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We went to the Fish Fry & Seafood Festival at Fruit & Spice Park here in Homestead on Saturday. Here's Rob, a.k.a. "Hubs," who is now in so much pain he has to walk with a cane, along with our oldest, his mini-me, Chloë.
At the entrance, this older gent was blowing magnificent bubbles; of course, all the kids wanted a try, and he was gracious enough to let them.
Sophie went first. She'd won that ball at the arcade on Thursday and didn't even put it down for her turn at the bubbles. She grew a great one; it extended at least six feet!
Jack had a more difficult time with the bubble wand, presumable because of his diminutive stature. The wand had to be lifted up in the air to work properly, and, well, Jack isn't exactly sky-high, you know?
Chloë did alright, but she's so darn dainty, the bubbles were weak to match!
We never fail to stop for these photo-op boards whenever we see one!
Sophia in ten years?!
{I like her better as a coconut.}
The owner of this dog had no idea what he was or even whether he was an albino, but no matter, for he was very sweet and gentle with the children. Rob and I are in hot debate over whether his eyes were white or pale blue, but again, what difference does it make? We'll never see (heh) him again.
When they spied the colorful tents and banners ahead, the kiddos were off to the races!
There were little fishing and other games set up, but no one was manning them, so... we didn't know if they were supposed to collect money, or if there were prizes, or just what. Whatevs. We moved on quickly.
My boys weren't quite prepared for me to turn the camera on them at this moment!
I had wanted to look at these wee ponies to see if they were priced to ride, but the kids saw them before I had a chance to sneak away and ask. The caretakers (and I use that term loosely, as the horses seemed like maybe they weren't treated so well) didn't speak a lick of English, so when the kids peppered them with questions about the ponies, I had to translate as quickly as possible.
Sophia wanted to know what this horse's name was, but the owner (?) said they didn't have names. So he made one up: "Dumbo." Really? Sad. :(
Having heard the pizza saying numerous times, I thought the fried fish vendor's t-shirt was, well, lame. I had to take a picture because...because. I have no good reason, dammit.
We ordered the fried fish, shrimp and clamps (with fries) platter from her. Only, they were out of the shrimp, so we could either have extra fish or extra clams. The fish was tilapia, which I find blander than tolerable, so we opted for clams. But really, I'm pretty sure we got the standard amount of clams and forfeited anything supposedly "extra." I snagged an extra packet of tartar sauce in retaliation. Yeah. Take that.
(Okay, so it was free for the taking, but I felt better.)
The park path surrounded a wide, open field where the kids could run and play. Since Sophie'd brought her ball, she was popular amongst the rest of the rugrats. They ran, and ran, and ran some more, growing ever hotter in the face and sweatier by the minute. I don't know what the temps are where you live, but here in southern Miami-Dade County, we still cross the 80º-mark on a daily basis.
There was a girl singing the latest Top 40 music up on the stage and while she was nice and loud, her enunciation was crap. She could carry a decent tune, but who knew what she was saying? And since I listen to pop music, I tried. I really did. Finallly I just started singing along, loudly (hey, everyone there but us was drunk, so who cared?) to prove that I could figure out her enigmatic little singerin' style. I amuse myself in such odd ways...
This was a seafood festival, after all, so we did come for the food. I picked up another platter at a different booth: two crabcakes sammiches and six conch fritters, a much better deal. I'm somewhat of a crabcake aficionada, and I've taken my lumps (oh, there's a joke, but I'm afraid it's a bomber). Well, these cakes were nothing to write home about. I'm always on the lookout for the crabcake to beat Uncle Chuck's at the Virginia Beach Farmer's Market, and I'm telling you, it just doesn't exist. Add that to the short list of things I miss about living in the Chesapeake Bay region.
After our bellies were stuffed more than appropriate, we all petered out for the excursion. Jack sat down by me and toyed with some grass, so I snapped a photo. And yes, he really was wearing eleventy different shades of blue. I don't really care what they wear as long as they're dressed; they're free to sartorially express themselves any way they want.
Sophia was annoyed at being called over to start toward the car, so she hid her face from my lens. The poop.
I really have nothing to say about this picture of my Chlo; I try to snap away equally amongst the lot of them and so there she was. However, if ever a kid was made for leggings, she's the one!
Many of you have been raking leaves for months while we have been ... not. Here's your proof that Autumn does, indeed, come to South Florida. On a smaller scale, admittedly, but it happens.
We meandered slowly back toward the park entrance. Little did we know, not having read the signs until we were just leaving, that you're supposed to eat your way off the trees throughout the park. Pretty nifty, huh? We'll definitely be back to do that. I'll bring my appetite.
The O.N.E. Coconut Water folks were there to pass out small sample cups of their beverage, and Sophia brazenly asked if she could have a whole carton of it! I told her no, honey, that's for sharing with everyone, but the young lady there went ahead and gave her one, probably since it was the end of the day and that would be one less thing to lug back to their van. Soap was ONE HAPPY CAMPER; this smile belies how much joy the child expressed. (And yes, it was delicious.)
The Odettelettes were pooped, so they sat on a bench by the office to enjoy their cold, tasty drink.
Hubs modeled a hat in the shop; he's forever on the prowl for a good topper but we have yet to find it. Do you think this one suits him?
That's it for me for the photo stream. Hope you enjoyed the pictures, and I also hope I have some new fodder for next weekend!
Fin.
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