Travelog for: Ossa

I went to Emerald Acres today with Yum Yum to look at the pretty horses. 



Here I am with American Pie:

Cool Jules arrived this afternoon!  We made some popcorn and went outside to eat it by the lake.

I went on a nature hike today with Cool Jules and Yum Yum at Matheson Hammock Park.  The nature trails were a little spooky, but cool! 

Here we are sitting on a log:


We had to climb over this big boulder so we could continue down the trail:


We found a little cave!

Today I went on a 15-mile bike ride with Cool Jules and Yum Yum through Shark Valley in the Everglades.

We stopped at Otter Cave nature trail and I read a sign:


and we looked into some holes in the rock which had water underneath:


Here I am looking at the Everglades:


We stopped at this observation tower and had lunch:




After lunch, I saw an alligator!

Cool Jules and I had planned on going to the beach today, but it's raining!


Prince Charming could tell that we were very disappointed, so he offered to read us a story.  He read Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman.  What a great story!  It's about an aeronaut who meets a polar bear in the North Pole and they have a grand adventure together.


We found a game in the back of the book, so we decided to play it.  The game is called Perils of the Pole - sounds exciting!

Today our host took Cool Jules and me for a bike ride down Old Cutler Road, which is in a very beautiful section of town.  Our bike ride started at Cartagena Circle where we saw a pair of giant shoes!





Nearby we saw a pretty little canal:


Then we got on the bike and rode down Old Cutler Road until we got to the beach at Matheson Hammock Park where we stopped for lunch.




After lunch, we walked over to see Biscayne Bay and we could see downtown Miami in the distance.


And we climbed up this mangrove tree that was growing in the water!


After enjoying the beach for awhile, we decided to continue our bike ride.  We found this little cemetery in the middle of a residential area!  We read a sign there that said it was one of the oldest cemeteries in the area.


I was little scared to go into the cemetery, but Cool Jules thought it would be fun to look around.  It was a pretty little cemetery.  We found a gravestone of someone who was in the Civil War and he died over a hundred years ago!


After that we rode back to the car and came home.

This morning I got up early to watch the Sunrise Balloon Race!  The hot air balloon race started yesterday and finished up today.  The finish line was at the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, which is close to where my host lives.  So, Cool Jules and I set up a lawn chair outside to watch the balloons go by.


Here comes the balloons!

Today our host took Cool Jules and me to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park! 

We took a picnic lunch, so we decided to eat first.  We shared a Cuban sandwich and some Fritos.


After lunch, we went to see the lighthouse. 


Here we are sitting on a brick wall with the old top of the lighthouse in the background.  The lighthouse is made from bricks and then whitewashed!


Then we read a sign about the lighthouse.


Our host asked if we wanted to go to the top of the lighthouse, and, of course, we said yes!  We had to climb 109 steps to get to the top!  Whew! what a climb!


We had to stop about halfway to rest and look out this window.


The view from the top was spectacular (and a little scary because we were on a tiny catwalk on the outside of the lighthouse).  Here is the view of the beach from the top:


And the view of the lighthouse keeper's house:


And the view of the end of Cape Florida and the Atlantic Ocean:


Then we climbed down and went to see the lighthouse keeper's house, which has been made into a museum.


Here is the cistern the lighthouse keeper used to collect rainwater:


We went inside the house and we signed the guest register.


Outside again, we found this base marker.  What is it for?


Someone was nice enough to put a sign nearby that told about the base marker.


After all the walking around, we rested on this bench for awhile.


Then we went to the beach and played in the sand for awhile.



Wow, what a fun day we had!

Today was a sad day 
My good friend, Cool Jules left to continue on with his travels.  I will miss you, Cool Jules!  I hope we will meet again one day!

Jimbo the Elephant arrived a couple days ago, and I invited him to dinner and a movie.

We had Cuban-style picadillo and rice for dinner:


After dinner, we watched The Golden Compass:


We enjoyed the movie very much!  Afterwards, I introduced him to Snowshoe, the cat and we had a nice chat:


Snowshoe gave me a kiss!

Decker the lion arrived today from Russia!  We visited with him outside and shared some cookies.

Today is Mother's Day!  We got up early to make banana pancakes for our host.

First, we gathered all the ingredients that we will need:


We mixed up the batter and then cooked the pancakes in a pan.  The pancakes turned out to be very delicious!


Happy Mother's Day!

Jimbo, Decker, and I went for a bike ride around the neighborhood with our host.

Here we are in the bike's basket:


We stopped at this pretty little fountain:

Today I went to downtown Miami with Decker, Jimbo Elephant, and Jadzia Tam.  We stopped at Bayside Marketplace and Bayfront Park.

I saw a candy shop at Bayside called the Sweet Factory!  My host told me it was too early in the morning for candy, so we didn't go in. 


After window shopping at Bayside, we went to Bayfront Park which was next to Bayside.  I forgot all about the candy store when I saw some of the big buildings in  downtown Miami:


And I saw a statue of Christopher Columbus:


Here I am with Decker, Jimbo Elephant, and Jadzia Tam enjoying the sunshine and pretty view:




On the way back to my host's house, I sat on the dashboard with Decker and Jimbo Elephant:

I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this afternoon with Dilbert, Jimbo Elephant, and HitchaRideDooey.  We all enjoyed the movie - lots of action Indy style,  Soviet agents, creepy skeletons, and cute ground hogs!

After the movie, we met this girl who was playing outside of the theater: