Pirate Cove

Pirate Cove is the kids section. There is the kids pool, the "Bobby Dees" 50s style nautical themed restaurant (open all night- food is available at Beaches 24 hrs./day), Video game room/arcade, game area (pool/ping pong tables, etc.), hang out area also inside the giant ship with big TVs etc. The "older" kids camp is also held here. here is Shayna in front of the giant ship. To the right is one of the entrances inside the ship: the game room, thne the restaurant. See the yellow steps going up. It is closed off normally but on our last night (Thursday) we were invited to a special Pirate Party for concierge guests at the top of the ship. To the left of Shayna in this pic are the bathrooms and also the non-video game area. I am pretty sure there was a basketball court behind those trees but we were not interested in that. I have to say that I didn't expect much of the Bobby D's aka "kids" restaurant but was pleasantly surprised- while not my preferred style (more trendy/gourmet better adult menu), for that style it was good- they had good curly fries and the burgers were good. They had soft sugar and chocolate cookies always available to grab, and a self serve ice cream bar...simple food but good quality. walking past the steps and the ship, you come to the pool..and water slides:
The pool is big. You walk over a cute bridge that you can swim under. here is the other side of the 'ship"-- there is a kids swim up bar here:
kids swim up bar and waterfall/caves:
shayna enjoying her frozen tropical drink- I think it was some kind of vanilla and grenadine combo:

Caribbean Street Parade and Party

Wednesday night there was a Caribbean street parade including the sesame street characters, followed by a caribbean street party.

The parade started by coming out of the main building's lobby, and boy was it wild! I missed the beginning with my camera, but the beginning was the best part: 2 guys wearing these unusual jumping "shoes" jumping all over the place-it was SO cool to watch, then they were followed by stiltwalkers. Then the rest of the parade, which was to tribal live music, lots of drumming and whistles, very festive. Here are 2 short videos...the first is the main part of the parade coming out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7sqxsc0iXM

The second is Grover from Sesame Street coming over to Skyler (in stroller):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nudMiO0M5Uo

At the very end of the parade was Santa, riding with Zoe. He was throwing candy:
Photo op with Elmo, Bert & Ernie, I love the look on Bert's face, this was the only pic and Skyler happened to turn his head as it was taken:
The caribbean street party. there were tiki hut booths - maybe 10 or so and a few booths with fresh food being cooked, including fresh conch fritters (dough being made and fried as you watch). Tables were so detailed- covered with weighted down woven tablecloths, tropical centerpieces, banana leaf mats, etc. They also had a live band/music and the entertainers and street performers dancing with the crowd, waving cloths in the air.

The Beach

Skyler playing on the beach. The sand was so soft and silky. There was plenty of shade so that he would not get too much sun.
Shayna and Skyler playing in the surf:
Having fun in the ocean, the place we like to be:

we spent the entire afternoon on the beach and ocean wednesday, staying until the sun set.

also, Shayna had 2 corn rows put into her hair. if you look at photos of her when we got home from vacation, you can see them in a few of the photos.

note: there were sesame street activities during the day, however, we opted to go to the beach and/or pool and do the sesame street stuff at night (besides the meeting Elmo).

Crazy snorkeling

wed. morning we put skyler into the day camp and we went on a 10 minute walk down the beach to go snorkeling. It was the most challenging snorkeling I have ever done, as the current was very strong. we only had maybe 45 minutes of actual snorkel time, as the day camp closes at noon (reopens at 1) so we had to get back.here are the few photos Manny snapped while holding on to us so we did not get washed out to sea:

some people snorkeling near us said they saw sea turtles. this is also where manny left his new sunglasses.

the day camp/babysitting gives you a beeper so if you are needed for your child they can page you. while there they did activities and they went into the kiddie pool (behind the day camp facility) and to the playground (something we never did, there was so much else to do).

next trip we will go for a longer time and try and get more snorkeling. our next caribbean trip will probably be to the Our Lucaya in the Bahamas (very close to Fort Lauderdale) and next big trip after that to St. Martin/St. Maarten (2008 summer).

