A date with dolphins in the Florida Keys

When I was a kid I loved to watch the 1964 show Flipper in syndication. It is the one and only mental picture I have of the Florida Keys. So, when it came to planning our trip to the Florida Keys I wanted to make sure the boys had an up close with marine life experience, especially an opportunity to meet dolphins.

While swimming with the dolphins is romantic, and there are plenty of options in the Keys, it is also pricey at $100 or more per person for an encounter. With early swimmers, scuba and snorkeling are also out of the question. Other activities for small kids can also be at a shortage in the Keys -- other than beaches and swimming pools. And to be honest we had that in Hollywood, Fla.

Don't get me wrong. The Florida Keys are lovely, and well worth a visit. Yet may be more geared toward grown-ups -- snorkeling, followed by fruity cocktails, fresh fish and a live band ... fun.

I'm so glad that we discovered Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. I found it on Yelp (searching for "kid friendly activities" in the Florida Keys).  To be honest, other than glass bottom boats, snorkeling and scuba trips it was the only thing that came up. At first I was concerned by its 3.5 star rating. But the negative Nancys had issues with it being geared toward small children -- Hooray for us!

I actually think that they were wrong. It is not geared toward small children. But it is a throw-back, a nostalgic nod to a simpler time when little boys named Sandy and Bud could live on a marine refuge in Southern Florida.

Founded in 1942, Theater of the Sea is the second oldest marine wildlife show in the North America.  It does promote the "swimming with the dolphin experience." But I'd suggest bypassing the "programs" (what they call the swimming with the dolphin, sting ray or sea lion) line, and just buy tickets to the shows. They are so worth it. We got there early at 10 am with the intention to sit up front for each show -- which we did.

We started with the parrot show, followed by the dolphin show and concluding with the sea lion show. The parrot show, was probably the least exciting. Yet, I also think it was Xander's favorite. He loved the parrot tricks and he got to hold a parrot, and he still talks about that.
 
Jonathan and my mother in law headed to the dolphin show to secure seats upfront while the boys and I waited in line to hold a parrot. The dolphin show was a blast, and Xander got picked for the audience participation part. He got to pet a dolphin... which is pretty awesome.

Next was the sea lion show, which was really cute. There is something amazing about watching a sea lion balance a ball on its nose. We also sat up front for this show, and Caleb got chosen to play sea lion ring toss.

After we made the rounds of the shows, we went on a nature walk, took the short bottomless boat ride (where we got a short dolphin show in the center of the boat). And then headed to the beach, where you can feed large tropical blue fish. All in all we spent five hours at Theater of the Sea, and we had an amazing time. Seriously if you are looking for something fun to do with small children in the Florida Keys, Theater of the Sea is it.

RIP Sweet Border Collie

Yesterday we put down our beloved border collie Geddy. Her kidneys had failed and she had stopped eating. As much as I wanted her to die at home, the vet told us that she was in a lot of pain, felt so nauseous she couldn't eat anymore and that bringing her home would be more for us than for her.

Geddy came into our life nearly 15 years ago. She was six months old at the time, and as is the case with many rambunctious, high energy border collies we were her fifth home. Her mother walked into the street when she was five weeks old and was hit and killed by a car. Shortly afterword she left her first home to live with the breeder's son's girlfriend in an apartment with a makeshift yard (a kid's swimming pool filled with dirt). When Geddy became too much for the girlfriend, she dropped her off with the breeder's son, now her ex-boyfriend. Geddy spent the next couple of months in a pen with her litter mate. Finally, the breeder's son returned her to his parent's house where we adopted her.

All of the puppy trauma made for a submissive little dog. She suffered from such great separation anxiety that she used to fill our bedroom with mother nature -- wood chips, leaves, dirt. She destroyed our shoes, baseball caps, ripped apart a couch -- she was a little terror. Yet we had to rebuild her confidence with encouragement -- which was pretty hard to do when you are trying to reassemble your couch and hide the foam before company arrives. But each day she became a better dog.

