Shrimp Festival

We spent Saturday at the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival on Amelia Island. Hundreds of artists had their work on display. Plus, there was a fun, interactive Kid Zone, but the shrimp took center stage, obviously. To steal a line from Forrest Gump, "Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it." Actually, there was so much more. One booth was selling shrimp flavored ice cream. Say it with me now..."EWWWWWW!!!!!" We walked right by that one.
Our friends, Jay & Lisa, met up with us which meant that the boys got to hang out with their friends, Hayden & Hudson...always a good thing. Like usual, Hudson was completely content and accepted that he was just along for the ride in his stroller.Baylor was not as cooperative. He played a long for a bit, but eventually Baylor demanded to walk like the big kids.Even though it was the Shrimp Festival, most people were actually dressed like pirates. I guess dressing up like a prawn just isn't cool. Jax wore his pirate tee and then gathered some accessories along the way.Here's Hudson giving us his best, "Arrrrg!"Throughout the day, we encountered some interesting creatures. First, we ran into the Geico Gecko.Then, we came across some visiting horseshoe and hermit crabs, courtesy of The University of Georgia Marine Extension. Jax really enjoyed getting up close and personal with them. He even let one of the horseshoe crabs pinch his fingers. Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt. They only look scary. Our last animal encounter involved "ponies." I use the term "ponies" loosely because these horses were small, but looked really old. I mean, 1 stop from the glue factory-old. The kids seemed oblivious though.
With that, we headed home because our bellies were full and our wallets were light. Both are signs of a good day.