The Calm before the storm

Here Marcus, Andrew, Tom and Jenny look Down East
into relatively placid waters. By the time we had hiked
around the island back to the boat, the seas had kicked up
and made for a salty and wet journey back to the mainland.
As Captain Tom battled the wind trying to get his boat into
his slip, I tried to help...yet, seconds later found myself
swimming in Casco Bay. Time for a new cell phone (again).
Liam wasn't sure which was the bigger highlight of the day;
the Eider duck chick or me going overboard. Shiver me
timbers, that water is still coooold.

Memorial Day in Casco Bay

Here, Marcus braves the Casco Bay chilly waters with his
pal Andrew Fina...off the shore of a tiny island -- Sand
Island, off the northern side of Cliff Island. We had a lovely
tour of Casco Bay on the Fina's boat...Sand Island was home
to several dozen nests of Eider Ducks...Liam and I watched
a wee bird pecking his way out of the gray egg.

Florida Bird Sanctuary

Liam poses her with a Great Egret in the
Suncoast Bird Sanctuary, where his grandma
Marlene and Aunt Marcey took him to view
Florida's native species. We had a wonderful
visit with Jenny's parents and her sister...a mini
family reunion. Liam was a big fan of getting
smashed by the surf, while his mom and I swam
nearby in the warm salty water...and his little
brother threw sandballs at us from the shore.

Our big girl

Here Vivi is again in her beach
regalia...pretending to stand.

Giddy Up

The boys and I spent nearly 8 hours at Busch Gardens in
Tampa, where they wanted their photo snapped on each
animal statue they encountered. Here they ride a Komodo
Dragon. They enjoyed the train ride through the Serengheti
exhibit, which Liam said was almost like a "real safari."
They both loved feeding the Lorikeets out of their own hands
...and Liam is crazy about the scary rides, including the sand
storm, the Cheetah Chase and the Log Flume (which Marcus
did in my lap, quite unhappily).

Vivi the beach princess

Here's Vivi in her full Florida beach attire.
We spent the last week in Redington Beach,
Florida enjoying the warm water and sunny
days.