Naples, FL

Early on New Year's Day we left Miami Beach and headed out to cross to the gulf side of Florida. This required driving through the Everglades, which was quite interesting in itself. The camera, unfortunately, was packed in the back of the car someplace so I didn't get pictures. There were multitudes of large birds camped out in the swamp...and we saw alligators laying around in the sun on the edges. It is quite a large expanse of swampy land, with creeks running through it. We arrived at Naples in mid-afternoon. Naples appears to be a city for rich folks....large, gorgeous homes and buildings. We decided to take a break from the big-name hotels, and stayed at the Lemon Tree Inn. It is a rather quaint little place - less sophisticated than Best Western, but kinda home-ey and fun for a change. We had our own private little screened in lanai which we used to have our morning coffee. It was a few blocks to the ocean, so we strolled past all the big homes and got our feet wet again - this time in the Gulf of Mexico! It didn't seem very long and it was time to pack up again and hit the road for our next stop.

And - by the way, here is what our little Canadian Munchkin Male Model was wearing that day... while Dada helped him ride his favourite Christmas present...aren't they cute?? !!