This past week we decided to take some time to head down to Hartfield for some family fun. We got in late on Wednesday and then got up to head off to Busch Gardens for the day on Thursday. Based on what we heard from others, we were optimistic about Nina being able to ride all the rides there even in a cast, however, we got there and found out that they were going to restrict her from riding some of her favorite roller coasters. Basically, any roller coaster that didn’t have enclosed leg areas were off limits for her, so that ruled out a lot of the ones she wanted to do, but we still had a fun day.
Surprisingly, she was allowed to ride the Tempesto. It’s their newest ride and a very intense looking one if you ask me. Lyla wasn’t tall enough to ride it (not that she’d want to), so she and I waited while Mark and Nina rode. It wasn’t open the last time we were at Busch Gardens, so at least it was a plus that she was able to ride it this time.
We rode everything she was allowed to ride, and we even got to use the handicap entrance to some rides because Guest Services gave her an accessibility bracelet – it allowed her to go to the front of the line without having to wait as long as the ride was on the printed out list of “allowable” rides for her. So, getting the family to the front of the line was the up-side to not being able to ride all the things she wanted.
That evening, we walked down to the water and looked for osprey, eagles, and any other wildlife.
Then everyone was pretty wiped out after the day at Busch Gardens and puppy day care (for Cayenne). Yes, she visited Sandy Creek Pet Resort for the day while we were at BG. You should have seen her when we dropped her off. It was the saddest thing – ears down, tail tucked, looking at the car with big eyes as we drove away. The nice lady working there said she was pretty nervous at first, but then the lady took her on a long walk of the property and that helped her settle in. She sure was happy to see us though when we picked her up that evening.
After some really big storms during the night, we woke up to a beautiful morning at Hartfield. We had contemplated going to Water Country again on Friday, but we were told to expect much of the same in terms of not letting Nina on certain rides because of her cast, plus the day was supposed to get increasingly cloudy as it went on, so we opted for waiting until we visit Water Country again.
The girls did a little fishing in the morning, and Nina caught a catfish.
After fishing we tried a new little place for lunch and the local bowling alley. It ended up being a great way to spend a cloudy afternoon.
Saturday was on tap to be a beautiful day from start to finish, and the girls wanted to go fishing again, so this time we tried a large pond down the street from the house. Again, Nina caught a fish.
Even if they don’t catch much, they seem to enjoy trying. They love to cast out and reel in, and they have a lot more patience for it now than they used to. Of course, that makes someone in the family rather happy…
Lyla really wanted to show the kayaking skills she got while down at Hartfield with the family the weekend of July 4th (when we stayed up here with newly casted Nina). She did a great job kayaking on her own. Cayenne proved to be quite the pest while we were in the kayaks. The first picture is how she spent 99% of her time. The picture next to it (when she’s not swimming inches from the kayak) was the exception. She tried climbing in the kayak with us (not good), and basically just swam right next to the kayak, whining. That’s our velcro vizsla – never one to want to be too far from her people!
After getting cleaned up from kayaking, we tried a local winery – The Dog and Oyster Winery.
Mark and I did a tasting, and the kids decorated oysters and fed treats to the four dogs that the winery has on property.
After that we took a late afternoon stop off at Merroir. We had some oysters and some sea food and enjoyed the beautiful view from our table.
After a fun day, we had a peaceful evening view to round out a fun family trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment