Naples

todd and i spent a few days both before and after disney w/his parents in naples.

we went out on the boat, walked along the beach, read our books, and relaxed.

it was SO NICE!

and we went fishing too, which might have been the best part!

sadly, i never seemed to have my camera on me when we were fishing so no fun pics (which is really sad cuz we caught some cool stuff!).

out in the gulf, todd's dad caught a 2.5ft hammerhead shark! this was by far, the COOLEST catch!

i mean, how often is it that you go out fishing and expect to catch anything, much less catch a shark?

and not just any kind of shark, but a very recognizable HAMMERHEAD shark???

i think holy shit was the first thing that came to mind...

he also caught a catfish and ladyfish off the dock at their condo.

i caught a catfish and a redfish (the redfish is suppose to be really good eats).

todd, afraid to use live bait like us, managed to catch a clam the size of the end of my thumb (yes, it was that tiny!) and a sea cucumber.

we learned later that sea cucumbers throw their stomachs as a defense mechanism, which might explain the bright purple liquid that started oozing out of it. todd threw it back in the water just before it could spew its guts on him...
besides all the cool stuff in the water, we also found lots of cool stuff washed up on the beach.we even found a little guy trying to get into the house...

i have to admit that i had a few assumptions about FL before coming here (lots of old people and hanging chads), but it was a lot nicer than i expected. we had such a good time that i think we'll be making this an annual trip!

(top to bottom, L to R: view at the end of todd's parents' dock; one of the many pelicans we saw; exiting dr's pass for the gulf of mexico; one of the many dolphins we saw; edge of an island we visited; island path towards gulf; beach on the island's gulf side; little crab inside a shell; horseshoe crab; pretty sand dollar and shell we found; todd and his new gecko friend; sunset on the beach)