September 17

Florida Day 6
Read about our trip from the beginning here.

Today we visited the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center. The big attraction here is the stingrays; they have a tank where visitors can pet and feed the rays.

Caleb was pretty excited.

Unfortunately, we happened to be there when the stingray tank was undergoing renovations. That meant no rays. No feeding, no petting, not even any in a tank at Caleb's height. Bummer.

But he wasn't disappointed for long, because he discovered this little fishing boat with toy fishing poles and pretend fish. 

He worked really hard, but needed some help to "catch" one.

We got to pet sea cucumbers and anemones and horseshoe crabs, and then we went for a nature walk to see the Indian River. But the trail was flooded. Double bummer.

Luckily, there was also a big pond full of sea turtles and fish. The kids were fascinated. We were about to leave, when I spotted a fish food dispenser. And then? Miracle of miracles, I found a quarter in my wallet.

Daisy had so much fun feeding the fish!

We had seen everything there was to see, but Caleb was itching to get back to that fishing boat.

Daisy steered,

While Caleb caught more fish.

He was so proud of himself!

You may be able to tell from the steering picture, but Daisy was exhausted. In the five minutes it took us to drive from the Ocean Center to a nearby restaurant for lunch, she was sound asleep. Poor baby - vacations are exhausting!

Read about the next day here.