Shell Factory and nature park — Not Without My Coffee

This past weekend we decided to take the girls to Shell Factory and Nature Park in North Fort Myers. I had heard good things; it had animals, lots of shells and it was nearby- an easy decision for a (somewhat) lazy Sunday.

Naturally, as has been the case lately, the girls were in a mood and didn't want to go once we got there (even though I had asked them the day before and they were so excited). But as soon as we passed the entrance, everything changed. Our visit coincided with The Taste of North Fort Myers Festival so we were in for a real treat. There were tons of food vendors and we had our pick of some amazing tastes. The girls chose snow-cones for lunch and I was more than okay with it.

We visited the nature park where we saw alligators, zebras, a camel and got to pet adorable goats in the petting zoo section. My favorite was the dinosaurs section. Where else can you pose for pictures with dinosaurs (even if they are just huge statues)? I felt like we were on the set of a movie. According to Olivia, dinosaurs were around a long time ago- in the 70's! Yup, I almost died laughing.

The gift shops are worth a visit here too. Not only are there a ton of shells but they celebrate Christmas all year round with it's own gift shop as well as Halloween with a separate, if much smaller, gift shop.

On our next visit I'm determined to gather up the courage to try their zipline in the Fun Park.