A family on the road living fulltime in an RV.

Tag: Beach

Florida by Instagram

One last glimpse of Florida on the blog before we move on to Georgia. I miss those sandy white beaches and majestic sunsets already. Dear Family (and anyone else who…

One last glimpse of Florida on the blog before we move on to Georgia.

I miss those sandy white beaches and majestic sunsets already.

Dear Family (and anyone else who cares),

I’m trying to keep up with our adventures but with homeschooling, sight seeing, driving, and life stuff. I’m finding it difficult to find the time. If you have an iPhone or Android I’m posting regularly on Instagram. My instagram name is newschoolnomad_girlhero.

I’m also trying to pin cute dresses places we have gone or want to go on Pinterest.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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The Florida Keys: We love you Bahai Honda State Park

Road tripping is in my blood. Some of my favorites childhood memories are roadtrips with my family. One particularly memorable experience was when our family vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama…

Road tripping is in my blood.

Some of my favorites childhood memories are roadtrips with my family. One particularly memorable experience was when our family vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama suddenly, due to an unfavorable weather forecast, took a detour to the Florida Keys. I mean what is 800 miles except two days more driving?

I hope our boys remember the six days we spent in the Florida Keys as fondly as I remember childhood vacation.

We almost skipped visiting the keys because the Florida State Parks, which are significantly less expensive than private campgrounds, were booked solid. The private parks are $75 a night and up during peak season. Being the obsessive compulsive determined person I am, I checked the Florida State Park site for cancellations 3-5 times a day. Persistance paid off and we got four nights at Bahai Honda State Park. I was ecstatic.

Brent and I agreed Bahai Honda State Park is one of the most beautiful campgrounds we have ever visited with miles of uncrowded beaches surrounded by aquamarine water. It has to have the best beaches in the keys. You can still see and walk out on the old Bahai Honda Bridge for a stunning view of the island. The bridge was part of the Overseas Highway built by Henry Flagler and finished in 1912. One of the ranger talks was a retelling of the railway’s history by “Henry Flagler” himself (an impersonator). It should be noted that the bridge from Calusa beach makes a stunning  backdrop for some of the most gorgeous sunsets I have witnessed in my life. In. My. Life. Dramatic? Yes. But true. I’m still dreaming of those sunsets.

We enjoyed wading out to the sandbar located at Loggerhead beach where I found a large hermit crab living in a conch shell. The boys and I sat in the shallow water for nearly an hour waiting for him to come out of his shell. I named him “Hermie” which Thing 1 informed was “generic”. Humph. Thing 2 was in paradise, quite literally, as he charged down the sandbar, searched for bits of coral, and made “drizzle” castles out of sand.

One evening, we drove over to Big Pine Key to visit the National Key Deer Refuge. The refuge is home to the Key deer which is an endangered animal that only lives in Florida keys. We didn’t have to look long or hard until we spotted the small deer grazing in lawns. We drove a little further out to No Name Key, yes that is it’s name, and found Key deer wandering along the edges of the road. Don’t worry everyone was driving really slow. The deers, living in close quarters with people for many years, have lost their fear of humans. This isn’t good for the deer but let’s be honest, it’s good for a 9 year old animal loving boy. We were delighted when they came up and sniffed our hands. I’m quite certain it was my Snow White-like charm that drew them near and not hopes of food.

Bahai Honda is about an hour’s drive from Key West. We spent the afternoon walking around the streets of Key West taking in the sites, sipping coconut water, and dodging spring breakers smoking cuban cigars. I very much wanted to go into Ernest Hemingway’s home but due to being on a budget, I settled with a picture and my imagination. Our walk ended at Mallory Square. The sunset was less than spectacular due cloudy weather but the street performers more than made up for it. Our favorites were The Catman of Key West who I remember being mesmerized by when I visited Key West as a kid and The Red Trouser Show. Thing 2 was chosen as an “assistant” for the The Trouser Show proving he may have a future as a street performer. Our evening ended with an excellent dinner of Cuban food El Siboney which I still crave.

The one thing the boys wanted to do in the Florida Keys was snorkel. Unfortunately due to windy conditions, the snorkeling trips led by the states parks had been cancelled. We were about ready to give up when John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park had a campsite cancellation the day we were leaving Bahai Honda. (It pays to have a touch of OCD.) We decided to stay one more night in the keys at John Pennekamp hoping conditions would change and there would be a snorkeling trip in the morning.

Our last morning came and at 8:00 am, breath held, I called the snorkeling tour office to find out if they were going out to the reef. They were! After a week of cancelled tours, conditions has improved enough to snorkel. The boys were thrilled. I was scared. Scared of barracudas, sharks, and sting rays. As it turned out I should have been scared of getting seasick. I spent the majority of the time curled up on the boat deck wishing I would have been eaten by a shark. It was worth it though because the boys had a wonderful time.

