Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Blondie in the Springs -- Beware of the Wildlife



Stealing Time Update
I am nearing completion of my time travel thriller Stealing Time. In the next few weeks I'll begin the daunting task of final edits, beta readers, proofing and a final edit by a professional. I hope to have it available as an e-book by hurricane season near the end of August and in paperback by the holidays. In the meantime, please enjoy another water adventure from my more geographically fortunate days when I lived in Florida. In my next post I will introduce the characters from the novel. Stay tuned...

 Blondie in the Springs -- Beware of the Wildlife
Florida was a gorgeous place to live. Six months of the year the temperatures were ideal for outdoor activities ranging from 65 F to 80 F and very little humidity. Summers were amazing as well with the afternoon treat of giant boiling clouds and torrential thunderstorms. Have I mentioned I love severe weather? Well I do.

 It was a great place to own a kayak, or so I thought. There are so many beautiful places to take it out with oodles of lakes and of course the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast. Central Florida, where I lived, also had lovely fresh water springs that were ideal for kayaking and full of Florida critters.
Blue Springs State Park, Florida *
One gorgeous day in April we drove to Blue Springs State Park, a stunning refuge for their substantial manatee population. Our friends from Upstate New York were visiting and being the outdoor types were as excited as we were to see some authentic Florida wildlife.The day was perfect with temps in the low 80s, the sun was shining and the air was just on the edge of being sticky.
In tow were several kayaks, a picnic, and a few short people. Eager to check out the layout of the park, we left everything in the car (OK, not everything the kids came with us, don't get huffy) and walked down the boardwalk that led to the springs. 
How is that for inviting? *
Lush greenery greeted us as we walked along the boardwalk area to the swimming hole -- the Spanish moss reaching down to caress us as we walked by. My excitement grew as we approached the water. Manatees were floating lazily in the springs with their young ones. My first desire was to dip my toe, or more, in the cool clear water. However, ropes were up blocking off the area to keep swimmers from bothering the new families. We were told they would open it up to swimmers once the manatees floated downstream and out of harm's way. 
Mom and baby manatee from above. *
With swimming out for now, we made our way further down the boardwalk to the spring head looking for a good place to launch the kayaks. It was going to be easy work with the current moving swiftly away from the springs -- you merely have to guide the kayak through the clear cool water.

We found a good spot and the men carried the kayaks from the car as we watched the kids play. My friend, Carrie, and I volunteered to stay with the younger kids since there was not enough room for all of us in the kayaks. Knowing the men were eager to get on the water, we thought it would be more fun to take our trip later sans kids and get a more peaceful go down the springs.

The men and older boys took several passes downstream while we played near the manatees in the swimming area with the little ones. Finally it was our turn. Carrie and I climbed aboard our kayaks and began our first run. A great blue heron startled in the brush and flew over us with a wingspan a good six feet wide. Turtles were sunning themselves along fallen trees. Everywhere you looked there were birds, fish, even a few lazy manatees passing under the kayak setting the scene for a serene paddle downstream. The sky was blue and the canopy of the trees created dappled sunlight.

Can you see why they call 'em 'Blue' springs? *
The peaceful bliss lasted a whopping five minutes. My serenity was abolished when a 9 foot gator smashed into the underside of my kayak making it rock and sway, nearly dumping me in the drink!
We got our dose of authentic Florida wildlife that day! **
It was fortunate that I was in my slow and steady kayak and not the fast and tippy one or I might have been dinner for the horrible critter. I saw a huge dark shape swim off downstream and in my imagination lurking ahead waiting for another strike.

My friend laughed hysterically at my whoops and hollers not knowing the cause. When I assured her I was not screaming like a crazy person over a log scraping the bottom of my kayak, but rather because a gator was trying to eat me, the smile fell off her face. It was replaced with concerned glances around looking for beasties hiding under the water. We began paddling in earnest now, working our way downstream, all thoughts of photographing tame wildlife out of our heads. Replaced by thoughts of our kids in the springs, their fathers chatting about the Buffalo Bills quarterback instead of watching out for child-eating reptiles. Rather took every ounce of fun out of that run down the springs. 

In my mind I engineered a spear out of my paddle waiting for the gator to take another crack, knowing that I stood no chance against his powerful body and large teeth.
Me and my homemade spear will get you!
Thankfully there were no further attacks and our ride was smooth, albeit tense. The men were surprised that we were done with the kayaks, having had enough of the Florida wildlife for one day. I have to say the beauty of the surroundings were lost on me the rest of the day and it completely cured my desire for a swim with the manatees.

