Oatland Island Wildlife Center and Tybee Island

Isa loves anything in the big cat family.

Today we ventured to the Oatland Island Wildlife Center.  Michael and I are pretty finicky about supporting wildlife centers because so many of them are poorly managed and terrible to the animals.  This one made both of us happy.  We saw a lot of healthy animals and really enjoyed the two mile loop of trails to see it all.
The cougar was definitely well cared for and was snoozing happily right next to the viewing area. 


 Here we were staring at the sleeping cougar and all of a sudden Gabi has blood on her hands.  There was a moment of mommy panic until I realized she'd pulled out her tooth.  So we cleaned her up and took a picture.  Too bad we didn't remember to get the cougar in it too.


Then we were off to see the alligators and the other animals who were once so injured they can't be returned to the wild.  Owls and eagles, a bobcat and a fox or two, and some beautiful wolves. 

How many alligators can you find?  I think there are four.

Here's an alligator up close. 

Look at the life size bald eagle's nest replica.  This was so exciting for Gabi who has been watching a nesting pair of eagles for months now for school.  I don't think the eggs are quite to scale though.  :)

 I really enjoyed the hiking trail, which at times became a lovely boardwalk.  It was very soothing to walk among the flora and fauna - at least until we saw the alligator warning signs.

 

 But of course we all made it safely back to our car without alligator attack (though we did experience no-see-um attack), and we were off to Tybee Island.

The Tybee Island Lighthouse is really fun to see.

 

Its official.  My kids LOVE the beach.  Being five hours from the ocean was the number one reason I was able to relocate them from everything they had ever known to a small town in Alabama.  Today they literally jumped for joy.  Okay, once the first one had the idea it really just kept rolling, but still, they were really happy.

 I have been keeping these little plaid beach cover ups for YEARS waiting for my girls to get big enough to grow into them.












I love being with my kids at the beach too.  They can be AS LOUD as they want (which is especially good for Gabi) and when the beach is this empty they can run and scream without bugging anyone. I love watching them be crazy.  I have always liked the water, but its more fun when they are around.  And I will never tire of a good sandcastle. Luke decided his Messi jersey would make an excellent flag for this one.  He's supposed to be the flagpole. 

After returning to the hotel tonight I discovered that in all our adventuring today we walked almost 10 miles!  And that doesn't include all the crazy running around they did at the beach!  Its no wonder they were so very tired tonight.  That brings the walking total for the last 3 days to 25 miles.  Maybe a slower pace is in order for tomorrow!

Historic Savannah!

Spring break in Alabama means something different than it did in Colorado.  Colorado and the

surrounding areas are still cold in March, but in the deep South, it is mighty fine outside.  So when the opportunity arose for us to tag along with Michael to a SITE conference in Savannah, we jumped at the chance.

Savannah is a very elegant city.  We have spent the last couple days meandering through the historic streets and squares.  There are lovely little cafes and art galleries and antique shops.  But sitting in little cafes and watching the world go by is not an activity that works very well with kids, so we go exploring.

Forsthye Square is definitely our favorite.  For me, its all about the fountain

Why do the words "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" pop into my head when I see this fountain? Anyone know?

But for the kids it is all about the unexpected playground we discovered on the other side of the fountain. 

We have already made trips there the past two mornings.




I wondered what in the world an 11 year old boy would do at a playground.  After about ten minutes he decided to push a little boy on this green spinning contraption (my girls were long gone playing elsewhere by then) and the little kid just followed him around the whole time we were there after that.  I think I should have made a baby brother for Luke.

We did make a couple little sisters  though, and they're super cute.

A lovely fountain in Lafayette square

I love exploring cities, and my kids enjoy it too, but even I reach a limit, so after two full mornings of lush greenery, churches, fountains, and photo shoots, it was time to do something else.

So this afternoon we decided to try out the Georgia State Railroad Museum.  It is built in a roundhouse and that is pretty awesome just in itself.  There are trains there that are more than 100 years old, and they almost all have been restored to working order.  Its fabulous.  I know very little about trains, but they are still awesome.  Michael had a little time to spare today, so he joined us.

 And apparently no trip to Savannah is complete without a trip (or two) to Leopold's ice cream shop.  I had the best pistachio ice cream I have ever tasted there.  Maybe I will find a way to head that direction again tomorrow.....