant howard is about as insistent as a three year old and about as sensitive about others touching his toys.
chelsea
November 18, 2013 at 5:03 pm
hahah that is an amazing story. love it!
napamamascribe
November 22, 2013 at 1:12 pm
That’s so great! My best friend’s family adopted a duck (much for the same reason). Her brother worked at his High School’s farm 3 days-a-week and the duck always followed him. When he graduated the duck became so depressed and the Farm Director actually called to see if he’d be willing to take it home. Now they own a duck named Lou. He’s more dog than human really, eats out of a bowl, quacks at door when people knock and sleeps in a basket in the living room. Fowl apparently make pretty good pets.
junebugroseanne
November 16, 2013 at 1:18 pm
You two are definitely the cutest people on the air boat! I loved the alligator joke.
chelsea
November 16, 2013 at 3:33 pm
awww thanks june! and good to hear from you-thanks for commenting! hope you are well and thanks for appreciating puns!
napamamascribe
November 22, 2013 at 1:09 pm
1 – I’m more afraid of creeping people than any animal for the most part… however I have yet to go to Alligator country, so I guess that may change soon.
2- Decorating happens slowly at first. Most boxes are out of the garage and the mantle pieces and interior pieces are getting put up. Outside lights and Tree usually happens in the first two weeks of December.
3-My snack basket would be filled with Lime-flavored Sparkling Water, Lara Bars, Fruit leather, Sparkling wine and 3 Musketeers.
Florida looks like fun! The everglades seem so pretty. Love the gator joke, I’ll have to share that with my 6-year old!
chelsea
November 23, 2013 at 11:23 am
ohhh good call napamamascribe- if it’s between people or animals…people can be way scarier! hope you are having fun decorating in stages…i always appreciate when people decorate the outside of their homes so i can appreciate it from afar 🙂 your snack basket sounds pretty tasty AND healthy! good balance of the sort! thanks for your comment and reading! hope your 6 year old enjoys the joke 🙂 puns are my fav