Kung-fu Panda and Other Amusements
Jun. 9th, 2008 07:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liralenWe walked to breakfast at an associated diner with the hotel we were staying at, and it was a pretty good diner. Jet got French Toast and was in seven-year-old heaven.
We headed south for a bit and went Anne's Beach a little ways back. It was an odd beach, with muddy, clayish sand and lots of shells and glass, so Jet even got a little glass cut while digging around, but that didn't really deter him. There were mangrove trees all along the shore, sinking roots into the sea. The ocean was odd there, too, as the water really was like along the shore of a small lake, as there were just small laplets; but there was a tide, a fairly significant one.
I think the reef just a bit beyond the shore must have completely absorbed any wave action or something, but it just felt... weird. Plus it was so shallow John went out a good 100 yards from shore and was barely up to his waist in the water. It was just... odd and haunting in all kinds of ways. Not quite ocean, not quite lake, not quite anything familiar.
So we didn't stay too long, though I got a good shot of one of the mangrove trees right in the sea water. And we walked along some of the trails and saw hundreds of little crabs around a puddle of fresh water. They were all sitting in the water and swarmed out when we approached, looking like nothing more than a huge number of... well.. bugs. Jet got a good look at them, and was fascinated. I was a bit leery but then was okay once I saw them as just crabs. But then there were hole dens all around us and some of them were as big around as my leg. I had no desire to see what usually lived in them.
A big storm started blowing in from the west, and we headed to the car and headed out as it pulled in.
That's when I realized how odd it must be to East Coast folks to see a sunset over the water! It was only then that I figured it out... because being a West Coast girl of COURSE the sun sets over the water! What's the big deal? laughter It really amused me that in Key West they all came out to see the sunset on the water. Finally I figured out no one here sees the sun set on the water except in these particular circumstances...
Lunch was at Bob's Bunz, one of our old co-worker's name is Bob, and it was too funny to not stop and get a picture. I ended up with just a cup of soup and John had a salad, and Jet inhaled a whole plate of grilled cheese and fries. So it was a good stop.
There was a huge storm blowing in over the mainland. We decided not to stop at a State park to go into the swamps. We did do my traditional stop at a grocery store just to see what there was to see that was different than in our grocery stores. That was fun to do. By the time we reached the same hotel we'd stayed at the first night, it was just pouring rain. We're going to the Everglades tomorrow, so today we looked for a movie theater and went and watched Kung-Fu Panda. It was a lot sweeter and more fun than I would have thought from the commercials. Jet really enjoyed it a lot, so I'll definitely recommend it.
We had dinner at the Mutineer, and it was quite good. John's macademia nut grouper was really sweet and tender and well crusted. My crispy duck (I finally got tired of seafood) was crisp and tasty and tender, and I actually was able to eat half a duck with the bones still in with my fork and butter knife. It was useful to know poultry anatomy, I'll admit, but it was still tender enough to do it.
The three of us had a good swim in the bathtub warm swimming pool. One of three teenage boys jumped in and complained, jokingly, "It's not even as warm as the ocean!" That was pretty funny. Dessert was a free bag of microwave popcorn that came with our room and a huge, ripe mango from the fruit stand near here. It's going to be a treasured resource. Then we watched "Dirty Jobs" until it was time to go to sleep.
Tomorrow should be a bigger day.
We headed south for a bit and went Anne's Beach a little ways back. It was an odd beach, with muddy, clayish sand and lots of shells and glass, so Jet even got a little glass cut while digging around, but that didn't really deter him. There were mangrove trees all along the shore, sinking roots into the sea. The ocean was odd there, too, as the water really was like along the shore of a small lake, as there were just small laplets; but there was a tide, a fairly significant one.
I think the reef just a bit beyond the shore must have completely absorbed any wave action or something, but it just felt... weird. Plus it was so shallow John went out a good 100 yards from shore and was barely up to his waist in the water. It was just... odd and haunting in all kinds of ways. Not quite ocean, not quite lake, not quite anything familiar.
