Vacation: Saturday-Sunday, April 11-12

Saturday we attended the BIG Easter Egg Hunt that our county put on every year. There was a total of 36,000 eggs for the kids (up to 8 years old).

The event is held in conjunction to the DeSoto Heritage Festival, and the Easter Bunny arrives on a ship(!) with the Spanish conquistadors, as well as the beauty queens and princesses that are elected by the public each year (it is a little like when we select Lucia in Sweden).

The Egg Hunt is organized very well, and there is a huge fenced in baseball field for each age group, and since Sarah is almost 6 now, she was for the first time in the 5-6 year old group, which means NO parents are allowed with them on the actual field. I was a bit nervous trying to find her in the crowd after the hunt, but there seemed to be a lot of security features to prevent lost children, so that was good.

Sarah and the Easter Bunny

Sarah, a Conquistador and his mate

With a basket full of eggs (filled with candy!) we headed home, and then we had lunch at a typical American diner before heading to our next stop, a 2 hour cruise on Sarasota bay. I love this cruise, and always take visiting family on this. It gives a great perspective of the area, and you get to see the beautiful area from a comfortable seat on a boat while having a drink. We were very lucky to see several dolphins and also a mother Manatee and her calf. An absolutely great day!

Me and Carola on the boat

Lots of people were enjoying a great day on the ocean

2 great hours on the Sarasota Bay

We got to see many amazing homes along the shore

Another "mini mansion"

Sarah and I

We also managed to squeeze in a stroll along the beach in downtown Sarasota

We even found a Sea Urchin

Today we went to an Easter Brunch and then we did a little bit of shopping. We were suppose to only get a new bag for my cousin, since her broke, but we ended up with a trunk full again! :-)

In the US the kids get an Easter Basket with candy and toys rather than an egg like in Sweden

Elisabeth and Carola got to try the very American Pumpkin Pie, but unfortunately the pie was not very good at this restaurant...

We are planning on just taking it easy the rest of the day, I have a bunch of laundry that needs to be done, and frankly, I am exhausted! We have had such a full schedule, it has been stuff non-stop. It is great and I love it, but it sure uses up all your energy. I still have a hard time sleeping as well, since the shingles are still very bothersome. So we figured we would have one slow afternoon... :-)

Tomorrow we are heading all the way to Orlando for a visit to the old, classic Gatorland. We are planning on driving the interior, more scenic way home, so instead of just the motorway and traffic, we will get to see a little more of America. Should be a great day!