girls' trip, day 1: loggerhead and moas

No, that's not a typographical error in the title!

I wrote "moas" and I meant "moas", even though that acronym for the Museum Of Arts & Sciences is usually in all capital letters.

We went there today!

(smile!)

But, first, what was that about a sea turtle?

Well, look at the tracks in the sand!

She came ashore before dawn, struggling past the water line, laid her eggs, and then straggled back to the ocean.

That's Nest 369 surrounded by the pink tape.

How did I know the loggerhead had been up and gone before sunrise?

Because my first niece was up just after dawn and the tracks, and nest, were already there.

And why was she up so early?

Well, she's sleeping in the master bedroom, with the two girls, and they're restless.

I have the smaller room, with the queen bed, but I also have my own balcony.

Perfect for me!

I could leave the door ajar and sleep to the sounds of the surf... sheer bliss!

(smile!)

And what have we here?

Crab diggers, that's what!

Those little crabs were burrowing down for dear life!

Hahahaha!

Chloe, Christina, and Miyah were so distracted with their activities that they didn't even notice when I moved from standing beside them to wade into the surf in front for this shot - LOL!

We were out in the pre-noon sun for about an hour, then the girls wanted to go and play in the pool... so that's what they did for about another two hours.

By that time, the 3-year-old's skin was pinking up pretty well, even though she'd been slathered with sunscreen beforehand, then liberally basted in it several times.

That meant time for something else: lunch at Cici's Pizza!

The destination was supposed to be only about 25 minutes away, but it turned out the Orange Beach locale was farther than that.

No worries - the girls got a little nap! 

Then we diddy bopped over to MOAS (See? I wrote it the usual way that time!) and were just in time for the 3 PM showing in the Planetarium.

And it was perfect for them... or so I thought.

The family-themed show above our heads was "The Little Star That Could", about our sun... perfect, right?

But the girls were a little scared, as it was their first time in such a building, and laying back to watch a movie was a strange experience for them, but I held Miyah's hand and Chloe stayed close to Mommie and it was all done in 20-something minutes.

Okay, time to explore the hands-on children's section of the museum!

They would surely love that!

So much science!!!... which I know they will love when they get older, but which they weren't quite ready for at ages 3 and 5.

Most of it was related to physics - you know, making things move, changing lights, working with pulleys - but there was a bit of biology, too, with bees and use of microscopes.

I was so glad that Christina was having such fun with green energy!

I liked this set-up by the Daytona Tortugas baseball team the best.

I found out my fastball only goes 14 miles per hour - hahahaha!

(smile!)

Then it was time to visit the Giant Sloth skeleton that had been unearthed at Daytona Beach a few decades ago!

The two girls were more interested in the little display than the big beast - go figure!

We also did a rush-through of a few other rooms, including the Romeo and Juliet stained-glass window (which I wanted Christina to see) as well as the glass-walled storage area, which the little girls were fascinated by - go figure!

Then it was 5 PM and time to let the museum staff go home.

Time to go to Walmart and buy arm floats for the girls, to keep them safe in the deeper parts of the pool.

Kites were on sale - just $1.38 each! - so Miyah chose a flamingo and Chloe got a unicorn.

Good deal! 

Then back to Suite 404, for a sketti dinner (thanks, Christina!) and to watch the pelicans drift past as the rain slowly went away.

If you squint, and hold your mouth just right, you'll see the rainbow arching up from the ocean, near the middle of the photo.

(smile!)