Back to Lake Apopka for a few more Disney days! 2/12-16

On our drive back north to central Florida, we finished listening to

 

We had to take care of some regular house maintenance issues... Groceries, laundry, carwash. 

The laundromat we found was huge, cheap, and entertaining. 

The next day, we went to the carwash for the 2nd time this whole trip! It took Scott and I over an hour to vacuum the whole thing, but at the end, it looked as good as when we bought it. I was sooo happy! I told Scott this was the best Valentine's Day gift. Haha.

Ky was the latest to get sick, so we let her rest while Scott dropped the boys at Disney for a day on their own.

At first they texted us every 10 minutes. "We're going here." "We arrived here." "We're stopping there." "Do you have a recommendation for what ride we go on next?"

I finally texted both older boys, "Enjoy your independence. You don't have to text us all day. Don't spend the day looking at your phone! Look around and enjoy your day. (:"

In the end, they had a fun day and Ky and I got the rest we needed. We even joined them at the end of the day to meet Mickey, because that's one thing we couldn't do our first time here. 

Tuesday, everyone was back to full strength and we enjoyed Tom Sawyer's Island for the first time.

 The boys played hide and seek while Scott & I relaxed.

 This lady had the awesome job of being paid to play checkers with my daughter!

 Sy really enjoyed doing the Pirate's Adventure treasure hunt.

 Back at Animal Kingdom, we took the Kilimanjaro Safari ride again to check out the animals.

 Termite mounds are incredible to see after learning about termites in Challenge A.

 It is always amazing to see a baby with its mother "in the wild".

 It is such a treat to be so close to the animals!

 This ride was not open when we were here last. We got soaked! But it was much warmer than when we came last month.

 Ky grew antennae!

 Primeval Whirl - ?

Sy loved the dinosaurs and the dinosaur ride, too!

So sorry to bombard your inbox! Technical difficulties and sickness have now been overcome!

Florida Keys 2 - 2/11/17

Look mom! My towel sticks to me in the wind! 

Chasing the fishes

Climbing through a path in the trees to the reef beyond the snorkeling area

Coral!

Real live coral in a variety of shapes and sizes

All too soon the shadows grew long and it was time to go

But no visit to the keys is complete without Keylime pie

I've enjoyed using FloridaRambler.com to find fun places and deals since we arrived a few weeks ago. Florida rambler and trip advisor both recommend hobo's café.

We didn't want to wait for seating for six at the busy dinner hour, so we got a whole key lime pie to go. Did you know that real Keylime pie is yellow? And that key limes are only found in the keys? It's true.

Goodbye Keys! It's been fun.

The Keys

Today we made it to the southernmost point of the contiguous U.S., the Florida Keys!

at the first beach we went to, this lizard was running across the road. Kik caught this photo of him on just one leg.

At this particular beach, the state park rangers said they have never seen a crocodile, but after the Disney incident last year, they put these signs up anywhere they have water.

Funny sign for a designated swimming area!

Beyond the snorkeling area rope was a coral reef.

Jo was first to get all the way in. The weather was 75° and the water was slightly warmer than that, but there was a breeze that made it feel quite cool. 

There's something living in this shell!

Biscayne National Park

What do you hear in there?

Having fun in the visitor center.

Tossing coconuts back in the water.

We walked on this really cool peninsula out into the middle of the sound.

Heading back to the visitor center, we heard really loud fighter jets taking off from the military base next door.

Silas fell in the water right before they went to turn in their junior ranger books, so he's a little wet and lacking shoes in the photo. (: just another day in the life...