we're baaaaaack . . .

did you miss us? I am going to skip all the medical mumbo-jumbo . . . actually I am going to stick my head in the sand for a few blissful moments and totally ignore it for the time being. We, Frank and I, headed back to Busch Gardens on our free day in Tampa. We went with the intention of getting soaking, dripping, sopping, almost drowning WET . . . on all the rides we avoided last week. We wore old clothes that dry reasonably quickly, took a bath in sun block and marched our 60+ year old butts down the Flume Ride . . . twice, the Congo River Rapids and Tanganyika Tidal Wave . . . twice and one considerably dryer, wickedly fierce, old wooden roller coaster ride which tried its best to annihilate us. The final result: two old farts having a ball.

Note: This is the last shot ever taken of my beloved Cheerio's hat. While trying to get shots going down the Tidal Wave the second time, I forgot to hold on to it and it flew off only to meet a most untimely death, never to resurface. Let us all say a prayer . . .

We also managed to take in an animal show. Which was really cute if you don't mind frozen birds being thrown in the air.

I have more pictures but they are in the throw-away underwater camera and need to be developed. How dark ages is that? So much for instant gratification.

In the end, we were chased out of the park by thunder and lightening . . . the rides being shut down for safety reasons. Picture two wet rats, no longer dodging rain drops but rather reveling in the wetness of a hot summer day in Florida.