Spring Break Part 2: Everglades City

Disney was fun, but sometimes it does feel a little bit too much like work.  Time to slow the pace down and spend the rest of break enjoying the Everglades and Gulf of Mexico.

Conditions seemed pretty favorable for a boat excursion, so we motored/sailed out to Indian Key.  After lunch onboard, we took the dingy in and explored the island for a little while - finding horseshoe crab shells, sea sponges, a channel marker that must have been blown down by Irma, and old mylar balloon.  Those things really are a menace.

We also saw dolphins and osprey - including a nest! - along the way, even if Lucie seems to prefer using the binoculars to make close things look far away.

We met some more wildlife at Everglades National Park, at Shark Valley.  Gangi & Brennan chose to take the tram, but Lucie really wanted to rent bikes, so the two of us rode the 14 miles out to the observation tower and back.

Along the way we saw a lot of wading birds, including watching a heron catch AND eat a fish; and also...ALLIGATORS.  Lots and lots of alligators.

This one was my favorite: 

The pool at Club Everglades is always a good time.  There's rarely anyone else in it, so no one to bother with cannonballs -

Easter fell during our stay, so Lucie and Brennan got invited to join some other visiting kids for egg coloring.  This was a big deal as they have literally NEVER colored easter eggs at home.  I am aware this probably makes me a bad parent, but I've made my peace with it as none of us particularly like eating hard boiled eggs, and I kind of hate the vinegar smell.

Here's the final product and the proud creators:

They also just had a good time tearing around with this gang of cousins.  There are no cars and the only way off the island is to call the caretaker for a ride across on the pontoon boat, so I felt pretty safe saying yes to every "Mommy can I go..." request I received.

Easter morning, we warmed up with an egg hunt inside the cottage -

And then on to the main event, the group egg hunt around the clubhouse.

Other families would probably continue the Easter celebration with a heavy midday meal of ham and casseroles.  Or you could make the sensible choice, and drive to Chokoloskee for a lovely alfresco Cuban lunch at the Havana Cafe:

We conquered a couple of puzzles:

Admired the Everglades City fisheries:

Before we knew it, Spring Break was over.  We had time for one last waterfront lunch before our flight back to San Francisco -

- with ice cream, of course.

Thanks for a great vacation, Florida (and Gangi & Grandpa Marshall, for putting up with Disney and getting tickets and overpriced ice cream bars and silly hats)!  We'll try not to wait so long between visits...