Vacation Recap

It was cold, which really limited what we could do, spent a lot of time on the beach looking for shells. Went on some hikes, and toured a couple of wildlife areas, shopped and ate a lot. Food was disappointing, best meal by far was back in Tampa, don't remember the name of the place. Below are a few of the 400+ photos we took.

The alligator we saw in one of the wildlife areas on the island. It was small, but actually pretty close to us so the kids got a real good look. We ate one of his cousins later in the week, doesn't taste like chicken.

Patrick, shortly after getting tackled by a wave. It was not at all his intention to go in like he did. It was maybe 55 degrees out and the water was freezing cold. He waded in a bit and tried to jump over a wave. It took his legs out and he pretty much went under.

Another take down, about 10 minutes of this and he was shivering like mad and we had to end the fun and get some dry clothes on him.



Mel and I on one of the hikes, she likes to fly.

Crab washed up on the beach, Actually came across quite a few. This was one of the larger ones. Ate some of his friends too.


Mel playing on the beach. This a good picture showing the shear quantity of shells and creatures washed up. Trick was finding intact ones.

Burying Mel in the sand shortly after sunset up on Captiva Island. Neither kid would sit still long enough to really bury them good.

Probably the biggest starfish we came across the entire weekend. For me this was probably the real highlight, finding different creatures and watching the kids get all excited.

This octopus was a cool find. Ate some of his distant relatives too. Couldn't convince the kids to try one, even when I tried to tell them they were onion rings.

Overall it was a good trip, kid's handled the travel well, even with a 3+ hour delay in Columbus on the way back. Do stuff.