In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle

Friday, January 31, 2014

I had such a headache that I went to bed at 8 last night.  So, I knew I would be up EARLY!  (3:30 – 4:00 is what I am guessing as I do NOT look at the clock when I wake up through the night.  It plays with my mind, lol!)  That was OK as I knew I would not miss the sunrise!  However, it is still very cloudy and rainy this morning, so if the sun is there, it is behind the clouds.  The clouds are supposed to start moving out today, however and a nice weekend of 80 degree temps as the high and 60s as the lows with sunshine!

I got dressed around 7 and Tim stirred in the bed.  I told him I was going down to walk on the beach and pick up shells.  He said he would go with me, so he dressed.  I could tell he wasn’t exactly awake yet because he put on his every day  shoes.  He changed them when I brought them to his attention.  :D

TONS of jelly fish washed up with the sea weed last night.  One guy showed us his toe where he was standing at the water’s edge when a wave broke over his feet and he was left with a jelly fish sting to his big toe!

Before going  back into the hotel, we ate breakfast at the Bamboo Club and Tiki Bar (that kept us awake with their music for awhile last night).

Here are some pictures from this morning:

After breakfast we set out for the day’s “excursion” of going to Jungle Island in Miami.  It was basically a smaller version of zoo.  And we attended a couple of the shows and then ate a late lunch in their Café before we left.

After we got back, we went for a walk to the North of our hotel.  We walked and walked and walked. As we walked I collected some shells and pieces that I want to use to make some necklaces.  Also went out on a pier and really enjoyed watching the pelicans and seagulls and other birds. 

We ended the day by eating at Blue Tokyo restaurant in the hotel.  Now we are just relaxing before bed time!  From all the walking today, I figure I will probably have sore legs tomorrow!

Butterflies, Birds and Bugs

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Left Kim’s at 7:15 a.m. in the rain.  It is 9:49 right now and the sun has just peaked itself from behind heavy cloud cover.  We are traveling the Florida Turnpike and just went through the toll plaza where we paid $6.40.  I had to call and get information on how to pay the toll as we kept seeing signs for “NO CASH” accepted.

Our first “excursion” of the day is going to be Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, FL.  I LOVE butterflies, so I hope the rain does not mess up our visit, but I am assuming that the butterflies will be under cover.  Hoping to get some beautiful photos!

Spent an enjoyable couple of hours at Butterfly World!  I don’t buy “souvenirs” for myself, but I got some things this time.  A 2014 calendar at 50% off, some moisture-soaking coasters and an ink pen.  The attraction also included birds and bugs!  Here are the beautiful photos (including some of the flowers and excluding the bugs we saw)!  God is a WONDERFUL artist!

Tim getting $1 to buy nectar for these parrots.  This guy landed on Tim and started snooping in his shirt pocket.

They sure were friendly, and beautiful!

We arrived at the resort at 12:30 and our room was ready, so we moved in.  Had to pay for parking, but, ooooooooooooooooooh the view!  We have NEVER, EVER stayed “on” the beach before!  Praying for a BEAUTIFUL sunrise!

Tim taking pictures and sending pictures to his mom.

Took this photo when we walked on the beach.

We didn’t eat lunch in anticipation of eating at Texas de Brazil, per Jesse’s suggestion.  Tim looked on the internet to see when it opened.  4 p.m. is a good time to eat dinner when you haven’t eaten since 8:30 a.m.  However, when we got there, they said they didn’t open til 5:30!  Well, I had a serious headache brewing already, so I knew that I could not wait another 1 ½ hours, so we decided to eat somewhere else and go to Texas de Brazil another night.  We will lose out on the $16 coupon that expires today, however!  Oh well!

So, we began driving around and passed several restaurants……….until we saw………..

We were happy campers!  The waitress said in the 5 years she has worked there, there have been 4 or 5 times that she has heard tires screeching to a halt and coming into their parking lot.  She said, “that is when we say, “They are definitely from Ohio!”  :D

I took this picture of the blue sky breaking through the clouds and the sun shining a bit.  Well, that lasted about 5 minutes!  The only difference from the rain here and some of the other bad weather that is hitting the east coast is that the temperatures are in the 60s here today.

We are in for the evening now.  I have barely slept the last 2 nights.  I’m thinking tonight is going to be early to bed!  Praying for a beautiful, sunny sunrise tomorrow!  Tim is already getting comfy!  :D

We did take a walk on the beach before coming in for showers before we left for dinner.  Tim saw this shell that is purplish.  I plan to use it in combination with beads for a necklace.

We got a stack of brochures of things to do in and around Ft. Lauderdale.  Those excursions will begin tomorrow!