Marathon, Florida - Part 1

The Florida Keys is our happy place. We headed down for our second Mini Season this year.  We love the spiny lobsters!  We stayed at Jolly Roger and got the boat ready as soon as we landed :-)  We had a fun filled 11 days of diving for lobster, fishing, snorkeling, exploring and relaxing!  Here are some of the highlights (Part 1)

Brendan and Braden getting the boat "assembled"

They needed Aaron's muscles!

The boat is a bit of a pain, but once it's in the water it is totally worth the trouble.

Nice water view through the other rigs 

Just hanging out

Tarpon Creek Bar and Grille

Brendan and Braden

The crew cruising on the golf cart

Captain Bryan

Peek A Boo!

One of the most relaxing, peaceful things to do in the world

Paradise

Bodie loves getting cozy after a full day in the sun

Fish cleaning station was always busy!

Braden is a pro at this!

Our family in our little plastic "yacht"

LOL

Bugs

One way to do it....

Another way to look for lobster

Success!!!

Happy Boy

Our catch

Dinner....

More Florida Keys fun to come...Stay tuned!

Hollywood, Florida

And we're headed to The Keys...one of our favorite places to visit!  It will be our second year in The Keys for Mini-Season (which is a two day lobster extravaganza on the last Wednesday and Thursday of July!)  On our way there, we stopped in Hollywood, Florida.  We've been here once before and we really enjoyed it.  It's also a great way to break up the long trip between Orlando and Marathon.  We had to replace our air conditioner while we were there (I don't think I've ever been so hot!!!!)  We found a great RV service center in the area that really helped us out of a hot and sticky situation!!!!  It was a quick stop over but we managed to get the rig fixed and eat at our favorite foodie hub, Jaxson's in Dania Beach!

Amusing ourselves on the road trip...

Nom Nom Nom

Jaxson's...Home of the very large wiener!

YUM!

Braden couldn't believe the size of his dinner!  He immediately texted everyone he knows!

Milkshakes at Jaxson's are a specialty! 

This man can fix anything!

Did I mention how SCORCHING HOT it was that day?????

Need.Air.Conditioning.Very.Badly.In.Florida!

Never too hot to fish~

In the end, the air conditioner needed to be replaced (whole new unit was installed an hour before the shop closed for the weekend!).  Lots of fishing and eating happened, too!  We were ready to continue the trek to Marathon for LOBSTER!!!!

Orlando, Florida

Well, we did it!  We are experiencing Florida in the summer.  After spending the 4th of July in the Outer Banks, we headed to Thousand Trails Orlando for a spell!  Some of our traveling friends were here at the same time, so we were able to reconnect with some of our buddies!  There was fishing and kayaking at the lake for Braden. There were also two pools, the playground, Pokemon Go and Rec Center fun for both boys and their friends.  Bryan and I discovered the twisted game of Cards Against Humanity with four other FTF couples (and celebrated Louie's birthday!)  The boys experienced summer camp, SkyZone style and made some new friends and got tons of exercise!  Bryan and I were able to get back to our exercise routine (this park is really walking and biking friendly!)  Here's a little of what we did in Clermont...      

Summer in Florida means a great selection of campsites to choose from!

We loved our little slice of the Florida wilderness...until the ants invaded!

We discovered this deliciousness...Naan bread pizza (grilled with white sauce and mozzarella cheese)

All the things the boys love, all rolled into a week long camp! One of their FTF friends, Aidan, joined them for the week!  

Check out these fancy new socks!

Quick Meet and Greet at the Pool!  Summer in Florida means that the storms roll in just about the time you want to go to the pool :-)

Another view of our wooded campsite hideaway!

Our campsite in Section D of the campground is close to the lake... where the kids like to fish, where we can watch the sun set and watch fireworks that Disney puts off every night!

You never know when you're going to see a UFO!

They have hot air balloon rides just down the road in Orlando!

The resident alligator

Another view of the lake at the campground

The campground crew, fishing at dusk...

It was a beautiful moon....

Our FTF friends!  We enjoy spending time with this crew when our paths cross...and we make sure they cross often!!!

This picture makes me so happy!  Look at that face!!!!!
NEXT STOP....THE FLORIDA KEYS FOR MINI SEASON!!!!