Maddy came back from Canada full of amazing tales of her experiences rehabilitating wildlife in British Columbia. It's hard to believe those boots were brand new when she left...
We took her to Longboat Key to help her catch up on some sleep and relaxation...
We knew we were taking a chance since we had heard that Red Tide has been an issue there lately but were really shocked when we realized the full scale of the damage that this season has caused the area. The restaurants and hotels were practically empty and the beaches deserted as far as the eye can see. The stench of rotting fish was completely overwhelming - I've never seen anything like it. So sad...
We decided to make the best of it and stay in town and started out with some family pool time:)
In the morning we went shopping and then headed over to Mote Marine Aquarium & Research Center which was fantastic!
Maddy slept more than she has in the past 3 months. Mike enjoyed waking her up:)
We got to see the controversial 'raccoon paws' tattoo in person. I can't say I like it but I'm very happy that 1) Maddy loves it and 2) she had an experience so amazing that she wanted to remember it for the rest of her life...And 3) removal is much easier than it used to be these days...;)
We went exploring in Myakka State Park which was really pretty and got all caught up on the gossip...
On the way back to the condo we saw the coyote that has been featured in the local news there lately. Just as we stopped to get a photo, another car stopped in the middle of the road and caused a big accident. Thankfully no one was injured and as Maddy said "at least it scared the coyote away"
After we got home, we finished off her last weekend at home with a trip to Animal Kingdom...
And before we knew it we were packing the car and dropping her back off at college:(. She's loving her new apartment and has settled in back nicely and is getting regular updates on how her babies are doing...
And then, the week after she left I secured a new job with Disney which I'm really excited about. So to celebrate, we decided to have a little cruise to the Bahamas and squeeze in that beach time after all:)
