The signs of Fall in South Florida

It is really hard to tell when it’s Fall here in South Florida.  We had a few days of what I consider to be Fall weather and now…it feels like summer again.  It’s just strange to be in the middle of November and the high temperature is still in the mid 80s.  What’s it like elsewhere around the country where my friends and family are enjoying Fall? 

Let’s see… 

How are my friends in Fort Worth?  They’re wearing sweaters since it’s 57 degrees there!

Austin?  A lovely 62. 

What about Los Angeles?  66

Baltimore? 49

Nashville?  57

Las Vegas?  66

You get the idea.  It’s warm here – and there are no fall colors.  I really miss the oranges, golds, and even browns, that signify Autumn back in Texas and around the country. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I saw an iguana run across the street. 

Maybe that’s a sign for Fall here in South Florida. 

As the wise, round-headed kid known as Charlie Brown would say, “AGH!” 

 

Fins

Yesterday we went fishing – in the Atlantic ocean.  That still sounds strange to me having lived in Texas all of my life before moving to Boca two years ago.  Unfortunately, we didn’t catch many fish; we only caught a remora. 

If you aren’t familiar with remoras, it’s the fish that you see attached to sharks.  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, if you know Jimmy Buffett’s song, “Fins,” you’ve heard the reference to remoras:

Chorus:

Can’t you feel ‘em closin’ in, honey

Can’t you feel ‘em schoolin’ around

You got fins to the left, fins to the right

And you’re the only girl in town

  

Sailed off to Antigua

It took her three days on a boat

Lookin’ for some peace and quiet

Maybe keep her dreams afloat

But now she feels like a remora

‘Cause the school’s still close at hand

Just behind the reef are the big white teeth

Of the sharks that can swim on the land

  

I have a confession to make about this song.  I only found out recently that the song is about “fins.”  For years, I sang, “…dance to the left, dance to the right…”  It seemed to work at the time.  I also never knew what a remora was until we were saltwater fishing last summer and once again, caught a remora.  I makes me wonder if sharks are nearby when remoras are all that are caught!

It was still a fun day even though the fish weren’t cooperating.

 

Doggie Daily Double

This morning was quite a morning!  I am still recovering. 

Around 9:30, Lucy (remember our little dog who doesn’t like having her picture taken?) was running door to door, squeaking.  Of course she had seen something outside and was dying to get out there and chase it.  So, I opened the sliding door as she dashed out along with Jack (he goes where she goes and vice-versa).  The next thing I knew, a huge iguana went flying into our pool!  Oh  My Gosh!!!! 

I was immediately freaked out.  I had heard of iguanas in pools here in South Florida but had never witnessed it myself.  What was my plan of attack?  I ran to Cub’s bedroom to see if he was awake because he had to see this!  As I opened the door, he startled me since he was standing right there.  He jumped and I laughed and yelled, “There’s an iguana in the pool! …and the dogs are trying to get it.”  Cubs quickly dashed out the door to see all the excitement.  I stayed inside, safely behind the glass sliding doors of course, so I could take photos – from afar. 

I was able to get Lucy to come inside by yelling, “Treats!  Lucy!  Come get a treat!”  Now usually, Jack will knock over whatever is in his way for a treat – but not today.  His treat was in the pool!  Jack loves to chase lizards – this must have been like hitting the daily double for him.

I knew that getting the dogs inside the house would be the only way that iguana would ever get out of the pool.  I had Cubs help me get Jack inside by using a leash. As soon as Jack was dragged inside, he and Lucy pushed their way through the glass doors in the living room.  Before we knew what happened, Jack and Lucy were back outside again trying to get at that iguana!  So, Cubs and I went through the whole routine again and finally got both dogs back in the house.

Lucky for us (and that iguana), the pool guy showed up at that time.  This was a pool service person who had never been here before.  He had come to repair something on the pool.  When he came to the door, he told me who he was and why he was here.  I didn’t waste time with small talk – I said, “How good are you at getting iguanas out of the pool?”  After asking how big it was, he was very helpful.  He used the skimmer to scare the poop out of that thing (literally…several times…ewww!!!!!!) and it swam to the other end of the pool before swimming into the skimmer. 

(Look closely, the iguana’s at the end of the skimmer pole)

He then quickly lifted the lid off the skimmer and it was like a Jack in the Box (the toy, not the fast food chain)  –  out came that iguana!  It moved so fast I never saw where it went, but apparently it climbed to the top of the nearest palm tree beyond the back fence.  Ewww.  Gross.  I am totally creeped out and disgusted.  On a positive note, thank goodness for the kindness and timeliness of others!!! 

