One With Nature

A swamp boat tour and walking along the beach is probably about as one with nature as our family gets.  Before heading home we actually turned South, so we could spend a little time in the Everglades.  It's not every day you get see alligators in their natural habitat.  The kids loved the boat ride almost as much as seeing the wildlife.  Little Guy was trying to "catch the air" as we sped along the water.

 The water was only about 18"deep.  One interesting fact we learned: the Everglades is actually a river, because it moves at 1 mile a day.  It's so slow you can't see it moving, but it makes very different from the stagnant bayou of Louisiana.  

 We saw several types of birds, turtles, and quite a few alligators.  One was 9 feet long!

The boat ride took us down natural trails and also man-made canals.  This one even has a levy on both sides. 

People actually camp and live on the water, so I think they get the true commendation of being one with nature.  There was an alligator right below that tent, and I can tell you that's not my idea of a good time.  I wouldn't sleep at all.

We decided to take a walk along Dania Beach just North of Ft. Lauderdale before officially heading North, because you can't go to Florida and not at least see the ocean.  It really was a beautiful beach.

The last time we were at the beach was almost 18 months ago, and Little Guy had been too scared to go anywhere near the water.  My plans for a leisurely walk were quickly upended by the fact that not only was Little Guy not afraid of the water, but he decided he was an excellent swimmer.  He jumped straight into the water.  We had to hose him off and change him before getting back into the car.

We had some yummy Mexican food for dinner then we turned North.  Our vacation officially ended and it was time to take the long trek home.  

 The vacation itself was wonderful, but the trip home was awful.  It was a downpour in Atlanta and the heavy traffic added four hours to our drive the first day.  On top of that, BB shared a little too much with his cousins.  He got their illness.  The poor boy had a fever and chills all day in the car.  Little Lady fell ill the second day of the trip, so the two of them sat in the back of the van sleeping most of the way home.   The rain continued on the second day of travels.  I'm so grateful it was warm enough that it wasn't snow!  It could have been so much worse!  There was an accident in St. Louis, so we did get hit with another round of traffic, but the kids were such troopers and didn't complain.  The following day Joel and Little Guy fell ill.  It's a particularly nasty strain of a virus, so all of them have had fevers and chills with their colds.  Joel and Little Guy have also been unlucky enough to have it go straight to their lungs.  They all missed church on Sunday.  Little Man and I keep waiting, but so far neither of us have gotten sick.  BB and Little Lady were well enough to go back to school, but Joel came home early from work, and Little Guy won't be going to preschool quite yet.  Despite the illness everyone had a wonderful Christmas break, and we're grateful that we made it home safe and sound.