Day 5
This morning we headed to Homestead, FL to attend church. We got there a few minutes late and they were blessing the sacrament in Spanish. We thought we must be in the Spanish branch. But then the Bishop stood up and conducted the meeting in English. Turns out it is a Spanish/English Stake. They have headsets and translators for everyone. The first talk was an Elder from Utah going home the next week. He spoke in English. The next talk was an older lady who gave her talk in Spanish. I tried to listen and understand for the first few minutes but she spoke so fast that I started to zone out. Then this nice man in the ward brought over 7 headsets for us. The kids and I were instantly glued to the speaker. The kids thought it was awesome to have their very own headset and listen in English. She spoke about being active in the gospel, not just active in the church. It was really good! Jeff didn't need a headset at all. He could understand everything she said. It made me want to learn Spanish again/more. It was awesome how strongly you could feel the Spirit during Sacrament meeting. The kids noticed it too. Afterwards we chatted with the Bishop and other ward members. Maybe we should have stayed for Primary and Priesthood/Relief Society but we had already planned to go to the Everglades National Park today and my Mom and Jason were meeting us.
We quickly changed out of our church clothes in the car in the church parking lot and headed out to the Everglades. On the way we passed the Gator Grill and Jeff couldn't help but stop and see what they had on the menu. We tried some gator nuggets, coleslaw and fries and it was actually delicious. The seasoning on the meat and the dipping sauce was seriously delish! Alligator mostly tastes like chicken. :) Nana & Jason met us at the Gator Grill and sampled some too.
Next stop was the Ernest F. Coe Visitor's Center in the Everglades National Park. We got some good info from the park ranger, saw some informative videos on the Everglades and learned about gator habitats. Unbelievably, they had a sign that said, "Don't let the gators scare you! Feel free to slog through the marsh on your own or with a guide. That is the best way to see the wildlife." Seriously? Slog through the gator marshland? Uh, no thank you! On the trail we talked to a guide and she said for part of their training they had to walk through a gator nest full of a family of alligators. In the wild!!! She said that as long as you are standing upright, they don't view you as food. They are more intimidated by you. I'm happy not to test that one.
We decided the best place to see alligators today would be on the Anhinga trail. It is a nice paved/boardwalk 1.5 mile loop that takes you through the marshland and to a pond at the end. We saw at least a half dozen wild alligators on the trail. Some were pretty big. There was one out of the water just hiding in the bushes by the boardwalk. It was very big! My kids seemed to think it was a statue. At least Isaac did. He even put his head down and peeked through the split rail fence between the boardwalk and the alligator. There was a guide nearby who told us that Isaac needed to back away. He said alligators are opportunistic and if they see a small enough person they could lunge. Scary! I couldn't believe how close we were and how there is literally no barriers between you and the alligators. On the way back the boys got a little crabby. They were "sweating hot" and so tired. So I gave them the cameras and they were suddenly just fine. They loved taking pictures. And I found/remembered a new trick. If they are bored/tired/complaining I just make them the photographer and they are suddenly having the time of their lives!
It was warm, but not unbearable and we sprayed for bugs so I don't think we got more than a few bites each. I was really worried about the time of year we were going but it has been just fine. And maybe we didn't see dozens of alligators but we saw 6 or 7 and that was pretty impressive to us!
On our way home we stopped at "Robert Is Here" fruit stand. It was started in 1960 by a 7 year old boy named Robert. He started selling surplus from the family garden and farm and never stopped. They had all sorts of tropical fruits, vegetables, local honey and homemade dressings and the best strawberry key-lime shakes ever! We waited in line for 20 minutes to order our shakes but it was worth it. Buying organic fruit, baking in sweat at a roadside stand in the middle of nowhere with a live musician playing all sorts of 60s acoustic folk rock made me feel just a little like a hippy. I kind of liked it. :)
We headed home and straight for the pool. I know we probably shouldn't but I'm going to be honest and tell you that yes, we did swim. We swam our laps, played in the pool, and later the kids kayaked and canoed with Uncle Jason. I'm still not sure about how to handle Sundays on vacation. I do love going to church in a new area and seeing the church from different perspectives. It makes me love and appreciate the gospel even more!
Nana and I made homemade macaroni and cheese and cut up watermelon for dinner, we watched the Spain vs Brazil FIFA soccer match and later we had a night swim and Jason lit off some fireworks. Isaac had the devotional tonight and we watched another Mormon Message and had a great discussion on gratitude, service, talents and love.
