We had a nice day checking out some beaches here in Naples.
I think this was the hottest morning since we started the trip, it was 81F at 6am, wow!
I had a pretty normal morning routine, got some writing done, some online work, caught up on some emails, etc. The girls and Carol were up around 8am, which is earlier for them too, so the girls ate breakfast and just did some drawing or what not before they started classes at 9. Carol started some cleaning, and as I finished some stuff on the computer, I got ready to go for a run. I made sure the internet was all working well here, with the T-Mobile hotspot. The campground wifi is ok for regular browsing and emails, but not for live classes.
I left for my run and first walked towards the river that runs behind the campground, to check it out. There’s a boat ramp right there and the river looks fairly big. I ran from there, pretty much on a straight line as I saw on the map there was a bit over 2 miles of backroads to run on. It was a nice run, hot and muggy through. There was a point I had to turn as they were starting road construction, but I was still able to put in my 4 miles without interruption.
After I got back I had some work calls, took care of some work emails, took a shower and then helped Bella make sure she had finished all her school work. She had only missed one online place to check and there were a few things there for her to do. Bia still had a live class after lunch, so we had to wait for that before we could leave. Carol continued working on cleaning, and laundry, and also made lunch, she was busy, non stop. After we had lunch, I cleaned up the kitchen a bit and started packing our things. When Bia was done with school, we finished packing and left.
I had planned an itinerary of visiting a lot of beaches and ending near the Naples pier, so we went to Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park first, which was the furthest one north on my list. It took us about 40 minutes to get there. We paid $6 to get in, and went to parking area number 3. The weather was not looking great, it was overcast, it looked like it was going to rain at any time, but it was very warm. We were not sure if we would stay or not, but we wanted to see the beaches for sure, so we walked towards the sand. The park has lots of mangroves and trees separating the beach from the parking lot, so we went through that and got to the beach area. That is a very nice beach. Very fine white sand, somewhat clear water, and easy to manage waves. As the girls and I went to the water to check out the water temperature, we could not avoid wanting to go all the way in. The water was sooooo nice, it was actually a tad warm and felt great. We walked around the beach front first, but then I went in with them. The water was amazing. The bottom is all nice and soft sand. Even though there were a few sea grass chunks floating around here and there, they were not enough to bug any of us. The girls and I stayed in the water for at least an hour, and we were having a ton of fun. We were floating around, going over waves, we were deep enough that we were not jumping waves, but instead floating over or going under them. I took the opportunity to tell them about finding a reference point by the beach, and making sure they were always in line with it, so they didn’t end up too far from where they should be. I can’t say this enough, but the water was so nice, it was hard to leave. We slowly made our way out of the water. The girls were getting hungry, as expected after playing a lot in the water and drinking a bit of sea water. hahahahah… but we wanted to check out another beach or two before heading out for dinner. We went to the truck, got all wrapped in towels, stopped by the restrooms and rinsed our feet, and started going south on the beach line.
We made a quick stop next at Vanderbilt Beach, which is basically an open access to the same beach we were in, and the entrance is free and not part of the state park. The state park had another side to it, which is where there was a type of lagoon, which is good for kayaking, etc.
From there, we tried to check out North Beach, but I could not find a public entrance and it looked like it was only accessible to people in the Ritz-Carlton, or other closed up communities that are in front of it.
Then we went to Clam Pass Park. We didn’t know exactly what to expect, but we found the parking lot and stopped. We were hoping to just check out the beach and leave, so I didn’t even pay for the parking in the self pay booth. From the parking area, there’s a boardwalk you have to take to get to the beach. As we started walking, some guys in golf carts drove by, and one of them asked if we wanted a ride. I didn’t have any cash on me, so I declined. But, that was a sign for me that if the golf carts are there, it’s because the walk is not short, so I looked in the GPS and the boardwalk was a little over a half mile. Hahahahah… We kept walking anyway, and at the same time the weather kept changing and looking more and more like rain. Bia and I were walking faster in the front, while carol stayed behind a bit with Bella. As Bia and I were a few steps away from arriving at the covered area right by the beach it started pouring. It was raining super heavy and hard, and we were getting soaked very fast. Since Bia and I were so close, we didn’t get too wet. Carol and Bella took a bit longer to arrive, and were a bit wet, though they used the towel Bella had on her as cover. It was raining really hard. We waited under a canopy for some time and when the rain slowed a bit, I went to the beach to check it out. That is a very nice place too, just like the other place. Soft sand, nice beach, and some more infrastructure right there, definitely a place to go back to if we have a chance. I took a few pictures, even with the storm right over us, and went back to the canopy. The girls and I were still wearing our swimming gear, and Bia said she wanted to go, so I asked if she wanted to just go back in the rain, and she said she did! hahahahah.. Next thing, Bia, Bella and I were jogging in the rain on the boardwalk. I loved it! It was fun and the rain water was actually warm too. We probably jogged for like 2 minutes before Carol arrived riding a golf cart, and the guy pulled over and told me to open the little trunk and hop in. The girls and I were in the trunk and rode the rest of the way. When we got back to the truck, we were completely soaked. That was fun.
We dried up a bit, and started heading out, looking for a place to eat. Carol was looking in the GPS, while I was just driving towards the campground area. She eventually found a place she liked and we went there. The place is called Komoon, and it’s a Thai, Sushi and Peruvian fusion. We went there for sushi, and everything we had was amazing. We both got appetizers, and they were awesome. Carol got ceviche, and I got Yellowfin tuna sliced thin, with jalapeños and some sauce, it was amazing. I also had a Peruvian beer they had, which was good. After dinner, we got ice cream next door at Rita’s Ice Cream. That was a great way to top the day. Then we drove back. Once we were back, we all showered, I had the girls get ready for bed and brush their teeth and they then watched some Youtube or what not, and we had them in bed for the night around 9:30. I was pretty tired so I went soon after that.
We had an awesome day at the beach, and enjoyed being in the water here in Naples.