R.T. '09: Bradenton FL to Brunswick GA

This morning we got up relatively early and headed to the beach by way of the Paradise Cafe, which has the BEST bagels and muffins. The place was in a nondescript strip mall with an Ace Hardware, but it was packed with locals...a very good sign. I found it by telling my Blackberry to show me every business in the vicinity with "bagel" in the name. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't, but the Blackberry has been a lifesaver on this trip. I've used it for all of the navigating (with my printed directions as back-up, of course), and for finding critical locations like gas stations, rest areas, and Starbucks.

The beach was gorgeous and the water was like bath water. As soon as we arrived we saw two HUGE stingrays - at least 4' across - swimming near the shore. There were quite a few mommies on the beach on high alert because it was hard to tell for sure what they were (sharks?!) and they were swimming right toward a few snorkelers. It's hard to see them in the photo, but they're the two dark shadows just a few feet from the snorkeler. Right after I took the photo they seemed to realize that he was there and they sped off into deep water. There were also sea turtle nests on the beach which don't look like much right now but it's cool to imagine the baby turtles eventually digging their way out and heading for the water.

When we were all thoroughly sunburned (even with sunscreen!), we went to Mom & Keith's for showers and lunch, and then we hit the road. Adlani had a complete nutty because he wanted to play a video game instead of taking a nap, but after squirting him with the spray bottle a few times to no avail, I used my secret weapon...Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Nobody can resist the soothing sounds of LBM...they're out like a light. We made it to the hotel around 8, Ben and the kids hit the pool, and then we had takeout from Ruby Tuesday which is conveniently located in the attached mall. We're at an Embassy Suites and it's definitely the best hotel we've stayed at so far.

Here are some beach photos from today: