Florida

I have been hanging out with my grandparents in Florida before heading to South America. There is no shortage of things to do here, 4.5 days has gone by quickly. The trip started off a little hectic, United informed me my flight had been canceled and they were unable to get me to my destination in a timely manner. A few frantic phone calls, stressed internet searching, and technical failures later got me a flight on American 30 minutes before it departed.
My grandparents met me in Orlando and we headed to Disney downtown for lunch. We enjoyed a wild meal at the rainforest cafe. This time the trumpeting, moving elephants didn't surprise me. During our lunch there were three thunderstorms, wouldn't be a visit to Florida without a thunderstorm.
Wandering through the disney shops I was impressed by the variety of disney items you could purchase. My favorite shop was the toy store where you could assemble your own lightsaber!
That evening we went to a Cirque du Soleil show, La Nouba. It was incredible! Totally different than the show we saw in Vegas but equally as awesome. It was circus themed and very entertaining.
My grandparents live on Hutchingston Island which is one of the barrier islands. Their condo is right on the inland waterway. Every evening around 5pm the neighborhood heron comes in front of their porch for cocktail hour. His name is Hank and he does not get any cocktails, but fish fillets caught by Bob from the adjoing condo. It is a lovely way to wrap up the day, sipping wine (or scotch) watching the sunset and Hank.
Yesterday we visited the Florida Oceanographic Society. They have cownose rays in a touch tank, a trail walk through the mangroves, and a large pond with 60 fish species. My grandma arrange through a friend to get a behine the scenes tour. We learned a lot from our tour guide about the local marine happenings. He also told us he plans to increase the fish population in the pond from 100 to 1000 by June. I will be sure to check that out next time I am in town.
The condo community my grandparents are in is awesome! Everyone I have met has incredible life stories and continuing adventures, they are very social, fun, nice folks to be around.
After our visit to the Oceanographic Marylyn, another neighbor, invited me to join her for a kayak. It was great fun to paddle a boat for bit. Along the way I watched big fish chasing little fish, always a thrill to see.
Tomorrow I fly to Chile and in two days I will be on a boat. So I have been making sure to enjoy the new scenery and mobility while I am able.