Day 2 - Indian Harbor Beach & Area

Today, Chad and Bree took us to some of their favorite area spots. We started the day at the beach. Naively, Nate and I thought the boys would be content to just walk along the beach. WRONG. In no time they were jumping in the water, sprinting up the shore, tumbling in waves. At some point, I sent Nate and Chad back to the house to fetch towels and new clothes for our ocean-drenched duo.

For lunch they took us to one of their favorite restaurants, Backwater. Chad built the building several years ago, so if was fun to see his handiwork. And the food was so good.

Next we headed to a wetland refuge to walk off our enormous lunch and try to find some alligators. It was a really beautiful area with so many bird species. We only spied the back of one alligator, but that was enough for me! E and I nearly stepped on a Black Racer Snake which lives up to its name. It was so fast it was hard to keep track of!

After that, they took us by Lake Washington where we saw a Cottonmouth Snake (from a safe distance) then back over to the river that separates their island from the shore. We were keeping an eye on some storms rolling in but they wanted to make one last stop to see if we could spot dolphins. This was what Holden wanted to do more than anything. Eventually we saw a dolphin fin in the distance, then another. But sweet Holden was always looking in the wrong direction.

As the wind from the approaching storm was kicking up, Holden was getting upset that he wouldn't see a dolphin. We started to slowly head back to the car when he finally saw a dolphin fin in the distance. He was pretty pleased, at that sighting and was THRILLED a few minutes later when a pair of dolphins appeared really close to us and we got to watch them surface several times as they worked together. At this point the wind was really blowing and we made a beeline for the car.

We made it back to Chad & Bree's before the storm let loose. For our last night there, Bree made us a fajita feast with her amazing homemade salsa and Everett got a lesson about trying to wrestle a jui jitsu guy like Chad -- you shouldn't even try.

It was a really great day seeing so much wildlife and Chad & Bree's home turf.

Tomorrow we head to the Keys.Lue lisää