So much for a day in the pool. 

If anyone has any idea of what I’m supposed to do to de-lizard my pool after skimming out the poop (yes, I’m a do-it-yourselfer…when no one else will do it!), please let me know!

 

Happy Jack

 

After all of this excitement, I couldn’t let the day go by without selecting a song to commemorate it.  I think this one is appropos. 

I wish I was back
In Ti-a-juana
Eating barbecue
Iguana

If you are a child of the 80s and recall when MTV first began, when we were all glued to the television and fell in love with Mark Goodman and Martha Quinn (I digress….), then you are already singing along with this song by Wall of Voodoo. 

 

Miami Seaquarium

We took our second spring break day-trip to the Miami Seaquarium.  I had heard the complex had recently completed a $5-million renovation, but as it turns out, that was only in their Dolphin Harbor area. Overall, our day at the Seaquarium was very disappointing.  

First of all, the costs:

Daily Rates

General Admission
$35.95

Children (3 to 9)
$26.95

*Plus 7% Florida sales tax

Parking
$8.00

 

Okay, who gets to decide the age of an adult?  It seems that amusement parks get to do it however they want!  Really?   My 10 year old daughter is now an adult?  I don’t see her paying any bills or making any major life decisions but she (i.e. “I”) has to pay as if she is an adult.  I thought 13 years old was pushing it (for an “adult”) at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Ft. Lauderdale, but 10 is ridiculous!  Enough said. 

When we arrived we made a quick trip to the restrooms before setting out on a day of exploring.  Here’s one word to sum it up:  Gross.  You’re not at SeaWorld anymore, Toto.  I did see an employee sweeping up pieces of toilet paper in one restroom while a line extended out the door (since there were only about 5 stalls) but the whole restroom  reeked. 

We did enjoy the Killer Whale / Dolphin show.  It was fun to see the large mammals splash the front rows of bleachers and watch those people appear surprised once they were soaked!   I was glad to see the killer whale’s fin was not drooping but I thought the tank was too small for him.  I hope he has a bigger tank somewhere behind the scenes.  I even heard a man behind me saying he felt bad for the killer whale because the tank seemed too small.   I noticed that everything looked like it had been there for 20 years or so with very little maintenance.  Everything in the park could use a good coat of paint and some refinishing. 

Even in this picture, you can see the tank needs some paint…or something. 

It’s looking rather rusty. 

Later, we attended the Top Deck Dolphin Show.  It’s in a small, round tank and there are 3 rows outside of the tank where park guests stand and watch.  I was surprised there weren’t any benches – as was the 2 -year-old next to us who cried for half of the show as he sat on the hard concrete floor.  It was difficult for the kids to see the show since many adults stood in front of them.  The dolphins were cute, of course, but the show lacked a lot.  

The kids enjoyed feeding the sea lions a snack of fish.  You can purchase 5 fish for $4 at the stand nearby.  (Tip:  If you want until the end of the feeding, you may be lucky like we were to get 12 fish for the same price!)

Since everyone was hungry, we went to the Manatee Bay Cafe.  The lines were long for hot foods (chicken tenders and fries).  As we made our way through the crowd to the registers, we waited in line there too.  One register went down so the huge crowd was moved into one line at one register.  Things happen but we were just lucky to be at the front of that line.  The food was fine for the typical amusement park dining but I was just a little frustrated with  water dripping from the ceiling tiles above my head.  The frames around the tile were rusted so it appeared this dripping had been a problem for a while.   Again, it looks like things have been ignored all over the park in terms of repairs and maintenance. 

The kids wanted to play at the Pirate Ship.  Unfortunately, the only water at the ship came from the huge water guns on the upper level.  My friend told me that last year there were buckets of water around the perimeter of the play area that would dump water from above.  Apparently, these have been removed.  I just kept thinking, “What is this park doing with the money from the entrance fees?”  It better be going to take care of the animals since I couldn’t see any physical improvements anywhere. 

By the way, when did deer become a marine animal?

I understand the sea turtle in the back, but deer?  Apparently this little guy found his way into the Seaquarium without a ticket…and never got out. 

There were other shows to see but we were done by 3:15. 

Hours:  9:30 am – 6 pm daily. 

The FAQ page of the Seaquarium website indicates it will take about 4 hours to tour the entire park and you should consider arriving at 9:00 or 12:00 in order to see the cycle of shows.  We arrived at noon but due to wanting to avoid rush hour traffic on I-95 at 4 – 6pm, we left at 3:30.  As a result, we missed a couple of the later shows which would have begun at 4:00 (Sea lions) and 5:00 (the same killer whale/dolphin show we saw at 12:40). 

