Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac

We are watching Isaac as I type this, and our hearts go out to those that are in his path right now.  We were fortunate that we felt minimal effects as he went by us and waved.  Mostly we were gifted with lots of rain, and after a summer of lots of rain that meant the already saturated ground was even more mushy.

It also meant the Peace River is up over the banks again.  And too close for comfort right now.  Here is a shot from our house.

We are still hanging onto the hope that we won't have to move!  Beyond that, the area is back to normal.  The cows are still clinging to the shade under the trees.

What? You don't see the shade from the tree?  That's Florida shade, y'all! The horses are still enjoying the benefit of all the grass that the rain has brought them. 

 And I still drive by my favorite treehouse, untouched by Mother Nature, and imagine it being my secret getaway.

The Florida Aquarium in Tampa

For some strange reason, we have never visited this aquarium before.  Even after other people told us how wonderful it was, we still had not made it over to Tampa to visit.  This past weekend we decided enough was enough, it was time to see this aquarium.  I am so glad we did because it was overall a really nice aquarium.

The exhibits were laid out in zones: Wetlands, Bays and Beaches, Coral Reef and Ocean Commotion.  Each area gave information and examples of creatures that would live there.

There was also a Splash Zone and Dolphin Cruise, neither of which we enjoyed.  The only downside to this place was it was so horribly crowded that at times it was hard to even see the animals due to people crowding the exhibit.  I imagine that weekdays are less crowded so we might have to come back again sometime during the week.

My favorite parts were this:

So cool to watch but no way could I imagine doing that!  I did have fun with this guy who came up close and then splashed me:

 

We had a really nice day here and I do hope we can visit again sometime.