One of the things you learn after living in Florida for awhile is that gators do eat people. The locals are smart enough to keep it off the national news since tourism is their biggest business. A few times a year, usually in April during gator mating season, you'll hear reports of alligator activity. Stories about alligators climbing six foot chain link fences and eating small dogs, or occasionally chewing off a golfer's arm. Disturbing, yes! 

Yeah it happens...
(Can you figure out what's wrong with this picture?) ***
The stories about full grown men being eaten are more disturbing. One news report aired not too long after our kayak adventure about a man whose car ran out of gas. He called for a ride and went down to the lake to take in the view until they showed up. A few days later part of him was found rotting under a log while the gator waited to digest the rest of him. 

 I'm not telling you this to scare you away from Florida. It is a beautiful place and the odds of you ever encountering a gator, much less being harmed by one are quite slim. You're much more likely to be struck by lightning, after all Central Florida is the lightning strike capital of the world! 
If you do visit the sunshine state, know this -- every body of water has the potential to have an alligator in it. So when you're taking the kids down to the edge of the lake, pull them back a few feet, just to be on the safe side. My desire for kayaking in the open waters of Florida was definitely quenched with our first experience with a gator. The thought of a relaxing paddle across a sunny green lake was all but shattered that day. I had tamed my fear of sharks eating me in the bay, but the fear of a gator was untameable. 

I love the water but not with you in it! *
I am currently land-locked and have no great body of water to enjoy but at least the kids can play near the the brown icky lakes here in dirtville without the fear of large predators snacking on them. Still with all of this said, Florida has taken my heart and I hope to move back there someday.  But you can be sure I will not be swimming in their warm lakes.

 I would love to hear your wildlife stories. Please leave a comment and share your experiences. 

 *Photos from http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/photogallery.cfm 
** Photo from http://untoldbleedingdeath.blogspot.com/
*** Photo from http://othersiderainbow.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-bet-he-will-have-higher-handicap.html

Connect With Me
When I'm not working on Stealing Time you can find me on my social media at the links below. I look forward to talking with you!
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Saturday, March 23, 2013

Blondie in the Bay - An Adventure After the Hurricane

Blondie in the Bay 


I have a pitiful sight in my garage. I own 3 sea kayaks and a 20 foot canoe and they've done nothing but collect dust in my garage since we moved to dirtville.

Every once in awhile I'll stare longingly at them remembering their glory days when we lived near the beach. At least once a week I'd strap wheels to the back of 'fast and tippy' or 'slow and steady' and pull it down the street to the bay or the ocean for a couple of hours of kayaking. On the days I had a moment to myself I'd head towards the calm waters of the bay.


Fast and Tippy with wheels.
 One of my favorite adventures was a lovely fall day a few days after a hurricane paid us a visit. The storm was a category two hurricane (read 96-110 mph winds) and the damage to the area was extensive. Many homes were flooded, trees were down, and there was major damage to the infrastructure along the shore with entire tracts of power lines down for miles. I was itching to see how everything had fared, having been cut off from anything but the radio since the storm hit.

Storm eating up the sky.

I was also tired of being in the dark, hot house and no power. At least outside there was a semblance of a breeze even if the sun was blaring down on me. A short walk through the tree-lined neighborhood and I launched the sea kayak into the warm water of the back bay with blue herons and osprey flying overhead and the water sparkling brightly in my eyes.
My playground for the day.

A considerable amount of debris left by the storm was in my usual launching place so I had to improvise. Luckily I was wearing my water shoes and didn't mind stepping on some rather questionable sea ick. The water felt delicious on my legs and I settled into 'fast and tippy' its light green color reflecting brightly in the sun. I launched myself using the paddle and began exploring the bay. 

I felt secure in my knowledge that the water was shallow and the sharks were more fond of the oceanfront as I paddled along, glad that 'fast and tippy' was making my journey a bit easier. 'Slow and steady' was well suited for the oceanfront with the constant waves and the treacherous breaker crossings. Thankfully, I was oblivious the great white shark that was tracked in that area a few years later. 

Glad I didn't know a great white shark made regular visit to the bay. 






