Watta Weeki Wachee

 
 
 
 

We braved the kamakazi mosquitoes, torrential downpour, attacking vegetation and wildlife, and ramming watercraft to survive the kayak/canoe trip down the Weeki Wachee river. Actually, there was a nice, short cooling rain, we caused our own worst ramming problems, and wildlife was hospitable and amazing!

It must have been obvious to the other kayakers that we were on the clueless path, because we were aggressively passed by dozens of boats as we began our 7 mile journey down the spring-fed river. It shouldn't have been too difficult as we were following the current. But the river was not laid out in a straight path, and someone (God?) planted low hanging trees in the most inopportune locations.

We saw giant horseflies, schools of fish, large lazy turtles and....drum roll please...a baby manatee! Turning one of the many curves in the river, we happened upon a group of canoes and people in the water. They said they were swimming with a manatee. So, we waded over and sure enough. Lazily swimming across the river was a 6 foot manatee who apparently loved the human attention he (she?) was getting. He would roll over and let the kids rub his tummy. Then would stick his snout out of the water to breathe before diving back into the water for more attention. What a treat for us!

Festivas for the as* of us!

 
 
 
 

The first annual Festivas celebration was held with all attending except for 1 (Caitlin), and arriving from as far as southern California, Atlanta, and Ft. Lauderdale. There was great feasting on ribs and chicken and many Festivas sweets, feats of strength (arm wrestling) and the airing of jokes (instead of grievances). Much festiveness was had by all - whether at the beach under the official Festivas tent, or around the Festivas BBQ fire, or in front of the wide screen Festivas TV.

We were having so much Festivas fun that the neighbor came over just to check. And he left with Festivas food.

Scenes from Savannah

 
 
 
 

We didnt want to miss much on the way back from Buffalo, so stopped in Savannah for a day to see the sites. I recommend (thanks to Micki) the carriage ride to see the city - lots of local flavor and stories.
Like: Savannah is considered the most haunted city in the US because, as the city grew, they paved/built over the cemeteries. Sherman's troups slept in the central cemetery while they were claiming Savannah. In their boredom - no fighting - they altered some of the tombstones. We found a couple of stones where the deceased were over 150 years old! and the third digit seemed a bit odd from the rest.
Or: the city burned down 3 times in its history. And General Sherman did not do any of it!

Savannah is definately a food town. We found a block long candy store on River Street where they made pralines, taffy and chocolate covered..everything, in addition to 'old' candies we dont see in stores anymore. Then we headed over to the Lady and Sons restaurant and shop - Paula Dean's restaurant. Of course, reservations were impossible, but it sure smelled good in there! At Bernie's on River Street, Mark wasnt feeling like shucking oysters or sucking tail (crawdads), so we ate the crab cakes -great! I wish we had these in Florida.

Savannah has changed a bit in the 25 years since I've been there. The paper mills are gone - as is the smell. The new bridge coming into town is a great entrance. More homes are renovated, and construction is going on. We loved finding the architectural details, like the fish water downspouts. And we even found a Moroccan style building that was built for Henry Ford. The double doors were just wide enough for a Model A.

Mark and I covered a lot of territory walking around the city while mom and dad toured the 8th Air Force museum outside of town. Since he was in the 8th Air Force, dad was particularly impressed with the museum and came back with lots of stories.

Then it was time to go home, back to Florida. We drove south, stopping off of 95, near Ormond for lunch at the River Grille on Tomaka. Great food, on the river. A giant standing aligator greets you at the door... or scares you off!

Fun in Buffalo

 
 
 

A few of the festivities from the reunion including some of the Irish lasses dancing to the band, the puck (goat) and buffalo kissing (thanks to Mark)-the union of Kilorglin and Buffalo. The official reunion banner, and Dad conferring with Johnny Dhillon on the proper level of burnt for hotdogs - from the reunion picnic.

More later when I get all the family photos!!

Look out Buffalo!

