Pompano Beach, Claire's birthday

We knew we would be spending Claire's eighth birthday on the road, and she had a simple wish; to spend her birthday at the beach.  Fair enough!  We figured we would be in Florida and could manage a beach party!  As her birthday drew closer, the details of her dream continued to form.  

A beach party with fruit smoothies on the beach!  Absolutely!  

A beach party with fruit smoothies and a tiki hut! Uh, I think we could find that.

A beach party with fruit smoothies, a tiki hut and surfing.  Um, maybe?

As we meandered north along the east coast of Florida in mid December we had not calculated peak season traffic and the difficulty we might find securing a spot amidst all the snowbirds (people from the north who spend the winter in the south). The night before her birthday we found ourselves calling parks along the beach without success.  Finally we found a spot and gratefully booked two nights so we could at least have a day at the beach.  

Pulling in after dark we were escorted to three different spots before we found a spot we could fit (we aren't that big, but this place was crowded!). We felt discouraged at how crowded things were, and being further than a walk to the beach, until we realized our spot was just across from the pool. With a tiki hut. We fell asleep dreaming about a birthday wish coming true!

We woke up to find an eight-year-old in the house.  This girl has fabulously rocked our world!  Her strength, confidence and brightness are an inspiration.  She plays hard, loves deeply, knows and speaks her mind, is a friend to all, loves going to bed at the end of a full day, dresses with flair, and is always up for an adventure.  

After breakfast waffles and presents, we headed over to the pool.  Shortly after we arrived, so did many other visitors for a morning swim aerobics class.  We learned that many of the guests at this park were snowbirds from Quebec.  Right in the middle of class they burst into birthday song, in French, for Claire.

After a swim, we packed our bags and Uber'd to the beach for the day.  She got her wish, they had paddleboards for rental (everyone wins!), the sun was warm and the sand lovely!

The kids worked on a sand version of Fort Jefferson.

Camped just across from the pool and tiki hut made it easy to get to know our neighbors from Quebec.  There was a language barrier, but we figured out a way to join in the billiards games.  Jackson was out there first thing in the morning, working on his game, learning from these men who clearly play a lot!  Steve ended up joining in their tournament, which turned out to be a rainy day. The entry fee included dinner for two, drinks and all day long entertainment. We lounged around the poolside, trading French and English lessons, the kids swimming in the pool. By dinnertime, we ordered a pizza for the kids and set them up with a movie.  Our French friends cleared the area, laid out table cloths and paused the tournament to share the meal.  One of the couples runs a french fry stand up north, and fried up potatoes for everyone.  Who knew we'd share a date night with fifty strangers, and have a blast!

Steve and his partner, Jasmin, nearly won the tourney!  

When it was time to say goodbye, we had invitations to visit Quebec some time in the summer, when our friends are in the north.  Sometimes traveling on the fly is stressful, but times like this one brought an opportunity we could not have planned.  

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National park is a collection of islands, coral reefs and waters, with over ninety percent of the park covered in water. We were just there for a day (remote camping is an option for those who boat out to the islands). We wandered the boardwalk, and met a few fishermen, then headed inside the visitors center.

Having been along the Florida coast for a couple weeks the kids were familiar with much of the material so quickly fulfilled their work to earn their junior ranger badge. Ranger Liz listened to the kids' sad stories from the Everglades, and conversed with them until they began sharing some of the positive memories. I so appreciate a park ranger who communicates well with children, inviting them to participate in the care of our wild spaces.
 

Everglades

We had grand expectations for the Everglades.
The giant slow moving river that covers the southern tip of Florida is an incredible habitat for a wide variety of animals and plants, including the endangered species like the American Crocodile, the manatee and the Florida Panther.

Our first impression left much to be desired. We rolled into camp after dark and found the camp without a host, map and nearly complete darkness.  With all the rain south Florida had experienced, the RV portion of the campground had been flooded.  We found a site that wasn't too wet and hooked up, hopeful for the morning.

