Day 2 in Ocala

Brett, Cameron, Doug and I started our day with mass at the Queen of Peace church in Ocala.  Brett was extremely impressed with the beauty of the church and wanted to know more about the history of it.  Cameron liked how traditional the mass was.  I thought that the homily was long and repetitive, but otherwise the service was very nice.  Doug was very thankful that everyone agreed to try it.  There's one more Catholic Church in Ocala that we might check out the next time, but overall it was a wonderful way to start the day.

After church the guys wanted to go kayaking at Silver Springs State park.  Brett had seen the pictures of Cameron and his friends doing it this summer and thought that it would be fun to try.  Doug was definitely interested.  I watched them launch and then took a walk around the park.  It was a little cooler than yesterday, but still very nice.  As they were nearing their final hour of the trip, I finally saw them on the river.  They told me right away that they had seen an eight foot alligator.  I couldn't believe the picture when I saw it.  They said that it was a little scary, but not too bad.  Brett and Doug said that it was definitely a good arm workout.  

We spent the afternoon watching football while Cameron caught up on some homework.  The first game of the afternoon was the Lions vs the Bears.  It was a close game throughout with the Lions finally pulling out the victory by 3.  Once the game was over, Uncle Phil joined us for a game of Ticket to Ride.  It was pretty intense trying to find routes with five people playing.  I did end up winning, but that didn't really matter to me.  I was just happy that we all had fun.

The boys picked the Brick City Southern Kitchen tonight for dinner in downtown Ocala.  It has definitely become a family favorite.  They both really liked their sandwiches and Doug and I enjoyed a shared plate of nachos.  We made a stop at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop also.  I picked out some gummy cinnamon bears for everyone.  Cameron found some candy as well.  Brett right away picked up a bottle of "Ketchup" soda to try.  He definitely regretted it as soon as he tried the first sip.  Just the smell of it made me want to vomit.  Cameron made the better choice with marshmallow soda.  Neither one were keepers, but fun to try none the less.