This weekend we checked off another box on our Spring Happenings List... We visited St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park and the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We had plans to go to Palm Coast to celebrate Grandma's birthday this weekend and when we asked her what she wanted to do, she said the Alligator Farm and Lighthouse. So... here we are.
We started our day pretty early because we wanted to be out of our house by 7am. We almost hit that goal. We were out a few minutes after but the drive was easy and we made it to Palm Coast right on time. Will spent about half of the drive talking about seeing all the "chomp chomps". We might have another alligator lover in our midst. Kenzie (in typical Kenzie fashion) was asking 4,000 questions. She was quite unsure when we told her that some alligators have tails longer than she is tall. After arriving, we took a few minutes to potty and regroup and then headed out to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (henceforth called the "zoo"). We haven't driven up through the area since the hurricane last year, I guess. We saw a lot of the destruction that they are still cleaning up. Our favorite beach in the area (Jungle Hut) is actually closed for the next couple of months so that they can restore it.
Side note: We have realized that we have entered a new stage in our lives (finally?) We no longer have to carry around our stroller. (It's the little things that get me.) We take the double Disney and probably will for years to come just because of the nature of Disney, but we can totally do a lot of things without it or our umbrella stroller at this point. We knew the zoo wasn't huge and we remember last time we brought the umbrella stroller to something like this when we went to the Florida Aquarium last summer and Will never sat in it until I made him as we were leaving, mainly so I wouldn't feel like I pushed it around as nothing more than a bag holder. Kenzie hasn't ridden in a stroller other than the double when we go on long walks or at Disney in years and we are moving on up with Will now too. Sometimes that makes me a bit sad but we can also see our horizons broadening. Times are changing and our family is growing up. We are prepared to be able to do more and more with the kids now and I'm loving this stage we are in right now.
Our tickets had been pre-purchased for the zoo so it was a quick process to get inside. Everyone was given a gator stamp on their hand so that we could exit and re-enter through the day. This gator stamp was probably one of the best parts for the kids. They would randomly say "Gator power!" throughout the day and then fist bump. It sort of reminded me of Captain Planet (and I just dated myself). Right at the entrance were the albino alligators including some adorable babies. They were so cute.
Then you entered and the large pit was in front of you with some massive gators. I know there must be a more formal name for that area... but I can't remember it. I wish our pictures did them justice. They were huge! We were walking around looking at them when my high school friend appeared. Lauren works at the zoo and when we let her know we were going to be there, she said she would come by on her day off to see us and meet the kiddos. I probably haven't seen Lauren in 15 or so years. It was so great to get to see her! Kenzie immediately had to get a hug from Ms. Lauren too. We had told the kids about her job and she pretty much ranked at the top of their cool people list. Knowing people in the right places is awesome. She wandered around the zoo with us and patiently answered any question I asked. And I asked a lot. She mentioned once that she sometimes comes in with others and has to remember that they may not be as excited as her. Little did she know that I was the perfect person to "geek out" over all these awesome animals with. Haha!
There were so many cool animals. The cobra was awesome and we got to hear a bit about when he first came to the zoo and would launch himself at the glass of his enclosure and give some of the visitors quite the fright. I might have lost it and gone running. Or needed to have my heart restarted if he did that while we were there. We were able to see the Indian Gharial that they successfully hatched not long ago. He was so cute. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great picture of him because he was sort of hidden in his tank. You can check him out on their Facebook page though. This is the first Indian Gharial to be hatched in captivity outside of its native area. Quite impressive! Will seemed to really enjoy the snakes. I must admit, while I have an intense interest in alligators... snakes do not rank as high on my list. Someone has to love them though. Kenzie made friends with a Komodo Dragon (whose name I cannot currently remember but we did learn that the zoo thought he was a she at first and tried to mate her only to learn through a CAT scan that "she" was a "he" so that wasn't going to work out.) My ever silly husband clarified that it wasn't a matter of just lifting his tail to check one way or the other.
