Our first stop along the way was unplanned but turned into so much fun. We were passing through Plant City where many of the strawberries that we buy in our local grocery stores are grown. Dan quickly found a local u-pick strawberry farm and we headed there to pick some strawberries.
On the second day of our trip, we headed south and visited the Everglades. There we took a boat ride through Everglades National Park. While on the boat ride, we had the best view of dolphins ever. They were having so much fun following the boat and spent at least twenty minutes jumping in and out of the wake.
After the boat ride, we drove a little farther into the Everglades to a park that is known to have alligators within easy view. There was only one at the park due to the recent rains but the park ranger suggested that we drive down a dirt road where we saw several more. It's quite something to see an alligator on the side of the road.
Our next day we visited Siesta Key which has one of the world's top 10 beaches. The sand was super fine and bright white. The day was sunny and in the low 80s, but the Gulf could have been a little warmer for me. The cool temperature of the water didn't seem to bother the kids though.
The sand was perfect for making sand castles and building motes around them!
