The Everglades is the topic for part III of my series on Southwest Florida. If you’re visiting the Fort Myers vicinity, you may want to take a day trip to see some gators.

There are many ways to visit the Everglades: by motor boat, airboat, plane, or tour bus, but we opted to drive. We were fortunate to have a resident tour guide — our uncle lives in Naples and was more than happy to show us around this nature-rich area of Florida.

Big Cypress Bend is just a short drive from Naples, and highway 41 offers several spots to park and watch the wildlife. It’s even possible to view alligators and other wildlife from the highway, so it’s smart to remain watchful. We saw this Spanish moss from Kirby Shorter boardwalk, as we walked a mile or so back on boardwalks built through the Cypress trees.

We visited during early January, which is the dormant season, but we were still thankful for the boardwalks that kept us safely above the vegetation and, er… wildlife.

This boardwalk led to swamps with alligators, egrets and blue herons in their natural habitat. At this wayside, rangers were available to explain the wildlife, especially the gators.

Our voyage to the Everglades was an afternoon well-spent and educational. I recommend it for any nature-conscious family.

TIPS

* The Everglades can get pretty remote, and although some waysides and lookouts provide modern facilities, others provide only portable toilets, or nothing at all. Use the restroom in your hotel before you go!

* For the same reason above, bring plenty of water and pack a lunch. Depending upon the season you visit, you may get pretty thirsty on your hike, and in the Everglades, you won’t find much to quench it.

* Prepare your kids for the wildlife you’ll find in the Everglades. Explain the importance of remaining on the boardwalks, and out of the grass. The discoveries can be exciting, but you don’t a melt-down at the first sight of a gator in the middle of a Cypress swamp.

* Be camera-ready! You’ll be sure to experience must-snap photo opportunities!

Florida Series:
Disney World
Sanibel Island
Fort Myers Beach
Everglades

Affordable Family Travel Series:

Creativity and Flexibility
Renting Condos and Timeshares

More great tips at We Are THAT Family.

We’ve visited the Gulf Coast of Florida many times, and last week I shared our family excursions in Fort Myers and the island of Fort Myers Beach. Sanibel Island is another one of our favorite spots. I would describe Sanibel as the Gulf Coast’s “Environmentalist” island. The beach condos aren’t built taller than the palm trees, and residents welcome mother sea turtles each summer and protect their nests. Sanibel Island offers many excellent family excursions.

The Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is the product of a forward-thinking group of people that saw the natural resource on this island as something that had to be preserved. The refuge contains an educational center, canoe launch, mangrove overlook, fishing pier and observation tower, all for use by visitors. The refuge can be viewed on foot, by bike, or by car, and regular tours are provided as well.

In addition to the bike paths that meander through the refuge, other paths cover the island and the level terrain makes it an excellent spot for family bike excursions. Bike rental companies eagerly seek your business with a variety of bikes, including four-seat surreys. Our kids thought these were really fun, but it was the adults that had to motor the heavy vehicle, for the most part.

Our family also enjoyed the Sanibel Historical Village and Museum. Curators included the kids in our education, by providing a scavenger hunt that directed the kids into each of the buildings restored on the property. We learned a lot about the long history of the island, including the fact that it was largely agricultural during the early years of its settlement.

Shelling became our daily past-time, as did it for most the other visitors we saw on the beach. Sanibel is highly regarded for the beautiful seashells that appear on its long sandbar each day. And if you’re fortunate enough to become one of the few that discover the prized Junonia shell, your photo will be published in the local newspaper.

If you’re up for a daytrip, Captiva Island is an excellent destination. We hired Captain Ron to take us to the remote island Cayo Costa. Dolphins surfed in our wake on the way to the island, we found loads of shells on the island, and then fished on the way back to the Captiva marina. It was a productive afternoon!

Sanibel Island Series:
Sanibel Sandbar at Low-Tide
Four-Seat Surrey
Passing the Torch with Seashells
Sanibel Historical Village and Museum
Sanibel Island School
Sanibel Museum Dollhouse

Florida Series:
Disney World
Sanibel Island
Fort Myers Beach
Everglades

Affordable Family Travel Series:

Creativity and Flexibility
Renting Condos and Timeshares

Some of you might be planning winter escapes to sunny Florida, so I plan to write several Florida activity roundups in the next few weeks. This week, I’ll focus on fabulous Fort Myers.

Minneapolis/St. Paul generally has decent flights to Fort Myers, so many of my friends in Northwestern Wisconsin are also fans of this area of Florida. On the southwestern coast of Florida, Fort Myers rests on the beach of Gulf of Mexico, far enough south to get hot even in January. The weather in the coldest months can be fickle, so we’ve seen highs in the 60’s as well as those in the 80’s, but in January, it’s worth every hour you travel south of Orlando.

Fort Myers is a bustling city with everything a tourist or resident might need, but it’s within very close drive to several barrier islands with excellent beaches.

Fort Myers Beach, especially toward the south end of the island, seems to be more populated by the senior crowd, although as you take the trolley north toward the island’s commercial center, you’re more likely to find college beach combers.

Here are a few recommendations for families traveling to Fort Myers:

Buy bikes. If your kids are strong bikers, consider driving to the local second-hand store to rustle up some bikes. Even new ones at a department store could be well worth the purchase. Use them all week, then return them to the thrift store for a tax deduction at the end of your stay.

Pitch a beach tent. My Irish heritage made this a must in our family. For $20 at the local CVS, you can buy a beach tent that gives everyone a break from the blazing sun.

