In response to several email questions - we're still alive, we're still together and no body parts were left in Florida.
January 17 - Our last view of Florida - how fitting! A train crossing a bridge just outside of Pensacola. Farewell to Florida - it's been great!!
A skimmer diving for fish as the sun sets.
We ended the day hiking and watching the sun set at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin.
We tried crawfish at Pompano Joe's on the beach at Destin. Very tasty!
January 14 - After spending Sunday at Laguna Beach (near Panama City) suntanning, we drove down to Fort Walton Beach and then over the bridge to Destin.
We ended the day at Deer Lake State Park - more sand dunes and a beautiful sunset.
In Seaside there are strict building codes. Each pastel-colored house has a plaque with a cutesy name like "Bide-a-Wee Inn" or the family name and city of origin attached to the white picket fence. You fully expect Jim Carrey to come around the corner saying "...and in case I don't see ya, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night!" Everything was so perfect. As Ted so eloquently stated "it really is rather sickening". We picked up a real estate guide and the cheapest house was over a million! I guess perfection comes with a price.
This is the beautiful town of Seaside. If you've seen the movie, The Truman Show, you may recognize it as the setting for the town of Seahaven where Jim Carrey's character, Truman, lived. This planned community was built in 1981 and won awards for its architecture and design so it was the perfect choice for the movie setting. This is the town square and there actually were kids playing on the grass and people riding their bicycles on streets made of paving stone.
Most of the houses along the Gulf are built on stilts in case of hurricanes, large waves, etc. This is one of the smaller houses we saw along the shore. Most are huge and stand at least 3 storeys high. Usually each floor is rented or sold separately for a huge price. Condos are also very popular here.
The beach at Grayton Beach State Park - isn't it gorgeous?
Here they use fences to hold back the sand, not the snow.
Bet you thought this was snow, didn't you? Not!!! These were sand dunes at Grayton Beach State Park on the Emerald Coast of the Florida panhandle. We followed the trail through scrub oaks and magnolias that have been bent and twisted by salt winds. All the beaches along the Emerald coast have the most beautiful white fine sand that you can imagine. Western Lake is a coastal dune lake. This type of lake is very rare and found only in Florida and South Africa.
We then moved on to Ponce de Leon Springs, named after Juan Ponce de Leon who led the first Spanish expedition in Florida in 1513 in search of the "fountain of youth". Some think they have found it here where the natural springs keep the water a constant 68F year round. Over 14 million gallons of water is produced daily. This is part of the stream but there is also a pool where you can "take the waters". It was too cool for swimming that day so we just hiked the 2 nature trails. 
January 11 - We moved north and west to DeFuniak Springs and went hiking at Falling Waters State Park. Sinkholes could be found all along the path leading to Florida's highest waterfall. The 73-foot-high waterfall drops into a 100-foot-deep, 20-foot-wide sinkhole and then disappears into a cave at the bottom of the sinkhole. No one knows where the water goes from there. 
We came across our first snake in the wild here. I also hope it's our last as I really hate snakes!
January 8 - We went hiking at the Hillsborough River State Park near our campground at Zephyrhills. It was a beautiful day and the water was so clear. The rivers, springs and even the ocean water at the beaches is amazingly clear.
This is probably the weirdest thing we saw at the park - a two-headed turtle. Must be tough when they want to go in opposite directions!
Here is another endangered species - the whooping crane.
The park had a beautiful waterfowl pond where you could see many different species of birds - flamingos, ducks, roseate spoonbills, herons, egrets, anhingas, pelicans and the wood stork which you can see in the front of the picture. It, too, is on the endangered species list. We were lucky to see several in the wild at both Shark Valley and Gator Park.
This is a baby crocodile. The Florida Everglades is one of the few places where crocodiles and alligators co-exist although alligators prefer fresh or brackish waters while crocodiles prefer more salty water. The main difference between the two is the appearance of the snout. The crocodile's snout is much narrower than the alligator's.
This is a Western cougar. The park uses it as an "ambassador" to make park visitors aware of the endangered Florida panther. Due to loss of habitat, disease and parasites, there are only 50 or so panthers left in Florida so it is extremely rare to see one.
The river otters were having a blast chasing and swatting each other and squealing just like kids!
Doesn't she look like she's smiling while someone tickles her nose? 
The park has an underwater observatory where you can watch the manatees.
January 6 - When we took Bailey to the vet in Chester, NY, the vet recommended we visit Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and we are so glad we did. It was amazing. The manatees were huge. The park had 6 female West Indian manatees, the largest of whom was Rosie who weighed in at 3600 lbs. The males are smaller in size, usually around 1500 lbs. The park is a rehabilitation centre for orphaned or injured manatees or those born in captivity. The hope is to eventually return them to their natural habitat.
This is the view coming off the bridge at Terra Ceia, just south of Tampa.
This is the highway leading up to the bridge on the St. Petersburg side. What I really like about Ted's love for bridges is the fact that he cleans the windshield so I can get a good picture of the bridge through the glass. Anyone who knows Ted knows he has no problem driving with a dirty windshield so I look forward to crossing long bridges so I can actually have a clear view of the road for awhile.
I have a love for grain elevators and lighthouses; Ted likes bridges. This is the Sunshine Skyway bridge across Tampa Bay and is 5.5 miles in length.
Fort DeSoto Park is also home to a beautiful beach; it was named one of the Top 10 beaches in the U.S. in 2005.
I'm not your typical light at the end of the tunnel! Any suggestions as to what you think I'm looking through? Be nice!
This is what happens when you mess with one of the last 4 surviving 12" mortars!
January 5 - Fort De Soto Historic Area, Tampa. This old fort is located on Mullet Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. It was built in 1900 as a military post during the Spanish-American war. It became inactive in 1910 and was totally abandoned in 1923 after several buildings were destroyed by hurricanes. It became a park in 1963 and several of the original Post buildings have been restored. Ted is standing beside one of the last 4 surviving carriage-mounted 12" mortars in the continental U.S. All 4 are located at the Park.
I'd like you to take note of who is holding the gator and who is taking the picture!! This proves I'm either braver or dumber - I'll let you decide! To complete our alligator experience we had a gator tail sandwich for lunch. It was like eating chicken nuggets on a bun, but the nuggets were chewier and saltier than chicken. It was really quite good.
Talk about getting up close and personal. This guide wrestled the alligator and came out unscathed. At one point he made the alligator totally limp by simply covering its eyes with his hand. Next time I'm fighting off an alligator, I'll have to remember that neat little trick.
After the airboat ride, we went to the alligator show. This is a baby alligator - probably between one and two years old.
Meet the real captain of our airboat and a great tour guide. We skimmed through the Everglades over the River of Grass past all sorts of birds and alligators. It was so much fun!
January 1 - Ted was in a big hurry to go on the airboat ride; he made sure he got the best seat on the boat.
This is a view of our trailer across the pond from the Gator Park alligator show. The first thing I saw as we parked the trailer was an alligator swimming in the pond. You can be sure we kept a close eye on Bailey and Rusty! Here there was a good possibility they could become gator bait.
Welcome to Gator Park! This is the campground we stayed at while we were in the Miami area and it just happened to offer airboat tours and an alligator show.
