Day 2 & 3 - March 30th & 31st

We got up to an alarm and were on the road by 7 AM.  We had 200 miles to drive to get to Biscayne National Park, which is near Miami.  Luke woke up at the gas station and said, "Hey, this isn't the KOA".  The drive was uneventful and traffic was steady and quick.

We arrived at Biscayne around 11:45, which gave us a lot of time to explore the visitor center and grounds.  95% of Biscayne is under water so the main part of this trip was the snorkeling.  This would be the first time for the kids and Luke was nervous.  Lorelei is always up for an adventure and doesn't worry about all of the things that could happen. 

We got our junior ranger books, watched the park movie, looked at the hands on exhibits and walked the path out to the jetty.  This national park is right in the back yard of Miamians and there were lots of people picnicking, fishing and generally enjoying the good weather.  We worked on the junior ranger program, got our suits on and got checked in to the snorkeling excursion.

At 1:00, we picked up our wetsuits.  Unfortunately, Lorelei's was a little too big and she started complaining.  Then she decided she just wasn't going to wear it.  We made her take it anyway.  Next we picked up or masks and fins.  The kids had a good time playing with the new equipment and getting grossed out at the fact that the mouthpieces tasted like salt. 

At 1:30 we loaded up on the boat and had an hour long ride out to Boca Chita Island. This is apparently an extreme hotspot for the Miami boaters.  There was lots of loud music, huge bottoms in little bikinis and lots of people having a good time.  Our boat actually served two purposes, one, to drop off people touring the island and two, taking us snorkelers out to our spot.  After we dropped off those not snorkeling, we headed out to the Florida Reef which is the 3rd largest coral reef in the world.  Our guide talked a lot about the reef and local animals and about how the latest cold snap that most of eastern North America just had resulted in a huge fish kill last week.  The animals simply can't handle the cold.

We arrived at our snorkel spot and it was time to face the cold reality of the water.  The kids were excited and scared.  Scott got in first and then the kids eased down the stairs and into the water.  We made Lorelei wear the too big wet suit, which she was later thankful for.  Once all of us were in the water, we headed over to the reef and immediately I noticed the jellyfish.  Later I found out they were moon jellies but when I mentioned them to Scott, Luke started to get a little freaked out about fish and animals that he couldn't see.  I was his partner at first but when he started to get really nervous, Scott and I switched.  Lorelei and I looked for fish and got to see all of the coral on the reef.  We looked around for quite a while and took pictures with our underwater cameras.  The waves were a little rough and I kept getting water in my snorkel but the kids were getting the hang of it.  Luke made it about 15 - 20 minutes before his nerves and the cold water (72 degrees) forced him out.  Scott joined up with Lorelei and she made it maybe 15 more minutes before she couldn't stop her teeth chattering.  I made it to about 45 minutes in the water and then I was cold and got out.  Luckily we were smart enough to bring dry clothes to change into and while Scott finished his swim, I helped the kids change clothes and get warm.  Then I got changed and Scott was one of the last ones out of the water.  We used up almost all of one camera and several out of another.  I hope some of the pictures turn out.  After we picked up the islanders, we headed back to the visitor center.  We arrived after they were technically closed but managed to get our junior ranger badges.  We then were headed south to Key West.  We grabbed a little dinner and happened onto a Krispy Kreme which made the roadtrip complete. 

It's about a 3 hour drive from Homestead to Key West and unfortunately the late return from snorkeling put us driving across the Overseas Highway mostly in the dark.  That's not the way we wanted it but luckily we will be able to see the drive in daylight when we leave.  We got in just before 10 pm and hit the sack for an early day on Sunday.

March 31st - Sunday

It was an early morning start today.  We had to be at the boat dock to catch the Dry Tortugas Ferry by 7:30.  We called a taxi at 6:45 to take us to the dock because the streets are too tight for our camper and there is NOWHERE in the heart of Key West to park it.  Luckily the ferry ride was providing breakfast and once we were on board, we didn't waste any time digging in to bagels, yogurt, cereal and fruit.  The ride out to Fort Jefferson is about 2.5 - 3 hours.  It was already wonderfully warm in Key West and after breakfast, Lorelei and I went out to watch the open ocean.  We stayed out there for at least an hour, which is a really good way to unknowingly burn the backs of your legs.  We arrived at the Fort at 10:30 and immediately headed into the Fort to explore and do our junior ranger program.  We had fun taking pictures and exploring and by 11:30 we were done and headed back onto the boat to grab lunch. 

The island is a birders paradise.  There is a bird called a Sooty Tern, which is considered uncommon, mostly because it's primary nesting grounds are at Dry Tortugas National Park so if you want to see this bird, this is where you come.  They were noisy, smelly and fascinating to watch and I'm glad we got the chance to see them.  There are also a ton of other birds.  Different kinds of gulls and terns, a bunch of brown pelicans, an awesome soaring bird called the Magnificent Frigatebird.  His soaring was amazing.  I enjoyed watching and photographing the birds and even bought a book because I always enjoy being able to say, I've seen that. 

