BT 4.0: A shoulder ride

Yesterday we spent the day at a beach on Key Biscayne in Bill Baggs State Park. It was a perfect day filled with giddy children, frolicking in the waves, lunching under a big beach umbrella and bringing heaps of sand back to the hotel with us.
Today is father's day. For the last three years we have celebrated this day on Big Trip. Today we hiked/walked in the Everglades, something Mark has been trying to get me to do since we moved to Atlanta in 1999. It was HIS day. I yearned to protest but being only an hour away on HIS day, I simply couldn't. . I have always had reservations about this visit. I'm skittish around large reptiles with jaws of steel. Don't get me wrong, I'm fascinated by swamp creatures of all shapes and sizes but I believe deep down that they just don't want me around. That's fine. I don't want them around me either.
We arrived shortly before 9:00 am to an empty parking lot and closed visitor center. As we embarked on our 25-foot walk towards the bathrooms every mosquito this side of the Mason-Dixon swarmed around Odelia. We were outside for a grand total of four minutes sans bug spray and she had a half a dozen bites on her. The remainder of our wait was done in the car. A gigantic black bug flew into our car, we all squealed and it immediately exited. We purchased bug spray at the visitor center (oh yeah, we forgot the SEVEN bottles of bug spray we brought with us back at the hotel) and off we went to get mauled by gators. Bug spray-->Sunscreen-->Bug spray (again) and we were off on our hike. As we started out someone gave us a heads up that a turtle was meandering across the street. We got up close and personal with this turtle fella! He was adorable and we watched him for a long time (let me apologize in advance for all the turtle pictures you will see but SERIOUSLY it was huge and adorable and I LOVE huge and adorable reptiles that will not eat my children).
The hike was mostly on a boardwalk but that didn't squelch my fear at all. I was screaming things at the kids like, "stay in the center of the path" and adequately passing on my alligatophobia to the next generation of worriers. Within the first quarter of a mile I had Odelia shuttering and gasping right along with me. We spotted two alligators shading themselves a mere 10 inches from the boardwalk. Mark tried to talk me down with gator facts, "humans are too big for them to eat, they like smaller animals"...Umm? Like my daughter? Odelia and I admired the gator from a safe distance and Mark and Milo went in for a closer look. I figured if they got eaten O's and I could head somewhere close for a piece of Key Lime Pie.
One of the highlights of Big Trip is always our hikes. Everyone relaxes, the kids explore and we find a perfect rhythm as a foursome. Odelia is an excellent little hiker but she will take full advantage of her daddy's shoulder rides if given the chance. As we were hiking today I looked up to see the familiar view of her atop Mark's shoulders and a wave of sadness washed over me. This will probably be the last year of shoulder rides. When people would tell me that their childhoods pass by in flash I used to scoff and wonder how that could be possible since the sleepless nights and crying fits felt eternal but now I get it. My big 4-year-old isn't a toddler anymore and she'll soon be following the path that all kids take, inching away from us to explore and experiment. Today I savored the image before me, her on daddy's shoulders and Milo lolly-gagging somewhere in the middle.
The rest of the day was filled with a picnic, a dive-bombing turkey vulture, a visit to Robert Is Here for a Key Lime milkshake, swimming and picking Nana and Bill up from the airport. Tomorrow we embark on the cruise...off the grid for five days so the blog will be on hold (again).

Sandcastle Building.

Bill Baggs State Park, Key Biscayne, Florida

milo blogs: First we had a spot in the sun then we got two chars and a umbrella by the wodr.

Bill Baggs State Park, Key Biscayne, Florida

Pure joy!

Giggle fits.

Sangria and Ceviche at Versailles Restaurant

Everglades National Park: The mosquitoes have sent out an all-call alerting the crew that Odelia is in the area.

Waiting in the car for the visitor center to open so we can buy bug spray.

The lizards never fail to entertain us. I suppose this might be how some people feel about squirrels.

Odelia's first mosquito bite at the Everglades. (Fortunately for you we didn't take pictures of all of them).

Florida softshell turtle: Cutest fella ever! He was hanging out by the bathrooms when we saw him the first time.

Trying not to make him too nervous with our ogling.

A freaking gator tail! GASP!

Everglades National Park

Daddy's shoulders.

Here he is again! This time he was chillin by our car under a tree. I did not bring him home with us but I really wanted to. Somehow I doubt that he would have appreciated wintering in Wisconsin.

Ok, last one...

We did a second hike in the Everglades through a mahogany forest. Explaining to a 4 and 6-year-old why these trees are so cool was not easy but they were troopers and indulged us.