Wednesday, July 9th
Wednesday morning we decided to visit the Naples Zoo.
Though it was hot and it was under summer construction, we enjoyed the excursion and had a couple of cool experiences. Check out the humongous trees!
On our first walk through the zoo had just opened and many of the animals weren't out and about just yet. At the back of the zoo we enjoyed a fun boat ride to see the monkeys that live on islands out in the middle of a man-made lake.
On the way back through, many more animals were moving. Plus we had a couple of feedings. Sophie fed a giraffe, during which was very cool. We were within about 15 feet of them.
We returned home for lunch and then had a lazy afternoon by the pool to cool off. That evening we fixed a dinner that included fresh sea bass and steamed shrimp, which was delicious. We wanted to go watch the sunset at the beach but decided to stop for ice cream at Royal Scoop along the way. Hannah discovered her "go to" flavor for the rest of the week: Death by Peanut Butter.
The sunset was not as spectacular as we might have hoped, but the girls enjoyed more time to play in the sand anyway.
Today was another beach day, which meant another 6 mile run for Randa. (I actually ran everyday, for a total of 37 miles on the week.) Here you can see the boardwalk that leads out to Barefoot Beach. The thatch roofed hut sells drinks and snacks, as well as renting chairs, beach cabanas, and kayaks.
Feels so good to have your toes in the sand!
This afternoon was another lazy one, though I did some prep work for our dinner. We invited Barbara, Charles' classmate from UT, to dine with us. She and her husband live in Naples, and Charles likes to catch up with her when we are down this way. No photos of the food but we had delicious Greek chicken grilled by Charles, a Greek salad with lots of cucumbers and tomatoes, and a tzatziki dip with veggies and pita chips. It was delicious and healthy!
Friday, July 11th
Friday was a busy day, I guess to make up for the two lazy days preceding it. We started our morning with a drive down south to Everglades City to take an airboat tour at Captain Jack's. For some reason, Hannah doesn't look too thrilled!
Our captain was named Wesley, and he told us upon leaving that he "doesn't take it easy on anybody." While out on the water, however, he saw that the girls seemed a little nervous. He told us afterward that he didn't put the throttle all the way down. Randa really enjoyed speeding through the glades though; it feels nice and cool on a hot Florida summer day.
We did see an alligator, and he was a pretty big guy. You can see him in the collage of Everglades sights below. After we got back to land, they had out a little baby gator, which Sophie held. She loves animals and is not afraid to feed or hold them.
From the brochures we collected at the visitor's center on Monday, we learned of a place called Rookery Bay. It focuses on the local environment of the Collier County/Naples area and has tanks with various local species of fish and crustaceans.
We packed a lunch and ate it here before beginning our exploring. Sophie enjoyed the touch tank. You can see her holding a sea star up above. We learned that they should be called sea stars rather than star fish since they are not fish at all. We also took a walk across the bridge over the river, looking for manatees below (no luck there). Charles, Sophie, and Grandma then walked a path on the other side of the water, where apparently there were a lot of mosquitoes.
Once we got back to the house in the late afternoon, we took a swim to cool off and then Sophie worked on her plans for her birthday celebration day, which was to happen the following day.
That evening the girls stayed home with Grandma while Charles and I went out to celebrate our 13th anniversary a couple of days early. Charles really enjoyed a Peruvian restaurant he went to in northern Virginia awhile back, and his friend Barbara recommended a Peruvian place in Naples called Inca's Kitchen. It was very good, with our meal beginning with roasted corn kernels served with various dipping sauces. Charles had a chicken dish, and I ordered a seafood rice entree that was fabulous other than the tiny baby squid on my plate. I did try one, but it was just too weird to eat! Luckily there were lots of other delicious foods such as shrimp. mussels, scallops, fish, and larger pieces of calamari.
After dinner we went to Royal Scoop to get Charles a big sundae since the 12-week Biggest Loser competition through his office had its official last weigh in this morning. He waited patiently all week long for ice cream, and tonight he got it!
After ice cream we realized that it was almost sunset time, so we rushed to the beach to try to catch it. It was much lovelier than Wednesday's sunset. Here are a few shots, plus an anniversary selfie.
Saturday, July 12th
Today was Sophie's birthday celebration day, that she planned from start to finish. She wrote down an agenda and referred to it throughout the day.
Not on the list was opening birthday gifts. We didn't have much to give her there, but we are also keeping birthdays pretty simple. She wanted a new backpack, which arrived at home from LL Bean while we were gone. She received a couple of new tank tops, a stuffed turtle named Shellby, a t-shirt that changes color in the sunlight, some pencils from Grandma (and a promise to make a wind chime with shells from the beach), plus a trip this afternoon to Once Upon a Child to get new clothes for school.
The first item on the list was a final trip to the beach. The water was slightly cooler today and felt quite refreshing after my run. Charles and the girls built a sandcastle that kept being overrun by waves, and they also did wave boards in the water.
We stayed for only an hour and a half or so before returning to the house for swimming in the pool, the next item on the list. Sophie also selected the sea shells she wanted for her wind chime. After having a little lunch we took our final trip to Royal Scoop for ice cream before going on a marathon shopping session for clearance items at Once Upon a Child.
We needed some sustenance after all that shopping, so we found a Barnes & Noble to cash in a coupon for a free birthday cupcake. Turns out Sophie wanted a blueberry muffin instead, which was a troublesome swap to make but we got it figured out in the end. Once we returned home Grandma and I started picking up to prepare for our departure while Charles and the girls went on a golf cart ride, the next item on Sophie's birthday wish list. They saw some rare birds while riding, and Hannah was able to get fairly close to a spoon bill.
Much to Charles' delight, Sophie wanted to return to Mel's Diner for her birthday dinner. Since the Biggest Loser competition had ended, Charles got his long awaited Mel's cheeseburger, fries, Coke, and milkshake. Sophie got some chicken noodle soup, which she had enjoyed the last time we came. She also had a world's smallest sundae for birthday dessert.
The last two items on her birthday list didn't end up happening because of storms that came through that evening. So instead of mini golf and a dip in the hot tub, we played a rousing and competitive game of Scrabble instead. Hannah and Grandma played as a team, Charles and Sophie, and Randa and Shellby. Randa and Shellby were the winners!
It was a fun filled birthday celebration day, and a great way to end our time in Florida.
Sunday, July 13th
Today Sophie officially turned 8 years old at 7:13pm while we were in the candy shop on the Savannah river front. After packing and closing up the house, we spent the day driving, aiming to arrive at the Oglethorpe Inn in Savannah by dinner time. We made good time, arriving around 4 or 4:30 and getting checked in to our lovely hotel, chosen by Charles.
After checking out our rooms (Charles and I had one to ourselves, an anniversary gift from Grandma), we drive down to the riverfront, enjoying the beautiful trees with Spanish moss along the way as well as the various public gardens. We had dinner at a riverfront restaurant named Spanky's that supposedly has the best chicken tenders ever. Hannah was the only one that ordered them, since that is her usual restaurant fare. Then we walked along the river boardwalk and stopped in at the Savannah Candy Kitchen
At the time the above photo was taken, Sophie had officially turned 8 years old! She picked out a white chocolate covered pretzel as her birthday treat for the evening and also got a big bag of assorted candies that she chose out of the huge bins in the store.
After our explorations we returned to the hotel and let the girls swim for just a few minutes in the pool before heading to bed. The girls shared a king size bed in their room with Grandma!
Monday, July 14th
One more long day of driving, through the Carolinas and then back to lovely Virginia. First we had breakfast at the hotel, we ate lunch while driving, and then enjoyed a home cooked dinner made by Grandpa when we arrived home. Below you'll also see our "we're heading home" family selfie in the van.
All said and done, it was a relaxing and long awaited family vacation. Thanks for doing it with us, Grandma!
