Florida Trip Day 3 - The Beach!

We just got back from a wonderful outing at the Siesta Key Beach!  It was great fun - it's been probably eight years since I've been to a beach!  I took a lot of pictures...so this is a long post.

We got there about 9:30 in the morning.  It was still fairly cool out and the beach was pretty empty; by the time we left, though, it was starting to get packed!  

 Grandpa said this was a stork......I don't think I've ever seen one in person before!  It was just walking around in the parking lot and didn't seemed bothered that there were moving cars around him (or her). 

Just gorgeous!  

 Heading out to the water......it was so fun to take off my sandals and walk in the soft sand!  It sure beats rocks and dirt!  :-)

I just loved the water - it felt so wonderful.  Seeing so many little kids building sand castles totally reminded me of doing the same thing when I was little.  We kept thinking that Isaac and Joshua would have had an absolute blast here at the beach!  

Mom and me having a great time.  This is such a fun vacation!

 It was amazing to see all the birds flying over the water; there were a lot of them!  They kept dipping down to grab little fish from the water. 

A wave coming in - I'm telling you, it was so relaxing to just walk the beach.  The sound of the water and the birds was so peaceful.....we collected a few seashells and got to see all the colorful coquinas burrowing under the sand.  They were all different colors and so neat to watch!

 I loved this picture.  There were so many little tiny fish right along the shoreline that I assume this bird was trying to eat.

Look at all the seagulls!

A beautiful palm tree - one of about a thousand here!  REAL trees are such a treat to see.  We had a terrific time at the beach and may come back tomorrow!