Get an extra map. Let your kids help navigate when you drive around town. Road maps are usually free at tourist information buildings, and often the tourist towns have fun and colorful maps that appeal to kids and locate all the family-flavored fun.

Ride the trolley. Fort Myers Beach operates a free trolley that can get you up and down the beach. We even took it to grocery shop at the Publix. It’s a fun diversion and avoiding traffic is always good. There’s even a bike rack for one-way trips!

WHERE TO GO
Imaginarium Museum – This well-planned, kid-friendly science museum offers an educational diversion for a non-beach day. Rangers bring animals out to visit, and various science exhibits keep the kids occupied and interested in learning. When we visited, the traveling robots exhibit was being set up too, so be sure to find out what special presentations might be open during your stay. It’s crazy traffic getting to the Imaginarium, but well-worth the educational stop.

Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium — Hiking trails, a butterfly garden and snakes, oh my! And the large planetarium is always a hit on a rainy day – and a fun way to learn about our universe!

Mound House — A Cultural and Environmental Learning Center which teaches about the Calusa Indians Mound House remains that was discovered here. It’s an ongoing archeological dig.

Ostego Bay Marine Science Center — Although my daughter was not impressed by the Marine Science Center, that was only because of the rude tour guide we encountered in 2007. If she is no longer there, I’m sure it’s a lovely place to visit, learning all about life underwater. And it’s a convenient stop if you’re staying on Fort Myers Beach. It’s located right on the causeway to the mainland.

Fort Myers Series:
Imaginarium Museum
Bikes on the Beach
Beach Tent
But do we need eight coconuts?

Florida Series:
Disney World
Sanibel Island
Fort Myers Beach
Everglades

Affordable Family Travel Series:

Creativity and Flexibility
Renting Condos and Timeshares

For more great tips, please visit Rocks in my Dryer.

***GUEST POST BY SIXTH GRADE DARLA***

Darla read this story as a part of her social studies/literature class. She wrote this review after reading only a part of the book. She later finished it and loved it.

In the story, Mara, Daughter of the Nile, there are quite a few main characters – Mara, Sheftu, Nekonkh, the new master, and maybe Zasha. Mara is the main character. She was a slave, but was just bought to be a spy for Pharaoh Hatshepsut. She is boarding a ship called the Silver Beetle, and has just met Sheftu and Nekonkh. Mara has her own personality and really doesn’t seem to be like anyone else.

If anything, I think she and Sheftu both have adventure in their veins. Nekonkh is the captain of the ship and does not like Hatshepsut at all. He is a bit suspicious about Sheftu, and maybe a little about Mara. Nekonkh adds suspicion to the book and a more interesting ride to Thebes, but we don’t know what yet. Sheftu is a man on the ride to Thebes on the Silver beetle. He seems to be hiding something, but we don’t know what. Nekonkh and Sheftu are both sailor-type people and that is how they are alike.

Zasha is Mara’s old master. He is terribly mean and seems to be a bit afraid of her. Zasha helps the fact that Mara was a slave and how terrible that masters can be. Zasha and the new owner are alike because they are both slave owners of Mara. The new master is very mysterious. He will probably be a very confusing character. In my opinion, he doesn’t seem very nice. I think between him and Sheftu, they will add much confusion to the book. Mara has her own personality and really doesn’t seem like anyone else. She and Sheftu have adventure in their veins.

There is a lot of action that has happened in the story. One of the main events so far is that Mara got a new owner and that she met Sheftu on the boat. The problem so far is that she is working for two “masters” at the same time, and that one master has her against Hatshepsut and for Thutmose, and the other is against Thutmose and for Hatshepsut.

In my opinion, the story is very exciting. I really like the character Mara, she is clever and adventurous, and like many of the characters in the books I have read. I think Sheftu is a very confusing character, and is a bit challenging to read about. I think the new master is very reserved and secret, with many secrets and opinions- just like a spy would be.

I have a few predictions. First of all I think Mara will come into huge trouble with the double masters because they will probably find out about each other and will be very angry, although I also think that Thutmose will end up becoming king, after some fatal death of Hatshepsut. I think that because Hatshepsut is older and is spending money like crazy, and that is a reason not to like her, where Thutmose hasn’t done any thing to get on anyone’s bad side. The only reason not to like him is if you only like Hatshepsut.

This review is a part of the Carnival of Kids Book Reviews.

Proud.

My Mom shares her birthday with President Lincoln – she’s always been proud of that, probably in the same way that I’m proud to have been born on Easter.

She’s proud, in general, I think, like the father and grandmother who raised her, and it’s shaped her life, I suppose.

She’s also independent. She even has a personalized plate that says, “MY WAY.”

For instance, my mom worked at Uniroyal for 25 years. She became an unwed mother in 1969 and fought successfully to keep her job during a decade when all pregnant women were expected to quit, giving up their income and seniority. Despite her independent spirit, smart management recognized my mom as the best, hardest worker they had. And although everyone else in the union worked from 8-4, my mom worked from 7-3 because it worked better for her, and management wanted what was better for their best employee.

I’m proud of that story.

Though Mom and I have experienced our share of catfights through the years, I don’t think it’s that unusual for a single mom raising her only daughter. And as time marches on, perspectives change, priorities switch, and emotions mellow. I’ve discovered that we were both born to be proud, independent, and sometimes inflexible Norwegians, but that we’ve relaxed a bit, now enjoying what is, rather than fuming about the way we want things to be.

Although I don’t believe I’m genetically predestined to acquire all my mom’s personality traits, we all know how it is with apples and trees;) And while I worried about this during the rollercoaster years, I celebrate it now.

I’m proud of how I’m like my mom.

Happy Birthday Mom!