Spring Break – St. Augustine Beach (April 3)

On our last full day in St. Augustine Beach, Ella, Jack and I headed out to a little adventure at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.  For as many times as we’ve been to St. Augustine, we’d actually never been to the Alligator Farm.  The kids loved it (especially Jack who has aspirations to be a herpetologist one day).  Highlights of our time at the Alligator Farm: Maximo the giant croc, albino alligators, watching the alligators get fed by the zoologist, and feeding alligators themselves.  Definitely a fun and unique morning, an excursion I would recommend to anyone visiting the area.





{maximo}




{feeding the alligators.}



After our morning at the Alligator Farm, we headed back to Fort Matanzas to eat our picnic lunch.  Ever since visiting the park a couple of times this week, the kids were just itching to climb those magnificent trees at the park.  They had to finish their healthy lunch before they could climb hence the fewer pictures of Ella, a.k.a. the slowest eater ever.







{more acting from ella—the hammed up pose above with ella responding to jack’s head in an alligator’s mouth was her idea, too.}

That evening we were back to the beach.  After some more boogie boarding, they were all about the wrestling and sand throwing.  And, fortunately, they both came away still smiling.













Awesome Spring Break!  Thanks for hosting us, Aunt Jacqui and Uncle Randy, Uncle Chris and Aunt Chrissy, and Nana and PopPop!  We all need to get in the picture more this next trip over the summer—wish I had more pictures of everyone.

Spring Break – St. Augustine Beach (April 2)

On Tuesday of our Spring Break, the weather cooperated (actually it was such a beautiful, clear-skied day—rare for this year it seems) and we were able to take a morning ferry over to Fort Matanzas National Park.  We’d been to the big old fort in old St. Augustine, but we’d never even taken the kids to the beautiful park across the intercoastal waterway from Fort Matanzas.  It was a fun adventure—especially getting out on a boat and we all learned about some of the history of the area, too (matanzas means slaughters in Spanish, btw—a lot of bloodshed in its heyday defending St. Augustine).



{you can see the fort across the matanzas river from this spot.}

{after the ferry ride, headed to the fort.}




{you’d have to ask jack what poppop was pointing out to him here—the problem with blogging about april in july, you just can’t remember everything!  :) }




After our excursion to Fort Matanzas and saying our goodbyes to Aunt Jacqui and Uncle Randy (so thankful they took a couple days off of work to spend with us), we spent the afternoon at the beach.  The kids had a ball again, paying no mind to the temperature of the ocean water.  (But notice, again, how far away the pictures are taken from…should’ve brought the zoom.  :) }