Thursday, February 20, 2020

Weekend In Weekie Wachee 2020

When my parents informed us that they were renting the same little cabin down in Weekie Wachee, Florida I looked at the calendar to see when we could visit.  This is their fourth time staying here and our fourth time visiting them.  (2014, 2015 & 2017)

It is such a beautiful, unique place.  And while we seem to do all the same things here when we visit, it doesn't get old.   You know what does though? Our Kids!!  Ok we do too, but it’s more fun to look at how my kids get older.  Right?
The fist time back in 2014, Paloma wasn’t even born yet. Let’s take a look at the boys.
Tio Tim Came to Visit that year....and I had boobs πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚







































And here they are in 2015.... still no Paloma...


And here all three of them are on the 2017 trip.Not much changed in the way of sleeping conditions this year, but they are definitely bigger right?!?! 
It's 2020!
This year my parents rented their same little cabin as years past.  The plan was that they would stay in Atlanta a couple days and then we would head down there together.  On a whim, we ended up leaving Atlanta early and just rented a different cabin on the river for one night.  
Real estate is a bit weird in Weeki Wachee.  Yes, this house is not much to look at from the outside. Many houses are like this...I would describe them as rustic.  
The inside was nothing special, but it was newly renovated, comfortable and clean...but really it is the lifestyle of living on the river that is so appealing.  You have to kayak a bit down the canal to meet the main river and there is so much to look at and be intrigued by, I just LOVE it here!

Being from Ohio, you can see whey these guys are snowbirds.  Sun and water over snow and gloom.
We Checked in to my parents "regular" cabin the next day and as luck would have it, there was a family with kids renting the house next-door.  Can you say PERFECT!?  They were outside playing ALL. DAY.
These guys were from Connecticut, but were staying in Florida for the winter.  Talking to the mom, a homeschooler for all FIVE of her kids (ranging from 5-17 years old)  I, for the first time, saw the appeal for homeschooling.  The freedom to TRAVEL and not be bound by a school schedule. 
Would I go insane trying to teach my kids and keep them on track??....ahhhhh yes. Not a serious consideration for me, but again, I saw the appeal. 
Because the kids had playmates, we got in MANY MANY games of Pegs and Jokers this trip.  Mateo crashed a few games, but we usually play guys (Neto and my dad) against girls (me and my mom)!  

As usual, the biggest activity for us in Weeki Wachee is kayaking.  I enjoy it so much.  The clear water is so inviting! On the weekends the river can get busy and sitting out on the deck and people watching is a thing. 
We were on kayaks everyday.   
The boys wanted to be in their own kayaks.  They paddled pretty well.....until it was time to turn around and come back upstream.  No problem said Papi...

See that rope?  Worked like a charm.  
On this particular morning trip with Paloma we saw a lot of birds.  Its such peaceful place.  We would go slow and get as close as we can to view these beauties. 
These tall graceful gray herons below are my favorite.  When he took off to fly I was like 😳 WHOA
The ducks were friendly and I'm sure used to people feeding them.  We obliged.  
My mom handed out the bread and Paloma and the little boy next door gave them a feast. Also, her bathing suit. 😍😍😍


The water was not super warm, but you know kids, their thermometers don't care. They were out on the sandbar trying to catch fish and even going underwater😱

Not a fish but how about a crab  .....also many many lizards/geckos were captured. 
Every hour Marcelo would be on his knees.  "I got another one!"
We hit the beach at Pine Island (as we have done in past years) and it is such a pleasant time. 
The San Diego cousins got these two HOOKED on Takis a couple years ago.  They are spicy, crunchy chips shaped like a rolled taco.  We don't buy these often, but Takis are always requested when going to the beach.
We broke out the sand toys and the digging started. Papi is always right there with them.


 Everyone got buried, but this guy was the funniest!
I love this picture. It  makes me smile. He is at a "Summer teeth" stage. Summer here, summer there! Get it? (some-are-here-some-are-there) I love it!
 I remember her liking this process, but this pictures tells another story.
She was ok for a minute, but then wanted to be pulled out quickly!

Always birds galore at this beach, which Im into!
You can walk out so far with the water not even going past your knees.  The kids ran and ran and ran...and fell in the water repeatedly while laughing.


We brought our bikes on this trip and I'm glad.  They are a fairly new past time for our family.  Both the boys learned how to ride a bike the first time they tried it.  (thank you balance bikes!)
Paloma also has a balance bike and could probably do the same, but she is loving this bike with training wheels that our old neighbor gave her for her birthday.   I hope that when we take them off she still remembers the balancing that she was so good at. haha  But for now, she is happy racing along with the trainers. 
Unfortunately the first morning we were there, Marcelo parked his bike behind the van and Ernesto backed up without seeing it.😬
Needless to say he was not happy.  I had just gotten him this bike a week ago.
My mom and I then HAD TO GO to Goodwill. Ha! We could've went to a bike shop I guess, but this black and red bike below was $7 and had the size wheel we needed! Score!
My dad took on the "simple task" of switching out the wheels, but somehow it turned into a loooong job.
How many men does it take to change a bike wheel?!?! πŸ˜‚
With that hat dad, you can do ANYTHING! LOL
They finally got the "new" tire on and it was ready to roll! They were up and down the street like big kids. 
By the end of the trip though, Marcelo was over this bike.  He was riding Mateos bike which is bigger and has gears. He did not want to waste time on his "slow bike". We ended up leaving it for the neighbor friend.  Ill get him a bigger one asap. 

Once back in GA we stopped at the rest/welcome center for potty breaks.  3 1/2 hours left to go!
Its a 7 hour trip total, which is not a quick trip, but we are great at pushing through and limiting stops.
Another Weeki Wachee trip in the books.  I hope this yearly tradition carries on forever.

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