We also got a chance to see Maximo. He is this massive saltwater croc with an underwater viewing area. He was laying right against the glass when we got there and the kids were super impressed. How could they not be? His girlfriend, Sydney, was there too but she was at the opposite end of the enclosure. We were also able to see some of their babies that were adorable.
The huge swamp area was quite impressive. There are over 200 gators (and I totally apologize if I have any of these facts wrong... it was a lot. I asked a lot of questions and got a lot of answers so some of my facts may be off.) I asked if any had names. I was told that about 4 did but most did not. Apparently they remove the eggs when they are laid in the area which is super intimidating. There were a ton of nesting birds hanging around. People were on the walkways with lenses on their cameras that probably cost more than our cars taking photos of them. We asked if people have ever dropped things in the swamp and were told that they do. Then sometimes they get upset that the staff won't retrieve them... um. Did you hear the part about the 200 gators? There are probably some well dressed (because of hats and sunglasses that I'm sure ended up in there), amateur photographer gators in there now.
We got to see some of Lauren's favorite animals in the park, the Galapagos Tortoises. They were awesome. We learned that Debbie (I think... there were a lot of names) just became a first time mommy at 90 years young. What?? So crazy.
The vultures were awesome too and we learned that the zoo's staff has learned that if they remove the eggs when they are laid and hatch them themselves before putting them back in the nests, they have a better outcome. Apparently they use dummy eggs when they take the real ones and when they return the baby birds, the parents take to them because they didn't know they were ever taken. Seriously cool.
We were able to watch part of the show they do in the gator area at the front with the big boys. The kids were getting a bit tired at that point as we had been walking around for an hour plus. I did learn that each gator in the enclosure has a name and they actually respond to them. I verified that with Lauren and she said that it was in fact, true. (I wasn't sure if maybe it was a half truth told to the crowd but even if only some of them responded, I would have been impressed.) Mad Max seemed to be one of the few alligators willing to play along with the trainer in the enclosure for the show as most of the other guys seemed to want to be in the sun and left alone. Before we left, we had to check out the playground. The kids knew it was there because we had mentioned it earlier and they caught a glimpse of it through the vulture's enclosure on the other side. Once they knew about it, they were never going to let it go so we let them play for a bit. It also let Lauren and me catch up some more so I enjoyed that. Then, Lauren made all of our days. She asked if we wanted to head up to the photo booth area at the front of the park and hold a gator. Um... yes.
The kids thought it was so cool that she was able to just walk back and pick up the little guy that was the designated picture taker of the day. I asked how a gator is chosen and she said there is an enclosure in the back that they keep the ones this size in. She basically said whatever gator is closest the door gets chosen. Maybe they really like their moment in the spotlight... who knows. Both kids pet the gator while Lauren held it. Will seemed to want to hold its hand. It was funny. I think he was impressed with the claws. Then they were offered the opportunity to hold it. Kenzie jumped at that chance. Will wasn't as sure so he didn't want to hold it. He was okay petting it... not so much having it sit on his lap. Oh well. I was able to hold the little guy too. He was so cute.
We were so impressed with the zoo. We highly recommend it to anyone in the area. It isn't some roadside attraction like some people may believe and if you actually pay attention, you get the zoo vibe and can learn about the actual research they do and the cool conservation things they are able to accomplish. We were also super thankful to Lauren for coming out. It was nice to reconnect with her and hopefully I will get to see her again soon since we don't actually live that far apart. She really made our trip special and we are thankful for the unofficial tour (and patience with all my crazy questions.)
After the zoo we headed over to lunch. In the brief 10 minutes it took to get there, Will fell asleep. Ugh. This kid sleeps anywhere which is sometime (usually) a blessing but sometimes it is more annoying than anything. When he's tired... he's tired. We elected to go to The Conch House for lunch. We have been there a few times and knew the food was yummy. We sat inside because it was so windy and chilly outside but we sat right next to the window with a great view. Will continued to sleep on my lap for about 20 minutes until we decided we needed to try to wake him up so he could eat. Well, he was not happy about that. He ended up in a foul mood and eventually had to be removed from the restaurant to chill out. When he finally calmed down we were able to go back inside and join the family again. He was okay after that. He didn't eat much but he hasn't been eating a ton lately. I think he just isn't growing a lot right now which might be good because all his 2T pants are too short and I don't want to buy too many new pairs since we are leaving winter behind fairly quickly. Kenzie ate everything though. I think she might have tried to taste the napkin on the table if she was given the chance. After lunch we walked out on the dock to see some of the boats. We didn't stay too long though because of the wind.
