Elena's Log; Days 24 - 33

ELENA's trip log

Day 24 in Robson's Runabout (Feb 23)
Today, we drove from the Everglades 6 hours to Marco Island, to see Mama's friends Joanne and her husband Ash. They work in a Marriott Resort and Spa. We parked in the parking lot of it, and got free passes to go in the pool and hot tub. The hot tub in the one we went to today is HUGE! There was a waterfall and a water-slide, but the slide wasn't on. We went to a place called Quinns' for dinner because Joanne gave us passes to do so (Quinns' was part of the hotel). We all ate until we were stuffed and then walked back to the parking lot and went to bed.

Day 25 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we went for a buffet breakfast in the hotel. I ate too much to list. We went straight to the pool after breakfast and Mama went to the Spa (courtesy of Joanne). This time, the water-slide was on, but the waterfall wasn't because of the wind. After we played in that pool, we went over to the other one. It had little water arches coming out of six planters in the center of the pool. We borrowed a noodle and all sat on it like a boat. We had to steer successfully under them, as though they were bridges. After that, we used the tokens that Joanne had given to us at the game room. Then we went back to the camper and had lunch. During lunch, our used-to-be next door neighbor Miss Sharon stopped by to say hello and to check out the camper. While we were chatting, we arranged to go down to her house on our way to Orlando two days later. When she left, we watched a movie and then went back to the pool, played, then showered to prepare for going to Joanne and Ash's for pizza. We watched Madagascar 2 there (it was on TV) and then watched the Olympics. It was 10:00 when we got back to the camper and went to bed.

Day 26 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we spent all day in the pool playing in the waterfall and on the water-slide. Not too much to report, except that a boy named Luca played with us. His brother would've played, but we had no idea what to play with him (he was blind). That night, we went out for Mexican not to far away. At the restaurant, a band made up of guys in their 50's that called themselves the Lords of Cool came and played for everyone. It was 8:00ish when we got back to the camper and went to bed.

Day 27 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we drove to Naples, Florida, to eat lunch with Miss Sharon, Mr. Stew (her husband), Miss Sharon's mom, her aunt, and her neighbors. We were going to park in her neighbors driveway, but we didn't. Instead, we parked in a dead end road with no houses on it. We got to see Mrs. Nelsons' (one of the 2 neighbors) birds. My favorite was a Indian Ring-necked Parakeet named Bo. He landed on me and talked and kissed me. Now, I am OBSESSED with getting my own Indian Ring-necked Parakeet and will be saving up to do so. After we ate with everyone, we started driving the few more hours to Orlando. On the way, we stopped to see Dada's high-school friend for about an hour, then kept going. We finally stopped moving around 9:45 and went to bed.

Day 28 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we drove about half an hour to a Reformed Presbyterian Church in Orlando. Being Robson's, most people there knew us because of Papa, Reverend Ed Robson. When we got back to the camper, we had lunch, then went for a bike ride to the playground in the campground. Mama and I went for a bike ride after that and then went back to the camper. For the rest of the day, we just hung around the camper, feeding the horses in the field behind it, eating Salmon Burgers for dinner, watching the ending ceremony in the Olympics,and going to bed at 9: 00.


MARCH

Day 29 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we drove about half an hour to Discovery Cove, a big park with lots of fish and dolphins. We played in the lazy river, and then we went to the coral reef. I didn't like it at all, so I got out. I REALLY don't like big, slimy, fat fish. At 1:00, we went for our dolphin swim session. It was SO exciting. We got to pet Yoko (the 14 year old female dolphin we interacted with), kiss Yoko, hug her, feed her fish, and RIDE HER! It was so magical and amazing, and, since the dolphins wanted to play together, what was supposed to be a half an hour session ended up being an hour and a half long! Like I said, it was magical. After our dolphin swim, we went back into the lazy river three more times and then got our pictures from the dolphin swim. Then we went back to the RV and got ready for bed.

