Edited to add: Blogger says this is my 250th post! Wow! Apparently I have
a lot to say? Thanks for hanging around with the Haucks for the last three years ...
and don't worry, we've got more adventures to come! :)
It's been super quiet around the nest for a bit and that's mostly because
we flew down to Florida for a week! If you've been reading this blog
for any length of time - you will know that we Haucks love Sanibel/Captiva Island.
(In fact, if you check the archives, you will see that I've blogged about it three other times!)
This year we got smart and decided to plan our trip in the month of October.
(Last year we went in August and it was basically like walking on the
face of the sun every time we went out the door).
The flight down was pretty uneventful (though very, very early).
Max watched the i-Pad and Rob and I took turn snoozing.
Upon landing we had to kill some time before being able to check
into our house, so you know we went straight to the outlets
and then ate lunch at our favorite island bar - the Lazy Flamingo.
Max was obsessed with throwing rocks in their waterfall out front
and spending all our quarters in the mini vending machines.
In fact he only agreed to the above picture because
I let him throw "just one more rock" in the water.
Finally at 4:00 (which seems like an eternity when you've
actually been on the island since 11) - we arrived at our
rental house mansion for the week! It was called the White Pelican.
From the minute we set foot in the house and changed into
our swim suits, we spent a great deal of our time at the beach.
The beach was just feet from our back door.
Max was loving the "stepping stones" which were in the shape
of sand dollars. At the end of the sand dollar trail, he would
usually request to be picked up and carried the rest of the way.
And because he's pretty irresistible, we usually obliged.
We would usually spend some time at the beach in the morning.
This would look like one person carrying Max, and the other person
struggling to carry all the beach toys, towels, chairs etc. in a laundry basket.
The beach was pretty fantastic. You could usually look
out and spot dolphins. And you couldn't walk a foot without
running into shells. The shells were my favorite. The sand was Max's
favorite. I couldn't believe it, but he let us bury him in the sand up to his neck!
We also had obstacle courses in the sand...threw the frisbee...
tossed a ball into the waves and chased it down the beach...
and had numerous races (because Max loves to say,
ready, set, go!)
We were also conned into building many, many sand castles.
However the sand castles never really made it to their
full potential because Max loved to squash them with his
bootie. He would just walk from pillar to pillar and sit right
on top. What a silly boy!
As we drove over the bridge to get on the island, Max
immediately noticed people sailing kites. So, we decided
to purchase a small kite in the shape of an airplane.
I kind of forgot about it until one afternoon when we
were trying to coax Max down to the beach after his nap.
I mentioned the kite and he was all about it.
The only problem was - it wasn't super windy this particular
afternoon, so the kite didn't go too high.
But, it was still fun to see Papa Rob work his flying muscles!
Sanibel is known for it's shells but the beaches are also
home to some pretty neat birds too! Nearly every
time we walked, we would see Great Blue Herons
and flocks of gulls and terns. The White Ibis
are a little more elusive, but we managed to spot them
several times too. You can always see osprey and pelican
overhead ...and dolphins are commonly sighted too!
Every afternoon when Max went down for his nap, my mom, Stacy,
and I would hit the beach. As much as I would have loved to stay back
and kick my feet up - I couldn't let those gals get ahead of me on the
fit bit competition. But more than that - I really do love to look for shells.
I started the week looking for coquinas (those pictured above). The
shore birds open them with their beaks and leave them on the beach.
They come in all colors and I couldn't help but pick them all up!
Mid week when my eyes were sore from picking up the tiny shells,
I turned my focus to shells I could potentially string on a garland.
I'm also always looking for beach glass....though down there it's
hard to come by.
and kick my feet up - I couldn't let those gals get ahead of me on the
fit bit competition. But more than that - I really do love to look for shells.
I started the week looking for coquinas (those pictured above). The
shore birds open them with their beaks and leave them on the beach.
They come in all colors and I couldn't help but pick them all up!
Mid week when my eyes were sore from picking up the tiny shells,
I turned my focus to shells I could potentially string on a garland.
I'm also always looking for beach glass....though down there it's
hard to come by.
Max would wake up pretty reliable around 6:30 or
if we were lucky - 7:00 - so some mornings I would
put him in the Ergo and carry him on my back down the beach.
The first morning he ate a chocolate donut and then
wanted down to chase the waves with Auntie Stacy.
Other mornings he just wanted to go build sand castles...
And still yet a different morning - he was content
to swing and climb all over the Adirondack chairs on
the beach. Time at the beach with Max is always fun :)
Another great thing about the beach (that we'd never seen
until this year) was Joey's ice cream boat. Joey
rides up and down the beach selling ice cream, pop, water,
and other treats from the back of his boat. It's kind all kinds of
awesome. The first day we didn't have any cash.
The second day, I ran all the way to the house to grab some
and by the time I got back, he had pulled away. Womp, womp.
But, he must have seen my completely deflated spirit
(or grandmim waving him over again) -so he pulled
up further down the beach and we finally got delicious ice cream!
It was melting quick - so we gobbled it up
and went back the next day for more!
When we tired of the beach (or it got to hot!) - we headed back
to the pool. You may remember last year, we purchased
a turtle floatie. This year we decided to add a chameleon and
a lobster to the mix! These animals provided numerous
amounts of silly entertainment for us. Nearly every time
we tried to get on them - someone would roll off causing
hysterical laughter from all watching on the sides.
We did lots of water races, jumps off the side,
hand sand contests, and inner tube floating.
The other really cool little feature of the pool was
the built in cocktail/lunch/party table! Max first used
this little table to jump off of, then he drove his plastic
toys off the side, and on the last day he started to play
"bootie shop" (beauty shop) - complete with flinging two buckets
over his shoulder and declaring he was "going to work".
He loved dumping buckets of water on his grandparents
heads and mixing potions to use as shampoos and gel.
It's safe to say we all enjoyed the pool....and really
just the time to relax. Also, admittedly, it was nice
to have extra hands around to entertain our
energetic toddler. Mims, Gramps, and Titi were
quick to jump in with fun new games or ways
to distract him when a melt down was looming...
for which we are ever so grateful.
We look forward to this vacation every year.
It's been so cool to see Max's progression of confidence
at the beach and the pool over our last three visits.
He went from barely wanting to put his toes in the
sand to throwing his whole body down in it (repeatedly)
this year. As I've mentioned in previous travel posts -
it's not always easy traveling with a toddler (who still sleeps
in a crib, loves his schedule, and can't sit for too long at dinner)
but in the end being with family trumps everything else.
We are grateful for my 93 year grandpa for continuing to
make this trip a priority and hope to come back again (and soon)!