After lunch we headed over to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. There is the lighthouse and a museum there so we thought it would be fun. Once we were all inside, Steven and I elected to climb the lighthouse while Grandma and Grandaddy took the kids to play on the playground.
The lighthouse has 219 steps or the equivalent of 14 stories. There are 8 landings on the way up that you can stop and rest at... but we didn't. Maybe we should have. We were both a bit winded when we arrived at the top. It didn't last long though and we were able to enjoy the view. If we thought it was windy at the bottom... the wind at the top was nuts! We thought it even rivaled the Pali Lookout in Oahu. That was even more wind but this seemed close. We spent some time circling the lighthouse and taking some pictures before heading down. Going down 219 stairs was far easier than going up. Unfortunately, neither kid was tall enough to climb it. The limit is 44 inches minimum so Kenzie is about an inch too short and Will is definitely not tall enough. We are planning on going to Bill Baggs this summer and climbing that lighthouse which the kids may be tall enough for so hopefully Kenzie will get to go up. She really wanted to this time. Which is sort of weird because she is terrified of heights right now most of the time. I think she would have climbed it but then freaked out at the top when she realized how high she was. So it's probably better she didn't go.
The kids loved the playground at the lighthouse, too. They love playgrounds in general but this one looked like a ship so it was extra cool. Kenzie promptly made a friend that was sitting on the bench on the bottom of the ship drawing. She was an older kid but she was really sweet.
They also loved the keeper's house (museum) you could look around. They drove a ship, had an impromptu tea party and enjoyed looking around. They were setting up for what looked like a night road race that started and ended in front of the lighthouse with an after party at the lighthouse as we were leaving so we wanted to head out so that we beat the crowds coming in (and also because we had to go to Publix for picnic foods on the way back to Grandma and Grandaddy's house). Random thought... think they were going to let those runners climb the lighthouse after the race? And could they? Not sure how long the race was... 5k? Sure. Climb it. 10k... eh, maybe. Half or full marathon? No way, no how.
We stopped at Publix on the way back to the house and picked up some fried chicken and a cake for Grandma's birthday. We planned to head out to a park for a picnic around 5 but as we went to pack up the car, we realized that the sky was pretty dark and the wind was even crazier, it seemed. After debating some, we elected to move our picnic to their back porch. It ended up working out really well. It didn't rain while we were eating but about 15 minutes after we came inside, it started. So, I think if we had gone out, we would have been rained on. I think we made the right call. It had also been a huge day for all of us. Will had taken a 30 minute nap. Kenzie had not even taken a cat nap and we were all tired. Will even considered going to sleep on his chair while eating. It didn't last long and he was fine... but he seemed to think about it.
After dinner we brought out the cake and sang Happy Birthday to Grandma. The kids both downed their pieces.
Then it was time for a bath before we headed out. We knew we would be getting home late and had church on Sunday so we wanted them to be bathed. Plus, that just works out best for us a lot of the time. I don't think either kid made it to I-95 before they were both snoring away. We made it home in good time and both kids transitioned to bed easily. It was a jam packed day but we had a ton of fun. One more item checked off the Spring Happenings list. Still so much fun to be had.
We actually spent some time this last week trying to put some Spring Happenings events on the calendar to make sure we have time to try to do all of them. They are often subject to changes due to weather as the majority of them are outside and so bad weather could derail us, but we had to get it together to try to make sure we get everything in there. After looking at it, we have a CRAZY busy spring season. Our goal is to finish our Spring Happenings activities by Memorial Day as that sort of signals the start of "summer" for us and will be when we start our Bucket List. (We just don't sit around well...)
