Winter on the Silver River

The last time mom and dad were here, way back in '04, I took them to Silver Springs Park to go on the glass bottom boats. This time we took them up the Silver River on our pontoon. I love the river in the spring and summer, and it's really beautiful in the fall, too. During the winter it's kinda drab with most of the trees being without leaves. But you can really see the wildlife!

It was a long way up the river before we saw the 1st gator, but after that, they were everywhere.

This is a big momma gator. Her babies are on the log behind her.

There was a momma and 8 babies here! I couldn't fit them all in and still be close enough to see them.

Gator babies are babies you DON'T want to play with hahaha!
I didn't take pics of every gator we saw, but dad did!

Dad took lots of pictures!

Mom took lots of pics and posted them to FaceBook :)

There were so many birds out, too. I didn't take pics of many of the birds, because I have so many already.

I also have tons of pics of turtles on logs, but one or two more is ok, right?

I never tire of taking pics of the monkeys!

They are so fun to watch! And the babies are adorable!

I love being able to see the bottom of the river through the clear, clean water :)

So pretty! This is in about 17 feet of water!

It's still as mesmerizing now as it was when I was a little kid.

Ha! MORE monkeys!

There's a little one in the palmetto.

Oh, I love the monkeys!

and Cypress knees!

They just look so very cool! Cypress trees use these "knees" to breathe.

I thought this tree made an interesting picture, too.

I love the Silver River! And I love sharing it with my loved one's and visitors!
Would you like to take a trip up the river?

Beach Boating and Babies

My best friend since junior high school has been visiting, and brought her youngest daughter and 4 grandkids. We had a great time seeing each other again! Dee came to visit last year in April with her middle daughter and we went to Clearwater. If you missed those posts you can see them here and here.

I'm still amazed that we are both grandma's now (and have been for quite some time!) Who knew time would fly by so fast?

Dee's daughter Kloiah hadn't ever been to Daytona Beach, or to Florida either...so off to Daytona we went.

Slathering these little white Alaskan girls with sunscreen was a top priority.

The sky was such a pretty shade of blue.

 We pitched our chairs and beach gear near the pier and the boardwalk.

 I'm the one in the white hat, with the white (and red) skin who looks like she isn't from here. Dee is the tan one...she likes to soak up as much sun as possible.

On Saturday we took them out on the boat. We usually give out of towners a trip up and down the Silver River. Every trip is different, too.

When a tree falls into and across the river, only the parts blocking the river get cut and taken away.

Can you see the alligator in this picture?

The kids loved looking for wildlife.

Florida is the only state with wild rhesus monkeys!
We were very fortunate to get to see two troops of monkeys. We've never seen more than one troop in a trip before.

It's always a treat to see the monkeys!

The second troop of monkeys had several babies holding onto their momma's.

 Look really close....the baby monkeys are small, some even tiny.

See him holding onto her? He is underneath and has legs and arms wrapped around her.

I never tire of the monkey's or the river!

My favorite monkey was this little guy!

Nawwww...He's not a monkey. But the way he uses his toes you would think he was!

I adore baby feet!

Hopefully Dee will visit again next year, and maybe her hubby Paul will get to come with her. Right now he is visiting his family in Newfoundland. (An update to Paul's bio...they have 10 grandkids and one on the way!)

Dee left Sunday morning, so it's time for me to get back to work!