When she was 18 months old we rescued a golden retriever named Barney as a companion for Geddy and some much needed adult dog supervision. The two dogs were best friends until Barney's death four years later (at age 14 of kidney failure).

In her prime she was an amazing athlete. A natural frisbee dog. She would lay down in an open field, and from a crouch position, run, jump up in the air, catch a frisbee and then leave it at our feet. Impressive.

She was our constant companion. We took her everywhere with us, to Burning Man, Santa Barbara, on camping trips, hiking, the beach... When we lived in the city she was in a play group with other herding dogs. She was a very happy dog.

But when we had kids her life quickly changed. We left San Francisco for San Jose and a big yard. Geddy was displaced by the boys. All of the time we once spent with Geddy we now committed to our boys. She adapted. She became an elder statesdog. She tolerated  the boys, she kept them in order, herded them, and sometimes corrected them ... And she also left them alone, and pursued other interests, like barking at the mailman and chasing squirrels. Her new favorite place to sleep was under Xander's crib, and then later under his bed. And I think in her own way, she loved the boys and has been very content these last seven years.

We are so sad to say good-bye to Geddy. She was our baby girl. She taught us patience and optimism -- to see her for her potential, and not her puppy trauma. She was loud and rambunctious, smart and sweet. We love you Geddy girl. Rest in peace little border collie.

Alligator Wrangling in the Everglades

One of my favorite books when I was a kid was the Great Escape or the Sewer Story. It was about Silas the alligator, taken as a baby to New York from the Everglades by a vacationing family, who eventually flushed him down the toilet when he got too big. He ended up in the New York sewer with other alligators that staged a great escape back to the Everglades. The book is alas, out of print.

So, on this trip to Florida when we decided we were going to visit the Everglades, I wanted to see alligators. But, Caleb and Xander were adamant that there was to be no alligator wrestling. Instead we headed out on a alligator wrangling adventure.

After reviewing options on Yelp, we opted for the Everglades Safari Tours for our alligator seeking air boat ride and wild life show. I was most impressed that they made a point to tell us that there was no alligator wrestling.

It was an amazing trip. The 45 minute ride through the Everglades was fun. Strangely enough I didn't really know what the Everglades were before the trip. I thought they were a swamp. But our tour operator corrected us that the Everglades are not a swamp, but in fact  a slow moving river of rainwater running through high grasses. But seriously, what really is the difference?

During the ride we saw plenty of alligators, birds, haddocks and mangroves. After the air boat ride the adventure really began. The wildlife show was fun, seeing a bunch of large sleepy alligators responding to their names, as a brave trainer presented in the alligator cage.

Afterward we walked around the park. On one side were captive alligators behind a fence, and on the other side was sun bathing "wild" alligators. As we posed for pictures in front the fantastic "wild" reptilians, I kept thinking of the family photos before tragedy strikes. As people hoist their child in front of a lion, or bear or ... alligator for that great photo. I kept the boys on the sidewalk, and stayed a reasonably safe distance away. But the wild ones did have significantly more appeal from a photo perspective.

For three dollars each, the boys were also able to hold a baby alligator too. For Caleb and Xander this was one of the highlights of our Florida trip. The baby alligator was little and cute. Cute enough to take back to San Jose, but what we do with him when he got too big?

The Spirited Traveler at Age 5

Last year I wrote about the challenges and strategies for traveling with my spirited little boy Caleb. Mary Sheedy Kurcinka describes a spirited child as "a normal child who is more. They are more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, energetic." My little Caleb continues to be all these things... and more!

The biggest challenge with traveling with him -- gosh even mornings, bedtime, or weekends when we don't travel at all -- is the transitions. When we travel he is on pins and needles leading up to the transition, takes awhile to settle into the transition ... lather, rinse, repeat.  One of the outcomes of major transitions, like travel, is the inevitable meltdown.

