FEMA Volunteering

Chris and I both signed up to volunteer at a vaccination drive through in Loveland sponsored by FEMA. 

It was quite the smooth operation. Both of us had driven through on previous days to get our first doses of the Moderna vaccine, so we were familiar with the process. 

We both helped at the Welcome Station as people were stopped and asked questions by FEMA employees.

• Have you had a recent vaccine?
• How many people in the vehicle are receiving the vaccine? 
• Have you been exposed to someone with Covid recently?
• Have you had Covid? - Do you have any kind of reaction to any medication?
• Do you agree with the idea of getting a vaccine?

Chris and I had a Sharpie and stickie notes. We would write #1 or #2, etc. depending on how many people were receiving the vaccine in that particular car. 

If anyone in the vehicle had more than a reaction of hives to a vaccine, we would then write "* 30 minutes" so that the people watching for reactions at the last station new to keep them for 30 minutes instead of 15 minutes for observation. 

We volunteered for 2 1/2 hours. The weather warmed to the 50s, so it was a little bit chilly, but we both had gloves and puffy jackets to keep us warm.

Photography Challenge March

 Week 9 Colorful

Week 10 Self-Portrait

Week 11 Small Details

Week 12 Pink

Week 13 Shadows 

Voice Lessons

Kristen is going to take voice lessons from a friend of ours. She had one lesson and then we remembered that she would have tennis starting up at school. 

For now, the lessons are on hold.

We are hoping that Carli can come up with a time in the evenings for the lessons.

Eyelashes...Again

Amy has been without her sassy lashes for the last six months as she has gone through her Accutane treatment. Apparently the Accutane just causes the lash extensions to fall off prematurely. 

The good news, Amy finished her treatment this month and her skin looks great. 

She didn’t waste any time in getting lash extensions again. I think they look great and she loves them.

Back to School...Again

Kristen went back to school 4 days a week after Spring Break. Friday is still an asynchronous day as students are expected to check in with their classes and hand in all assignments for the week. 

The nice thing is that Kristen is able to sleep in. 

We carpool with three other families on our street, so I only have to drive to the school once a week in the morning with four girls. I pick up in the afternoon two days a week. It cuts down on the driving for sure. Especially since the convenient and direct road to the school has been closed for months now. We have to drive about five miles out the way on a main road which can get pretty backed up with traffic. While Kristen is pretty much ready to be done with this year, she seems to enjoy the social interaction.

Crepe Pancakes

I came up with crepe pancakes one night for dinner. I was in more of a hurry than making crepes from scratch allowed. Instead, I used pancake batter with eggs, almond milk, and butter. 

I made the batter much runnier than usual and came up with thin, crepe-like pancakes. They were quite a hit with the family as well. 

Always fun when you can add something new to the dinner rotation.

Spring Break Day 6 Shark Valley

Another early day. Good thing we let the girls sleep in so much earlier in the week. Our plans for the day included riding bikes through Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. Not sure why they would call it Shark Valley since we were riding bikes through an alligator habitat in the mangroves.

According to one of the Park Rangers though, the name Shark Valley came from the Shark River area of the Gulf of Mexico where the water in the Everglades flows.

If you already have a National Park pass, be sure to bring it and use it to enter the park.

We rented bikes to ride 15, yes FIFTEEN, miles through the park. We rode first along a paved path with a marshy grassland on our left and mangroves on our right. Many of the alligators were sunning themselves in the water of the mangroves.

We did pass one alligator sunning itself part way on the path as we pedaled past. They are pretty acclimated to humans, but we were advised to exercise caution. We did.

You might even bike past a pod of twenty or so freshly hatched baby alligators.

We stopped after seven miles and ate our Subway sandwiches. Already my gluteal muscles were feeling sore and we still had 8 more miles to go!

What I would recommend would be to turn around and go back the same way you just came. It was much more interesting than the last eight miles. If you are a bird watcher, you might enjoy it more, but it was mostly marsh land on either side of us with only one alligator sighting. Lots of birds though.

We had seen probably thirty alligators on the first section of our bike ride.

Chris had us on a bit of a schedule so that we could fit in an airboat ride, fill up the rental car with gas, and then drop the rental car off at the rental car return before our flight at 5:45 pm.

After rolling into the ranger station and happily turning in our bikes, we drove to our final activity of the week, an airboat ride through the Everglades.

The Safari Park was only twenty minutes from Shark Valley. We arrived just as an airboat left on a tour and had to wait another 30 minutes for the next one. The boats do go pretty regularly.

Now, if your goal is to see lots of alligators, I would recommend Shark Valley. You can walk on the path, sign up for a trolley tour, or rent bikes. You’ll see a lot more alligators there.

We did, however, see one alligator jump up out of the water and dive during our Everglades airboat tour. So that was cool.

We were all pretty good about applying sunscreen. I think the brand I bought was pretty much a dud though. I watched my hands and arms get more and more red throughout our bike ride. I brought a jacket along with me on the airboat tour just to keep from burning even more!

It was a fun day and a great way to wrap up our Spring Break.

The not-so-fun part? The four hour flight home with sore muscles from riding bikes.

Still it was good to be going home to see Misha and to sleep in my own bed!

Happy Face

Chris had two matching blood blisters on his finger. Amy found a Sharpie and added a smile.

Spring Break Day 5 Bahia Honda State Park

Tuesday was an early day, but not as early as we hoped. The clocks in our room had not been updated to daylight saving time and were still an hour behind. We had wanted to leave the hotel by 7:30. When Chris and I were up around 6:30 am, he realized that the clocks were wrong. 

I quickly got the girls up and going, not to their delight at all! We pulled together lunch, drinks, swim stuff, sun screen, towels, and hoped we didn’t forget anything as we were driving to Bahia Honda State Park for a snorkeling expedition and then planned to spend the rest of the day at the beach there. 

Bahia Honda pronounced Ba-ee-a-onda.

We arrived early enough in the day that the park was not full at all. We overheard an attendant say that the park allowed 100 cars in (it has capacity for 150) and when it was full, the cars still arriving had to wait for cars to leave before they were allowed in.

Chris called the snorkeling expedition office and told them we were running late. Not too worry, we still made it with time to fill out waivers, get some snorkel equipment, and be fitted for and change into wetsuits.

In the words of Amy, “There’s nothing like wearing a wetsuit to make you feel ‘better’ about yourself!” Indeed.

The wetsuits weren’t necessary for the snorkeling, but they sure did take the edge off the colder water.

Captain Dave and his assistant Annie were our guides for the day as we boarded the Sundance for our morning excursion.

We drove about 30 minutes out to Looe Key where our boat the Sundance was anchored and the 31 guests were allowed to snorkel. It was a first time for Kristen. She and I got to use the new masks that Chris had ordered. They covered our whole face and were so much easier to breathe in and use.

Did you know that no more tears baby shampoo diluted with water is great for keeping your snorkel mask from fogging up. Before we put the masks on, Annie went around and squirted the solution into everyone’s mask. Worked like a charm.

We had about an hour and a half to snorkel before heading back to the park.

There were plenty of fish to see in a variety of colors. We saw deep sea divers, a barracuda, and even a small shark! If you have time before you leave on your trip and you will be playing in water, invest in a waterproof camera and have a little fun.

After peeling off the wetsuits and turning them back in, we found a shady spot for lunch and spread out our towels.

Chris and I wanted to walk up on the old train bridge and got the girls settled with a rented umbrella and sand chairs.

They were happy to relax for the afternoon. By this time, Amy was getting a pretty good sunburn. She purchased a long sleeve swim shirt to protect her arms and shoulders.

Chris and I were disappointed that the old train bridge did not allow pedestrians to walk too far along the bridge. 

The girls had set up the towels on the Gulf side beach; Chris and I thought they might enjoy the water and sand more on the Atlantic side.

They packed everything up, umbrella included, and crossed under the bridge to where we met them.

It was a lovely, perfect day at the beach. Even the staff working there said it was the nicest, non-windy day they had enjoyed in awhile. Who knows, maybe they say that to everyone to make them feel special!

The girls sunbathed, until Chris and I could see them changing color. We packed up and drove back to Key West. We were all ready for showers, but the girls wanted to check out the “resort” pool first. 

Fine with me. I showered first and they all followed after me.

If you are visiting Key West, you'll want to get a picture at the Southern-most point in the United States. 

Lots of people were in line when we arrived. If you go, pick a time later in the evening or earlier in the morning when crowds aren’t as crazy. You’ll have to wait in line for a bit, but you’ll get your turn.

There is very limited free parking in Key West, so even for our fifteen-minute stop we had to pay for parking.

Sunset was at 7:40 pm that night. You can join the crowds along the pier to watch and capture the scene. We took a number of photos as we watched the sun go down.

Amy wanted to visit a Ron Jon Surf Shop for a memento. Everyone but me bought t-shirts, and Chris even got some new sandals. We even got a shirt for Misha!

Misha was doing okay at home, but missing us and probably wishing she had come with us.

After some walking around Old Town and Mallory Square and then driving to find a place for dinner, we settled on Moondog Cafe and Bakery. Parking was crazy and Chris spent about 20 minutes trying to find a spot. Amy and I went in early to get seats.

Three of us had mahi-mahi tacos and Kristen ordered a Margherita pizza. 

Chris and I ordered a slice of key lime pie piled high with meringue to share and the girls each ordered a macaron from the bakery. 

I much preferred the frozen chocolate-covered key lime bar to this meringue-covered pie. It was okay. I’d have to try a few more offerings to decide if I truly liked it.