(Picking up where I left off months ago :)
After spending two straight weeks of fun adventures with my parents, two little brothers, and sister in law, you'd think we would be exhausted...
But we weren't!
Bradley had to fly home right after we all got back from Orlando and Dallas had to fly to Chicago for work, but the rest of us continued south into the Florida keys. Key Largo is only about 1.5 hours south of where we live and we thought it'd be fun to show Stuart and Gel what the Florida Keys looked like before they flew back to Utah. We ended up all staying at the Marriott Resort in Key Largo located right on the water and it was AMAZING. We had so much fun for three days as we explored different adventures in the keys.
On our drive down to Key Largo, we decided to stop at the yummy fruit stand, Robert is Here, for the second time on our trip. We ate yummy shakes, looked at all the fun animals, and bought some fresh produce to bring along on our trip. Daxton was so cute with Uncle Stuart. You could tell that Daddy was gone, because Dax immediately started hanging on Stuart and Grandpa even more. We were all pretty excited when we found a pinwheel tractor that reminded us of sweet little Liam.
When we checked into the Marriott, Daxton immediately made himself at home. I swear that kid has stayed in more hotels in his four years than most people do in their entire lives!
Each of our rooms had gorgeous balconies looking out towards the hotel grounds and ocean. It was absolutely stunning! Daxton loved climbing all over Uncle Stuart and playing in all the soft pillows. He is quite the fun little travel buddy!
While everyone else was relaxing and getting settled in, Grandpa, Dax, and I decided to explore the hotel grounds a bit. It is built right up against the water and had a fun little beach, pool, lots of paths, and cabanas to check out.
Grandpa and Dax loved playing in the hammocks!
These two little buddies melt my heart!
Since the temperature had dropped into the low 70s, it was a bit too chilly for us to want to jump in the ocean (Florida spoiled!) Daxton still had a blast running along the beach and dipping his toes in the water.
I loved this sign we found with all the bright colors against the colors of the palm tree. It was fun to read how far away each of the locations were.
Exploring more of the hotel grounds...
I am still constantly amazed at all the unique beauty that surrounds us daily. I love all the different tropical plants and vibrant colors that are SO different from where I grew up.
On our second day in Key Largo, the weather was still in the 70s, so we decided to do some fun dry activities. We decided to explore Robbie's, a local shopping and dining spot that turned out to be TONS of fun.
There were several locally owned shops/shacks filled with all sorts of art and sculptures to look at. I loved all the colorful signs and decor throughout the shopping areas.
We made our way back to the main restaurant where you can buy frozen fish by the bucket to feed the giant tarpon in the ocean. Along with the massive school of giant tarpon that constantly swim near the docks, there are also several pelicans and other large birds that circle in hopes to steal the fish before it gets to the tarpon....basically it was my mom's worst nightmare :)
We all had so much fun (especially Daxton) watching the tarpon swarm, eat, and even jump out of the water as we started to throw the fish. Auntie Gel was a sweetheart and kept a good hand on Dax so I could take pictures. Grandpa was quite the character constantly trying to scare Grandma as the big pelicans would swoop in closer.
Daxton was so brave and loved taking his turn feeding the tarpon! Grandpa even ended up getting another bucket since Dax was having so much fun.
Family pictures on the windy dock
We could have stayed there forever looking at all the fish and birds.
So many pelicans!
After we finished feeding the tarpon, we walked around all the shops and looked at all the interesting artwork. It was made out of all sorts of mediums.
Before heading back to the hotel, we made one more stop at the Rain Barrel, another fun shopping area filled with local artists. Dax and I had a blast watching the big tank of hermit crabs.
Back at the hotel Daxton continued to explore and play all over the grounds. He especially loved the bridge connecting us to the amazing restaurant. We spent three days exploring the keys and although it wasn't the best weather, with cloudy skies and scattered rainstorms throughout our stay, we still had a really great time...as you can clearly see from this little boy's face!
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