Lowdermilk Beach Park

We had to squeeze in as many trips to the beach as we could.  The kids always had fun going.

Janiel found an Olive shell with the creature still inside.  It is illegal to take live creatures home, so I gladly take a picture before they are thrown back to sea.

 Wes went fishing with the scouts and so he wanted to do more on his own.  He bought a fishing pole and the necessary gear to get the job done.  He tried off the shore, but didn't have much luck.

 Ashleigh loves to put on the goggles and look for treasures under the water.

 Erin, Janiel and Kara playing on the rocks.  They are actually kind of sharp.  I think they were placed there on purpose because of the pipe.  There are no other rocks to be found on our Naples Beaches.

 Sisters playing shark!

 They found a lot of butterfly shells that day.

These shells are called Coquina.  They live just below the surface of the wet sand.  The girls love to dig at the edge of the waves and watch these clams burrow into the sand.  I learned that they are gathered alive to make a seafood broth. They just boil the shells for a bit and drink the broth made from it.  Served warm or cold.  The shells are so different and colorful.  I think we just like gathering the shells best!

 Our umbrella lost the clip that holds it on the pole.  Erin discovered it was great fun to spin the umbrella!

 We watched this huge boat cruise by.

 Janiel found a piece of a crab claw, maybe?

 An ibis, looking for some food.  Maybe he likes coquina too!

 It was fun to go this time and see a bunch of sea turtle nests!  The park rangers mark them, so that the nests do not get disturbed.  There is a fine if you are caught disrupting a nest.  I think we counted 10 nests that day.  It would have been fun to see them hatching!!! 

 Wes hiked down the beach a mile or so (it seemed like 10) to some rocks.  The rocks line a canal that leads to the gulf.  We hadn't arranged a time to meet back and I was ready to go home after several hours.  So the girls and I hiked to the rocks to find him.  It was good exercise walking in the sand!

 We found him having a great time fishing.  He caught several catfish.

 While we were standing there, he caught another!

 Wes and his catch.

 When he had gone fishing the week before with the scouts, his leader had a barb from the catfish go through his hand.  That made Wes nervous to even touch it.  So he used a sand bucket to help get the job done.

 Also, while there, we saw two dolphins swim by.  The picture isn't very good, as it is hard to know when they are going to surface.  Wesley said he saw five or six dolphins, a manatee, and tons of pelicans.

 Shot of the dolphins' fins.

 The pelicans aren't stupid.  They sit and wait for the fishermen to catch the fish.  Then when they are tossed back, they go in for the catch.  Wes said this one stayed by him the whole time, just waiting.   He did eventually get one of the catfish that didn't survive the hook.

 Then we had our long hike back.

 Kara had a very creative idea.  She said since we wouldn't live by the beach anymore, she was going to collect things from the beach.  So she got a water bottle that was empty and filled it.  She found salt water, sand, shells, leaves (several shapes), sea weed, mangrove seeds, some other floating seed, and rocks.  I thought it was a pretty cute collage.  I took some pictures (I knew it probably wouldn't survive the move). 

Good thing I did.  The sand started turning black and it stunk.  I'm glad Kara thought it was a good idea to throw it out!