Steve had a day in the office, and since our office is also the living room, kitchen and dining room, the kids and I needed an adventure.  We rode our bikes to the ranger station and visitor center, a large pink building on the marina.
Perhaps it was the overcast day, threatening to storm.  Maybe the worn out feeling of the building, which didn't seem to have any updates since the 70's.   It just had a depressed feeling. The rangers were friendly, but not very engaging.  I actually felt like I was interrupting their work to ask questions.  We got our hands on a junior ranger packet and the kids got to work.  The marina itself was pretty great - viewing the birds, manatee and alligators!!

These gentle creatures were fascinating to watch.  Their leather skin reminded us of patinated copper covered with some misplaced stubble.  It looks like a mix of an overgrown seal and a walrus, but its closet relative is actually an elephant.  It is the likely source of the mermaid legend.  Its graceful movement in the water and human like eyes do have an erie resemblance.
A newborn manatee weighs around fifty pound and the mother stays close to her young for two years. In part due to their large size they have no natural predators.  They can suffer attacks from sharks or crocodiles, but most of their deaths are at the hands of humans.  Injury from boats, nets and pollution are the most common cause of death.

Right at the marina we had our first close encounter with an alligator, observing it slowly glide along the dock.  Later on our boat ride we saw both the American crocodile and alligator within feet from one another.  The Everglades is one of those rare locations where the crocodile and alligator share the same habitat.  The crocodile prefers salt or brackish water  (when salt water and fresh water mix) and the Everglades have this scenario.  The alligator is darker and have a broader snout, the crocodile shows its teeth even when its mouth is closed.  Since the American crocodile is on the endangered species list, and it is really difficult to differentiate between the crocodile and alligator, both are illegal to hunt.  

The kids completed their work to earn a junior ranger badge, and when Steve finished his work day he joined us for a boat tour into the mangroves, a group of trees that grow in the coastal intertidal zone.  The are distinguished by their tangle of roots that prop up out of the water, looking like trees on stilts.  These roots are can handle the rise and fall of the twice-daily tide, while stabilizing the coastline.

Even though the water is no deeper than four feet deep, it looks dark and murky.  This is mainly because of the tannic acid from decaying mangrove leaves which color the waters red.  These dense roots are one of the most impenetrable forests in the world.  

We thought the sunset looked like two monsters greeting one another.

The sun went down and the mosquitos came out.  We are Minnesotan, so we are not unfamiliar with mosquitos, but these were aggressive.  Riding our bikes back to the campground wasn't enough to keep them at bay; they flew in our face, bit us through our clothes.  Jackson put it well when he said, "I've tolerated mosquitos all summer, but now its December and I'm done."
When we put out the slide in the RV they found a hole and came streaming inside our little oasis, so we had to keep the slide in place.

Exploring the marina and taking a boat ride was great, but the idea of taking a hike into the thick mangroves filled with mosquitos sounded miserable.  Covered in bites, we left first thing in the morning.

We stopped at the breakfast joint in Homestead that sounded least like a chain, Bistro Fusion. We had no idea that this dining experience would affirm our decision to leave the park early. We tried one of the house specialities, omelette with banana, peanut butter and chili sauce!  The service was fantastic and friendly. The owner came over to our table, excited that we tried one of his crazy creations, and proceeded to share his story. After 15 years running an IHOP restaurant, he lost everything when the economy tanked.  He followed his father's advice to "work hard no matter what you do because you work for God", pulled up his bootstraps and ended up purchasing the old IHOP building to start his own business.  If you are in Homestead, check out Bistro Fusion!

Our next stop was the Fruit and Spice park just north of the Everglades National park.  This 37 acre botanical garden was a private fruit collection that is now operated by the county park and recreation department.  Not all the over 500 plants are native to Florida, but the tropical climate is a perfect environment for the diversity. 

The park grows 150 varieties of mangoes alone, sadly not in season.  We could eat anything we found on the ground, or that was given to us by the guide, but picking was not allowed.  Some people come with a knife and bowl and a bag of chips during avocado season.

Who knew there were 80 varieties of bananas?!  We got to sample a few and were surprised at how differently they tasted.

I had heard of the tamarind, but never tasted it.  We decided it was nature's sour patch fruit!

I've never had a starfruit before, but since they were covering the ground Jackson had enough to discover he really liked them.  Their sweet flowers and tiny fruit were about the cutest thing.