Flying a Kite

My parents came to visit. We love visitors and had big plans while they were here. We had to be flexible due to the weather, delayed flights, etc...but here is the rundown....

--we went to Key Largo. The drive was supposed to be beautiful, but we couldn't tell because it was dark

--we went on a glass bottom boat. I envisioned a near-snorkeling experience. We were warned when purchasing tickets that the waters were choppy. I acknowledged our family's tendencies for motion sickness and made certain that we had all dramamined-up. We had a pleasant 45 minute ride to the reef. Then the boat stopped moving forward and started moving up and down. I was the first down. I had to sit down, get a drink, and ultimately I was escorted to the upper deck by an employee (they were super-attentive....if anyone puked, they had to clean it up) and was given several peppermints.

Nausea is a great equalizer. Even when I was certain I would vomit on the reef, I laughed and laughed as I saw sick person after sick person exit the viewing gallery to get some fresh air. It still makes me giggle. I ,for one did not see one exotic fish or barracuda. Nothing. I saw lots of people coming upstairs and being coached by the staff to "find a fixed point on the horizon line" and "take lots of deep breaths of fresh air".

Zak had an amazing time on the boat. He declared it the "time of his life." We thank his grandpa for sponsoring the occasion.

---after the glass bottom boat, I had visions of eating delicious, fresh seafood at a local dive. We found a local dive. Nothing there was delicious.

---we had been told of a farmer's market called "Robert is Here". They have exotic fruits and delicious shakes. I didn't see any fruit that I haven't seen before and there was a huge line for shakes. I bought a Key Lime pie instead. Then I remembered that I hate Key Lime pie.

--Monday we went to the beach. I love the beach. My kids love the beach. And my parents love the beach. I thought it would be fun to get a cool kite to fly. I forgot the cardinal rule of kite flying, which is that the probability of successful flying is inversely related to the cost of the kite. Dollar store kites will fly. The $14.00 Costco kite that I bought, will not. There is an incredible picture of me and my Dad trying to fly the kite. My dad is looking at me like I am an idiot. I want a copy of that picture on my fridge (not the picture posted above...I can't make it move, the pictures are encoded. I hate computers). The kite didn't really fly. In our defense, it wasn't a particularly windy day. The beach was still great.

Tuesday, my parents left. I got up early to take them to the airport. This caused me to oversleep on St. Patricks Day (it bothers me that sleeping until 7:11 is sleeping in) and I didn't have time to make my traditional green pancakes. No worry, we had
lots of green things for dinner.