It’s technically the first day of vacation for Jack and Ellie. Jana and I take care of the dogs and grab an espresso at the Right Turn Coffee Company Cafe located in the RV Park. This awesome made from scratch cafe is run by a Vet named Steve. Steve does a great job and seems to be a one-man-band. The espresso is his own beans and it feels as if the cafe is well frequented. We sat outside in the sunshine and appreciated the warmer weather.

When we finally dig the young adults out of bed, we head over to Barefoot Beach. There is a great public beach that you get to by driving through a mega-millions community to get to the public beach parking. The beach is awesome and features a backwater put-in for canoes and SUPs where Jana and I get to follow the Barefoot Beach paddling trail that wends its way through the mangroves, while Jack and Ellie hit the beach on the other side of the peninsula.

Jana and I get to see a lot of wildlife, and a lot of dead creatures as a result of the red tide we described the other day. It is truly sad to see all these dead creatures floating belly up in these pristine waters.

It is also interesting to view the juxtaposition of the high rises ringing this mangrove paradise.

We finish the 15-station paddle trail and retrace our steps. The markers in the mangroves are awesome and help you keep a handle on where you are and how to get back. Mangrove backwaters like this are easy places to get lost in when you don’t know the area.

We head back to the beach to join Jack and Ellie. There’s a lot of dead fish once again on the beach, but the acrid smell of the algae bloom is not even close to as bad as we experienced on Bonita Beach the day before.