Our trip to Florida has been about visiting with family but equally important has been getting outside into the natural world. Most people associate Florida with Disney World. But there is so much more to see and experience than man made amusement parks. Florida's natural habitats are rich and diverse. Exposing my girls to these places, so they can learn and understand the role that the natural world plays in a healthy planet, and so that they learn to feel comfortable ( and not afraid) of the natural world, is a priority in our family.
On our second morning in Sanibel, we got up early to visit Ding Darling Sanctuary (check out http://www.dingdarlingsociety.org/ for more info), home to some of the largest mangroves in the US and as one website states "famous for its spectacular migratory bird populations."
Ding Darling turned out to a be a magical, peaceful oasis; our adventure made perfect by the sun, blue skies and early morning hours (which meant not that many other humans).
We took the 4 mile wildlife drive and made many stops along the way to observe the countless birds, run around or to throw shells in the water (Sanibel truly is the shelling capital of the world! Sea shells are everywhere!). The drive ended up taking us a little over an hour but in that piece of paradise, time was irrelevant. We soaked up the serenity and spectacular scenery and left feeling like we just spent days on a meditation retreat in the mountains. It was really that awesome.
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| We almost missed these funky crabs. Luckily some folks were taking photographs of the trees, which got us curious. When I asked what they were looking at, they pointed out these tree hugging crabs. When we looked further into the mangrove, we saw they were everywhere! |
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| Brown Pelican |
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| Roseate Spoonbill (which my sister and I didn't think we'd see. We were quite thankful that this small flock graced us with their beautiful presence. ) |
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| Us with my sister Natalie and Lilly Dog. |
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