Day 30 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we drove. We drove for 2 hours while I finished the inspiring book “Soul Surfer”. EVERYONE should read it. When we got to the campground, the boys and I went outside while Mama and Dada rested. About 20 minutes later Dada came out and we walked (I biked) to the front office that had a little store in it. We all got candy, then went to watch a shuffle board game a little ways away. When we went back to the camper, I left my bike, and then we went over to the little golf course a block away. The boys and I went and climbed a big heap of dead grass that was about 20 feet tall. Our fun was ruined when a guy came and asked Dada, “Are those your kids?” Obviously, Dada said yes. Then the guy said, “Well, I should warn you, that thing is infested with snakes. The yellow ones are poisonous. The black ones aren't.” So, we left. When we went home, Dada went and made dinner on the grill. Barbeque chicken, baked beans, and (just for Mama and I) baked potato. After dinner, we wanted to go see if we could play Bingo. We would have to pay $.50 to get in, the winner would take home $11. When we walked in, the lady at the desk said, “I'm sorry, the kids can't come in. It's considered gambling.” So we left and played our own game of Bingo at the RV. It was 8:00 when we went to bed.

Day 31 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we went to Busch Gardens, part of Sea World. It was an amusement park. Our FAVORITE ride was Cheetah Chase; a smallish roller coaster with whippin' fast turn and steep downs and ups (like a “U”). I still am too chicken to go on Loop-Da-Loops. When we left, we went to the grocery store and bought fried chicken for dinner. We also got a red box movie and brought a homeless women back to where she was staying. When we got back to the RV, we ate our chicken, then watched our red box movie, Pink Panther 2. At 9:00, we went to bed.

Day 32 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we drove for about 2 hours to Camp'n'Water. When we got settled, we went to a state park, where we saw 6 manatees in captivity. They where there because they had either gotten injured or where born in captivity. They were VERY cute. One of them would roll over and over and over again, even in it's lettuce floating on the surface! After we saw a presentation on the manatees, we went on a nature walk. It consisted of a 50 year old hippo named Lu (Lucifer), pelicans, spoonbills,foxes, owls, eagles, bobcats, panthers, and much more. There were even deer! I suppose I should mention that they were all in very spacious cages. When we were walking back to the car, a ranger passed by and told us to watch Lu. Then, he called Lu and blew his lips at him. Suddenly, Lu did a laugh that made him sound like Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars! It was SO funny! When we were at the parking lot, Dada raced me to the car. I won!!! Then, we went out to a place called Neon Leon's. He was a guitar player in Lynard Skynard. They play there on Tuesday's and Friday's. I got my first Jambalaya. We got pineapple upside down cake and blackberry cobbler for dessert. When we got back to the camper, and went to bed.

Day 33 in Robson's Runabout
Today, we rented canoes and went out looking for manatees. On the way to finding them, we passed an island with 4 monkeys on it. They were under supervision we think. When we got to where the manatee usually are, we saw about 30 including more then 5 babies!!! It was so cool how they just swam under Mama and my canoe like we weren't there. We know that they knew that they knew we were there though. They have very good eyesight, but not good hearing and they don't move very fast. They don't know where motor boats are coming from, so they get hit. When we were paddling the three miles back, it felt like our arms were going to fall off because the wind was against us. It took us 2 and a ½ hours to paddle back when it only took 1 hour to get there. When we got back to land, I was DESPERATE for a bathroom. I tried to jump out of the canoe, but my legs were so wobbly, I had to hobble. At the bathroom, I ran into the nearest stall, but then realized the light wasn't on. So I ran out of the stall and turned it on. Then, as I sat down, I saw the stall door still open. Oh well. The only people here were retired and in RVs. When we got back to the camper, we made brownies, but didn't bake them. Instead, we just ate the soft gooey dough. Then we went to the store and bought ice cream for after dinner. It was fried chicken, and after that we watched Ice Age and ate our ice cream. I had mine with a drizzle of brownie mix on top. We went to bed at 9:30.