The Florida Keys

With a whole day at our disposal, we headed to the Florida Keys. Six months ago we were whale watching in the San Juan Islands, and today we are in the opposite corner of the United States. 

Working on our sand castle.
Susan made Lucia into a mermaid.
Nice beach shot. Photo credit: Andrew

Airboat Tour

Yesterday after work we headed out on an airboat tour of the Everglades. We signed up for a 90 minute tour. Once we arrived at the tour location we were quickly boarded and off into the Everglades we had fun cruising around and looking at the plants and animals. We would drive for a while, then stop and look at things, then go somewhere else. Our guide had a good plan and showed us several alligators, birds, fish, and plants. 

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This last one is an accidental video. My phone spends most of the video in my pocket.

Hanging out in South Beach

Rose lounging at the pool.
Lucia working on her tan.
Me working.
After work we went to South Beach. We started by hanging out at the beach.
There was an iguana playing in the waves.
Our older kids also had fun playing in the waves.
After the beach we had a picnic in the park.
I had to pose in this funny position so you could see the palm trees in my sunglasses.

Friday in Palm Coast

Today we headed to the beach, about 15 minutes from our condo.
The waves were not too big, but Elliot managed to at least get up on the surfboard.
The wind and sun were a factor.
Most of us huddled behind an umbrella, for shelter from the wind.
Some of us dug.
For dinner we went out for pizza in the European Village. We waited over an hour.
After dinner we watched #16 UMBC beat #1 Virginia.

More Palm Coast Fun

The kids have been having fun in the game room.
In the afternoon we went to a state park with a formal garden. It was beautiful.
Erin & Nate watched all the kids tonight so that Susan and I could get out on a date.

Hudson -> Palm Coast

Today we made the 3 hour drive from Hudson, FL to Palm Coast, FL. After getting settled in, we had to go check out the beach. The water felt great and we all got pretty wet. The beach is like no beach I have ever seen. It is a mixture of sand and shells. It is called Cinnamon Beach because of the color it takes on. I can’t wait to explore more this week.

Oh yeah, I should mention that we are spending the week out of our RV. The Reagens are flying down tomorrow and we are staying in a condo just off the beach.

Clearwater Beach

Today we made the hour drive to Clearwater Beach.
We played on the beach a while, then made a sand castle.
We were proud of our work, so we took a picture.
We went for a walk down the beach. On our way back Andrew said, “I think I saw someone from Des Moines.” Sure enough, the Countrymans were at the same beach.
For one last bit of fun, we buried Mari.

Lafreniere Park

This evening we went to Lafreniere Park, just a few miles north of our campground. It is a large, beautiful city park, with a carousel, nice playground, and a bird sanctuary, that is overrun by birds.