We caught the sunrise and sunset today. It was an action packed day with a lot of pictures.

The kids’ first sunrise over the ocean.

Cody started right into shell collecting.  A gentleman also collecting on the beach gave Cody some of the cool shells he had found.  Then another gentleman walking along the beach saw Cody’s pile and gave Cody his favorite shell.  He called it, “My special shell.” Scott and I quickly helped him rename it, “My precious.”  Cody not knowing anything about Lord of the Rings went with it, but didn’t quite understand.

At first we had told the kids they could sleep in while we caught the sunrise, but they wanted to be there too.  It was a little rough getting them up, but they loved being there for the sunrise.  The switched between looking for shells and pointing out changed in the clouds and sun.

When it was time to head back off the beach we loaded Cody’s shells into his shirt since we forgot something for gathering shells.  Scott loves to take centerline photos around the country.  This is in front of Atlantic Dunes Beach north of Linton on A1A.

After we got the kids some breakfast, Scott and I headed on a 33.7 miles bike ride north on A1A.

The Little Red Schoolhouse – one of the first schools in Florida

On our way back on A1A we watched for a while as some kids jumped off this pier.  It was an old people moment as we watched in awe as they flipped in all sorts of directions, and also noted how invincible young kids think they are.

After our bike ride we headed to the beach.

Going to the beach with kids requires just a few more items than when Scott and I go as a couple with our bikes and whatever we can carry on our backs.  Cody set to digging right away.

Scott hammocked himself for a bit.  When we arrived home to clean up for our sunset cruise Cody worked on some duct tape crafting, but wouldn’t let us take a picture.

We drove to Fort Lauderdale for a sunset cruise out of BahiaMar.

The homes along the way were incredible to look at.

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to sail.  There was only one bumpy spot.  I saved Cody’s drink, but mine wound up on me.  It was a funny moment.

The ride was relaxing. We snuggled as a family, a rare mid-day occurrence, for quite a while.  Another family asked if they could take our picture.

The tall sail meant we got to wait for and see the bridge go up twice.

After the boat ride we headed to the Fort Lauderdale Beach.  Scott showed the rest of the beach what a real pull up workout looks like.  Then the rest of us had to try too.  I got in at least two pull ups.  Thanks to Scott’s assist.

Cody went back to one of his favorite activities of all time: shell collecting! After we walked along the beach a bit we went on a quest.

We were on a quest to find the official board recognizing this location, BahiaMar, as the setting for a series of books Scott and his mom have both read and appreciated. The main character in John McDonald’s fictional Travis McGee series is a “salvage expert” who specializes in retrieving  the irretrievable. We think we located the plaque, locked in the closed lounge. Even though we didn’t actually see the plaque, we had a fun nighttime quest complete with Scott trying to drive the super loaded golf cart.  Scott is an expert off-road golf cart driver.  Just ask him.