Giant Chess

when giving directions to our room/villas, we could say "just go to the giant chessboard and make a right." Yes, there was a giant chessboard, and every time you passed by it would be in a different configuration. sometimes it would even be arranged properly, but most times not. In this photo, the balcony to the right is our balcony in the villas. The beach is directly behind Shayna. also, notice the black lamp post. these were all over the resort. we liked them because they reminded us of the lamp post in the Chronicles of Narnia.

Arizona Pool

Photo of the Arizona pool. Behind the waterfalls/rocks is a swim through cave, with little benches you can sit on inside: we swam under this bridge, past it to the right is the swim up bar:
overall view of the pool:

Note: there was another pool, the Iguana's pool, that we never even went to- they play pool volleyball there. This is a great resort if you love swimming pools!

Meeting Elmo

Skyler and Shayna got to meet Elmo in the hotel lobby:

Breakfast in Paradise

here is the most scenic restaurant to eat breakfast: The way beaches works is instead of one dining room, they have about 7 or so restaurants to dine at. you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever you want (ie at 5 or 9pm) and only 2 need reservations. one wa closed for renovations and two were "adults only." if they had allowed children, we would have eaten at those 2 every night, as they had the best food. we got a nanny one night and manny and I ate at "Le Petite Chateau" a white glove service. It was excellent, and the fun thing was since its all inclusive you can order more then one entree. The food was excellent, and the best escargot I have ever had. I got bread pudding to go from the other "adults only" restaurant 2 other evenings.

The first day, Manny went scuba diving. shayna, skyler and I went to the arizona pool (near the above restaurant in the photo)...which has a huge waterfall and cave you can swim through. I swam up to it but was worried about losing my contacts. then we all swam up to the swim up bar, including skyler in his float, and had frozen tropical drinks. the bartender taught skyler to say "yeah, mon!"

We had crepes at the "cafe de paris" for lunch. In the afternoon we went in the french village hot tub (pool was chilly, although it is the most toddler friendly), then to the beach where we eventually met up with Manny.

Sesame Street Show and nightly entertainment

The first and last night they had a Sesame Street show, the 3rd night was a Junkanoo Parade including the Sesame characters. besides sesame street, they had great entertainment. we were alwasy laughing and having a great time and the entertainers were all sooo talented, so much so that you would be enthralled watching them. it was very cutting edge and NOT schmaltzy at ALL- I guess they know they are catering to a very with it 30-40s crowd (mainly as this place draws families), and a lot of people from places like NYC, LA, etc.

But the best thing, that made my heart melt, was how much fun Skyler was having: he LOVED the sesame street shows, and all the shows in fact. we now know he loves live shows, and dancing and live music- he sat through mesmerized. He was so cute during the first sesame street show, getting so excited, clapping and laughing. this photo about sums up his joy:
here are 2 short video clips of the first sesame street show. I liked watching cookie monster dance. they did very tropical type songs. not in the video, but they did a version of "Day-O" that Skyler loved. In my opinion, this is the way to do sesame street (not that other place).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1PpKh61h_4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV10KaK9lcQ

after the sesame street show, they had a reggae dance lesson. we didn't expect the kids, esp. skyler to like it so much. he was following along and doing the reggae moves!!! It was SO CUTE. Look how happy he is in this photo:

BEACHES: Turks & Caicos: Our Room

View from the first balcony of our 2 room suite in the Parrot Cay Villas: Wow- our suite was PERFECT. One of the best suites in the resort. We got a concierge level suite in the villas and it was so luxurious. It came with a fridge stocked full of whatever you need: water, milk, juice, beer, champagne, yogurt. It had two balconys. Also close to the beach as you can see.