We started our day pretty early because we wanted to be out of our house by 7am. We almost hit that goal. We were out a few minutes after but the drive was easy and we made it to Palm Coast right on time. Will spent about half of the drive talking about seeing all the "chomp chomps". We might have another alligator lover in our midst. Kenzie (in typical Kenzie fashion) was asking 4,000 questions. She was quite unsure when we told her that some alligators have tails longer than she is tall. After arriving, we took a few minutes to potty and regroup and then headed out to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (henceforth called the "zoo"). We haven't driven up through the area since the hurricane last year, I guess. We saw a lot of the destruction that they are still cleaning up. Our favorite beach in the area (Jungle Hut) is actually closed for the next couple of months so that they can restore it.
Side note: We have realized that we have entered a new stage in our lives (finally?) We no longer have to carry around our stroller. (It's the little things that get me.) We take the double Disney and probably will for years to come just because of the nature of Disney, but we can totally do a lot of things without it or our umbrella stroller at this point. We knew the zoo wasn't huge and we remember last time we brought the umbrella stroller to something like this when we went to the Florida Aquarium last summer and Will never sat in it until I made him as we were leaving, mainly so I wouldn't feel like I pushed it around as nothing more than a bag holder. Kenzie hasn't ridden in a stroller other than the double when we go on long walks or at Disney in years and we are moving on up with Will now too. Sometimes that makes me a bit sad but we can also see our horizons broadening. Times are changing and our family is growing up. We are prepared to be able to do more and more with the kids now and I'm loving this stage we are in right now.
Our tickets had been pre-purchased for the zoo so it was a quick process to get inside. Everyone was given a gator stamp on their hand so that we could exit and re-enter through the day. This gator stamp was probably one of the best parts for the kids. They would randomly say "Gator power!" throughout the day and then fist bump. It sort of reminded me of Captain Planet (and I just dated myself). Right at the entrance were the albino alligators including some adorable babies. They were so cute.
Then you entered and the large pit was in front of you with some massive gators. I know there must be a more formal name for that area... but I can't remember it. I wish our pictures did them justice. They were huge! We were walking around looking at them when my high school friend appeared. Lauren works at the zoo and when we let her know we were going to be there, she said she would come by on her day off to see us and meet the kiddos. I probably haven't seen Lauren in 15 or so years. It was so great to get to see her! Kenzie immediately had to get a hug from Ms. Lauren too. We had told the kids about her job and she pretty much ranked at the top of their cool people list. Knowing people in the right places is awesome. She wandered around the zoo with us and patiently answered any question I asked. And I asked a lot. She mentioned once that she sometimes comes in with others and has to remember that they may not be as excited as her. Little did she know that I was the perfect person to "geek out" over all these awesome animals with. Haha!
There were so many cool animals. The cobra was awesome and we got to hear a bit about when he first came to the zoo and would launch himself at the glass of his enclosure and give some of the visitors quite the fright. I might have lost it and gone running. Or needed to have my heart restarted if he did that while we were there. We were able to see the Indian Gharial that they successfully hatched not long ago. He was so cute. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great picture of him because he was sort of hidden in his tank. You can check him out on their Facebook page though. This is the first Indian Gharial to be hatched in captivity outside of its native area. Quite impressive! Will seemed to really enjoy the snakes. I must admit, while I have an intense interest in alligators... snakes do not rank as high on my list. Someone has to love them though. Kenzie made friends with a Komodo Dragon (whose name I cannot currently remember but we did learn that the zoo thought he was a she at first and tried to mate her only to learn through a CAT scan that "she" was a "he" so that wasn't going to work out.) My ever silly husband clarified that it wasn't a matter of just lifting his tail to check one way or the other.
We also got a chance to see Maximo. He is this massive saltwater croc with an underwater viewing area. He was laying right against the glass when we got there and the kids were super impressed. How could they not be? His girlfriend, Sydney, was there too but she was at the opposite end of the enclosure. We were also able to see some of their babies that were adorable.
