This post is going to be a hodge podge of stuff from the last week... Some may be repeating from earlier posts that were sent from our Iphones which are not conducive to much typing.

We arrived in the keys on Wed, Feb 17 and stayed around til Mon, Feb 22. During that time we went to Key West twice; once to visit w the Itkins and splash around at the state park in KW and another time with Darren, Kathleen and Evan. We also had time to have a seafood feast on our grill including fresh tuna steaks, shrimp and scallops and spend a great day at Bahia Honda beach.

From the keys we went to the Everglades national park and spent two nights at the Flamingo campground which is 28 miles from the entry gate. Deryl made rice crispy treats.

On Tues, Feb 22, we rented a motor boat and spent about 6 hours on the water driving through a maze of mangrove islands and trying not to get lost. We were pretty much the only people on the water and had the entire bay to ourselves it seemed. Everyone got a chance to drive the boat. At one point we needed our compass to get our bearings straight and Deryl had the great idea to check if our Iphone map app was working and it was. In fact, the map on the Iphone was more accurate than the map that the boat rental kiosk gave us and we arrived back without any trouble. While out we saw three dolphin swimming in the bay which we briefly caught on video. We saw some alligators and crocs too.

We took a walk along the Anhinga trail on our drive out of the park. There were more gators than you could count and tons of different types of birds.

From the Everglades park, we set out toward Marco Island. Along the way we stopped a second time at this super fruit and produce stand called "Robert is here". it's been around since 1960 when Robert's father would drop him off on the side of the road with produce from their farm and a sign that said, "Robert is here". Robert still owns and operates the place and it has become an icon in the area. If you're ever in the area, have a strawberry milkshake there!!

We drove to Marco Island and have been parked at the Marriott resort right on the water. Deryl's friend Joanne is one of the managers in the front office and has been able to have us stay in the back of their lot for the last 3 nights. Awesome pools which we have the privilege to use and have enjoyed catching up with Joanne and her husband, Ashley.

Our former neighbor from Riverside, Sharon Eddy, stopped b

y for a visit at the Marriott. We spent the afternoon catching up and telling her stories from the trip. Elena introduced her to Farmville on Facebook while Isaac screwed back on the coverings on the steering column.

Here are some videos from the places described above. Their fairly self-explantory I think.