Mongoose Mayhem

Our trip came to an end...but we forgot to tell you about the exciting start!

Libby came along on our trip but promptly hurt herself 30 minutes after we arrived.  Diagnosis? Dislocated hip.  She ended up requiring major surgery - an FHO or femoral head osteoectomy.  That means they sawed off the ball of her hip joint. It was quite a vacation drama but went well overall.  Two months later, she's getting around pretty darn well. 

If you look at her hip you'll see the big incision and stitches

I had to post the silly face version of the photo.

Someone likes to mess with animals - everywhere we go!

I love lacy seahorses

Harry Otter?

This is up in the Jurassic play area.  Its a really cool climbing area and we all ran around, including Merima.  I have this exact picture of Mike taken in 04.  I'd post it for comparison but I don't have photo pre-05 on my laptop.  Will have to scan it in another day.

Jurassic Park River Adventure

Sorry, I'm not getting on this ride

This is why I didn't ride it :)

The Gypsy tent looked inviting as we meandered our way out of the park at nightfall

One of the trip's highlights was visiting Universal Studios to experience the new Harry Potter theme park inside Islands of Adventure.  It was a bit smaller than expected but still excellent! Merima and Aunt Jen were able to join us on the day's adventure.  You can see the weather was gorgeous, too.

Xmas Coconuts

Please respect the "spell" limits!

We are getting closer...

There is it is! HOGWARTS!

Hagrid's Hut

Three cheers for Butterbeer!

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Owl Post

Olivander's Wand Shop - where the wand picks YOU!

Quidditch Locker

Zonkos Joke shop had all kinds of interesting gags, literally GAGS!

Zon

Big Cat Rescue

His name was Popcorn...because he smells like - popcorn!

This guy seemed cute and housecat like but really sprayed and stunk like a big cat!

Next stop? Our favorite park near Merima's house.  I think it's called Medard?  It's got these great trees that grew up years ago in mounds of displaced earth, which has eroded away over the years. This leaves the roots exposed, creating a magical effect.  I would've LOVED this place as a kid ;)

Mike scolds the lizard who kept latching onto his fingers

Just hanging around!

Yes, the boys are up in that tree, somewhere...

 

Mike and Jim being silly