So sorry that I’ve been a bit tardier in posting the last couple of days. Steve is in Michigan for the week and both work and home have been super crazy both yesterday and today!! My mom always tells me
“So goes Monday, so goes the rest of the week” 
…..so if shes right, I am just in for a crazy final week of January. At least is had milded up a bit here: while its wet and mucky outside, a bit of our snow is disappearing as a result.
So, moving on with the report…..
As I have mentioned multiple times, the record-high temperatures were eating us alive on this particular day. By the time we checked out the Zedonks, Zonkeys and Zorses, Jake was sure he was dying of heatstroke and we decided to make our way to the front of the park and call it a day. Had it been cooler and less humid, I am sure we may have opted to participate in one of their animal encounters or purchase some animal food to feed the gators. Right now, though, we were hot and thirsty and ready for some air conditioning and cold beverages.
There were some wild boars off in a quiet corner as we strolled along the pathway, so we thought we’d check them out since we were almost passing right by. As we neared the enclosure, I stopped briefly to put my camera into the camera bag while the guys continued up to the animal habitat. It didn’t seem to want to fit in just right, so I sat my backpack and the case on the ground and readjusted everything so it nestled in as it was designed. I picked up my backpack and slung it back onto my shoulders, then bent to pick up the camera bag off the dusty ground. Just as I did so…….
SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The biggest, beady-eyed, slithery, icky, disgusting Black Racer…..well over 4 feet in length…..passed
right in front of my foot. Close enough, I swear I felt the breeze as he slithered his way past. Since you already know my reptile phobia (alligators excepted), you will appreciate the effort that it took to keep on my feet. I seriously could have passed out right on the spot. Though it shames me a bit to admit it, I let out a rather primal scream at the sight of him, which scared the crap out of the boys but at least hastened the departure of the black racer. My guys came running over just soon enough to see his magnificent length dash into the adjacent bushes and disappear completely from view. Steve grew up on a dairy farm (so he’s seen his share of snakes in the wild), but this one was in a category all its own. I decided right there and then that I didn’t give a hoot to see the wild boars, and we opted to make a quick getaway to the car lest we suffered a second encounter with that nasty beast.
Now, there are signs ALL OVER this park reminding guests that if they see a snake they are not to touch it and to advise park staff of the siting. As we rounded the corner out of the animal park and into the parking lot, two Wild Florida staffers were chatting it up on a golf cart. We stopped to let them know about our chance meeting with Mr. Snake, and they were very eager to know the details….colour? Length? Location? We answered all their questions, and they grinned and assured us “Oh, that’s just a Black Racer. They’re harmless . You weren’t in any danger”. My cheeky son piped up “Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I think Mom almost had a heart attack when it slithered by her foot. Didn’t you hear her scream?”. Thanks kid
. I love it when people get to find out all my weaknesses!!
No one wanted any souvenirs from the gift shop, so we dragged our hot and sticky bodies to the Equinox and cranked the a/c. We had had the foresight to bring along extra bottles of water and leave them in the SUV, so even though they were no longer cold we happily drank them down. Steve pulled out of his parking space, drove down the laneway to the main road, and guess who we found making his way across the laneway?
Yep. A 4.5’ black racer, presumably the same one who scared the bejeezus out of me a few moments before. This time, he was in no particular hurry (I guess lacking a screaming woman behind him, he moves at his own pace
) and as we stopped to watch him slide his way in front of the nose of the vehicle, Steve dutifully offered to run him over if it would make me feel better. Lucky for the snake I’m not a vindictive person
. We let him live…..this was HIS home, after all, and I’m sure he really wasn’t too keen on
me invading
his space…and once he was safely back into the grass, we began the journey back to Orlando.
Now….I really can’t explain what happened after this point in the day, but let’s just say we hit that proverbial vacation wall. I don’t know if it was the heat, the humidity, the pace of the vacation, overtiredness, or a bad case of hormones all around, but we just fell into a bit of a funk. Part way through a virtually silent drive back to the villa, we stopped for lunch at a Checkers but no one really seemed to enjoy either the meal or each other’s company (I didn’t even take out the camera…..whaaaa?
). I could see us growing testy with each other (which I’m sure the boys also identified) but I couldn’t put my finger on why
. Back in the Equinox, you could have heard the crickets chirping as we drove the second leg of the 45 minute commute, and when we arrived back at the villa, we all retreated to our separate corners. We just needed some alone time.
I called mom. Being Christmas Eve Day, she was emotional to have us so far away, and her raw emotions mixed with my weird ones of the afternoon had us both teary and lonely for each other. We talked wistfully about my Dad…how he used to love Christmas, and how much we miss him on these special holidays…..and by the time I got off the phone, my heart was wrung out
. Oy vey.
All in all, it was a quiet night. We tried hitting up bingo at the Cascades Bar & Grill per the activity schedule, but no one seemed to know a thing about it so we eventually gave up. We ruled out mini golf because it was too hot. We grabbed a quick dinner at Flippers in the Crossroads (a large barbecued chicken pizza and a large bacon cheeseburger pizza, a side of breadsticks, a diet Pepsi and two waters for $51.18 including tax) but we still didn't seem to have anything to say to each other, and again, I didn’t take a single photo.
We tried for some hot tub time, but 15 minutes after we got in the water, we decided we were just done: our energy, our interest, our patience. Sometimes, you gotta know when to fold ‘em
.
So there you have it, friends. One of our not-so-perfect family moments, but as we have learned from experience (generally once on every week long vacation): one moment does not a complete disaster make. We live, we learn, we grow, and we own our human-ness. It happens.
Our “Silent Night” ended with a round of hugs
(family rule: no one goes to bed mad…and ya know, despite our stinky moods, there was still a lot of love hangin’ around in that villa) and everyone agreeing that a good, long night’s sleep would cure whatever the heck had befallen us that afternoon and evening. As the Irish Proverb goes: “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for everything”
.
The sun was out when we awoke the following morning: both in that big, beautiful Florida sky AND in our much-improved dispositions
. We had all slept like rocks and felt like a million dollars. There were smiles and laughs all around as we reminisced over our cereal bowls about the evening prior….because, hey, we can find humour in ourselves most times, even at our less-than-stellar moments
.
Up next:
the best Christmas Day, ever 
. SeaWorld, Santa, Shamu and sunshine!!!
(and I promise, lots of photos and less jibber-jabbering!)
Here's a sneak peek of our day to come...just ignore the date on the bottom right.....its wrong, and I'll explain later why:
.
.
. No more spider pics....I promise 
.
.
.
cry per trip. As the years have wore on sometimes it's just a day like yours where everyone is "off". Or sometimes someone is really sick, or sometimes someone is just behaving horridly (including me). We're family, we love each other, and we get over it. I'd be more surprised if the Bo Bina family didn't have a day like that once in awhile.
.
