The Florida Trip, Part Three: Wednesday

This chapter of the Florida trip covers just one day instead of two. That’s only because there are so many cute pics here, and if I went to Thursday there would be too many!

Wednesday morning was slightly cloudy, but it wasn’t raining. The forecast had said it might get sunny in the afternoon, but rather than sit in the condo waiting for that to happen, Marcus, Emrick and I set out on our own late Wednesday morning to go see the two different houses I lived in as a child. This is something I like to do whenever I am back in Jacksonville; I am always interested to see if there have been any drastic changes to the property. The last time I saw them was in the summer of 2007. I took pictures then too, so I think it will be fun to compare here.

First, we drove past the house on Shady Drive. This is the house my parents lived in when I was born, and I was in Kindergarten when we moved into a bigger house just a few miles away. I remember having my 6th birthday party in the new house. Despite being so young when I moved out of that house on Shady Drive, I remember it pretty vividly. Here it is in 2007:

Shady Drive house, 2007.

And here is it how it looked a couple of weeks ago:

Shady Drive house, 2012.

Are you blown away by the difference?! Neither was I!

2012

2012

But this next comparison will be a little more noteworthy. After Shady Drive, we drove by the house on Sanchez Road. This is the house we lived in from the time I was nearly six until I was twelve and a half. The summer before my seventh grade year, we moved to Ohio. So during pretty much all of my elementary school years (except the first half of K), we lived in the house on Sanchez. Here is what it looked like when I saw it in 2007:

Sanchez Road house, 2007.

It had been painted a bright yellow, which I actually rather liked. It was more cheerful than the grayish tan color it had been when we lived in it, and it made the house seem more welcoming. Other than the color, though, it pretty much looked the same as I remembered: a small second story (which is just a master suite) sitting on top of a large first story; and of course, there’s that flat roof that had been the bane of my parents’ existence. How many leaks did it spring when we lived there, Dad? The roof looks interesting and modern, but in an area that gets as much rain as Florida does, it proved to be problematic. This house was designed by the guy who built it and lived in it back in 1970: an architect with five children, if I recall.

Anyway, it was hard to imagine that anything about this house, besides the color, could change all that much. But here is what it looked like in June:

Sanchez Road house, 2012.

NOW are you blown away by the difference? Well, neither am I, but I do find it interesting. I actually already knew the roof had been changed. I googled this address a couple of years ago in a fit of bored curiosity, and found a real estate listing which boasted that the house had a “new, pitched roof”. Somehow, though, this isn’t exactly what I pictured. I think adding a pitched roof is a great idea, and hopefully solves the leaking issue, but something about the way the new roof slides down into the overhang from the old roof makes the whole thing look like a giant grass hut. Or maybe a space ship. It’s just not doing it for me, but whatever. I don’t live there!

After seeing the Sanchez Road house, we drove around the neighborhood a little bit. I noticed that the Pic N Save was now a Planet Fitness, but that the Winn Dixie, located in the same parking lot, was still there.

Next, we got some lunch.

After lunch, we hurried back to the condo because the sun was out! We decided to spend this first sunny day at the condo pool instead of the beach, mainly because we had bought Emrick an inflatable ring and we wanted him to try it out. He had never been in a swimming pool before!

We got into our bathing suits; dressed Pookie in a swim diaper and trunks then coated him in sunblock; and then a bunch of us headed down to the pool area.

Marcus walks Pookie down the stairs to the pool. That kid has no idea what he’s in for.

We gave him a minute to look at the pool before we brought him in. He pretty clearly didn’t know what to make of this big, blue hole filled with water, and he certainly showed no interest in entering it!

What IS that thing?

Since the water was cold and we knew it would be a little scary to Emrick at first, I sat on the edge of the pool and held him in my arms for a minute. Then I turned him around and dipped his feet in the pool to see what he thought:

POOKIE NO LIKE.

So doing a slow introduction to the pool wasn’t going to work. Or it was going to take hours. I got Pookie calmed down and then I asked Marcus, who was already in the pool, to bring the ring to the edge. My plan was to just pop Pookie into the ring, knowing that he would be upset right away, but hoping that Marcus’ presence right there with the ring would help Pookie calm down pretty quickly. And that’s pretty much exactly what happened. Little Pookie adapted pretty quickly.

Emrick, looking like he’s almost enjoying himself.

From left to right: my nephew Ed, Marcus, Emrick, my nephew Nick (in hot tub), my brother Chris

That pucker you see Emrick doing is actually the shape his mouth makes when he says, “pool”, a word which he had just learned that day and which he recited over and over again while floating along. Darn cute.

Poool? Poool? Poool?

So that was Emrick’s first pool experience. While he never seemed 100% relaxed, he definitely didn’t mind being in the pool beyond those first few seconds. And now that he knows the word, he has identified several water-filled reservoirs, including the laundry room sink, as a “pool.” He’ll get it all sorted out eventually.

After the pool, it was time to shower and dress because the family was headed to the Bonefish Grill for dinner that night.

Sporting a snazzy new shirt, Pookie was ready to live it up.

Once we were seated, Emrick was very excited to be given crayons he could use to color on the paper table cover.

We had a large party and the place was packed, so our group was split between two tables. We were a little disappointed to be split up like that, but the distance certainly didn’t damper things for Emrick and his Aunt Samantha. They had a pretty good peek-a-boo game going at one point.

Ever since we’ve been back, Emrick has had a renewed love for peek-a-boo. He covers his eyes with his hands for a few seconds, then the opens them up, grins wide and says, “boo boo!”

Once the hiding game with Sam was over, Emrick lifted his shirt and pointed to his belly button. Isn’t that how all dinners out should be concluded?

That was Wednesday, folks! Tune in to find out what happened in the last days of the week. There will be canons!

As an aside, Emrick has been running a fever since this morning (Monday). Actually, I think it started Sunday night because his sleep was rough last night. I’ve been giving him baby/toddler Advil, which brings his fever down pretty quickly, but after a few hours, his body temp climbs back up. He doesn’t appear to have any other symptoms so far, but we’re keeping an eye on his temperature obviously. It is not a low-grade fever. I have gotten readings as high as 101.5. But according to several sources on the infallible internet, a child’s fever generally doesn’t need professional attention unless it is over 103 (in an underarm reading, which is what we do), or if it’s accompanied by serious symptoms. Like I said, the fever itself seems to be the only ailment, so I am hoping it doesn’t get worse. I hate for my poor Pookie to be sick.