The huge swamp area was quite impressive. There are over 200 gators (and I totally apologize if I have any of these facts wrong... it was a lot. I asked a lot of questions and got a lot of answers so some of my facts may be off.) I asked if any had names. I was told that about 4 did but most did not. Apparently they remove the eggs when they are laid in the area which is super intimidating. There were a ton of nesting birds hanging around. People were on the walkways with lenses on their cameras that probably cost more than our cars taking photos of them. We asked if people have ever dropped things in the swamp and were told that they do. Then sometimes they get upset that the staff won't retrieve them... um. Did you hear the part about the 200 gators? There are probably some well dressed (because of hats and sunglasses that I'm sure ended up in there), amateur photographer gators in there now.
We got to see some of Lauren's favorite animals in the park, the Galapagos Tortoises. They were awesome. We learned that Debbie (I think... there were a lot of names) just became a first time mommy at 90 years young. What?? So crazy.
The vultures were awesome too and we learned that the zoo's staff has learned that if they remove the eggs when they are laid and hatch them themselves before putting them back in the nests, they have a better outcome. Apparently they use dummy eggs when they take the real ones and when they return the baby birds, the parents take to them because they didn't know they were ever taken. Seriously cool.
We were able to watch part of the show they do in the gator area at the front with the big boys. The kids were getting a bit tired at that point as we had been walking around for an hour plus. I did learn that each gator in the enclosure has a name and they actually respond to them. I verified that with Lauren and she said that it was in fact, true. (I wasn't sure if maybe it was a half truth told to the crowd but even if only some of them responded, I would have been impressed.) Mad Max seemed to be one of the few alligators willing to play along with the trainer in the enclosure for the show as most of the other guys seemed to want to be in the sun and left alone. Before we left, we had to check out the playground. The kids knew it was there because we had mentioned it earlier and they caught a glimpse of it through the vulture's enclosure on the other side. Once they knew about it, they were never going to let it go so we let them play for a bit. It also let Lauren and me catch up some more so I enjoyed that. Then, Lauren made all of our days. She asked if we wanted to head up to the photo booth area at the front of the park and hold a gator. Um... yes.
The kids thought it was so cool that she was able to just walk back and pick up the little guy that was the designated picture taker of the day. I asked how a gator is chosen and she said there is an enclosure in the back that they keep the ones this size in. She basically said whatever gator is closest the door gets chosen. Maybe they really like their moment in the spotlight... who knows. Both kids pet the gator while Lauren held it. Will seemed to want to hold its hand. It was funny. I think he was impressed with the claws. Then they were offered the opportunity to hold it. Kenzie jumped at that chance. Will wasn't as sure so he didn't want to hold it. He was okay petting it... not so much having it sit on his lap. Oh well. I was able to hold the little guy too. He was so cute.
We were so impressed with the zoo. We highly recommend it to anyone in the area. It isn't some roadside attraction like some people may believe and if you actually pay attention, you get the zoo vibe and can learn about the actual research they do and the cool conservation things they are able to accomplish. We were also super thankful to Lauren for coming out. It was nice to reconnect with her and hopefully I will get to see her again soon since we don't actually live that far apart. She really made our trip special and we are thankful for the unofficial tour (and patience with all my crazy questions.)
After the zoo we headed over to lunch. In the brief 10 minutes it took to get there, Will fell asleep. Ugh. This kid sleeps anywhere which is sometime (usually) a blessing but sometimes it is more annoying than anything. When he's tired... he's tired. We elected to go to The Conch House for lunch. We have been there a few times and knew the food was yummy. We sat inside because it was so windy and chilly outside but we sat right next to the window with a great view. Will continued to sleep on my lap for about 20 minutes until we decided we needed to try to wake him up so he could eat. Well, he was not happy about that. He ended up in a foul mood and eventually had to be removed from the restaurant to chill out. When he finally calmed down we were able to go back inside and join the family again. He was okay after that. He didn't eat much but he hasn't been eating a ton lately. I think he just isn't growing a lot right now which might be good because all his 2T pants are too short and I don't want to buy too many new pairs since we are leaving winter behind fairly quickly. Kenzie ate everything though. I think she might have tried to taste the napkin on the table if she was given the chance. After lunch we walked out on the dock to see some of the boats. We didn't stay too long though because of the wind.