We quickly changed out of our church clothes in the car in the church parking lot and headed out to the Everglades. On the way we passed the Gator Grill and Jeff couldn't help but stop and see what they had on the menu. We tried some gator nuggets, coleslaw and fries and it was actually delicious. The seasoning on the meat and the dipping sauce was seriously delish! Alligator mostly tastes like chicken. :) Nana & Jason met us at the Gator Grill and sampled some too.
Next stop was the Ernest F. Coe Visitor's Center in the Everglades National Park. We got some good info from the park ranger, saw some informative videos on the Everglades and learned about gator habitats. Unbelievably, they had a sign that said, "Don't let the gators scare you! Feel free to slog through the marsh on your own or with a guide. That is the best way to see the wildlife." Seriously? Slog through the gator marshland? Uh, no thank you! On the trail we talked to a guide and she said for part of their training they had to walk through a gator nest full of a family of alligators. In the wild!!! She said that as long as you are standing upright, they don't view you as food. They are more intimidated by you. I'm happy not to test that one.
We decided the best place to see alligators today would be on the Anhinga trail. It is a nice paved/boardwalk 1.5 mile loop that takes you through the marshland and to a pond at the end. We saw at least a half dozen wild alligators on the trail. Some were pretty big. There was one out of the water just hiding in the bushes by the boardwalk. It was very big! My kids seemed to think it was a statue. At least Isaac did. He even put his head down and peeked through the split rail fence between the boardwalk and the alligator. There was a guide nearby who told us that Isaac needed to back away. He said alligators are opportunistic and if they see a small enough person they could lunge. Scary! I couldn't believe how close we were and how there is literally no barriers between you and the alligators. On the way back the boys got a little crabby. They were "sweating hot" and so tired. So I gave them the cameras and they were suddenly just fine. They loved taking pictures. And I found/remembered a new trick. If they are bored/tired/complaining I just make them the photographer and they are suddenly having the time of their lives!
It was warm, but not unbearable and we sprayed for bugs so I don't think we got more than a few bites each. I was really worried about the time of year we were going but it has been just fine. And maybe we didn't see dozens of alligators but we saw 6 or 7 and that was pretty impressive to us!
On our way home we stopped at "Robert Is Here" fruit stand. It was started in 1960 by a 7 year old boy named Robert. He started selling surplus from the family garden and farm and never stopped. They had all sorts of tropical fruits, vegetables, local honey and homemade dressings and the best strawberry key-lime shakes ever! We waited in line for 20 minutes to order our shakes but it was worth it. Buying organic fruit, baking in sweat at a roadside stand in the middle of nowhere with a live musician playing all sorts of 60s acoustic folk rock made me feel just a little like a hippy. I kind of liked it. :)
We headed home and straight for the pool. I know we probably shouldn't but I'm going to be honest and tell you that yes, we did swim. We swam our laps, played in the pool, and later the kids kayaked and canoed with Uncle Jason. I'm still not sure about how to handle Sundays on vacation. I do love going to church in a new area and seeing the church from different perspectives. It makes me love and appreciate the gospel even more!
Nana and I made homemade macaroni and cheese and cut up watermelon for dinner, we watched the Spain vs Brazil FIFA soccer match and later we had a night swim and Jason lit off some fireworks. Isaac had the devotional tonight and we watched another Mormon Message and had a great discussion on gratitude, service, talents and love.
Isaac the photographer.
Calvin swimming his laps for soccer.
Isaac's evening devotional.
Our first taste of alligator. Tastes like chicken! (cliche, I know, but it does).
Gator nuggets. Contrary to how it sounds, they are not battered and fried, just chopped and heavily seasoned.
Kira getting doused with bug spray.
Hello there buddy! This guy was on the bottom of the pond and when we came by on the walkway above he surfaced, "growled" or snorted and followed us along the boardwalk for a spell. Kind of cool and a little scary at the same time.
This was the big boy right next to the boardwalk that Isaac peeked at through the fence. Yikes!
Kira (book in hand of course) poses for a quick picture outside the fruit stand by a sweet mint green old pickup truck loaded with sunflowers.
I sort of felt like a hippy until I saw the .com on the sign. I guess even hippies have to market themselves if they want to make a good living!
I just love this lady! So glad my Mom is here. We miss you Dad!! :)
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