So we didn't stay too long, though I got a good shot of one of the mangrove trees right in the sea water. And we walked along some of the trails and saw hundreds of little crabs around a puddle of fresh water. They were all sitting in the water and swarmed out when we approached, looking like nothing more than a huge number of... well.. bugs. Jet got a good look at them, and was fascinated. I was a bit leery but then was okay once I saw them as just crabs. But then there were hole dens all around us and some of them were as big around as my leg. I had no desire to see what usually lived in them.
A big storm started blowing in from the west, and we headed to the car and headed out as it pulled in.
That's when I realized how odd it must be to East Coast folks to see a sunset over the water! It was only then that I figured it out... because being a West Coast girl of COURSE the sun sets over the water! What's the big deal? laughter It really amused me that in Key West they all came out to see the sunset on the water. Finally I figured out no one here sees the sun set on the water except in these particular circumstances...
Lunch was at Bob's Bunz, one of our old co-worker's name is Bob, and it was too funny to not stop and get a picture. I ended up with just a cup of soup and John had a salad, and Jet inhaled a whole plate of grilled cheese and fries. So it was a good stop.
There was a huge storm blowing in over the mainland. We decided not to stop at a State park to go into the swamps. We did do my traditional stop at a grocery store just to see what there was to see that was different than in our grocery stores. That was fun to do. By the time we reached the same hotel we'd stayed at the first night, it was just pouring rain. We're going to the Everglades tomorrow, so today we looked for a movie theater and went and watched Kung-Fu Panda. It was a lot sweeter and more fun than I would have thought from the commercials. Jet really enjoyed it a lot, so I'll definitely recommend it.
We had dinner at the Mutineer, and it was quite good. John's macademia nut grouper was really sweet and tender and well crusted. My crispy duck (I finally got tired of seafood) was crisp and tasty and tender, and I actually was able to eat half a duck with the bones still in with my fork and butter knife. It was useful to know poultry anatomy, I'll admit, but it was still tender enough to do it.
The three of us had a good swim in the bathtub warm swimming pool. One of three teenage boys jumped in and complained, jokingly, "It's not even as warm as the ocean!" That was pretty funny. Dessert was a free bag of microwave popcorn that came with our room and a huge, ripe mango from the fruit stand near here. It's going to be a treasured resource. Then we watched "Dirty Jobs" until it was time to go to sleep.
Tomorrow should be a bigger day.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-10 06:29 am (UTC)Yeah, I was surprised at how much I liked it. The early trailers left me feeling pretty borderline about it, but it turned out to be really good.
I have to admit, I kinda fell in love with it just from the opening dream sequence :)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-10 09:49 pm (UTC)It was neat to understand from that how much Jack Black through his character really did love the whole martial arts speel. *hee* I enjoyed that a lot.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 06:08 pm (UTC)Hell, I enjoyed it - it was very true to the inspiring material (old school martial arts films). I really loved Master Oogway, who managed to give me a nudge back to some of the Taoist materials I've been ignoring for a long time. And, as a "grown up", it was good to see Shifu's struggles. That character went through a lot of issues in the movie (loss of an aging mentor, wanting to forcefully Make Things Right, coming to grips with the results of his parenting) that gave some meat for the adults in the audience.
It's already on the DVD-ownership short list, and I might just take N back for another showing.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 06:46 pm (UTC)But... it really fit for me, too.
Yes. There was more meat to it than I expected, and I am pretty sure I'm buying it when it comes out. Hee. Cool to know your opinion as well.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 06:49 pm (UTC)It would be wonderful to see you!!
We're not doing the "gone a whole month" thing this year. I'm too tired of it, after three years of it. And the other years we had work to escape from as a reason. Now we're just taking what we can. If there are particular dates you'd like to see us, just tell us and we'll mark 'em now.
We planned the Florida trip around my
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 07:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 01:36 am (UTC)