sayonara sunrise

After a long day of travel, we're finally back home. The boys are dreading getting up for school tomorrow, and Mike and I feel the same about work. But we had such a great time and saw so many amazing things that any lingering exhaustion (or work backup, in my case) was totally worth it.

This morning, Liam and Max came with me to Blind Pass, the waterway that separates Sanibel Island from Captiva Island, so we could do some shelling while the sun came up. I had read that there is a very small parking lot on the beach we had picked out (on the Captiva side), so we got there when it was still dark and were the first ones there. As soon as the sky lightened the tiniest bit, we got out and went looking and hit the mother lode. Shells, shells, and more shells! We found gorgeous Florida fighting conchs, turbans (a new one to me), augers, all kinds of treasures. We hit it at just the right time and really got lucky. The sunrise view wasn't great, but the shells more than made up for it.

Meanwhile, back at Paradise Resort (not the real name), Mike and Henry woke up and decided to do some beachcombing of their own down on Paradise Beach (also not the real name). Mike took a gorgeous sunrise shot, and Henry got his own Florida fighting conch! 

Once I got back with the older boys and box of donuts, we ate breakfast, then decided to test the power of our magic bracelets. Sadly, we couldn't use the kayaks or paddleboards because the waves were too choppy. Boo! Instead, we consoled ourselves by hanging out at this crappy pool until it was time for checkout. And believe me, we didn't waste a minute. :)