California Part 1 :: Moving North

Day 1 // Phoenix -> Long Beach

We hit the road early in the morning for Long Beach, 

just south of LA, 

to visit my great aunt and uncle. 

We took a drive up to Signal Hill

and walked along Seal Beach Pier 

to watch the sun set over Long Beach. 

Day 2 // Long Beach -> Fairfield

The next day we stopped in Santa Monica 

for lunch with a good friend from college

Then continued driving all the way to Fairfield, 

outside of San Francisco, 

to stay with Stephen's cousins. 

Day 3 // San Francisco

Early in the morning we headed into San Francisco. 

First stop: 

appointment at the Consulate General of Switzerland to pick up our visas!

Next stop: Fisherman's Wharf

We walked along Pier 39, 

watched the sea lions, 

ate crab cakes from the market, 

a famous Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae, 

and yummy sourdough from Boudin Sourdough. 

Alcatraz from Pier 39

Golden Gate bridge from Pier 39

We also walked along the 

Maritime National Historic Park pier.

From the pier we had an incredible view of 

the skyline and the Transamerica building. 

We stumbled upon this Banksy before heading back to Fairfield.

We had a lovely evening with Stephen's cousins 

playing Quibbler and watching Mrs. Doubtfire. 

Ft. Lauderdale Temple :: Florida Keys part 5

Day 6 // Ft. Lauderdale

On our last day we slept in 

then drove back to the mainland to fly home. 

We made a pit stop at the new Ft. Lauderdale temple

We then hit the airport for a non-stop flight home

(first one of those in a long time).

Arizona sunsets really are something else. 

We hit the sack as soon as we got home 

because our internal clocks were 3 hours off. 

It was a super trip full of fun memories. 

Dry Tortuga National Park :: Florida Keys part 4

Day 5 // Dry Tortuga National Park

Early in the morning we headed out to board the 

Yankee Freedom Ferry to Dry Tortuga National Park. 

While on the ferry we ate breakfast and watched the morning waves.
Be sure to bring your Dramamine if you get sea sick. It's a little bit of a ride.

We decided to bypass the guided tour and explore Fort Jefferson on our own!

From the top of Fort Jefferson we saw what appeared to be 

a half dozen reef shark swimming alongside the wall. 

We discovered while snorkeling that they were actually large Tarpon!

We grabbed dinner at Azur
after docking back in Key West.

It was a fun-filled, adventurous day and we were whipped by the end.
(I think these guys were too ;))

Marathon :: Florida Keys part 3

Day 4 // Marathon

We headed out to Bahia Honda state park for 

kayaking, swimming, and more beach bumming. 

Right off the beach there was a really cool sandbar

where you could lounge out in the water 

without having to hold yourself up!

We ended up bringing the umbrella out into the water with us!

In the afternoon we took a snorkeling tour out to 

Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. 

Oh my goodness was it BEAUTIFUL. 

Here we saw: 

LOTS of Barracuda

Shark

Tons and tons of fish

*these images are from google, but are an accurate depiction of what we saw*

**yes the shark was that close** 

 That evening we went to dinner at Sparky's Landing

Just as we finished dining outside, the rain came in 

and several of the diners picked up their food to move under cover. 

One man slipped sending his food flying, 

but managed to snag the plate and save his food before it hit the floor. 

As he was about to stand up, a woman slipped 

knocking the man and his food crashing back onto the floor.

It was quite the scene. 

I'm sure they were well taken care of by the wait staff and management :)

We had just finished eating and were unaffected by the rain, 

with the exception of some wet clothes. 

The rain made for a beautiful sunset!

Key Largo :: Florida Keys part 2

Day 2 // Key Largo

Snorkeling Tour on the Reef in John Pennekamp State Park. 

The best coral reef I had ever seen

(and I have snorkeled many places).

Things we saw: 

Lobster

Giant urchins

Barracuda

Large conch

Shark

Sea turtles

and lots of fish

Day 3 // Key Largo

In the morning the men headed out for a day of back country fishing.

Stephen caught 2 bonnet-head shark,

Papa wood caught a lady fish,

and all the men caught lots of jack crevall.

The women went paddle boarding at the park.
We saw stingrays, jellyfish, and mangrove tree crabs.

*sorry for the lack of water pictures, my underwater camera died*

It was a blast.
While in Key Largo we ate at
The Fish House
The Conch House
 & Bayside Grille

All very good.

  

We also saw Guardian's of the Galaxy.
Unexpectedly funny.

And played a lot of Uno :)

Everglades National Park :: Florida Keys part 1

Day 1 // Everglades National Park

We rode bikes through Shark Valley and looked at the wildlife. 

*note* 

DO NOT walk on any of the nature trails in the overgrowth. 

You will get eaten alive by mosquitos.

observation tower

Lubber Grasshopper. 

They were everywhere.  

And 4" long. 

One set of alligators

We even saw a "Brettie" in the wild!

The weather was very pleasant during our ride. 

We went early and there was just the right amount of cloud coverage. 

I would definitely recommend renting bikes, 

you can explore at your own pace and create your own breeze :)

We had a lot of fun!