Maiden vogage at Pineda

We have been talking about getting a Kayak for like forever, combine that with a New Years resolution to spend more time outdoors and we finally did it! (Loads of window shopping trying to figure out which one, we found this lovely at the new Bass Pros Shop over in Palm Bay). Pineda Causeway is our closest water to put in, of course Mason got first dibs, Jon second. As it was we were late getting out due to tornado watches in effect till 5:15 that evening so it grew dark before I was able to take a turn. You know what we will be doing all next weekend! And the next and the next....

Devil's Hopyard

Two days before Christmas, it's raining and not particularly freezing. So of course the only thing to do is go hiking in Devils Hopyard State Park! Due to the foggy conditions you can't actually see the Connecticut River behind Jon but I swear it's there.

Viva La Vida

Find your perfect climbing tree....

Climbing a tree is a combined mix of intuition, good judgment and pure physical exertion, all of these good for the soul and the body and yet not near enough utilized. Why? I think is because we live in the FAST LANE. Between all of our commitments, work, hobbies and getting from one place to the next we tend to miss out on some of the simpler pleasures in life, like climbing a fine tree....

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Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park

Faith In Action

Today we witnessed your baptism and your baptism marks the beginning of a journey for you. Today as you came forward, the church publicly acknowledged your identity as a child of God, as God's beloved! Today you are joining the company of those who have pledged and been pledged to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who was crucified and rose again.
Know that being a Christian is a team sport, it's like being part of an orchestra; you can't play or go it alone. Today that community makes a vow to care for you, to be your mentor and spiritual guide, to initiate and welcome you into this life of being a follower of Jesus Christ.
Mason, you are now a child of the covenant and in baptism you are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own forever and the prayer of me and your dad is that you will continue your walk with Christ; knowing and feeling His love always!

Dune Ridge Trail Sunset

Spent the whole day Saturday at Little Talbot Island State Park up in Jacksonville and this was the spectacular finale waiting for us at the end of the Dune Ridge Trail, an almost 4 mile round trip hike.

   Perfect weather, hiking through beautifully stunning and diverse Florida habitats, fabulous company with fellow L'Boxers, a potluck lunch, loads of L'Boxes...There was nothing not to love!

All good things must come to an end...Goodbye 2012

Not only New Years Eve but also the also the last day of one of the best family vacations we have had this year, (FL-DC-CT-FL). The upside of driving over flying is you can stop wherever and whenever the tempting road sign beckons. Here we stopped in at Santee State Park in South Carolina. We were so taken with this gorgeous park, is now a potential future camping venue, only a 6ish hour drive from home! Hello 2013!

A little snow is better than no snow....

And the boys can't wait all day for the projected 5 inches of it but right now there is enough to start those forts and snowmen.

Rock or Boulder?

Whichever doesn't really matter. But seriously where else can you stroll down a path in the woods and all of sudden there she is....A gigantic stone jutting up out of the ground, begging to be climbed. Just not by me, although to be honest I was tempted...Another day perhaps.

Technically, even if barely, it is a White Christmas!

Our 3rd day in a row hiking Day Pond but today we were blessed with some snow which made it all the more interesting. Boy stayed home while me and my honey walked off our Christmas supper.

Christmas Eve; Hiking Day Pond

Hiking with friends in Day Pond State Park...they don't make woods like these in Floida.

Ode to a brand new 12 year old!

Mason? He's almost as tall as his mother, smarter than anyone in our house and the kind of superbly brilliant and talented young man who can become anything he wants. I don't know anybody with a bigger or more passionate heart than our son. Happy Happy Birthday Mason!

TailGating Swindal Family Style

This is Tillie K Fowler Regional Park in Jacksonville, right across the street from NAS. An excellent spot to stop, eat supper and also nabbed us 3 L'boxes too! We used to kind of do this in the station wagon but a truck gate down makes the best table on the go.

Nantahala Gorge Zipline

Ziplining in the Nantahala Forest (Bryson City, North Carolina). Been wanting to do this for 4 years and now we can cross that off the bucket list!

Road To Nowhere

The Road To Nowhere starts on Lakeview Drive in Bryson City NC (Great Smokey Mountains National Park). Make sure to pull off at one of the lookout points for a breathtaking view of Lake Fantana.

Six miles in and the road ends at this 1200 ft man made tunnel.

We got about a third of the way in and was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

This is the story of The Road To Nowhere, "A Broken Promise". Back in the 30's & 40's the government and TVA  was busy busy busy making plans and flooding valleys. One of the promises made here to the displaced families was that a road would be made providing access to the old family cemeteries where generations of ancestors had lived, died and were buried. By 1969, 6 miles were completed before the project was abandoned. All is good though now. The county got $52 million buckaroos in 2010 and the rest of us got a fabulous place to spend an afternoon hiking and letterboxing!

Last day of summer camp, what now?

Forget Camp Mom...One week of Surf Camp w/RonJon, One week of VBS, TWO weeks of Marine Biology Camp w/Brandon and THREE weeks of Nature Camp w/Susan. The bar has been set high!

The 5 weeks of camp with Susan and Brandon alone culminated in a whopping 25 field trips, these pictures from the last one, the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.

Supper by Perigee Moonlight

I totally did not want to leave....How come we don't live at the beach?

Happy (bike) Trails!

Do we? Don't we? Do we? Don't we? Do we? Don't we? Do we? Don't we?
That is the question we ALWAYS ask ourselves when off on an out of town letterboxing adventure. If we bring the bikes, sure enough we won't use them....If we don't bring the bikes, sure enough we will beat ourselves upside the head for not bringing....We did the RIGHT thing this time!

Linear Park, Palm Coast FL, absolutely fabulous and don't forget the bikes!

Horseshoe Crab love...

Horseshoe crabs getting busy on one of the island beaches in the Indian River.

Pop Pop and Mason resting in a cove, the Indian River was super choppy and not particularly conducive to kayaking today.

Been 16 years since Jon and I have been kayaking with the manatees and they are still just as beautiful and mysterious as ever. We had a huge bull come up underneath our kayak, which was the big thrill of the day! Not scared of falling into the drink as the water here is no more than 5 feet deep. What was scary was how scarred up his back flesh and tail was from propellers.