One thing that impressed me was the details of this resort. I have been to a few all inclusives (Club Med and Hedonism) but this one had such great details everywhere: in the restaurants, the special events. For example, in the Pirate Cove kids restaurant which had a nautical theme- the tables had ocean "artifacts" inside the table, the bathroom at pirate cove had the stalls hand painted in an underwater theme. When they had the caribbean street party, they had fully decked tables with centerpieces and banana leaf place mats.

The service here was the best I have ever experienced anywhere, from the maids to the restaurant employees.

But what was the best was the nightly entertainment, which was unbelievable!!! I have never had so much fun and smiled and laughed so much, and the big plus is it is something the whole family could enjoy together.

The resort is very big and it took us a day or two to find our way around, and our only complaint is it ended much too soon and we had bad luck of a strong ocean current, we came just after a storm.

Boating and snorkeling in Key Largo

Sunday, our last day in Key Largo. We rented a boat, a CENTER CONSOLE, for the day. We went out onto the ocean to snorkel. We had planned on going to Molasses Reef based on my research and even had it saved on our GPS. But it was too choppy (1-2 feet) so they recommended a much closer and hopefully less choppy reef. So that is where we went. One great thing, when you rent a boat, it comes with the reefs already in the boats GPS. The water in November was too cold for me, but I do plan on snorkeling in the summer when the water in the keys is very warm, about high 80s to 90, and also it gets bluer. Shayna and Manny were both brave and with wetsuits they snorkeled.

here is Captain Manny at the helm of his favorite type of boat:
Shayna and Manny snorkeling before they put thier heads down. Shayna did excellent for her first time (besides the day before in the bay). It was about 10-11 feet:
Skyler and I hanging out on the front of the boat. He slept for most of the boat ride.

I am looking forward to going snorkeling here in the future- the Keys are known for gorgeous reefs, and there is a good chance of spotting dolphins in the summer when the water is warm (dolphins like warm water).

Later that day, we did a quick geo cache to drop off the bunny man travel bug, then watched the sunset on the hotel dock. For our last evening we had a great dinner at an adorable Cuban restaurant in Key Largo.

Hotel Pool

Saturday afternoon we went to the bay beach and then the hotel pool. the hotel had a waterfall/cave pool.
To truly get the idea what the pool was like, you have to see this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0aLCAM8haw

The rest of the day we went on a scenic car ride exploring the keys a bit south, all the way to the middle/lower keys, over the 7 mile bridge and then spotted the famous key deer before heading back to Islamorada and stopping in the Cheeca Lodge for dinner. I wanted to check out where GW Bush Sr. goes and it was neat to see all the prestigous celebs pictured on the walls of the curt gowdy lounge (which really looks very masculine, classy and presidential). we then saw what has to be the nicest dock and the cutest little lagoon.

Swimming with the Dolphins

Saturday morning we went to Dolphin Cove (same place we took the boat tour on Friday) for Shayna to swim with the dolphins. First, we went on a boat ride where we heard an educational talk about dolphins. When we got back, Shayna put on her wet suit* (its hers, she got it on Friday, but they also provide shorty wet suits if you don't have one) and we walked over to the lagoon where the dolphins were. They divided the swimmers into groups of 2 or 3, and Shayna was with a couple from Germany. They went first and then Shayna got the dolphins all to herself. The dolphins she swam with, pictured below, are a mother and son: Nicki, age 23 and Leo, age 3.

At the platform, where Shayna and the dolphins meet each other:


Belly rubs:

Shaking thier hand: Giving kisses:
Shayna getting a ride:

*she needed the wetsuit, the water is cold in Key Largo at the end of November!

Surfing

Look mom...we're surfing!

aaaaaah! a shark!




You know you are in Florida when you see surfboards, you know you are in the Keys when the kids can have fun while you are shopping in a store.

