I'd say we've had a pretty great two weeks here at Encore's Pioneer Village in North Fort Myers.
We knew before we came here that we had friends, so we were looking forward to it. We weren't able to fit in the first spot they gave us, so we needed a second one, and after a little bit of trying we pulled in.
I LOVE our setup. It doesn't take long to do and it's fully functional. It's something that has taken some time to tweak and perfect, but we're in a really good place right now with it!
Our days here
On the days we spent at the resort after we were done with school for the day the kids spent a TON of time in the pool!
Jason & I found a love for shuffleboard and also played pool. We went swimming a few times too, the hot tub is really nice.
The kids also hung out with their friends and rode their bikes around.
For Valentine's Day, the social committee here put on an ice cream social which was really nice and felt great because it was almost 90 degrees that day!
Our Adventures in the Area
Beach!
It's no secret that we love the beach and enjoy it every time we go. We went to Nokomis Beach on Casey Key and Tiger Lilly Beach on Marco Island.
The picture to the left is from the car driving on Casey Key.
The sand cows on the beach on Marco Island I think are going to top my list for favorite things we've seen for a long time!
We went to Edison Ford Winter Estates (pictured to the right), Manatee Park, and Everglades Winter Gardens.
Edison Ford Winter Estates was by far my favorite. Our trip was our first "Hands-on History" experience. I loved that they had an app with a self-guided tour and we were able to list and walk around at our own pace. We looked at the plant signs and enjoyed the beauty, but there's so much more to experience there too.
Manatee Park very underwhelming. There weren't any manatees there because the water was too warm, but still, the place was very disappointing.
Everglades Winter Gardens was nice. I enjoyed looking at the exhibits that were there and the animals were neat, but it was NOT worth the price they charge. Only about a third was open.
For pure nature experiences, we went to Bonita Springs Nature Place, and Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve East. Both places were nice but I enjoyed the trails at the second place better.
