mermaids and moss

beach!

We're home. Settling in. Laundry. Children back in school. Experienced the most horrific preschool drop off this morning. I won't go into details, but my ears are still ringing. I'll be picking that little boy up in a few minutes and he'll be happy to settle in at home with me. In the meantime, I'll be sharing more beach photos. Let's pretend we're still at the beach.

a collection of mornings, c

a collection of mornings, b

a collection of mornings, a

{this moment}

[inspired by SouleMama]

in search of the perfect beach

We are on a mission to find the best beach in the Fort Lauderdale area... we've visited three so far. Of course, this is probably the busiest time of year to be here—St. Patrick's Day and Spring Break. But so far we've encountered crazy, scary traffic, tough parking in underground garages, huge crowds and lots of trash. It's hard to believe in this day and age how many people just leave their trash in the sand. The kids are still having lots of fun navigating with their parents through this crazy beach town. I'm sure there must be clean, nature beaches somewhere nearby? Maybe?

a fern forest

The reason I'm a bit worried about missing out on the spring blossoms is that I knew that we'd be away for spring break. You would think this wouldn't be a problem in March. I assumed that it would be cold with a chance of snow, and therefore a visit to my in-laws in Florida would be the perfect plan. And it is a wonderful plan. Really. But I feel a bit anxious knowing that the magnolia blossoms are already falling to the ground, and that's it... one of the my most favorite events is over for the year.

But really there's no reason to be sad. We're having a great time in Florida. It's hot here. I've been sitting around typing away on my laptop with my feet propped up as often as possible.

So far, we've visited the beach a couple times, enjoyed the blue, blue pool and gone for a quick morning hike in the closest swamp forest.

I love going on nature walks in Florida. Each time we travel south I try to visit the closet spring or sanctuary. I love the twisting old trees covered in Spanish moss. I try to avoid the enormous spiders. I love the thrill of the possibility of an alligator sighting. I love that the forest and the trails are so different from the woods near my home.

This particular swampish hike took place in Fern Forest Nature Center. It's free and seemed mostly deserted. And the trees were filled with butterflies. I highly recommend it.

we are at the beach!

half moon cay, bahamas

st. thomas, virgin islands / b