Day 10 - 14, 4/2 - 4/6 - Jupiter arrival, Annette and side trips

Juju and Maya were so anxious to get to Annette's that we all agreed to forget about the Florida east coast and just jam down the middle of the state and get to Jupiter. And so we did. We arrived with plenty of time to let J and M frolic in Annette's pool with the dog, Corky. .

It was so good to see Annette...we went to the beach and swam in that lovely S. Florida Atlantic, had a modified Easter egg hunt, visited Lake Okeechobee and the loggerhead turtle rescue in Juno Beach, and swam in an inlet with mangroves where Maya happily hunted for teeny weeny shells that she's bringing home.

Hunting for eggs at Annette's

Going out with Annette - she's wearing the earrings Maya made for her from beads she got at a bead store in New Orleans
Maya and Juju asked if we couldn't get one of these...
Hanging at the beach with Annette
Portuguese man-of-wars washed up all over one beach...one of Annette's nephews was stung by one in the sand - very painful.
Photos from Lake Okeechobee - second largest freshwater lake in the US. I've always been fascinated by this whole area, and Juju and Maya learned about it and loved it too. Lake O. isn't drained by any rivers as we know them and instead drained by "sheet flow", a 40 mile wide "river" about an inch deep all down through south Florida. Now the flow is impeded by farms and some development, and canals are used to control water flow. All of South Florida is supposed to be Everglades, not just the conserved areas!
Now these are nice seagulls...they don't get into the trash.
There was a bunch of vegetation growing on the lake, which was nice for the fish. A local pointed out a bass fussing over her nest because she was about to lay eggs. We watched her swim about, come back to the nest, swim about, come back - the nest looked like a bright orange circle since the water is tea colored.
So many beautiful birds at the Lake - I tried to get a good one of this guy (or girl) but he was shy...
Freaked Annette out a little bit and took a sidetrip on the way home from Lake Okeechobee...way out in the boonies...farther and farther in on a sandy road with no one in sight...we loved the vegetation - all the saw palmettos, swamp plants, pines. Stopped at a little lagoon for this photo.

Visited the Loggerhead Marine Research center in Juno Beach (www.marinelife.org). They do GREAT WORK! Unfortunately, you get to see the damage those plastic bags and bottles do.
Last day before heading south to the Everglades - found a cool little inlet on Jupiter Island to swim in and collect shells.