our florida trip, june 2011

it was such a treat to get out of town together; a full week of shared meals, hours on the beach, lots of meals out, discovering our enjoyment for snorkeling and loving all the underwater life we were able to witness together.
we had a great trip!
and looking forward to the next one:)





hello miami!
this is the view from one of the beaches, such a contrast lounging in the warm atlantic and seeing the skyline just across the way.

we went to south beach.
and since we live in a city, and i work in the city, i wasn't too interested in visiting or participating in city life.
but we can say were were there, but i was more excited to head off to the beaches and little towns less traveled.

yes it was this hot



dave truly enjoys going to new places and experiencing new things.
he found this wild bird sanctuary where numerous birds are fed, rescued, taken in, cleaned and if needed cared for.
we were able to witness the daily wild bird feeding




we took two different snorkeling tours, both which took us out to the coral reef where there is an incredible underwater sea life you'd never be able to see unless you had your head under the water.
absolutely amazing...we saw all kinds of fish, lobsters, barracudas, sting rays, sea urchins and many i don't even know how to classify.




just a 2 hours kayak trip, that turned into a 4 hour kayak trip...the day we both were in the sun a little too long...my knee caps were sun burnt!)
we took a couple mile trip to the uninhabited indian key, where we were able to get out onto the island, walk around, read about the history (our kayak rental came with self guided tour materials!) and then we took our kayaks around a marigold island with inlets and a hidden crocodile (which we never found. i was hoping to see it)
very fun and felt very "survivor-ish"
dave said if we were to give marriage advice, it'd be "get in a two person kayak..."
you have to communicate, you have to work together, and you'll have fun!





we fed the tarpons off of robbies pier.
ohmyword...such an event.
we didn't lose any fingers or fall off the deck; both of which i was a bit fearful.
i shared some of my fish with a few little kids watching the action...i wondered why some parents stop off at the famous robbie's pier for the tarpon feeding and choose not to spend the $3 on a bucket of fish to feed the tarpons?





such a good find, thanks to our frommers tourbook....my very own tropical garden


one afternoon we decided to spend at the dolphin research center
they have a huge lagoon off the atlantic ocean where they are able to take care of injured dolphins, conduct research studies, and its also a retirement center for dolphins who get too old to perform for audiences.




this was from one of my favorite beaches


one of my favorite events of the week....dave's daily letter of affirmation.
it was a last minute idea of mine to write him a little note for each day.
it was totally spontaneous as to when i gave him the letter each day, but it was really fun to do that...and i think he appreciated it


a little restaurant on the pier;
if we were a fisherman and a fisherwoman, the chef at this restaurant would cook our catch anyway we'd like it. pretty great idea.
they also have a dock, so that you can arrive at the place in your boat!



at one of our hotels, we had a private beach, which included its own iguana



when traveling through the florida keys, everyone talks about key lime pie
(and by the way, key limes aren't even grown in the keys!)
we tried out the award winning white chocolate mousse key lime pie at the butterfly cafe


i love this guy. he makes our vacations amazing.
he is the planner, the organizer, the el capitan in our little rental car.
always looking forward to our next trip