The bay was lined with luxury homes of the disgustingly rich. I was most definitely not rich (see Blondie at the Beach) or famous and enjoyed ogling their toys. It was nice to know these rich people were suffering along with us regular folk with no power, broken houses, and major damage. Not that I had anything against them. Merely that the hurricane didn't just pick on us.

Tooling along in the bay gave me the inside scoop on many of these houses. From the road it was hard to see how they lived in the lap of luxury. From the bay their backyards were completely visible, fancy yachts and all. Only now there were trees on top of houses, trees on top of yachts, and in some cases yachts on top of trees. 


Lawn yacht anyone?

Contractors were hard at work pumping out the water or removing fallen branches and trees from their otherwise beautifully manicured lawns. One huge brick house in particular caught my attention. A huge loblolly pine fell through the roof and another fallen tree had cracked the seawall. It looked like they had another few trees down in the front lawn as well, although it was hard to see from my vantage point in the kayak. There had to be water inside the house given the severity of the roof damage. 



Trees were down everywhere.

Seeing the devastation around me made me realize how lucky we were. Our house had made it through the storm with no damage or flooding. The seawall at the oceanfront was responsible for the lack of flooding and just been completed a few months before the hurricane. The storm surge brought the wave just to the brink of the wall, and had it not been there would have brought the ocean directly to our front yard two blocks away since it was all downhill. Our house was a single story ranch surrounded by two and three story homes leaving us in a pocket of safety from the damaging 100 mile an hour winds.

An hour of exploring and my bottle of water was nearly gone. Rather ironic that I was surrounded by hundreds of homes with seven or more bathrooms and none available to me. I was left with few options. A very lovely winding path in long sea grass was a perfect unseen place. The footing is rather difficult back there, not to mention the various crabs, fish and creepy crawlies that may take advantage of me in my moment of relief. 


Please Mr. Crab, please don't pinch me!


I eased my legs over the side of the kayak but it took me awhile to muster the courage to lower myself into the murky water, with all the imagined horrible biting critters unseen below the surface. Luckily I had lifeguard ninja skills as a quick draw McGraw and was back in the kayak all bits accounted for in no time.

I miraculously managed to get back into 'fast and tippy' without losing the paddle, my sunglasses, or my water and continued on my journey. By hour three I decided to head back home to see if the power was back on. A hot shower and air conditioning would be a great end to this day.

As it turned out power was not restored for another week and a half to our area near the beach and even longer for some lower lying areas. Our street happened to be one of the higher elevations in the entire area leaving us with less water damage from the torrential rains. The soggier areas had a lot more damage as a result of the loosened roots creating more fallen trees.

Returning to my small, inexpensive, yet undamaged house I definitely appreciated my lot in life. Our house made it through the storm with no damage at all and after what I'd seen that day it seemed like a miracle.

Although I didn't live in the lap of luxury like many of my neighbors, I still was able to enjoy the gorgeous bay and the sandy beach. More importantly I had the love of my family and friends and no amount of money could buy that. Life isn't about how much you have but how much you enjoy what you are given. I definitely have a full appreciation of all the good things in my life, even if I am living it in dirtville now. 

Connect With Me

When I'm not working on Stealing Time you can find me on my social media at the links below. I hope to have my novel completed by spring 2013 with book two close behind.

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Blondie's Liebster Award #2



Liebster Blog Award #2
My awesome Aussie friend, Rachel Amphlett, nominated me for the Liebster Blog. Thank you so much Rachel for this distinguished honor. Mwah! Be sure to check out her website and thriller novel, White Gold, here. It looks like an amazing read! 

The purpose of the Liebster Blog Award is to recognize blogs with fewer than 200 followers that deserve a look. This is my second nom in as many months. How exciting, eh? My job is to list 11 random facts about me, answer Rachel's questions and to nominate 11 new bloggers, who should bask in the Liebster glow (by that I mean post a blog linking back here with 11 random facts about you, answer my 11 questions and nominate 11 new bloggers). Let's get right to it. 

11 Random Facts about Me

1. My mom is 5'2"and my dad is 6'2". I am thankfully somewhere in between.

2. I've been to 6 countries. Meh, not great for the rest of the world but for an ugly American, not too shabby! I've been to the UK (All of it including England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland), Switzerland, Bermuda, Italy, and Canada. Plus of course the USA.

Countries I've been to.
3.  I was born a poor black child. Not really, but I love that line from the Jerk. 

4. I'm a bit of an anglophile (and what ever you call someone who loves the Irish and Scots as well). If you're from the UK I would love for you to leave me a boo message stat at audioboo.fm. I've got English, Irish and a few Scots in the novel so any fodder would be greatly appreciated! 
5. I've lived in 8 different states. One of my favorites is Virginia.  Did you know that more US Presidents were born in Virginia than any other state? Now you can say you learned something today (you're welcome). Isn't their state flag lovely?

Anyone know why he's stepping on that dude?  
Oh, that's King George III! Anglophile or not don't mess with Virginia! 
6.  I've been working on my novel, Stealing Time, for 7 years. I'm working on the last 4 chapters. (I've been saying that for a month now. One of my characters has hijacked my novel. A crazy Scot, by the way, so I had to let her have her way. Sigh.)
My upcoming novel. You can read the prologue 
here. Blondie in the Hurricane

7. Through my previous job I met Al Gore twice. First time I was too shy to eke out a single word. The second time I was determined to make an impression. Let's just say Al and the secret service dudes were a bit nervous about my exuberance. Impression made.
Al Gore was scared of me!
8. Last summer I traveled to 13 states on vacation. See my blog: Blondie in the Atlantic Coast for more pics. 
Ended the vacation in Stonington, Maine,
a quaint little town outside of Bar Harbor. 

9. I love medical stuff. Favorite show a few years back was Dr. G. Medical Examiner. Don't recommend watching the autopsies during dinner although if you're trying to lose weight...
Dr. G. Medical Examiner. Yeah, she does autopsies. Yum!
10. I did some modeling in my earlier days. Strangest job was modeling for an artists painting a tarot deck. Here is one of the cards.


This is me, or at least the artist's
rendition of me.
11.  I've seen every episode of Spongebob in the last month. It's all my kids want to watch when they're sick. Let's just say we've not had a great month. Thank you stomach flu. 


Rachel's 11 Questions For Me

1.    What’s your favorite album cover and why?
The first thing that comes to mind is Michael Jackson's  Thriller. Why? Because he at that point was black, had a nose, AND was super cool. Who would ever have guessed that none of that would be true 30 years later? Rather symbolic of the moral decline of pop culture, don't you think?

Michael Jackson -- Thriller. Surprise ending for the King of Pop -- Propofol. 
2. You’ve got the chance to travel back in time and be in your favourite movie. Which movie, and which character do you choose and why?

 To be completely honest, I'd rather eat a snake than star in a movie. Do I have to pick? Hmmmm, I'd have to pick The Ugly Truth opposite Gerard Butler for obvious reasons.  Another choice would be Brigadoon with Gene Kelly to advise them to, at all costs, avoid this costume horror:
Travel back in time to prevent the atrocity of these God awful shorts in Brigadoon. Have ye nev'r heard of a kilt, lad?

3.    You’ve been offered the chance to interview a person of your choosing. Who would you  choose – and what’s your opening question?

 I would love to interview John Adams, our second President. I'm a descendant of his cousin Sam, you know of the beer fame? Opening line: So tell me about the Adams family (cue theme song...dun dun dun deh. Snap, snap.)

John Adams -- so tell me about the Adams family?
4.    You’ve been asked to speak about writing in front of a class of 12-year olds. What advice aren’t you going to give them?

Be a writer -- it's full of fame and fortune (NOT!)
5.    What’s the worst (repeatable!) joke you’ve ever heard?

 What does a mermaid wear to math class? An algae-bra. 
An Algae-bra! Get it?
Or, what my son came home with today: "Mom, someone called you an owl today.  I provided  the requisite answer: "Who?" Yeah, hook line and sinker.
"Who? Who?"

6.    Relaxing holiday or action holiday? And where?

Definitely an action holiday neck deep in some form of water. Where? First choice would be Bermuda. See my blog Blondie in Bermuda for a full picture. (Doubt me? See Blondie in the Pond or Blondie on the Reef!)

7.    You’ve got the chance to go back to your schooldays. What would you do differently?

I would have more confidence. I was awesome -- I just didn't know it yet. A few years ago I went to one of my class reunions. Over a cold beverage one of the 'popular' girls told me that  back in the day she wondered why I had so much confidence. I surely didn't feel that way at the time. My parents divorced when I was seven and it set me up for a damaged young ego. 

