Florida Fun in the Sun

Friday evening we headed out to Florida to unwind from the bar exam and re-energize before we both started working. We got to the airport with plenty of time so enjoyed a delicious dinner of Panda Express. It is amazing how the orange chicken hits the spot every time!

So we flew to Fort Lauderdale with a layover in Denver. It was a red eye flight, but didn't feel too bad. We arrived around 5:30AM so only 2:30AM in Oregon. We stayed with the the Barton's while out there so Ben was kind enough to pick us up that early. He then drove us to the beach so we could see the sunrise. It was amazing and I kept saying WELCOME TO MIAMI!!

 We also put our toes in the water and it was so WARM! Hello bathtub ocean water...could you please come to the west coast!?

After the sunrise, we drove to the Barton's. We hit a few thunderstorms on the way and it's just crazy how much water can dump in such a short time. Bryce and I were still feeling pretty good so we ate some bagels for breakfast with Ben and Henry then went swimming at the pool once Hannah and Jane got up. Swimming was a great way to continue our morning!

Once we were done with swimming, we got showered and took a much needed nap! We then went to the store for a few things - candy and Marlin gear! We got Marlin tickets for the game that night so we had to have something appropriate to wear. We drove to Miami and Cuban sandwiches for dinner before the game. It was good, but not what I was expecting. We then got to the game! The stadium has a retractable roof, which made it nice to sit in AC and enjoy the game, but funny how it changed the feel and sound of the game.

We got home late that night and all went to bed exhausted from our first day in Florida!

Sunday we got up and went to church. After we came home and enjoyed a nap because we were still tired from traveling. We then had a delicious dinner of ribs, asparagus, and berries with fruit dip. My ratio of fruit dip to berries may have been equal parts, but it was so good! After dinner, we went to the everglades that were right by the Barton's. I thought finding alligators would be hard, but it isn't. A few minutes later we found two. We then found two other ones and it was crazy how close we were to them without any fence or barrier. Plus, alligators look so evil. When I was little and maybe even into my 20's, I was convinced that Satan created cold blooded animals and Heavenly Father made warm blooded animals.  Can I get an AMEN?!

Can you spot the alligator?

Anyways, it started to get all stormy and dark. Immediately, my mind when to Jurassic Park so I started quoting it. Then by the time we got back to the house it was a torrential downpour. At this point, I couldn't be stopped with movie quotes! We finally braved the rain and ran inside, but got soaked. It was fun!

Monday we got up and went straight to the beach. It was amazing! The water was 85 degrees and it was only 10AM. We swam and played for a few hours. Then Hannah and the kids joined us, but unfortunately, they weren't there long before it started to rain. We thought about waiting it out, but decided to go get lunch. We went to Shake Shack and got delicious burgers and shake. Food always tastes so good after swimming.

We got home and showered and took a nap. Then Bryce and Ben left for the International Soccer Championship in Miami while Hannah, the kids, and I went swimming and watched a movie! When the guys got home, we stayed up much to late talking and laughing.

Then Tuesday we woke up early and got ready for a full day of fun that Bryce had planned. We drove to the everglades west of Miami. Our first stop was a 15 mile bike ride in Shark Valley (the everglades). We got there at 9AM and were the first ones on the trail. The mosquito were terrible, but after some bug spray we got our bikes and headed out. The first couple of miles were so entertaining because we saw so many alligators, birds, turtles, pig frogs, and fish!

We took our time and stopped a lot to see everything. Then a couple rode by us and asked if we had seen anything because they hadn't. I was shocked because we had seen so much.

By mile 5 it was getting pretty hot, but we wanted to get to the observation tower so we pushed on. We tried to not stop for every animal and only took breaks to drink our water and Gatorade. Hydration! We finally made it to the tower at mile 7 and were so happy for some shade.

It was worth the ride!

We enjoyed the shade, view, and breeze for a little bit and then headed back. It was so hot that we decided to go back the way we came instead of making the full loop. It was still 7 miles, but better than 8. And thankfully it started to rain! Then we decided to take breaks every 2 miles. And we even saw a snake crossing the path so we were happy with our shorter 14 mile ride!

Back at the car with its heavenly air-conditioning, we headed to our next stop - Buffalo Tiger Airboat Tours! Bryce researched different tours and found the best one. We got there right when a big group was leaving, but we were happy to wait for the next tour because it was smaller group. At first they put us on a big boat, but the engine wouldn't start so we got a small boat used for private tours - SCORE! We were right up front and sped around the everglades looking for alligators.

Our guide, Ernie, would get the alligators super close by making some funny sounds and then feed them bread. It was nuts to be that close to those scary things. And when they were snap their jaw shut, it would make a loud popping sound.

This one was big!

Fan boats are awesome!

Next, we were planning on checking out the "Clyde Butcher Big Cypress Gallery," driving past the smallest post office in the US, and walking the Big Cypress Boardwalk, but we were running out of time and charge on the phone (our GPS). We decided to head back. We found a Chick fil A on the way home and I couldn't have been happier with our adventure while eating my chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and Oreo shake.

Wednesday we slept in, which felt amazing! We then headed to the beach. It was a beautiful day and the water was so clear. I wore goggles in the ocean and saw lots of fish and thankfully no sharks. We played in the sand, threw the football, and had fun in the sun!

On Thursday, we got up and went to Fort Lauderdale to paddle board. We tried this one place that had a cheap Groupon, but they were weird and rude so we left. We tried a place closer to the beach called Fort Lauderdale Stand Up and they were nice and even brought us our boards and gave us a quick lesson. It was great! We were able to stand up without falling and then paddled around for about 90 minutes. It was exhausting with the current, but still fun!

Just like the pros!

We got lunch after returning our boards. Bryce found a BBQ that had good reviews online that was near by and it was amazing! We then returned to the beach and enjoyed the wonderfully warm ocean water. Since it was our last day, I tried to convince myself that I was all beached out, but I could have stayed longer. I love tropical vacations!

That evening we went out to dinner with Ben and Hannah at a fun Thai place. We tried several dishes and ate family style. We then stopped at the grocery store for ice cream, but got catch in a terrible downpour. We were soaked by the time we got home. We enjoyed milk shakes while we packed and chatted. We then headed to bed so we could wake up at 5AM to catch our flight.

Our flight home wasn't too bad except for the three hour delay in Denver. I used Twitter to get flight updates since the lady at the gate was useless. Got to love social media! Then we were able to sleep quite a bit on the flights so that helped make the time go faster. Finally, Portland welcomed us home around 3:30PM and temperatures in the 70s.

Thank you Florida and Barton's for such a wonderful vacation!