Easter Hunt at the Shell Factory, North Fort Myers, Florida

The Easter Bunny found our trailer thankfully.

There were eggs everywhere inside and outside of the camper. Once they were all collected the girls traded some of the Pershops and Shopkin toys that were inside the eggs. Then we decorated our cookies that Sierra picked out at the store the other day.

 After we headed to The Shell Factory, Nature Park and Fun Park in North Fort Myers. It was advertised that they were having a free egg hunt for the kids.

Well they had an egg hunt which was basically just walking around the trail in the closed Nature Park area and being handed eggs by the volunteers a long the trail.

waiting for the trail to open

Receiving their first egg on the trail

After we walked the trail it was advertised that the Easter Bunny would be there...he was not.

So we explored a couple things like the fire truck and rock wall and tried to make the best of it.

 Then we headed inside to look at their "tourist trap" store.

We bought a few tickets so the girls could play a couple games.

 Posed for a couple pictures and wandered around before leaving.

I know it was a free event but we couldn't even see half the animals and if we wanted to, we had to come back in a couple hours and pay full admission to "see" the nature park. To be honest after walking through it I don't think it was worth coming back to see really (adults $12, kids 4-12 $8).

I think the event would have been so much better if they had a discounted admission and let you enjoy the park. Or even full admission with an egg hunt as an extra treat. I guess their hope was that people would hang out and do other paid stuff in the park and come back (and I am sure some did). Those activities in the Fun Park would add up quickly too. Fun park fees were as follows: Paddle boat and fish food $5, Mini golf $/ kids $4, bumper boats $5, Trampolines $3...thankfully their rock climbing wall was free.

I felt like we were being nickle and dimed and we left. I hate free things that aren't free as a form of advertising and I felt really let down. We thought this would be a great family Easter event. Win some and loose some I guess.

Have you visited the Shell Factory? What are your thoughts?

Stump Pass Beach State Park, Manasota Key, Englewood, Florida

Today we visited Stump Pass Beach State Park. Cost to park here is $3 and oh so worth it! Sierra wanted a pool day at the RV Park with dad and stayed home. She was sad to see everything she missed while we were out. It was so much fun!

It didn't take long to hit the water! Oh that beautiful water!

Aayla is learning to like the waves.

Grammy takes the turtle float out in the waves.

And she tumbles...

There were dolphins swimming here pretty close to shore.

This Grey Heron was the perfect poser.

Examining a shell Aayla found

My water logged water baby.

After we were good and wet we walked the trail to the tip of the park. Well we didn't make it all the way but we saw some wonderful things along the way. Someone we asked said we were about half way.

This pair of lizards was quite fun to watch. I'm not sure if they were mating or staking territory but they did the funniest dance around each other. I should have recorded it.

All along this path there are spots to stop for a picnic lunch and a swim even, if you wanted to cool off again.

wood pecker

seed pods

cactus flower

 A gopher tortoise walked right across the trail.

Further down the trail when you go out to the beach it is more natural and less busy.

looking for lunch

 On our way back...little legs were getting tired.

We popped back over to the beach to walk partway back and I am so glad we did!

sea sponge that washed ashore

 This!!! This was truly amazing! We thought we scored the mother load of shells but soon realised they were mainly all alive. For some reason on this one small area of the beach, these snails were rolling in the surf.

Grammy trying to find an empty shell.

Aayla is really getting the hang of the waves now and has lost her fear of them.

Another great beach day. Somethings you can just never tire of! Or rather we can never tire of no matter how many we go to. They are all a little bit different and wonderful in their own ways.

Sun Splash Water Park, Cape Coral, Florida

Today Grammy Sue decided that it was treat day and took the girls to Sun Splash Water Park in Cape Coral Florida and they had a blast!

Since this is a water park I didn't get many photos but I got a few in the beginning. First up was Aayla on the younger kids water slides.

Sierra tried out the next smallest slides and loved them.

Aayla also really liked their rope course and did it many times throughout the day.

Next up was the lazy river so I could then go put my camera away and enjoy the day.

There were other bigger water slides but my girls are not fans of big slides so we didn't go on them. That fact made this park kind of expensive since we only used half the park. I will admit the lazy river was very fun and definitely more my pace. It would be nice if they had a "no big slides" price to make it more economical for families who just want some wet fun but not all the big slides. Non residents fees were kids $17.95 and adults $19.95, making this a $100 excursion. Thanks Grammy Sue!!! They do offer discounts for residents which is nice for locals.

We packed a lunch to take with us but when we arrived we were given a coupon for snacks (and their bad weather policy), which made their lunch very affordable and way less hassle. If we ever were to go again I'd just go with the pre-pay snack option.