The Fountain of Youth

For my 40th bday, the family headed to The Fountain of Youth. I know it's a tourist trap and not necessarily worth the money, but what better thing can you do when you suddenly find yourself over-the-hill? Obviously, drink from the fountain of youth.

Unfortunately, the kids drank from it, too, so now they'll never grow up. I'm always telling them to never grow up, but now that it's real, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not... 

 We were tempted to buy some more water in a fancy bottle to use later, just in case the first dose didn't work, but we decided we can always go back for more if it starts to wear off and I actually end up getting older than 40 (which we all know is never going to happen!). Plus, it tasted kind of gross, anyway. I don't think a pretty bottle will help with that.

 In celebration of my birthday, the park set off a cannon every hour on the hour. Isn't that nice of them?

 The park has some pretty cool history. There's an Indian burial ground, and also a few recreations of old buildings, and one of the guides talked about an archaeologist coming in the next few weeks to unearth what they suspect is possibly the foundation of the first European fort built in the U.S.

This anchor has been sitting there for so long, the tree grew around it.

There were some peacocks wandering around, fluffing their feathers, and showing off, doing their part to help celebrate my birthday (or to celebrate the fact that I'll never get older?)

The kids got to experiment with pullies, lifting a 60 lb barrel. The first one was hard to lift, the last one was easy. I guess it's true, what they say: the more (pullies), the merrier.

 We sifted through some dirt. I'm not sure what we were supposed to find, but there were lots of sea shells and rocks left in the screen after shaking it.

I caught Ponce De Leon peeking over fence, watching us. Because he knew it was my birthday, I bet.

 The thing I enjoyed, more than the peacocks and flowers and cannons and water-that-will-keep-me-young-forever, was hanging out with these guys for my birthday. It was a fun weekend, even if I do end up turning 41 next year!