Gainesville . . . Revisited

We were looking for something that everyone would enjoy today, so I suggested Gainesville.  I knew there was a golf course for Grandpa Cutes, a museum for me, breweries for Doug and shopping for Grandma Jane.  Everyone seemed interested so we decided to try it.  We first dropped Grandpa off at the Gainesville public golf course for his noon tee time and then headed to the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus.  The butterfly rainforest was closed due to the cold temperatures, but Doug, Grandma and I didn't mind as we found the museum extremely interesting. I especially loved the "ride" on the glass bottom boat. Once we finished there, I dropped Doug off at a nearby brewery and headed to Walmart with Grandma to pick out a few items that we needed for home.  It was the biggest Walmart that either of us had visited.

Doug was done before we made it back to Grand Scheme, so he walked the short distance to his next stop, First Magnitude.  It was crowded, but he got a table, and we took our time picking him up.  I decided to once again show Grandma where Tom Petty lived.  On our way, we got stopped by the Renaissance Fair nearby and enjoyed looking at all of the costumes.  Doug was ready to go when we arrived.  Because of the fair, we decided to find somewhere to go across town and Swamp Head seemed the most logical.  It was packed there as well as they were hosting their annual Bats and Brews fundraiser.  Doug made it through the crowds, ordered a beer and enjoyed the Allman Brothers tribute band.  While he was there, Grandma and I checked out the nearby Goodwill Store.  They were having a grand reopening sale and we enjoyed nosing around.

Grandpa texted that he was on the 18th hole just as we picked Doug back up at Swamp Head.  We made it to the golf course as he walked off the last hole.  The course wasn't in the best shape, but he liked the layout and really enjoyed the three U of F students that he played with this afternoon.  They provided him with some great stories which we all enjoyed on the way to Relish for dinner.  The burgers were absolutely delicious, and it was warm enough that we could eat outside.  We made it back to Ocala with enough time to invite Phil over to play Oh Hell before everyone turned in for the night.  Grandpa was the big winner, but we all enjoyed the game.  It was a great way to end a fun day in Gainesville.