Friday – Jacksonville Beach

No college visits today, so after an early lunch we headed to the beach.

We made a sandcastle and menagerie.
Elliot and I watching the Xavier game on the beach.
Mari and Susan
Playing ball at the beach.
Family pic
Susan and Rob
For dinner we went to Mellow Mushroom, which had something everyone could eat.

Thursday – Jacksonville University

Candy Cane Lake at the University of Northern Florida. I was disappointed not to see an alligator during our trip.
Golf cart tour at Jacksonville University. I guess there was a lot of ground to cover.
Pool Time
Susan got in the freezing pool.
We made a sandcastle, just before the tide came in.
Shopping at a cool outdoor mall.

Wednesday – Flagler College

Today we drove from Tampa to St. Augustine (to Jacksonville, eventually).

Flagler College – Lovely, but not our favorite
The Flager Cafeteria
Downtown St. Augustine. Lucia likes to get a Dole Whip.
The old city gate.

Monday in Florida – Tampa

Today is our first official day in Florida. Most of our days will have the same format – college tour in the morning, beach or pool in the afternoon.

Sunrise
University of Tampa
Pool Time
Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

Travel Day

No pics from today. We were driving all day – from 9 until 11. It was a long one, but we finished in warm, muggy Florida. Highlights of the drive included Buc-ees, rain, and Chipotle – one of the few restaurants where they have something Lucia and eat and enjoy.

Colorado Visit

This past weekend we went to Colorado to spend the weekend with Andrew. He is on Fall Break at school, which lined up nicely with his birthday. We left Des Moines on Friday, picked up Andrew, and then went to Woodland Park, which is up the hill from Colorado Springs. We spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the area and then on Monday we drove Andrew back to school and headed home.

It was great to see Andrew again and get the gang back together. We all miss having him around.

Hanging out in Andrew’s dorm room.
Touring campus.
The girls and Reggie.
Dinner at In-N-Out
Garden of the Gods.
Climbing
Andrew worked hard to get to this spot.
Mari
Susan and Rob
Family, minus me.
Sunday – We drove up Pikes Peak
We didn’t take the cog railway, but it was cool.
Pikes Peak Visitor Center
Rose and Lucia on a hike.
Susan and Rob on a hike.
The kids, on a hike
Still on a hike
Family pic, with Pikes Peak in the background
Andrew’s birthday dinner at Casa Grande
Andrew’s birthday dessert at Casa Grande
Happy (almost) Birthday, Andrew!

Colorado Getaway

After dropping Andrew off at college, Susan and I got to spend a couple of days in Colorado. We moved to Idaho Springs and hike to St. Mary’s Glacier on Thursday and then Mt. Flora on Friday.

At St. Mary’s Glacier
The view from Mt. Flora.