Our Florida Keys Experience in a Glance

Where We Stayed:

  • Bahai Honda State Park –  Private spots, gorgeous beaches, internet service with Verizon and AT&T, close to Key West. (Our favorite of the two campgrounds) They have snorkeling tours but it’s a longer boat ride out to the reef.
  • John Pennekamp State Park – Very well maintained campground (the showers were nicer than the ones at my house), great mini-aquarium, very professional snorkeling trips, internet with Verizon and AT&T. There is a beach but it isn’t nearly as beautiful as the beaches at Bahai Honda.

The Highlights:

  • Key Deer National Refuge on Big Pine Key
  • The Catman at Mallory Square, Key West – A must see especially for cat lovers.
  • The Red Trouser Show at Mallory Square, Key West
  • Snorkeling at John Pennekamp State Park – I recommend going with the state park snorkel tours as they send someone out to check the conditions of the sea and visibility. In the very least call and find out if they are going out. If not then it’s unlikely that you will be able to see

Where We Ate:

  • El Siboney – (On Key West) Loved. This. Place. Very affordable and worth every minute of the wait.
  • Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen – (On Key Largo) Very good but a bit pricey for what it was.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post you can follow one of three ways! 1. Subscribe to the RSS Feed 2. “like” Newschool Nomads on Facebook, or 3. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. Simple dimple!

Like food and fitness? Follow along as I film a workout in every state and explore finding a healthy balance on the road at Girl Heroes!


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Swept Away on Sanibel Island

As you can imagine living in an RV with 4 people can feel a little tight and there isn’t a lot of space for “grown up” time. It’s okay because…

As you can imagine living in an RV with 4 people can feel a little tight and there isn’t a lot of space for “grown up” time. It’s okay because we know it won’t be long before “are we there yet?” coming from the backseat is only a memory.

Still, sometimes when Brent and get the rare opportunity to be alone, we get so overwhelmed by the prospect of being able to do whatever we want – What? No whining from the backseat! – that we we find ourselves frozen in the face of options. We can stop for coffee without spending a small fortune for four people? We can take a long bike ride without worrying about someone riding out into traffic? We can wait for the sunset without being reminded that someone is “hungry”?

We can and we did at Sanibel Island.

When my mom and dad offered to watch the boys and Brent and I loaded up our bikes and headed to Sanibel Island, an island (you figured as much) off of Fort Myers. We parked in the chamber of commerce parking lot and took off down the miles of bike path that stretch over Sanibel.

Joy. Pure joy.

We rode in the warm breeze our hearts carefree and as light as the wind. We shared the best blended ice coffee ever at Sanibel Bean. We found a nearly deserted beach and watched the sunset. We talked. We laughed. We held hands. We hugged. We kissed.

Sanibel swept us off our feet and we enjoyed every minute.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Port Charlotte, Florida

Who needs a campground when you can park in a yard. We spent over two weeks at my parent’s house in Port Charlotte. This is what we will remember. Visiting…

Who needs a campground when you can park in a yard.

We spent over two weeks at my parent’s house in Port Charlotte. This is what we will remember.

Visiting with my Junebug and Papaw (my grandma and grandpa) for four days. We were so grateful to have that time with them.

Going thrifting with my Junebug. What a hoot!

A boat ride across Charlotte Harbor.

Canoeing in the canals. Ooooh there’s a string ray!

Searching for shark teeth at Venice Beach, Nakomis Beach, and Blind Pass on Manasota Key. Blind Pass was the best beach for shark teeth by a long shot. Nakomis was a close second. Venice gets an F. Thing Two found over 500 teeth. I think we better start panning for gold!

Sunsets at Blind Pass Beach on Manasota Key. Majestic.

Thing Two and I had a special date. We searched for shark teeth and got a table for two at a Greek dive. Love.

A farmer’s market date with my love.

Idling on the boat through the Charlotte Harbor canals at sunset and watching the milky reflection of a tiring sky on the water.

Visiting my great grandma Nell’s home. It was where my family stayed when I was a kid. The current owner even let us in. Amazing how much bigger things seem when you’re a kid. Brought back memories of sunburns, bathing caps, and morning walks on the beach with my dad.

Nakomis Groves where you get tiny cups of orange juice and large cones of ice cream. Backwards and worth it. I also used to visit this Nakomis Groves as a child.

Spending time with my parents.  Thank you Papaw and Weewah. <=== Cutest grandma name ever!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post you can follow one of three ways! 1. Subscribe to the RSS Feed 2. “like” Newschool Nomads on Facebook, or 3. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. Simple dimple!

Like food and fitness? Follow along as I film a workout in every state and explore finding a healthy balance on the road at Girl Heroes!

 

 

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