So we were on the quest for another perfect day after a string of not-so-perfect ones, and we had no problems finding this one, finally!

The girls and Rene had been sick all week, sniffly noses, sneezing, stuffy heads…so we stayed home most of the week and skipped going out. But Sunday everyone was feeling better and definitely stir-crazy! Time to get out and EXPLORE!

So we packed the Bug and headed to Cambier Park, which is by far our favorite park! It’s totally nostalgic for me (I saw the Wailers play here when I was a junior in high school), the girls love it and its close to home. Plus, we have all the activity of 5th Avenue, the Pier, 3rd Street and my aunt and uncle live in Aqualane, so we are close by for visits and special treats.

But what I really love about this park is that it has that big, open space, comfy tree shade, grassy knoll, happy-people, yummy smells, busy city (well, busy for Naples anyway) kind of feel to it. It just has GREAT mojo, whereas some of the other parks around Naples just don’t have it. So yeah, Cambier Park definitely has good park mojo! AND it meets with Al’s approval for a super kid-friendly playground complete with mister and pirate ship!

The park is always bustling with activity, too but never feels crowded or cramped. The Norris Community Center is right there, so is the Arthur L. Allen Tennis Center (where we might be signing Ali up for tennis lessons!), along with the super cool Bandshell, where all the bands come to play.

We totally didn’t know it but the Naples Daily News Jazz Band was playing their free concert that day at the Bandshell, so it was really perfect timing. You know the kind, where everything just works out perfectly and you don’t plan or pack or direct or call or instruct, it just happens and everything and everyone cooperates!

The weather could not have been more perfect. There was just enough of a breeze to carry the popcorn smell around, NO HUMIDITY, which is totally fantastic for Florida, and it was cool-ish, too. The girls just relished the weather, the smells, the sounds of the band and the grass beneath their toes.

I love this picture of my girls. This image totally represents that day…

Helena really digs trees right now. We have TONS of trees at the house: big trees, tiny trees, SUPER tall trees, fruit trees, climbing trees and we even have one the shape of a ginormous egg right on the front lawn. I will have to take a picture of it for the blog…but Helena is totally into trees now and when she spotted this palm at the park, she HAD to make a bee-line right for it…

And here is my little tree-hugger…

In this picture, I was trying to capture some beautiful back and side light while Rene corralled Helena after her tree episode…we had to LITERALLY tear her away from this palm. Needless to say we received many a chuckle from the senior crowd milling around…

The von Liebig Art Center is right at the beginning of Cambier Park and is home to some great collections of contemporary visual arts. You can check out their current exhibitions from here. In the entrance they have this awesome elephant sculpture, which of course is a prime spot for portraits of little ones…

So…on the quest for the perfect day, and we definitely ended the week with a doozy!

Until next time and have your own perfect day…

~Astrid~

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