After lunch we headed over to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. There is the lighthouse and a museum there so we thought it would be fun. Once we were all inside, Steven and I elected to climb the lighthouse while Grandma and Grandaddy took the kids to play on the playground.
The lighthouse has 219 steps or the equivalent of 14 stories. There are 8 landings on the way up that you can stop and rest at... but we didn't. Maybe we should have. We were both a bit winded when we arrived at the top. It didn't last long though and we were able to enjoy the view. If we thought it was windy at the bottom... the wind at the top was nuts! We thought it even rivaled the Pali Lookout in Oahu. That was even more wind but this seemed close. We spent some time circling the lighthouse and taking some pictures before heading down. Going down 219 stairs was far easier than going up. Unfortunately, neither kid was tall enough to climb it. The limit is 44 inches minimum so Kenzie is about an inch too short and Will is definitely not tall enough. We are planning on going to Bill Baggs this summer and climbing that lighthouse which the kids may be tall enough for so hopefully Kenzie will get to go up. She really wanted to this time. Which is sort of weird because she is terrified of heights right now most of the time. I think she would have climbed it but then freaked out at the top when she realized how high she was. So it's probably better she didn't go.
The kids loved the playground at the lighthouse, too. They love playgrounds in general but this one looked like a ship so it was extra cool. Kenzie promptly made a friend that was sitting on the bench on the bottom of the ship drawing. She was an older kid but she was really sweet.
They also loved the keeper's house (museum) you could look around. They drove a ship, had an impromptu tea party and enjoyed looking around. They were setting up for what looked like a night road race that started and ended in front of the lighthouse with an after party at the lighthouse as we were leaving so we wanted to head out so that we beat the crowds coming in (and also because we had to go to Publix for picnic foods on the way back to Grandma and Grandaddy's house). Random thought... think they were going to let those runners climb the lighthouse after the race? And could they? Not sure how long the race was... 5k? Sure. Climb it. 10k... eh, maybe. Half or full marathon? No way, no how.
We stopped at Publix on the way back to the house and picked up some fried chicken and a cake for Grandma's birthday. We planned to head out to a park for a picnic around 5 but as we went to pack up the car, we realized that the sky was pretty dark and the wind was even crazier, it seemed. After debating some, we elected to move our picnic to their back porch. It ended up working out really well. It didn't rain while we were eating but about 15 minutes after we came inside, it started. So, I think if we had gone out, we would have been rained on. I think we made the right call. It had also been a huge day for all of us. Will had taken a 30 minute nap. Kenzie had not even taken a cat nap and we were all tired. Will even considered going to sleep on his chair while eating. It didn't last long and he was fine... but he seemed to think about it.
After dinner we brought out the cake and sang Happy Birthday to Grandma. The kids both downed their pieces.
Then it was time for a bath before we headed out. We knew we would be getting home late and had church on Sunday so we wanted them to be bathed. Plus, that just works out best for us a lot of the time. I don't think either kid made it to I-95 before they were both snoring away. We made it home in good time and both kids transitioned to bed easily. It was a jam packed day but we had a ton of fun. One more item checked off the Spring Happenings list. Still so much fun to be had.
We actually spent some time this last week trying to put some Spring Happenings events on the calendar to make sure we have time to try to do all of them. They are often subject to changes due to weather as the majority of them are outside and so bad weather could derail us, but we had to get it together to try to make sure we get everything in there. After looking at it, we have a CRAZY busy spring season. Our goal is to finish our Spring Happenings activities by Memorial Day as that sort of signals the start of "summer" for us and will be when we start our Bucket List. (We just don't sit around well...)
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