August 26, 2006

Wonder Works

We have friends visiting from Argentina this weekend. Yesterday we planned to go to Sea World, but as we parked the car the skys opened up and a Florida monsoon ensued. Normally, we'd just go on in and wait the few minutes for it to pass. Yesterday was one of those rare days, though, when it was clearly going to rain - hard - for hours. We decided to come up with an alternate plan and we ended up at Pointe Orlando.
Next to the parking lot at Pointe Orlando is a building that appears to be upside down. It's a science museum, of sorts, called Wonder Works. Alex and I have always meant to visit it, but we never manage to remember when we have time to go. Since our friends were as fascinated as we were, we decided that would be a good way to use up a rainy afternoon.
We had so much fun! Alex doesn't have to look far to find his inner child. So even the simplest exhibits were great entertainment.




Of course, I was the one fully entertained by the bubbles. But these were really cool bubbles!




But, we also played with the more complicated toys. Like the green screen that allowed us to play 'virtual soccer' and some strange space-age game that completely confused us. Take that Stephen Colbert!

A Mystery Solved

For weeks now I haven't been able to figure out why two firecracker plants in the planter out front are thriving and the third is dying. Last night we came home to this:
Actually, when we first got there she was lying directly on the plant. She sat up when she saw us, but since she was sitting right in the middle of the plant it didn't help much. And then, since every good nap requires a luxurious stretch and kneading of the paws...
You can't really tell in the photo, but she's still right on top of the plant. I no longer have to wonder what is killing that one particular plant and nothing else. However, now I have to wonder what I can do about it. Would barbed wire look trashy?