Sunrise in Savannah

Ah the beautiful mornings we wake to with sun shining. We will miss these for sure!

In the distance

They went around a couple times in the different slips so Grace is quite proficient at paddling now;)

Row row row the boat

Is what Gracie likes to do! We found an abandoned wooden paddle on an island we explored by taking the tender to and Grace put it to use once we arrived back to the marina.

Aboard the Peacemaker

This ship was in Savannah's port for a few weeks and what an amazing vessel. It was so large with bedrooms, dining room, kitchen and of course the whole crew area that we walked around it again today.

Forsyth Park

We had a lovely sunny and hot day downtown In Savannah. We caught som sun in the seventy degrees and walked a lot. Grace is such a trooper especially when she is allowed to get some candy to boost her energy!

You just can't see it all

This pic doesn't do the boat justice for it's size and beauty

The puddle of play

This went on for half a mile so Grace walked thru it acting like a giant and then we flew the kite back to where we started.

Making mud pies and cakes

We found a pond of warm water on the beach so we rested from running and played. I even had to have Mike pull me from the sand as my feet were buried so deep we could hear the suction once a foot of sand on my feet released!

Run Gracie Run!

She had so much fun running on the beach we were far away from our starting point.

Let's go fly a kite

We took the kite from the boat, set it up and hit the beach to fly it. It turned out to be a biplane kite and boy did it go:)

Sliiidde

Check out these rollers for sliding down momentum! Wheeeee

Carousel

Grace was so happy to find this playground and ride the carousel in St Augustine.

More pancakes!

Here's Grace's breakfast. No she didn't eat it all;)

Pancakes

Once again we were treated to personalized pancakes at the Pirate Haus hostel.

Lightner Museum

Built as a social hall and ended it's usage in the 1930's a "Hobbies" magazine owner, Otto Lightner, from Chicago bought the castle and store his house collections here. When he died in 1950 he willed the estate to the city of St Augustine.

St Augustine

We decided to stay at the Pirate Haus Hostel again before we returned to the boat and we explored a bit more on a sunny, lovely day. This is a sight we couldn't pass up to have the two "Lichtner" girls in front of the Lightner museum.

Key Lime Pie

Mike and I both had a slice of this Keys famous dessert and wow was it perfect!

Then dessert!

We seeked out a local diner for dessert before we left the keys and Grace ate all but three bites of her chocolate chip ice cream pie.

Dinner time!

Since the drive from the hostel in Florida City to Marathon Island in the keys took 1 1/2 hrs we decided to grill burgers and corn at Sombrero Beach.

Sombrero Beach

We spent the warmest of all days we've had on this trip - a balmy 68 degree day with no wind - at Marathon's Sombrero Beach.

Here's the back of the bird

There were so many birds that sat by the canals although we didn't see any get eaten by the gators. There were hundreds of gators too that we saw thru our travels this day.

I spy

Can you find the bird in the trees?

Steady!

They are huge and a lot like an iguana how they sit in the sun to warm up from their shells actig like solar panels.

Northern Everglades Trip

We took a daytrip to see the American alligator and look at what we found!

Loggerhead turtle shell

Almost as tall as Grace!

Turtle shells and skulls

Creature Feature showed off some incredible tortoise history.

Shells shells

And more shells!

Treasure!

Grace found this treasure on a play ship and loved finding a spinal cord.

Pirate dress up

We checked out the Crane Point wilderness area and ended it with Grace dressing up.

Hiking

Through the palm trail back to the headquarters.

Views from the point

We hiked to "the point" for a beautiful yet windy view of the Gulf.

Spiders!

I spotted a bunch of spiders along our path but Mike had to outdo me and find this guy;)

Adderly house

A settler from Bahamas whose house is only one remaining

Mangrove forest

And these are red mangroves. The black mangroves look like asparagus.

Butterflies galore!

Thinking of our friend Sue wishing we saw live butterflies in the gardens but it's too cold for them to be out.

Do ya see the alligator?

As we drove along this channel we spotted this gator just chillin and were happy to be in a car instead of a kayak or canoe like those not far from the gator.

Crocodiles!!

Our first encounter with the reptiles in nature and boy are they huge! There is another one in the bushes but without zooming ya can't see it.

Grace cruising

As we drove to thru Everglades Natl Park Grace stood in the sunroof to catch some wind and lived it.

Biscayne Bay

Learning more about the nat'l parks and it's wild life. A beautiful morning to trek out onto a jetty with lush mangroves but no crocs were sighted:(

Miami in the background

There's a plaque that sates "on a clear day you can see Miami's skyline"... Yeah it's a clear day and we see Miami. Hopefully you can too!

Outdoor oven

In progress is the oven that Grace helped mix clay for.

Grace mixing up clay

She loved spraying down the clay mixture then stomping in it to mix up the clay for the hostel's outdoor oven.

Everglades hostel

Mike found this most wonderful and clever hostel for us to "make camp" while exploring south FL and the keys. Here's Grace swimming in an all natural pool complete with waterfall. Yes we all hot in even though it made ya cold quick being in the shade and wind.

More fun in Ft Lauderdale

...and sand castles with seashells galore.

Sand creations

We had a morning of fun in the sun creating mermaids of sand...

Ft Lauderdale!!!

We made it to the beach for a late afternoon swim and Grace was Loving it!

Frogger

She' sit and wait or the waves and try to run but they got the best of her from two sides and she just laughed at it all.

What a view

Hot pink suit on a set of beautiful beaches with bluish water and pinkish sands - sigh

The hostel steps

And that's hostel not hostile! What a great place to stay after being on a boat and living the piratey life.

Our Viking

A quick change of hats and a gun instead of a sword turned our morning into an invasion:)

Pirate Princess Grace

This is what we woke up to this morning. Argh!

We meet again

Thanks Julie and Larry for holding out one more day to leave from St Augustine. We enjoyed your company, family and delicious dinner!

The Pirate Haus Inn

This is one of the coolest hostels ever and it's conveniently located downtown. We'll be back through here for sure;)

A Mill Wheel

Fueled by an artesan well. Grace threw in a nickel for a wish and it ricocheted off the stone pillar, landed inside the wheel and spun itself down as gravity took over as it rode the wheel. That wish of hers has got to come true - maybe three fold!