After two long days of driving, we arrived at our family’s condo in central Florida in the pouring rain. We were warmly welcomed, and we quickly unloaded the car so we could start to unwind. The weather was looking gloomy for a few days, and temps would stay lower than normal until our planned departure date. It seems we brought the Maryland weather with us. On our first full day in town, we decided to check out the town of Sebring, and Lake Jackson and City Pier Beach. Lake Jackson is a massive freshwater lake, with clear water and sandy beaches. The City Pier is located behind the local library at 351 W Center Ave. in Sebring.
All three girls headed straight for the playground first. It is a small playground, but it does have monkey bars, a favorite of Rainbow and Stormy. Both girls were eager to show their grandmother all of the new tricks they’d learned. In addition to the monkey bars, there is a play structure with a slide.
After a few minutes, Pebble and I wandered off to check out the fishing pier. There is a walkway leading out to a covered pavilion, and the views of Lake Jackson were stunning! Pebble and I spent some time birdwatching, and then we found the small public beach nearby. Pebble was thrilled with the sandy spot, and we set to work building small sandcastles. I uncovered a small shovel while digging, and Pebble was thrilled! She happily went to work, building whatever she could, using sticks, stones, and other detritus to decorate her creations.
After we had been at the beach for a few, Rainbow and Stormy realized we’d left the playground, and came to find us. When they reached the beach, they started helping Pebble out. Next thing I know, all 3 girls had their shoes off and their feet in the water. I was a bit worried about alligators at first, but the water was very clear, so it was easy to see if anything was moving. Plus, I had told them not to go above their ankles in the water. Famous last words! Can you guess what happened next? Yep, I had three soaking wet children, and no towels or spare clothes for them to change into. Oh well, at least they had a blast, splashing, running, jumping through the shallow water near shore.
We only spent an hour at this park as it was fairly tiny, but the kids had a lot of fun burning off the energy they’d kept bottled up during our drive. The girls were even happier when I told them that, since they were wet, we’d visit the pool near the condo after we returned home and changed into swimsuits. All in all, it was a fun outing. Happy trails!