We drove up to Buffalo from Washington DC to the big reunion of the Galvin clan. Coming to Buffalo also gave us an opportunity to relive a bit of mom and dad's history since they grew up there. And, my favorite, we spent a day at Niagara Falls - above the falls, under the falls, beside the falls. The only place we didnt go, was INTO the Falls.

A trip to Buffalo isnt complete without visiting the origin of Buffalo wings - the Anchor Bar. The wings and the roast beef on wac were even better than anticipated. And to prove that buffalo's have wings, we found a statue of one!

Some of Washington's sites

We really enjoyed the Capitol Building. Some of the hallways we walked had painted ceilings and walls depicting historical events and wise quotes.
Since we spent a bit of time at the Natural History Museum, animals were the theme of the afternoon. The giant elephant was still guarding the museum lobby. From there we found the mammal exhibit with extensive displays of formerly live animals, in daily situations for them. But I have to admit loving the butterfly room where quite an assortment of butterflies were free to fly around, including on your head!

The metro was so convenient to get anywhere we wanted to. And it seems they give excellent advice on the subway trains as well! Right around the corner, we found the Democrat Club, complete with a blue donkey. How perfect.

Capitol - the big white building

 
 
 
 

An early morning was needed to get to our appointment at congressman Putnam's office. One of his staff was to give us a tour of the Capitol. We tried out the subway and only took the wrong escalators a couple of times. Arriving at the Longworth Building almost on time, we realized we would need to go through security. All passed except for dad who had to go through the scanner several times, in less and less clothing. Finally he was released to go to Putnam's office.

Meagan, a senior at UF who is interning for the summer, was our guide. Into the tunnels we went to get to the capitol building. Alas, another security check. Mark had to donate his pocket knife and lighter, dad had to disrobe somewhat again to get through. Then we started the long walk under the streets of Washington to the Capitol building. We arrived to find a labyrinth of hallways and rooms broken up by large and small rotundas with beautifully painted ceilings and crystal chandeliers. We visited the room where the original supreme court would meet,and then the room where congress originally met - complete with bronze tiles depicting where famous politicians once sat. Story goes that John Quincy Adams would 'sleep' during meetings and still be able to argue an impressive discussion. The reason? The curved ceiling allowed him to hear what was being whispered across the room.

This same room now houses quite a few statues. Each state gets to contribute 2 statues to reside in the Capitol. Among the towering statues was one of Florida's, the statue of Willis Haviland Carrier, the inventor of air conditioning. Thank you Willis!!

Then on to another security check so we could sit in the gallery to watch a vote being taken in the House. What a confusing mess of suits all talking and walking around, seemingly ignoring the house speaker pro temp's instructions. But it was interesting to see how our government actually runs.

After our tour, we headed to the Smithsonian. Dad and mom targeted the Air and Space Museum while Mark and I hiked over to the Natural History Museum. After all, I had to do inventory on the Harry Winston jewels and Hope Diamond. We got to go into the butterfly house and saw an impressive group of them flying, sitting on the floor, sitting on our shoulders. We also caught up with their latest mammal exhibit which was impressively displayed. Dad and mom came over to catch up on the dinosaurs which were all waiting patiently to see them.

Off to the Archives building to see the documents that formed this country. The line snaked around the block, but we decided to hang out anyway. 45 mins later, we were inside..ready to go through security. Dad had it down by this time and didnt get held up. The line inside was not quite as long, but we finally got to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Magna Carta among several key legal and social legislation documents. We discovered an extensive interactive area that, even in its volume of displays, only hinted at the breadth and depth of content stored at the archives. We could view early films and radio recordings of important events, see handwritten notes taken during battle, read bits of the census from the 1930's, and even notes the astronauts took with them on Apollo 11 to ready the LEM for the moon. Quite an interesting museum.

FOOD
After 11 hours of walking and standing, we decided to get back to the hotel and think about dinner. Across the street, we now saw Raku, a japanese diner. It had been packed the night before, so the food was probably good. We headed over for sushi, noodles and szechwan beef. It was delicious! And we could sit outside and enjoy the warm evening air, as well as the lively neighborhood.

Mark headed out later to the park to find a band playing into the late hours. People were dancing on the sidewalks and having a great time.