PBnJ5 Adventures

Well my friends, time flies when you are having fun and feeling off your schedule. We have been busy and had my mom with us for the last 11 days. As you can tell from the title we have also been moving often and that all adds up to not getting my blog post done on the weekly basis that I shoot for. So hold on to your hats and lets get you updated.

Tarpon Springs

We had a great campsite right on the water of the Anclote River that leads into the Gulf of Mexico. There is nothing better than waking up and seeing water outside your window. It was a huge breath of fresh air after our last less than pleasant stay. It was so quiet and we slept so great! We enjoyed our coffee by the water every morning immensely.

One day we took a walk through the main strip of Tarpon Springs. It is famous for it’s Sponges and is full of little shops. It is predominantly a Greek society and had some of the best Greek food I have ever had. It was amazing. All I have to say is flaming cheese and Baklava Cheesecake – OPA! The boys loved yelling that.

We also rented a pontoon one day and went for a cruise. We went over to Anclote Key which is only accessible by boat and enjoyed the beautiful sea shell filled beach. The Gulf was a little choppy for our little boat but Luke is an expert boat driver and we had an awesome time. Our happy place is on the water in a boat.

We also had an opportunity to meet up with my Dad’s cousin, Tuck, and his wife. We explored the Tarpon Springs Aquarium with them and the boys got to feed some sharks. It was memorable for sure. (I would not highly recommend this aquarium as it was old and run down and smelled pretty awful, but they say they are moving to a new space. I hope so cause all I wanted to do was wash my hands after being in there.) We finished with a great dinner at Rusty Bellies, which I would recommended, and danced around giant puddles as it rained most of the day and evening.
We also found a great park with Tucker’s new favorite piece of playground equipment, the zip line. He is really into working out and insisted that he needed to have his shirt off so he didn’t get it sweaty while he we exercising. Heaven help me when I have three boys competing for who has bigger muscles, Luke better stay on his game is all I can say.

Grandma was gifted a great room at the local Marriott from some friends of hers, so the boys had several nights of sleepovers. It was so nice to be down a kid or two at night and enjoy some one on one time with them and get better sleep. Overall Tarpon Springs was a nice stop for a few days that I would have enjoyed seeing more of.

Lake Panasoffkee

We headed north about 90 minutes to our next stop at Lake Panasoffkee. Not a lake I would recommend swimming in as there were Gator warning signs at the dock but I hear it has some of the best Bass fishing in the country. Lake Pan is actually a very small town with no hotels so mom stayed in a “rustic” cabin on the RV property. Not as conducive to sleepovers, but the boys trucked it down to her cabin first thing in the morning to get Grandma. Since there is not much to do in the actual city of Lake Pan we were so thankful that we had a great “construction site” at our RV spot for the boys to get their trucks and tractors out and get to work. They have decided that their company is called 3 Brothers Excavation and their slogan is “We get the job done”. I kid you not, they come up with this stuff, mostly Tucker, but I think they might be onto something with this one.

We also took a fun adventure to the Paquette International Harvester Museum. Even though all the boys bleed green and yellow the love of tractors of any color runs deep. It was such a fun experience to see tons of tractors, memorabilia, and many other McCormick/Farmall/International products. There was one token John Deere that is super rare, only two exist. If you are into tractors at all I would highly recommend it if you are ever near the Leesburg area.

Wildwood

Our next stop was a rigorous 15 minute drive up the road to Wildwood. We originally had another resort booked for a week but after reading reviews we decided to change our plans so we had to book two resorts for shorter time, hence the constant moving. But I am thankful we made the change. We have now been at Wildwood for a week and have enjoyed this resort. We hit the jackpot and the RVs on either side of us are both out of town for the whole week which has made for a very quiet and relaxing spot. The people at this resort are very friendly, everyone waves and so many people have stopped and talked to the boys. This has made a great spot for Max to learn to ride his bike without his training wheels!!! He took them off and hasn’t looked back. He almost has it mastered, we are so proud of him. I think he is great entertainment for all the grandparents around us. They comment often on how much better he gets every day. I sort of feel like we are doing a civic service of being entertainment for the people around us.

Our big adventure this week and our last hurrah with Grandma was going to see the Manatees in Crystal River. There is a spring where the Manatees come and hangout when the Gulf gets too cold for them. They are such crazy looking animals and we learned that their closest relative is actually the elephant. I just like to throw out random factoids for you.

We also found another great park that has a big cable zip line in it that we have now visited twice because we just can’t get enough. This park is part of the Venetian Gardens that is attached to Lake Harris. It is made up of several small islands all connected by bridges. We saw turtles, birds, and a gator! Don’t worry he was just a small one chilling in the water.

Grandma had another hotel for this stop and we were so blessed to have all three boys go for a sleep over with Grandma the last night she was with us. She is a champ and we are so thankful that she came and saw what this crazy life we are living is all about. Since Grandma has left we have had some normal life days of cleaning, getting caught up on naps, sifting through paperwork, and of course the never ending piles of laundry. Even though we are on this incredible journey we still have to do the basics of life.

I saw a quote on the front of Magnolia Journal waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store yesterday that caught me. It said, “trusting that where you are today matters for who you’ll be tomorrow”. I find so much meaning and peace in that simple statement. I know that God has called us on this journey and I know that he has big plans for our lives. What I don’t know is what those plans are or when we will know what they are. But I have to believe that God did not call us out here on this journey just for a fun “vacation”. The change and growth that I have seen in all of us is exciting. I am changed. My faith has changed. This journey has allowed me to step back from “normal” and examine and heal from past events. I am learning new things about myself every day. I am learning who I am in Christ and the deep love that he has for me. I am learning to enjoy my boys and slow down enough to just sit and cuddle in the mornings with them. I am learning forgiveness, communication, and most importantly I am learning what the peace that passes all understanding really feels like. I am okay with not knowing who I will be or what I will be doing tomorrow, because I know that the growth and change that I am experiencing today will guide me into my tomorrow.

Live your Adventure,

Julie