The Perfect Sunset Dinner

For dinner Friday night we went to Morada Bay. We got to watch the gorgeous sunset over the bay and pose for some nice photos, see one below:

where the above pic was taken, is a small area in between the 2 restaurants, with adirondack chairs and tall tables & chairs, to watch the sunset from.

We had a table on the wooden deck of Morada Bay, and they also have tables IN the sand. The view and atmosphere was amazing (tiki torches in the sand, tiki huts, etc.), the music perfect- they had both recorded music playing and also live music- and I kid you not, every single song was a GOOD song! I can't name every song, but they did play some Jimmy Buffett and even Pink Floyd. The details on this place, the decor, everything was so nice- not fancy/fine dining, but so detailed and so tropical and classy (even the side area towards the bathrooms, covered walkways, and inside the restaurant which is a surfer theme, SO cool). and the clincher- the food was GREAT. well, at least we decided that next time, we will do apps/salads/dessert, since that is what was best on the menu. OK, now besides the perfect view, the perfect view of the cute stage with the adirondack chairs and live music, but even more perfect for parents, is that you bring the sand toys and the kids play right by the table in the sand (because of course they don't sit as long)!!! So you get a nice meal while the kids are right next to you playing. The kids also loved dancing to the live music. there were lots of families- lots of sweet images of moms and dads dancing to the live music with thier toddlers in thier arms. This is pure heaven for moms and dads.

Here are the 2 short videos I took to show the place, notice the perfect song playing (Manny and I love this Hawaiian singer, Israel Kamakawtwo'ole):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNKpxLNkY6A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fegGZ0bAqoU

Official web site for the Morada Bay Restaurant- go here to see thier photo gallery:
www.moradabay-restaurant.com

Key largo: The Hotel

I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel I picked for Key Largo, which was the Key Largo Grande Resort (just changed from the Sheraton). Official website: http://www.keylargogrande.com

It was built into the hardwood hammock/mangrove forest so very tropical and exotic and woodsy. It reminded me of being in Europe the way the decor was (and the restaurant unfortunately had Swiss prices).

It had one of those fancy entryways, where you walk down a long covered walkway, draped with fabrics and there was this gorgeous old huge mangrove tree, that I had wished I had posed the kids in front of. I didn't take a photo of it, but found this pic on the internet to show the walkway and the big mangrove. walking through with the tree to your right you get to where you pull up your car and unload the bags. to the left is the huge main lobby, to the left and right the resort & rooms. the place was huge and really felt like a resort. 3rd floor heading towards the elevators to go down...we had come from the 3rd floor area with the overpriced but very gorgeous outdoor/indoor restaurant (I didn't take pics there). There were two restaurants- the other one also has entertainment at night and even had some kind of dance night but we never made it there.
The view from above, looking out to the bay and the hotel dock, which we walked on looking for manatees. The cool thing about the keys and key largo is there are hundreds of little islands- you can see one in the distance...and if you rent or have a boat you can go explore them.
view from our first floor room that looked out to the bay beach. there were wooden walkways here, that went to the beach, tiki bar, to the nature trail on the hotel grounds, and to the game room and gym.
Skyler looking out the balcony:

They gave you a free newspaper every morning that hung on your hotel room door, and I found it amusing since you could tell who was still sleeping. We woke up early all 3 mornings so we saw a lot of hanging newspapers. I was also impressed with the bathroom amenities. In the sink area was a fancy tray with salon level bottles (shampoo, conditioner, etc.),a very good hair dryer (high wattage, salon level, not cheapy small kind), and high quality soaps. It reminded me a lot of Club Med (love that place!). In fact, nothing in the place seemed American to me, which made you feel like you were really far away.

