A Break from Winter

We successfully escaped the cold (and yet another snow day) with a well timed getaway.

We tried to visit the Everglades today, but the rain seemed to be stationed right over the park. We did see a lot of birds along the way, between the raindrops. (Saw a spoonbill, Leah. Now for that burrowing owl!) We stopped to see some wood storks and spotted an alligator nearby. We were fortunate enough to watch him catch a turtle. He didn't manage to keep it, but it was fun watching him try.

A wet wood stork

Alligator with his catch

The turtle is belly up, with his head just behind the blade of grass at the front of the alligator's snout. One of his legs is sticking out to the side. The turtle managed to escape when the alligator changed his hold on him a few minutes later.

The weather back at our condo was very nice, though. Ron spent some time fishing...but didn't catch anything. We did see a couple small barracuda and some other fish. We also saw a rather large horseshoe crab this morning, but he was dead and floating in the water. Tyler and Grandpa went kayaking and saw 2 manatee, which I think is very cool. Danielle and Grandma went swimming, and I sat around taking pictures. We ended the day with a great dinner and some games. The rain was a little frustrating, but we ended up having a really nice day. And no one down here ever mentioned the "wind chill".