After lunch, we got our snorkeling gear and headed over to the beach.  The air temp was around 80 degrees.  Just hot enough to make you feel warm but cool enough to be enjoyable.  The water temperature was about 70 degrees but the kids were willing to give snorkeling another try in calmer, shallower waters.  We eased ourselves into the water and finally made it out to the coral reef where we swam with a school of silver fish and saw several different colorful fish and lots of sponges and coral.  The water was still cold with no wet suits but the warmer air temp and shallower water made it a mostly enjoyable experience.  We swam for over an hour and then decided to walk the moat wall.  We had some great views of pelicans diving for fish and some larger fish on the non-snorkeling side of the fort.  By the time we made it back around, it was time to change clothes and board the boat.  We spent four really incredible hours and really enjoyed ourselves.  The beauty of that blue water and that amazing place definitely put it in my top ten national parks.   The boat ride back was a little bumpy and Lorelei and I spent most of it on the bow. 

Back in the camper tonight we were all exhausted and spent the evening with pizza and the TV.  Heading in to Key West tomorrow.

March 30th

No detailed post tonight. We are within an hour of Key West and the busy day and late arrival have me zonked. We are having a great time and will be on a boat to Dry Tortuga at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Pictures and details tomorrow night.

Day 1 - March 29th

March 29th

We got up at 7 AM this morning to continue driving south on I-95.  The original plan was to eat breakfast while driving so we could get to Canaveral National Seashore and have most of the day.  However, the free Belgian waffle breakfast at the campground sounded so appealing we decided we had plenty of time.  With full bellies, we started on the road around 9 AM and had an easy drive to New Smyrna Beach.  The tunes played on random on the iPod, the kids entertained themselves by waving at people out the back of the camper and everyone was happy.  The universe is aligned because right as we pulled off of I-95, two Jimmy Buffett songs played and we were all feeling ready for the beach.

We arrived at the Apollo Visitor center and a nice lady helped us get our junior ranger booklets and started a movie for us.  She also told us all the places we should go to hopefully see manatee, alligators and lots of birds like the Egret pictured here.  Since we weren't going to be able to finish our books and make it back to the visitor center today, she went ahead and gave us the kids badges with the promise they would actually finish.  She also told Scott about a beach that families should stay away from because it was used by the nudists (can you hear that being whispered?).  It was about 12:00 and we were hungry so we hopped back into the camper to make some lunch.

We had a lot of laughs as we discussed the benefits and drawbacks of being naked on the beach and by the time we finished eating, Scott and and I had decided we were going and the kids decided they were staying in the camper.  We drove down to the last parking area and looked around but didn't see any nude people so we opted to head back to parking area 1 which had plenty of space for the FUNV.  The kids put on their suits while the parents stayed in their tshirts and jeans.  It was about 75 degrees outside and we spent about 2 hours on the beach collecting shells, laying around and swimming (kids only).  Around 3:00 we decided we had other things to do and places to be so we headed back to the camper to get on the road.  We drove down highway 1 and then headed towards the Merritt National Wildlife Refuge.  We stopped at the Manatee Viewing area but didn't see any.  That was a bummer but I am really hoping we will get to see some at some point during the trip.  I can remember being around 10 years old and my Girl Scout troop adopted a manatee and I thought it was so cool we were doing that.

We then took the Black Point Wildlife Drive, which is a gravel road that follows through the swamp and is supposed to be great for viewing alligators and for birders is apparently a top destination.  We are not birders but we do enjoy seeing all of the different kinds and we have a guide where we try to see which birds we have seen.  The kids really get into this and love using the binoculars we bought when we were in Yellowstone.  Luke also enjoys taking pictures of the birds.  On the way into the one way road, Scott saw an alligator but said it too late for anyone else to see so our hopes for one were really high.  We went throughout most of the drive and saw one tiny one, maybe 3 feet.  But we did see a wild boar and tons of birds.  Had we allowed ourselves more time, we would have taken the 5 mile hike off of this road and seen some of the sights on foot.  But the kids were having such a good time in the ocean we couldn't get motivated.  As we were leaving the drive, we were feeling a little disappointed about no gators when I spotted one and Scott slammed on the brakes so much he left tire marks.  We were able to stop and get out and see him in the water about 20 feet from us.  The pictures don't do him justice because of the sun glare but he was at least 5 feet.  Really cool and I am hoping we will see more in the Everglades later in the week.

After that excitement, we drove about 20 minutes to the campground for the night.  The kids played on the playground while I made dinner and we had a nice evening full of family time.  Overall, it was a really great day.  Tomorrow we snorkel at Biscayne Bay and head down to the Keys.

Check out pictures on FLICKR.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/18669915@N06/

Back in the saddle again...

After nearly a two year hiatus on blogging family trips, we are back at it. We are arriving as I type in Kingsland, GA after about 7 hours of driving. It's 12:40 am and we are ready to go to sleep but so happy to be on the road again. More exciting things to come over the next week so follow us as we go.