Florida Keys- Week 3, Part 2

Week 3 continued :-)

When we last posted, we were on our way to Key West...

There's the Key West sign as we zoomed

on by in the Jeep!

We quickly found a parking place and went into the Key West aquarium.

It was a small, but very cool aquarium- it wasn't on our "to do" list originally, but both boys really loved the Key West Aquarium and I'm thankful we stumbled upon it!

We loved the String Ray Touchtank!

Pufferfish...sooooo ridiculously cute!

Lionfish

Cowfish-  This is my favorite fish!

Nurse Sharks...The ironic thing is we paid to see the exact creatures we have been seeing in the wild for the last few weeks...it was still very cool and it reminded us just how lucky we have been to have this experience in the Keys.

Quality time...

Octopus...

We found the Mile 0 Marker!!!!

We made it!!!

Look at the size of those cookies!!! We just had to stop in and sample the sweets in Key West!

There were lots of quirky little shops, bars, and restaurants throughout Key West.  It reminded us of New Orleans a little bit.

It was a great family day in Key West!  

As we were walking through the town, we happened upon this tree...it was majestic and the story was very interesting.

On the way back to Marathon, we stopped by the Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key.  It was the perfect time to see the deer 'cause it was feeding time!  

They were ADORABLE!!!!!

They were curious and just watched us as we watched them!  

This one had little antlers!  Such a cool place to visit and see the Key Deer!

We also had plenty of boat time!  More snorkeling, lobstering, and exploring in general...

Bryan and Aaron, checking out some underwater treasure!

The boys met a new friend, Brendan, whose family owns the campground next door.  He likes all the things Braden likes.  He has taught us a lot.  Here he was teaching us about lobstering and spear fishing...he has a brother named Jordan who likes all the same things Aaron likes!!!!  How awesome is that?!?!

Searching for lobsters along the shallows..

We caught an iguana...and then let him go...

Things wash up along the shoreline all the time...Brendan shared his find with Aaron (who LOvEd seeing all the shoreline treasures during our boat ride!)

Getting dark...time to head home!

The Four Muskateers...Brendan, Braden, Jordan & Aaron... These guys have been  inseparable since they met...There are also two boys across the street and they all have been fishing, swimming, and playing all day together.  The boys are making great friends and having a blast!

All this action and all these boys...Bodie tired....

Florida Keys- Week Three, Part 1

Week 3 was chocked full of fun, so I'll have to write in in two parts!  

Where has the time gone?  We are trying to savor the sunsets, the warm weather, and the salty sweet air everyday.

The sea wall

 Our Florida State Park Pass = Park Day, Any Day!

I love that the boys take the time to read the signs...

Off the beaten path...

We found a snake skin!  Luckily, we didn't see the snake...

Exploring...

The one trail we walked was part boardwalk, part beaten path...we enjoyed both!  

With all this coastline waiting to be explored, we need to come back!!!  They rent kayaks here, so we'd love to spend the day exploring while paddling...

Our next field trip - Windly Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park...

Armed with our handy dandy Trail & History Guide, we were ready to learn!

Look at my eager students...they were psyching themselves up for the hike :-)

We practiced following a map...the boys have crazy cool map reading skills...me, not so much!

We learned about Mr. Henry Flagler and the Overseas Railroad.

We explored the quarry and saw the machinery that was used to extract the fossalized coral.

Wow!  

We saw and felt the fossilized coral - if I am remembering correctly, there are 4 or five types of fossilized coral, including fossalized Brain Coral.

Interesting stuff!  

Old fashioned quarry machinery!

Our hike took us through the beautiful park where we learned about native plants and trees.

We even found a geocache on our adventure!

This just screams, "Florida"!

Massive slabs of Keystone

It was a great park to visit - we learned a lot!

Next stop- Robbie's Marina in Islamorada.  We had heard that this place was unique and we weren't disappointed.  

Hahaha.  Its the place to be to see and feed the ginormous Tarpon.

We were so excited to get our buckets of fish and head out to feed the torpedo sized Tarpon!!!

Look out for your fingers!

These were the little guys!

Do you see the size of these suckers???

It was a feeding frenzy and I took about 1,000 pictures!  It was amazing to see the fish waiting to be hand fed.  We plan on going back before we leave the Keys!

Lots of cool places to pull off the road and learn about the history of the land.

Some places can only be accessed by boat!

Some can only be accessed IN THE SEA!

This week we also took a drive to Key West!

Look how excited these cute boys are :-)

We can't wait to tell you all about the rest of our Week 3 in out next blog post (which I'll write tomorrow!!!). Bodie and I are sooooooo sleepy....all this adventuring wears us out :-)