Quality Inn And Suites At Park Shore Naples

... with Claire at Olive Garden; took Agnes and Cliff for a ride to Captiva Island so they could see the Bubble Room Restaurant; swam in the Gulf and beautiful swimming pools at our RV Park and at their Condo, had a great dinner of barbecued ribs prepared by Claire on our last night here; and were lucky enough to see dolphins playing in the Gulf and a most amazing sunset over the water! Whew! packed a lot into a week, didn't we?

Så er vi ankommet til Florida. Vi ankom igår og fandt et billigt motel med pool. Så efter en lang køretur, var det perfekt at kunne tage en svømmetur i poolen. I dag har det været ca. 35 grader, så jeg har sat pris på aircon idag. Vi var dog ude på stranden og fiske og bade lidt. Lau fangede en babyhaj, men ellers har der ikke været noget held. Det er helt rart at have en lidt mindre proppet tidsplan nu, så er der mere tid til at komme helt ned i gear. I morgen står den på køretur til Miami

... we retired to change before deciding to visit the beach. Naples apparently has the best beach in all of the US and there is a walkway that connects the hotel to the beach. If you dont fancy the walk then..never fear.. a hotel buggy will ship you too and from the beach. We walked the 0.6 miles to the beach through the mangrove trail and past signs that warned us not to feed the crocs (dont think there were any), a beautiful walk ...

... high for great shelling today on the sand, but Bri & Gabi went in the water and dove for shells, finding lots of nice treasures. Squadrons of pelicans flew low across the waves, and groups of White Ibises marched along the wet sand probing for food with their long, downward curving bills. We had a great time, but headed back to the condo by mid afternoon so we could pack up and get ready to leave early on Tuesday.

We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Courtney's, then checked out. We drove to one of the public beach access areas and headed out to do some more shelling. We found more treasures! The girls went out at first in just shorts, but that didn't last long. There were signs on the roads to watch out for gopher tortoises...but we didn't see any!

We then drove on to Lake City to stay at the same Comfor Suites...still very nice!

We helped to break camp and then said goodbye to the grandparents. The girls and I then took a rainy drive to Sanibel Island...one of the best shelling beaches in the world!

We got right into our suits and headed to the beach. We picked up a bag full of different shells and Sarah was not feeling well. We then went to the pool for a bit then back to the room to rest before dinner. We ate at the Lazy Flamingo. Katie had fried oysters, Sarah had shrimp ...

it wiped out everything i wrote. we are here safe and sound. it` 13 hours ahead of you, so it`s saturday nite here. all is well. we loved your email!!!!! tim read it in sedona`s captain voice!!!
i`ll try tomorrow. can`t get connected to internet in my room.
love you both. give girly butt a hug and kiss from us. yourself too.
love mom

... the dry season and there has been a drought. Ranger Chris was a trifle patronising but perhaps that is the American way. The heat blowing across the sawgrass plains was searing - cold drinks were very welcome! The hotel was the best La Qiinta to date: a beautiful pool with water temp in the mid 30s. Drove through Naples - very upmarket - to the beach. Water was warm and the sand silvery.

Heute morgen um 7 Uhr haben mich die Mädls schon augeweckt, womit ich ja auch gerechnet habe, denn bei uns hats heute erst Bescherung gegeben, da wir ja über die Weihnachtsfeiertage in Naples, Florida waren! Ich kann nur sagen, es war einfach traumhaft und es würde bestimmt jedem dort gefallen, zumindest in der Winterzeit wenns nicht so tropisch heiß ist! Ich war natürlich fast jeden, der 6 Tage die wir dort waren am Strand, hab sogar wilde Delphine aus nur ca. 10 Metern ...

... and listen to) the video when we get it uploaded! All along the road / dyke there were 'gators, herons, egrets, kingfishers, cormorants, ibis, storks, vultures, other birds of prey (too quick to be recognised) and what we think is a 'swamp based' cormorant, Fish could be seen in the reasonably clear water and were jumping for flies. This was a fascinating afternoon. We kept stopping for more wildlife and eventually ran out of this bit of swamp and ...