Happy New Year! For winter break, the Sampsons crisscrossed the country to sunny Florida - Venice, to be exact. We hunted for shark's teeth on the beach, celebrated Christmas, and made a much-anticipated trip to LEGOLAND, and I got to see a good college friend to boot. Ten days seemed like a long time to be gone, but it was relaxing and wonderful to be able to see the whole rotating cast of family members that came to stay at Capri Isles during that time. (Though I appear to have no photographic evidence of seeing my aunt, uncle, brother, cousins, and their significant others and children.)
Here we are gathering shark's teeth and playing at the beach...
...with dinner at where else, Sharky's!
At Sarasota Jungle Gardens we got up close and personal with some of Florida's finest...
And we cruised the canopy and stalked the shoreline at the Myakka River State Park.:
Then, it was the big day - LEGOLAND!
There were lots of rides, as well as places to build (and buy) Legos, but most of all we marveled at the figures throughout the park, and at the Lego MiniLand USA.
For the week after Christmas, we nearly had the place to ourselves, and it was great. Not sure if I'd say the same if it were 90 degrees and I had to wait in lines.
"Snow- Snow-ooow- to clear a path and lift a spade of snow"
We returned to Washington without incident, save for the inches of snow greeting us from the fields and in our driveway. Ever since, we've gotten a pretty good cardio workout shoveling off a couple inches a week. (All those snow and ice gadgets look tempting about now.)
To confess to my ignorance of a NW winter (having lived in southern Ohio for
Oh, how the forecasters mock me: a good two inches is merely "looks like flurries out there!" and three to six "might be a slippery commute, take care!" My mother-in-law said they just canceled school in Salt Lake City for a foot of snow, so I guess that's what it takes for a true snow day out this way.
Slip-sliding away to the bus stop,
Alison
