Florida Vacation - Jacksonville Beach

We spent a brief morning swimming at Jacksonville Beach before jumping in the car to drive to North Carolina and then home.  The plan was to enjoy it as a family, but unfortunately Mike needed to take the van for a little brake work.  So I took the four kids down to the beach for the morning.

This hotel also had a pool and I asked the kids if they would rather swim in the pool or on the beach.  I was hoping for the pool because I wasn't looking forward to cleaning sand off four kids.  But unanimously everyone wanted to go to the beach.

Due to the early hour {before  9 am} we had shadow people on the beach.

Jacksonville Beach Pier

A little too far to walk with the kids, but I would have loved to go down there.

Dawson my little fishie

Carter running in and out of the surf

Ava was skipping around and around and around.

I have to say I felt a little like super mom this morning.  While Mike was at the car shop, I took all four to the beach.  Then we came back up to the hotel room where I gave everyone showers and packed up the hotel room, BY MYSELF.  Although, as I pointed out to Mike it's not the first time I've packed up a hotel room by myself *ahem* jay and tiff's wedding. 

We also drove by our old house.  The trees are so overgrown, it looks like the swamp is taking over!

Florida Vacation - Second Day at Crandon Bay

Can you tell that I took a zillion photos on this vacation and I want to document them all?  We spent a second day at Crandon Bay, our favorite beach near Miami.  Once again it was a very relaxing day, the kids played happily at the beach for SEVEN hours.  I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that they were happily occupied anywhere for seven hours.  We were able to spend so much time with our cousins and Aunt Margie on this day.     

Beautiful Scenery Everywhere

Beach Super Heroes

Mike quoting Bobby Hill "There milk in the fridge about to go bad............There it goes."

A thumbs up from Wonder Woman.

And they played......and played......and played.....

Cousins in a sand chair

What a beautiful place to get our yearly couple photo.

Our Family

I love Ava's Flamingo leg in this picture.

I can't wait to go back!  Maybe not this exact beach, but somewhere!

Florida Vacation - One more from St Augustine!

After the Castillo we stopped by a pizza place.  It was conveniently located on our route, and as we walked in it was decked out in Steelers gear! 

Mike was in pizza and beer heaven, despite being surrounded by the Steelers decor.

TERRIBLE TOWEL!!!!!

Roover 

It was so very delicious pizza too!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

Florida Vacation - Castillo De San Marcos

On the way home from Miami we decided to swing by Saint Augustine, FL to visit the Castillo De San Marcos.  I had visited this as a kid when we lived in Florida, and I knew that Mike and the kids would be interested.  

Lots of pictures in this post, there were so many good ones!

Isn't it beautiful?

Outside of the Castillo

The bunk room, don't those beds look comfortable?

Peeking into the prison

There were so many carvings on the wall, this is just one picture.  One carving said Alexander Carter and the other said Cleveland, Ohio 1880.

Nine wooden forts were destroyed by pirates before the Spanish commissioned the building of a stone fort in the 1600's.

Carter and Dawson near the cannons.  Dawson was very upset because he wasn't allowed to climb on the cannons.  Mike was very upset because we couldn't come back the next day to see the cannons being fired.

Mommy and Ava in the sentry house.  Silly Girl!

Very nice re-enactment soldier who posed with us for a picture.

I thought this was such a cute picture of Riley girl!

Mike loved walking through the castillo and he was convinced he was going to get a picture of an orb.  It was a fun place to talk to the kids about history, because it belong to Spanish, British and American forces at one time or another.  A very fun place to visit, and it was great for the kids to run off a little steam after a long car ride from Miami.  After this place we took the A1A highway to our hotel on Jacksonville Beach.

Florida Vacation - Alligator Animal Show

After we got off the air boat we went to a short alligator/animal show.

Scorpion!

Of course I was the person picked from the audience to kiss the ginormous toad.  Luckily the man whispered to me "I won't let it touch you, just close your eyes and be really still."  So I obliged.  Clearly this picture is evidence that the toad did not in fact touch me.

During the show there was a short segment where they jokingly tried to entice kids to play in the sand in front of the alligator with candy.  Brendan busted out of the audience and had his foot up over the fence so fast, before I could even blink.  Aunt Margie had school this day, so I was in charge and all I could think was that I was going to have to bring him home without a limb.  Luckily we all survived.

The kids with the alligator family.

Florida Vacation - Airboat in the Everglades

We also decided to take an air boat ride through the Everglades.  We found a place that advertised kids six and under FREE!  We will be taking advantage of that deal!

For most families, this picture would be an outtake.  I think the look on my face is hilarious, what is wrong with this kid?!?!?!

Dawson liked the air boat when it was going forward, but when we were maneuvering around corners it drifts and spins.  Pretty fun, but for a wee two year old, petrifying   Remember, you can't hear anything with the noise from the boat, and I looked at Mike holding Dawson.  Mike has a big grin on his face while Dawson is screaming his head off.  After some big hugs, he was all right.

Brendan and Riley had big grins on their faces during the ride as well.

Caption from Daddy "Please dear lord, get me off this boat."

Although he was scared at the time, he still talks about the air boat ride as his favorite experience of the entire trip.  On the car ride on the way home he was buzzing his lips going "BRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, da song of da boat."  Mike and I were laughing so hard.

The most active alligator we saw that day, swimming away from our boat.

We saw so many baby alligators that day.

Ahinga or snake bird

Florida Vacation - Everglades

On Tuesday we drove to the Everglades.  We stopped at the Shark Valley Visitor Center {No sharks, nor is it a valley} with the intention of going to the observation tower.  After finding out that the observation tower was a 14 mile round trip walk {yeah right!} we settled for a little stroll through the Everglades.

At the visitor center we learned that alligators need to be 83 degrees to digest their food, or else it will just rot in their belly.  The kids learned alligator's favorite foods: turtles, fish, birds, lizards, even deer!  Did you know that alligators only eat around 25 times a year, which figures out to a meal every couple of weeks.  Imagine all the free time I would have if I only had to feed the kids every couple of weeks, ha ha!

On our short stroll on the board walk.

Be on the lookout for pythons!  Dawson was ready to wrestle one for us.  My money would be on him winning.

See that little bump in the water?  Yup, it's an alligator.  The kids were not really impressed.  The alligators were not moving around at all that day.  This was at the Big Cypress National Preserve.

Riley reading the informational sign to the kids.

Another alligator hanging out in the brush right below the boardwalk.

More fun from the Everglades to come......