On the road again (even Rosie)

We're in Florida now. Sadly for Lisa, Marty, and the girls, Rosie hit the road too, escaping from their house this afternoon. Unfortunately they didn't know that she was safely in a neighbor's house. We are thankful to the enormous number of Clifton friends who helped to look for her. And we're sorry for the worry that her escapade caused her vacation hosts.

We're finishing our second day and having a very good time. Thanks to Roy and Kathy, we took a boat ride yesterday. There were pelicans to feed, and Calvin (yes, Calvin!) fed them by hand. The kids loved the boat ride. Calvin was manic from the boat ride until the day ended. I'm not sure what in him it fed, but he was energized by it. As part of his joy, he took about 50 pictures. We thought about the change in Calvin, who was terrified and carried crying onto the boat at Niagara Falls in September to this boat ride.

Today we went to Everglades National Park. We rented a canoe, took a hike, and pulled the car over when we saw some alligators by a canal near the road. We'd done three science lessons on the Everglades before we left. I was glad to see that the kids remembered things. And as with the road trip, the kids are much more engaged when they have some "expertise" about a place.

(There's an alligator in this picture.)