Our Summer Vacation included Beau’s Sister and Brother-in-law, and their two kids. We couldn’t have asked for better vacationers to share South Dakota with. What is honestly amazing is how well three kids did crammed in the back of a car for 10 hours. And then ANOTHER 10 hours back home. Super awesome.

Here’s some bits and pieces of the trip. Hover over the picture with your mouse to see the captions I included with each to get more info.

Alternate title: Who needs toys on vacation?

Snacks.

Rocks.

Sticks.

Cousins + granola bars.

Porch Swings.

Pinecones + Water.

A step perfect for little legs.

Paper plates.

More vacation photos to come.

Okay, I promise this is the last post about Florida. Unless you want more, because trust me, I’ve got more.

I think it’s safe to say that we visited the Naples Pier every (full) day we were in Naples. We love the ocean, and while we are adventurous at times –trying new restaurants out, attempting to blend in with the rich and retired, boating, and exploring the Everglades– we also like to calm walks on the beach, putting our feet in the sand, searching for pretty shells, people watching, and enjoying the views.

The first day it was fairly foggy on the coast, despite the sunshine inland. And the second day, it was raining when we went. This didn’t stop the old fisherman of course, so there was still quite a bit of action on the pier both of those days. By the third day, the sun had returned and we witnessed a gorgeous sunset, along with a ton of other people. I suppose watching the sun set on a beach in Naples isn’t such a unique idea on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. Go figure!

So here’s a collage of some of my Naples Pier photos. It was probably my favorite spot to visit. At least in the top 3, and likely battling it out in the top two with 5th Ave Coffee Co. You can see in the first photo that the pier was yet another place we spotted dolphins. And that’s a baby hammerhead shark that fisherman caught.

PS. I realize that I never posted a single photo of me on this trip. I promise I was there, and there are photos to prove it, but let’s just say, the sexy beach hair most people covet, doesn’t exactly work for me. So there will be no photos of me with crazy, wild beach hair permitted on my blog.

Like I said before, our Florida vacation was a good mix of pretending we were rich and famous on 5th avenue and exploring the real Florida. You can only admire expensive home decor and clothing shops from the sidewalk for so long. So we headed to the Everglades to get a taste of wildlife. We’ve actually been to the Everglades before, and even camped! But that was on the southside. This time we figured we’d stick semi-close to Naples, you know, so we could get back to the awesome Naples Pier in time for a breath-taking sunset!

Everglades City is a small town near the Gulf Shore Visitor Center entrance to the Everglades. We had wanted to go kayaking, but the wind was strong due to a cold front which had passed through the day before, and the clouds hadn’t quite left yet either. Therefore, it was chilly. Instead, we settled for a boat tour, which ended up being pretty fun, despite still being very cold. Amusing crew and lots to see. Including dolphins! We only saw one at a time, as they would ride the current of the boat. It was adorable. I love dolphins, almost as much as I love pelicans.

After our boat tour, we did some hiking on short trails that jut out from Tamiami Trail – a road which connects Tampa and Miami through the Everglades. For lunch, we decided we’d be completely nuts if we skipped out on Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe. We were sort of right. It was definitely an experience. From the interesting way of running the joint to the odd family of motorcyclists that had stopped for a beer. They kept us entertained while waiting for our food. The food wasn’t horrible, but if you do happen to stop at Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe and order the famous Blue Crab as a meal, first find out how to eat one. We barely got any crab meat out of ours and it likely is because we are Minnesotans without a clue. Oh well, it was still an experience to try out Alligator nuggets!

Ok, I promise only ONE more Florida post. I think.

I’m giving you fair warning up front. This post contains far too many pictures of pelicans. You can probably ask just about any of my family members and they’ll agree that I have always had a special place in my heart for pelicans. From the time I was 2 years old driving with my parents in Florida calling out ‘bird!’ everytime we passed one.

I remember visiting the St. Pete Pier as a kid and being in awe of the number of pelicans that hung out there. And they’d allow you to get so close. And of course, watching them not so gracefully plop in the water to catch a fishy lunch, has always been a fun seen while walking the beach.

They are all over Florida, and now that I’m not a star-struck little kid, I can see how they could be quite a nuisance to local boaters and fisherman. But I still adore them. Something about them is just so cool to me, compared to other ocean birds. They especially like to wait for fisherman to return to the docks and wait for scraps of newly caught fish, which is what we got to witness as we waited to board the Naples Princess our second day of vacation. They swarmed the docks once they all realized it was free fish time.