Overall impressions: 

The park is grungy.  It needs some TLC such as fresh paint everywhere, repairs to dripping ceiling tiles, and air fresheners in the restrooms (or perhaps a good old-fashioned scrub down). 

The entrance fee is WAY too expensive.  You can get a $2 discount ticket on the website or you can use the coupon book you got at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Science and Discovery for $3 off each ticket.  Still, the tickets are overpriced.   It was better than sitting at home on spring break, but so is the beach… and it’s free.

It looks like the animal trainers care about the marine animals so this is the positive point about the park.  Also, the shows are fun.  If you don’t attend the shows, you could make it through the park in less than 2 hours. 

  

UPDATE:  May 25, 2009

I have received several comments about this post.  I have been informed the whale we saw at the Seaquarium is actually named Lolita and there is a website dedicated to “saving her.”  If you are interested, go to www.savelolita.com

Of course, there are two sides to every story.  I do not know the facts.   I am just sharing this information in hopes of doing something good in the name of animal welfare.  I’d much rather see animals such as whales and dolphins in the wild, but I also appreciate what animals in well-cared-for captive locations can bring to humans of all ages in terms of appreciation, respect, and awe.   I am an animal lover and have always admired the beauty of whales, as well as other marine animals.   Please determine the facts for yourself. 

 

Fort Lauderdale Fun

As the week of Spring Break approached, some friends of our suggested we take all of our kids on a couple of day trips during the break to keep them entertained since we weren’t traveling anywhere. 

Yesterday’s trip was great!  We went to the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science (MoDS). 

At first we were very hesitant when we arrived and saw twenty school buses parked near the entrance (Tip #1:  Just because it’s our spring break doesn’t mean it’s every one else’s).  Once we purchased our tickets and went inside, it felt like we were part of the school group as kids and adults shouted and ran about.  We made a quick move to the area where the school children had just toured – which worked out great.  We had the area to ourselves.  The MoDS is a great place for exploring.  Downstairs there is a play area for kids 7 and under (I believe that’s the age, since none of our kids played there) but there is also a mini-aquarium and some exhibits set up with cockroaches, tarantulas, legless lizards, etc.  There are also a few cute crocs (I’m not talking about the shoes) and a sea turtle.  Upstairs there is a really great exhibit about flight.  The kids spent a lot of time at the flight simulators before we moved on to the WILD MUSIC exhibit.  We had a great time in this particular exhibit.  There were lots of hands-on activities about music including sounds associated with nature such as bird songs and music which has been inspired by certain birdsongs.  There is a room for “jam sessions” and another area with a large xylophone which was also a lot of fun.  This is a place where adults can easily have as much fun as the kids.  Go soon, however, this exhibit ends this month.

Wild Music: Sounds and Songs of Life exhibit
January 31 – April 26, 2009

Another area of the second floor includes displays of mineral rocks like quartz, Fool’s Gold, pyrite, etc.  These “rocks” are gorgeous  but this area is likely geared more toward adults.  There is also a fun hands-on area with things like magnets (of all sizes) and a giant kaliedescope.  Our group really enjoyed the virtual volleyball room too.  One of the last exhibits upstairs is the Egyptian area (who knew each block used to build a pyramid weighed 2.5 tons and it often took 23 years to build just one pyramid while the average life expectancy at that time was 35?)…and don’t forget the dino bones and fossils.  We spent hours there and the kids could’ve spent more if would have allowed it.  We finished the day with an IMAX 3-D “Monsters and Aliens” movie.  The 3-D effects were great and it was a funny movie. 

What’s the cost?  Adults (ages 13 and up, by the way) were $15 each (for exhibits plus an IMAX movie) while kids were $12.  (Tip #2:  When you get there, don’t buy your tickets first.  Instead, go inside the main entrance to the Information Desk.  The person there gave us a Florida coupon book which had a $2 discount for each adult ticket.)

Tip #3:  If you need to add lunch, don’t expect to get the $5 footlong special at the Subway downstairs – they don’t offer it there.  We spent about $24 for 3 sandwiches, 2 cookies, 2 chips and 2 drinks.  I prefer my neighborhood Subway since they honor the $5 footlong special! 

Tip #4:  This would also make a great summer day trip since everything is indoors.

What’s next?  Check out tomorrow’s blog about the Miami Seaquarium.