I love traveling with my boys, but airports tend to be the focal point for a transition-induced meltdown. Especially at the end of the trip when Caleb is disappointed and sad that the trip is over, and anxious about going home. As we embarked on our Florida trip I flashed back to last year's end of the trip airport meltdown.  "Meltdown at Gate C3" was a full kicking, screaming, yelling and crying meltdown in the middle of the gate check area as we waited to board the flight.  It was a major scene with people standing around and pointing at us, and saying "I hope that child isn't on our flight." It was over a bag of chips, and much, much more. All of his emotions coalesced in a major meltdown.  

So it was on this the one year anniversary of "Meltdown at Gate C3" I felt some trepidation about the Florida trip. But I'm happy to report it was without incident. We have finally outgrown the meltdown. Yes we did have some minor temper tantrums,  whining, angry outbursts and even a few tears -- but no meltdowns.

I'd like to say it was because of some great parenting trick. We did implement certain strategies to address the meltdowns - before (reading the signs that one was coming, and avoiding situations where Caleb was overly tired, stimulated or hungry), during (giving him a little space, comforting him and letting him win a little bit on something small), and after (discussing with Caleb how he could more appropriately communicate his feelings). But I really think that Caleb at age five finally outgrew the meltdown.

Vacation by Yelp

In 2001 we spent two weeks in Germany, Switzerland and mostly Italy. Most of the trip was planned and booked with recommendations from Rick Steves. Jonathan loves Rick Steves. Every quaint hotel we visited, and tiny little restaurant we frequented was packed with Americans in their 50s flipping through their worn copies of Europe Through the Back Door. We had better luck six years later in Austria, which is less of an American tourist destination than Italy.

We needed a better strategy, and one that works well for everywhere we plan to go. But touristing is hard. How do you get the local recommendations, and avoid the tourist traps without a great guide book?  If you use a web search engine you get lists of activities that are overwhelming, and many times just advertisements.

So today, at least for trips in the US, you can use Yelp, at least we do. Type in "kid activities" in any location and you get a recommendations of things to do. You can check the ratings, read the reviews and bypass the paid for lists. But make sure that you read several of the reviews ... For example, one place that we are planning on visiting has only 3.5 stars. But the worst review says "if you are over 13 stay away, this place is not for you!" As the parent of a 5 and 6 year old I read this as "if you have a 5 and 6 year old go, your kids will have a blast!" Which is in line with what other reviewers said.

A boat tour was listed under "kid activities" which got sucked into the Yelp search engine because one patron complained about kids being on the tour. And how kids shouldn't be allowed on until they are old enough to behave. Since it was a snorkeling and scuba tour -- it probably doesn't meet our requirements for safe fun with our little boys anyway.

We've used Yelp to find our favorite restaurants in Sacramento, and a decent cup of coffee in Michigan after our red-eye.  You can use Yelp for international destinations, but the information is much more spotty, and if you don't speak the local language, you will need to use a translation engine.

I'm relying heavily on Yelp for our upcoming South Florida trip. This time we want to go the Everglades, as well as the Florida Keys. I found the air boat tour and nature show which will give the boys plenty of opportunities to see alligators and mangroves, as well as our activities in the Keys (dolphins and bottomless boats). I also found the restaurants we will be taking the boys to (typing kid-friendly restaurant did the trick).

Will Yelp replace the tourist guide book? Probably not, we love the preset itineraries in Lonely Planet books when traveling in Russia, Asia, Australia or South America, and Rick Steve's wonderful recommendations in Europe ... however, at least for our US trips, we are relying less and less on guide books, and more on Yelp.

Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby Days

Even when Xander was a preschooler I pictured him as a Cub Scout. His interests are nature, science, cooking and art. He likes to be the little helper. When he finished kindergarten, I couldn't wait to sign him up. And although I personally don't like the pack meetings (with 170 families it is too big, runs too long, and starts too late for a school night) -- Xander has, for the most part enjoyed his experience so far.