Key Largo: Everglades Boat Tour

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, while many people all over the US including Florida were hitting the Black Friday sales (many starting at midnight) we left the Pelican Beach Hotel at 9am. We drove via the Florida Turnpike to the Keys, well to the 1st key, Key Largo. The drive wasn't too bad. We stopped at the first big dive shop when we hit Route 1 off the turnpike, the Divers Outlet. What a cool store. Its HUGE. They have a frequent shoppers club I joined (tropical adventure club) after you spend $250 you get $10. We got Shayna her full wet suit (which it turned out she needed since the water was cold in the Keys), and I got fins. They said there was an ever bigger store IN Key Largo so we planned to stop there later that night so Manny could get his shorty* wetsuit. When we got to Key Largo we had a late breakfast at the Kountry Kitchen (I found out later I earned frquent flier miles through american airlines from that meal) and then went to Dolphin Cove in Key Largo for the Everglades Eco Tour at 1:30pm. We went on a 24 foot deck boat with Captain Bob, and began in Florida Bay and then into the canals of the Everglades and some other waterways...not sure all the names of the various places.

The Everglades begins in Florida Bay. Here is the actual spot of the boundary:


We saw these birds in Florida Bay. there is a Pelican, some Cormorants, and ?:
also in the above photo, you can see a live aboard boat in the top right corner. You can find these all over the Keys. Its free- no marina fees. they anchor thier boats out in the bay and then live on them year round, commuting ashore via dinghys, rowboats, motor boats, etc.

In the photo below, we spotted this Great White Heron sitting amongst the mangroves in the canals of the Everglades park:
here is one of the wider canals. You see a lot of kayakers here. The narrower canals had the mangroves growing so close they form a roof, and it reminded me of where Yoda lived in Star Wars. The mangroves we saw all over Key Largo (and our hotel was nestled among them) were GORGEOUS. They are made into giant works of art the way the upper branches come down and root into the water. In fact, there was a huge one at the entrance to our hotel that was so wide and tall and filled with the drooping branches close together, I realized on our last day what a great photo backdrop it would have made but we were rushing off to the Miami airport when I came to that realization.

Here is what the locals call "Hemingways Pass." It was picked by National Geographic as the most beautiful spot in the Everglades.


We went through what is officially called the Marvin Adams Passageway but known colloquially as "the cut." Its a keys form of the panama canal cut to connect the bay to the ocean. For a more detailed explanation see:
http://keyshistory.org/thecut.html

We went here mainly to see the fossilized coral but found these cute Iguanas:

Here is some fossilized coral:
The Keys is made of coral, so the land is all made up of fossilized coral and you need a jackhammer to dig down. On the beach at our hotel they had huge rocks made of the fossilized coral.

At the end of the tour we went into the little canals where the canal houses are looking for the manatees. The houses there are adorable. I said one thing, if we don't get a house with a tiki hut then I will get one put in...and you call the indians (seminole) to get a tiki hut put in. MUST HAVE HOUSE WITH TIKI HUT (and sunset view would be nice too).

we saw what they call the "footprint" of the manatee and the top of thier heads, but no photos as they are too sneaky to be photographed.

Some Everglades Tips:

Best time to see wildlife in the Everglades is the dry season which is winter december-April.

You can see alligators in the fresh water part of the everglades but not in the salt water and brackish parts which we were in while in Key Largo. The fresh water parts are North closer to Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Best time to spot dolphins and manatees in the keys is in the summer because they like warm water.

*when we told Jami we wanted to get a shorty, she thought we were talking about the movie "Get Shorty." So we joked about that a lot.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a relaxing elegant Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel. Skyler was saying "cheese!" about halfway through the meal, due to the slow service*, Skyler fell asleep. Luckily we had a very big booth.
Shayna ordered the "chocolate gateau" for dessert:
I got Key Lime pie, and this was the real key lime pie, which you can only get in Florida. Its delicious.
To find out more about key limes go here:
http://www.keylimeshop.com/html/about_key_limes.html

*we had a bad waiter, which we knew because when we ate there Monday night we had an excellent waiter (plus bigger party then) so Manny told them to switch our waiter and then the manager personally took care of us, so we had great service and he didn't charge us for any of the kids food (turkey) or drinks.