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/