Adventuring with Amelia

I probably won’t have cell service to post fully as we are staying in the Everglades National Park tonight (change of plans), so I’m gonna throw up 2 photos and finish the post tomorrow.

Let’s finish this blog post:

Yesterday we left our campsite at the KOA near Kennedy Space Center with intentions of driving down to our campsite at a Naval Base in the Florida Keys.

They called DJ shortly after we left our campsite and asked if we were going to make it to the base pass and ID office before it closed at 3:30 pm. Nope. While we could have maybe gotten it to work, we decided to hit up Biscayne and Everglades National Parks yesterday instead.

We have seen lots of wildlife already during this trip… this little colorful lizard was fun to see at Biscayne NP.

We walked around Biscayne and it is gorgeous! Most of this national park is underwater/ coral reefs.

Such a fun spot to walk around! Miss Amelia enjoyed it too!

After we walked around we took a few minutes and put our toes in the ocean.

Then DJ grabbed the red kayak and we all took turns paddling around Biscayne NP’s coastline.

I love the Jackson LOVES kayaking too. We told him not to go too far as the current was decently strong further out.

Just hanging in the shade, it was an absolutely perfect afternoon!

Jackson coming in from his paddle. Seriously a fun and gorgeous spot!

Amelia is getting a bit big for us to have her ride with us on these small kayaks now. So, she got a little tow around ride in the shallow area. She is such a water baby! She loved it. We are considering getting a 2 person kayak that has moveable seats so we can pull them close together. We kinda want to rent one first tho (maybe this trip) and see how it goes before we invest in one.

After Biscayne National Park we drove into Everglades National Park and got set up at our campsite. We didn’t have any hook ups here (no power, water, or sewer), but were able to fill our fresh water tank before we parked the camper. Our camper batteries kept the fridge going and the lights on, but without electricity hooked up we have no outlets/AC/heat when we boondock.

The temp in the camper was 86° when we parked. When I gave Amelia’s meds at 3 am, it was only down to 78°. We had the “dinette” window and the vents open last night to help cool it down.

DJ got a little sassy with parking the truck and camper when we arrived… there was enough space to fit my finger between the two and that’s it for both to officially fit on the campsite pad. (We didn’t park that close after we took a drive around the park after dinner).

Our campsite was awesome! I can’t believe we stayed in the Everglades!

Dinner was veggie burgers on the Blackstone with cheddar cheese, grilled peppers and onions, and avocado with chips and Oreos.

Veggie burgers while camping is always a guaranteed hit and these were awesome! We have had several PB&J sandwiches and pizza leftovers twice since we left home, so it was a nice change.

Amelia just being a bit sassy with the screen door for a minute last night, it was pretty funny! She is quite the nugget and constantly keeps us on our toes!

Campsite!

Btw- Messi loves camping!

After dinner we drove further into Everglades National Park. We stopped at this pond for a quick minute before continuing onto the area known as Flamingo.

We found an alligator!

DJ spotted this big alligator, apparently named “Fred.” He is 15 feet long and is the “alpha male” of the area we were told.

Fred was on the other side of the little docks area and eventually made his way super close to us. He was literally feet away at one point, it was insane! (I forgot to mention, we saw 4 other alligators in our drive back to our campsite from Kennedy Space Center).

We were hanging out by these guys for awhile while the alligator was close by the side wall. The guy in the left said he drove 2,500 miles to see this. Guy in the right asked where he was from. Minnesota… then he said near St. Cloud. We then told Minnesota guy that DJ and I graduated from Litchfield. Minnesota guy then said he lived nearby Wilmar, now that he knew we were familiar with the area. Small world.

Peanut got her evening seizure meds during all this excitement and was asleep for the drive home. We did not get her out of the truck to see the alligator as Amelia gets her adamant about swimming whenever she is nearby water.

The marshy wetlands of the Everglades at dusk.

When we got back to the camper we started getting ready for bed and for today’s drive and adventure.

I can’t wait to post our craziness from today… hopefully later tonight, tbd.