The Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar

Isn't she lovely! The picture does not do this baby justice, this particular Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar was about 5-6 inches long, hard to miss. At the time we had no idea what kind of caterpillar this was so we only touched with our eyes but turns out she will become a moth with a 5 inch wing span.

We passed Miss Hickory on our way down to the spring, Blue Spring that is. A 72 degree pure, beautiful & natural swimming hole on the St Johns river. This park is popular and we heard they fill to capacity early and have to turn folks away on weekends. So Jon took Friday off and it was a perfect day to go. Hot enough day to enjoy some snorkeling in the spring but we didn't know to bring water shoes and the rocks were just too much for our softie feet so we didn't spend as much time in the water as we would have liked. Even so Blue Springs is an awesome state park and we are looking forward to returning. Maybe this winter...Blue Springs is a favorite wintering spot for manatees.

Weeki Wachee Springs

We made the trek over to the west coast to vist one of my old stomping grounds and I am pleased to say that even though the state of Florida has taken over, it's still as kitschy as ever! After catching The Little Mermaid show we headed down to the springs where Jon was brave enough to submerge himself in the 74 degree, beautiful & clear spring.

Fives times is the charm!

After scrubbing 4 times Endeavor finally made her way and Clairia finally got to see a shuttle launch. The kids stopped surfing long enough to watch, barely. Rather cloudy but there was no mistaking the shuttle and then of course there is the rumble, the best part in my book!

Happy Independence Day!

Our 4th of July started off with a driveway bang because way back in October as we made our way to Florida, a much anticipated shopping spree was put into action at South of the Border, hehehe, I can still see us trying to stuff already packed cars with our Ancient Chinese booty!

We ended our evening on Cocoa Beach with the real thing...and I am reminded of this classic yet timely quote from John F Kennedy; “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

KSC Space Campers

Thanks to 2 sets of very generous grandparents Mason and Clairia were campers at the Kennedy Space Center this past week. They absolutely loved it and want to go back again next week!


Turn up the volume for the short video, it's a catchy tune and in case you want to sing along here are the lyrics...Climb aboard the spaceship, We're going to the moon, Hurry up, get ready, We're going to blast off soon, Put on your helmet, Buckle up real tight, Here comes the countdown, Count with all your might! 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 BLAST OFF!

Want to feel young and active...

Take your grandbabies to the beach!

Uncle, Nieces, Nephew & Cousins

From left to right; Mason, Clairia, Bubba and Sadie, all relaxing after a long day on the road!