As annoying as it is to still not know where we are moving, we are trying to make the best of it and enjoy our last little bit of time here in Florida. The awesome part is that since Guy's company is waiting to transfer us based on if they get a particular job, Guy is basically getting paid to just stay home and wait. So we've all been LOVING how much we get to see him and we've been taking full advantage of having lots of fun with him here since I'm sure his work schedule on a new project will be pretty crazy.
So President's Day Weekend was the perfect chance to just go explore Florida, especially since BB got Monday off from school. We've been wanting to check out Everglades National Park for a long time now, but have never made it that far south since we've been here. Well we decided this was the weekend to go so we made a big trip out of it and stopped in Miami, Everglades, Key Largo and finally Sanibel Island.
Yes, it was a lot of driving and totally exhausting, but so worth it to get to see all these beautiful places. Truthfully I think that since FL is so long and skinny it doesn't feel like places are too far (maybe since we used to live in huge TX?) We are in Tampa by the gulf coast and to get to the other side of Florida and the Atlantic Ocean is only about 3 hours away. It took us about 5 hours to get to Miami so not too bad.
I know that is has been a warm winter all over the U.S. this year and that is definitely true for Florida too. Miami was a lot warmer then Tampa and it was about 85 all weekend. So nice!
Our first stop was Miami and we basically wanted to just check out Miami beach. We got there in the evening right before it got dark and it was pretty crowded and crazy, but gorgeous. The water was like a turqoise blue color and we spotted quite a few big boats not too far out. Seriously people in Miami have some crazy money because I can't even tell you how many lamborghenis, ferraris, porches etc. we saw people driving around. After the beach we went and hung at our hotel and the boys swam and played some ping pong.
The next day we drove to the Everglades and spent some time exploring. We went to the visitors center there and went on a hike on the Anhinga Trail, which was a boardwalk above the swamps. The park ranger told us that this was the best time of year to go because the water is low so you can see tons of birds and alligators. Plus this time of year there are no mosquitos and the temps are lower then the summer. We were so hot the day we went so I can't even imagine going here in the summertime!
Honestly we had a blast on this hike. We seriously saw probably 20 alligators, which was semi freaky how big they were, but really cool to see them in their natural habitat and so close up. I was soo paranoid with BB and Ty who would start hanging on the little wood fence rail on the boardwalk trail when we would stop to look at them. I was SO afraid they would flip over and if you saw the size of these gators you would totally understand. We had fun playing " I spy" and finding turtles, birds, gators etc. hidden in the swamps and trees. There was wildlife everywhere which is what made this hike so fun.
Birds we spotted along the trail
How many alligators can you see?
There were 10 total in this area, it was crazy!
Brayden's double jointed arm is just freaky!
He thinks it's hilarious to pop it to gross me out
Cool tree we found and BB is holding a vulture feather
Alligators galore!
Signs we saw in the everglades. Everyone tarped their cars because vultures apparently like to eat the rubber off of them. And panthers in Florida? I seriously had no idea!
After the everglades we weren't too far from Key Largo at the top of the Florida Keys, so we went there really quick to check it out. Not a whole lot to do there unless you plan on snorkeling or scuba diving, so we just relaxed for a bit and enjoyed the ocean. So pretty!
The next day we started to head back home and stopped at Sanibel Island on the way. I loved it! You have to take a bridge to get to it and the whole island just had an old Florida feel about it. Not super touristy like so many beaches here. We walked along the beach finding shells, admiring people's sandcastles, finding the lighthouse, and just enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.
BB made a heart out of clam shells he found
We found lots of treasures on the beach
The Sanibel Lighthouse
And after all that fun it was time to go home!
What a great weekend with lots of fun memories. I'm grateful that we were able to have the time to see these places before we left. Florida really is a beautiful state!
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