 That conversation changed how I thought of my younger self. That maybe despite the insecurities I felt I was a much stronger person that I realized.  One of the things I'm trying to instill in my kids is self confidence. We all make better decisions if we believe in ourselves. I want my kids to trust their instincts and stick up for themselves when it really counts. Think of what I could have done in high school if I knew then what I know now?

8.    Your house is burning down, you’ve got the family and the pets out. The flames are  making their way towards your bookshelves … and you can only save one. Which book do you rescue, and why?

I'll have to say the photo album my sister put together for me when I turned 16. I don't really have any valuable books and definitely not any I'd risk my life to save.

9.    You can be a superhero for the day (or a villain). Who are you going to be and why?  (And yes, you get to wear the costume with the cape too if that sort of thing floats your boat.)

I'm not really into super heroes but if you're gonna make me answer that it'd have to be a hot female version of Aquaman. If you've read my blog you know how I feel about the water -- how frigging cool would it be have aqua super powers?

You made me do it. If I have to pick I'll be a sexy Aquawoman 
as a super hero. No cape needed.
10.   Animal, vegetable or mineral?

Animal. I'll let you ponder on that.

11.   If you could play an instrument, what would it be and why? (And if you can already play an instrument, pick another!)

Another great question Rachel. I already play the flute, recorder, piano and guitar. None of them well anymore, but I was first flute in high school and in the marching band. I guess I'd have to pick saxophone.   
Who doesn't like sax?

Questions for My Nominees:


1.  What is your favorite line from a movie and why?

 2.  What celebrity do you think you resemble or perhaps people have told you look like? I had a guy gush over me in a store hands flapping in excitement. "Oh my Gawd, you look just like Olivia Newton John in Grease. The slutty version."  Nice, huh? He was talking about my hair -- I assure you I was dressed very demurely. 

 3.  Share a favorite line or paragraph from your novel. 

 4. Name 3 things that you love about being a writer.

 5.  What is your favorite place on the planet?

 6. What was your favorite character to write? Why? 
7.  If you were guaranteed to be safely returned unharmed what risky thrill would you try (i.e., Bungee jumping, free diving, scuba with sharks.)

 8.   Put a link to your favorite blog post here. Tell us why it's your favorite.

 9.   What is your favorite band or singer?

10.  Pop, rock, opera, classical, folk, rap... what's your favorite type of music?

11.  What author has inspired your writing the most?

My Nominees for the Liebster Blog Award

Be sure to check out these great authors and bloggers hand selected by me.

 1. Dan C. Chamberlain

 2. Kevin Hill Author/Writer ... for those lovers of travel. 

 3.  Roland Garcia The Eclectic Life

 4.  Joey Francisco Soul and Sweet Tea

 5.  R.C. Lewis Crossing the Helix

 6. G.A. Albrethsen

 7. Seumas Gallacher

 8.  Joanne Wadsworth

 9.  Joshua Stern Adventurer, dreamer, author

 10. Carol Hedges I write, I sleep, I try to resist cake

 11.  K.S. Haigwood The Dream of a Writer

 12.  Terry Tyler Terry Tyler's Blog

 13.  Brendy Caldwell The Shore

Connect With Me
When I'm not working on Stealing Time you can find me on my social media at the links below. I hope to have my novel completed by spring 2013 with book two close behind.
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Friday, February 1, 2013

Blondie in the Reef


Blondie in the Reef

KJ Waters


I just had the most amazing day at Discovery Cove in Orlando. This is a SeaWorld related water park and has to be one of my favorite places on the planet, after Bermuda and perhaps Scotland. This is not your ordinary water park. Discovery Cove is the place where you can swim with dolphins, sting rays, tropical birds and fish. No lie, get right in there and touch the critters! The fam and I did just that today.

We arrived at the beautifully landscaped park at 7:45 am and headed to the 'free' alfresco buffet breakfast. My daughter likes to call it free, but as much as we paid to get in I've got a different take on that.

Dolphin Experience

Meet Squiggy -- and she didn't even eat me!

After breakfast we arrived for our appointment with our dolphin (never thought I'd write that). We gathered with a group of people and sat through the dolphin orientation. Then, and only then, were we allowed to step into the ice cold dolphin pool for a half an hour of dolphin 101.