Enter the Pinewood Derby. Pinewood Derbies are car races of hand built wooden cars that are rolled down a track. The cars are the same weight (5 grams) and it is an exercise in aerodynamics and ingenuity. It is also something targeted at nine year olds. And thus the rub.

With the Pinewood Derby coming in January, Jonathan met the other Tiger Cubs (i.e. first graders) and their parents at a woodworking shop. There they created their cars out of a chunk of wood. Now by they, I mean the parents, since first graders and power tools could be a very messy mix. We then painted the car on New Years Day. Xander helped, but most of the painting was done by me. Then Jonathan attached the wheels and calibrated the weights. You get the point, Xander was barely engaged, and honestly never played with cars so had little interest in building one.

Pinewood Derby weekend was a whole production. The 70 or so cars were run 6 times each  (4 tracks) in the preliminary rounds and then the finalists were run more. All and all two and a half hours of intense racing. Meanwhile, parents were checking their watches, since it was playoff weekend, and everyone wanted to get home to watch the 49ers and Giants play.  And I noticed many of the kids lost interest and started playing video games. The event suffered from the same fate as our pack meetings, it is too large a group for events to be anything other than chaotic and bit boring (it takes a long time for everyone to get a turn). On the bright side, our den leader got feedback that our Tiger cubs were well behaved.

We are still on the fence on Cub Scouts. We like the smaller den meetings, camping trips and group hikes. But it has been a huge time commitment. This month alone, we have the blue and gold dinner, followed by a camping trip.  I'm more reticent to sign Caleb up this summer, even though he has expressed enthusiasm for it. Mostly we're feeling overcommitted ... but I don't think that will change until the boys head off to college.

13 Hours in Disneyland - in 3D

Last Thursday night Jonathan noticed a text from our next door neighbor. He had obtained free passes to Disneyland, did we want to go? We had to use them that weekend!

Strangely enough, it was the one weekend where we had no plans. No Cub Scouts. No ice skating. No soccer. No baseball. And Xander had just been recognized as a Super Citizen for the first 100 days of school (kind of an uber award for the best of the monthly Super Citizens). So, why not go to Disneyland?

Jonathan and I looked up hotels, found a great deal for $90 a night in Orange, Calif., and we were packed and ready to drive-down Friday night.

Our last visit to Disneyland was just October 2010, and our last visit to Disney World was February 2011. Could so much change? Yes. Visiting Disneyland with a five and six year old is a much different experience than with a four and five year old. The most noticeable change is that both boys are now 46 inches or taller. This means that they can go on Indiana Jones. And their threshold for amusement park fun is also much higher. 13 hours versus 7 hours! We could go on more rides and we could spend a longer time at the park without any painful meltdowns.

We also were able to stay after dark and watch the water show at California Adventure and the fireworks at Disneyland.  

The added bonus were that these tickets allowed us to do a "park-hopper." Meaning at the end of the day when Disneyland was too much, we could transition over to California Adventure across the square. California Adventure was slightly more low key (it could be because much of the park is under construction), and the food lines are shorter, and the food is better.

The other difference, which I didn't quite notice the last time was the presence of 3D glasses. In all, four attractions handed out the quirky fashion statements - Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Toy Story Mania and Muppet*Vision in 3D.

We also were delighted to learn that our six year old, Xander, loves roller coasters. Big monstrous, scary roller coasters. He went on California Screaming after dinner, and it was the highlight of his day. Next time we'll try Space Mountain. By the way he was surprised that he didn't fall out when the ride went upside down.

Caleb doesn't love roller coasters. He tried Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones and neither were his favorite. His favorite was Pirates of the Caribbean. We'll see what he is up for on our next visit. Probably not in 2012, but maybe in 2013. I wonder how the experience will be different with a six and seven year old.