We spent the afternoon kayaking & exploring the mangrove covered shoreline of Biscayne Bay.
We also tried to spot some manatees out in the sea grass of the bay but the water was too murky today
Also stopped for some more park play-time after lunch
It was a gorgeous day for our airboat ride & visit to the alligator farm.
The Everglades National Park is a vast park of marshes, estuaries, and mangroves. It is the only place where alligators & crocodiles are both native.
We also got some time this afternoon to play at a local park & then stop at the visitors center to finish-up another Junior Ranger badge.
Yesterday was a bit too cloudy & windy for our airboat ride in the Everglades. So today we took a quick drive into the Biscayne National Park.
This park protects the marine life of the coral reef & is 95% water.
We toured the visitors center then finish up our Junior Ranger activities. We stopped to play in the sand & made some friends from France vacationing here for a few weeks.
We are going to try again to do the airboat ride tomorrow then maybe do some kayaking in the Biscayne Bay on Wed.
Got a lil morning swim before we load up & head out of the Keys
We finally made it to our first National Park of the trip…and what a cool one to start with!
The islands were originally named Las Tortugas (The Turtles) by Ponce de Leon due to the many sea turtles he found there when he discovered the islands. The “Dry” was added later to warn maritime travelers that there is no fresh watch on the islands.
Read for more info on the Park
Taking the pledge for another Junior Ranger badge
With kiddos continuing to recover, our first day in the Keys began with some catch-up on school work, and cleaning / laundry. After some good naps, we enjoyed a nice afternoon on the beach & kayaking in the ocean. 
We’ve been camping in the secluded Big Cypress National Preserve just north of the Everglades.
Our original plan was to tour the Everglades from here, however the flu had other ideas. It hit me first, then Madi, followed promptly by Jamon. Drew had a bit of a tummy bug in the first few days but fortunately, has fought off the worst of it thus far. We took this as a sign that we needed a bit of R&R to start our adventure. 😴
We did get to see lot of alligators in and around the lake in our campground. Great opportunity to reinforce with the kids that we respect all creatures & their habitats.
Everyone seems to be on the mend now & we are headed down to the keys today. Ferry ride out to the Dry Tortugas is scheduled for Friday.
Two long days of driving & we are finally getting to warmer temperatures & making our way down into Florida.
Jsky & I are both fighting a bit of a cold/cough, and everyone is feeling a lil worn. We have a shorter day tomorrow then we will be camping in the northern Everglades for a few days. I think everyone is looking forward to taking in the natural spaces & relaxing for awhile.
We had a nice relaxing morning then made our way down to the French Quarter. We took in a few of the key sights including Jackson Square, the museum at the Cabildo, and the French Market. The kids loved their first beignets, and got some Mardi Gras masks at the market. It was still a little chilly but the sun was nice for touring the sights.
We woke up this morning to slightly warmer temperatures with 19 F in Shreveport. We all slept well & stayed cozy / warm inside the camper, but we had a little bit of scare w/ frozen kitchen pipes though. Learned we have a few places that need a bit more insulation on the slide, and they thawed without issue after a few more hours of driving on south. Whew!
We arrive in New Orleans this evening with a bit more time to get setup before dinner. We are staying a couple of days to check out the history & culture of the city before we head out east along the gulf, towards FL.
Kiddos are getting settled in…including Azul
50 in 365 