We fed the dolphin, pet it, and had our pictures taken kissing it. The size of this gorgeous creature was impressive, much larger up close and personal than when you see it from a distance. I was the only one who scared the bejesus out of the thing when I put my hand on its belly during the photo shoot. Luckily it didn't eat me. Then a real treat -- they let us hang on to the dorsal fin and ride it about 20 yards. My son was fascinated with Squiggy, our dolphin, and all things science. He was not so thrilled about being waist deep in ice water with a 500 pound carnivore. 

Lazy River
After dolphin U we geared up with vest, mask, and snorkel and headed directly to the lazy river. The sandy beach leading up to it squished wonderfully under my feet and the water was deliciously warm. The lazy river is not your typical blue painted cement job either. It is surrounded Florida's finest -- palm trees, flowering bushes of every possible color, and tons of gorgeous flowers and foliage.


The bed of the river is a mixture of sand and river rocks and the water varies in depth, adding to the real river feel, ranging from 3 feet to over 8 feet deep.


Five minutes of blissful floating down river a waterfall appeared drowning any hope of you loungers keeping your gorgeous locks dry. This waterfall keeps the birds from making an escape out of the aviary. Yes, I said aviary right in the middle of the lazy river. Cool, huh? Beautiful pink spoonbills welcomed us and there were birds aquatic and otherwise chirping and flitting about.

This peacock was our personal greeter for the aviary.
You can stay in the lazy river if you like or you can exit via a stairwell that leads to the rest of the aviary. We did both, having floated along the river for three or four passes. A male peacock was the greeter welcoming us and followed us around.

We passed a station where they gave us a dish of various diced fruits and veggies. The kids enjoyed feeding the birds that landed right on us to eat out of the bowl. There were all sorts of winged critters I'd never seen before along with the usual parrots and parakeets. We didn't even get pooped on, which wouldn't have been too bad since you're in your bathing suit.  A half an hour of birds was plenty and we made our way back to the lazy river for a few more passes.


The Reef
The reef chock-o-block full of fish.
After the air warmed up a bit we made our way over to the reef. This was a truly magical place chock-o-block (to quote Steve Erwin) full of aquatic life. At first glance it looks like the rocky shore line of Monterey, California, minus the palm trees. Standing on shore looking into the water all I could see was a few dark shapes and expected a somewhat tame experience. I stepped into the cold water slipping on my mask and put my face in the water. The sheer beauty of what I saw took my breath away.

A huge fluorescent blue fish darted out of my reach. I looked to my left and saw a deep cavern running through the middle of the reef and in it a dozen or more sting rays of every possible size  floating through the water reminding me of birds in flight. They ranged from 2 to over 10 feet if you don't count the tail as long as me.

I was itching to explore every corner of this watery heaven, however, my children were not so keen. My son did not get the water gene and spent a whopping 5 minutes with the mask and snorkel on feet firmly planted on the ground. Shorty-girl is a water bug but at 4 years old she was not thrilled about a hundred slimy friends in the water with her.

After a torturous half hour of appeasing them, I left them (with an adult, so don't get all huffy) to explore with my underwater camera in tow. I found a shallow area where I could stand and video a coffee table sized sting ray and as it moved towards me I backed up, stepping on another 8 foot ray. Crikey! Scared the daylights out of me but the monster didn't seem to mind. They clip the stingers, like a finger nail, so there is no danger from these gentle creatures. Even with that fact firmly planted in my head Steve's fate was constantly in the back of my mind. It unnerved me to be surrounded by the huge rays, at least at first. Here is the video I took:

Swimming with Rays

There was a glass enclosed section holding a dozen or more sharks of all different shapes and sizes. It was amazing to swim right up to the glass and 'swim' with them. Black tipped, tiger, bull, and nurse, sharks all swam through the blue water just feet away from me. Never appreciated glass so much in my life! 

My family pulled me kicking and screaming out of the reef to get our 'free' hot lunch around 2:00 and then we made it back to the reef and lazy river. The kids were watered out by about 4:00. They played in the sand while I floated neck deep in the warm lagoon and slurped on sweet tea soaking up the watery loveliness.

At 5:30 the park closed. I was devastated. I couldn't believe they were going to kick me out of my new-found heaven. We packed up our gear and headed back to the condo my head full of glorious sun filled blue water splashing dreams. But I will be back! If you are in Orlando don't miss this amazing water park!


Connect With Me

When I'm not working on Stealing Time you can find me on my social media at the links below. I hope to have my novel completed by spring 2013 with book two close behind.

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Location: Discovery Cove Way, Orlando, FL 32821, USA
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