Farewell to Florida

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.

Alligators, Everglades, Alligators, Miami, Alligators and the Keys. Oh, did we mention Alligators?

Hi! You know the drill. Most recent pictures at the top, oldest at the bottom, captions below the picture. Hope you enjoy!

December 31 - Key Biscayne. We spent the last day of the year on the beach watching the windsurfers and enjoying the sun and sand. A great way to end the year! Happy New Year, everyone! One of the beaches on the northern end of Miami Beach.

Miami Beach - the architecture was contemporary and colourful. Another view of downtown Miami. Miami is just as beautiful as it looks on CSI Miami, but we often felt like we were in a different country. Almost everywhere we went the predominant language was Spanish and many advertisements and store signs were in Spanish and English or often in Spanish only. We also had a great view of the beach. We climbed 95 feet to the top of the lighthouse and got a great view of Ted, the Atlantic Ocean and Miami.

We tried to tour Coconut Grove, but all the streets were blocked off for a parade so we made our way to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area on Key Biscayne. This is the Cape Florida Lighthouse built in 1825, the oldest structure in Dade County. This is the beautiful golf course located behind the hotel. If we had our clubs, we could have played a round. I doubt if we could afford the green fees and once they saw our skill level, they probably would have politely asked us to leave. We can tell where we don't belong! One of the sitting rooms in the lobby of the Biltmore. December 30 - Miami. Our first stop was the famous Biltmore Hotel (with the Giralda Tower) in Coral Gables built in 1926 by George Merrick. Guests included Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Al Capone, the Vanderbilts and Roosevelts. During WWII it was converted into a military hospital and later a veteran's hospital before becoming part of the U of Miami's medical school. In 1987 it reopened as a hotel and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. It was beautiful inside and out! Portions of the Keys are so narrow there is only room for the highway.

The Keys were beautiful, but since it was a 300 mile round trip from our campground, we didn't get a chance to spend much time checking out everything the Keys had to offer. In the state parks you could do anything from riding on a glass-bottom boat to checking out an archaelogical site. If you are into swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, boating or any type of water sport at all, this is the ideal place for you. The picture above is of a remnant of "Flagler's Folly", a railroad built by Henry Flagler in 1912 to connect Miami to Key West. It was destroyed by a hurricane in 1935 and was refurbished as the original Seven Mile highway Bridge. In 1982 the new Seven Mile Bridge was completed and sections of the the old one are currently used as fishing piers.

Since we were so close to Cuba, we thought we would have Cuban food for lunch. It was definitely a local hangout and the language of choice was Spanish. Great food! December 29 - Florida Keys. We took a drive down the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West, a distance of 106 miles. Our destination: the southernmost point on the continental U.S. At this point we were only 90 miles from Cuba. At the end of the Everglades Park highway is the town of Flamingo. It was hit hard by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005 and is still in the process of rebuilding. This is a view of Florida Bay at the very southern end of Florida.

We went on 7 different hikes in the Park. One of the shortest was to the Pahayokee Overlook. It gave us an amazing view of the "river of grass" that makes up the Everglades. Water builds up in shallow Lake Okeechobee and then flows south through the 50 mile wide River of Grass. One to six feet deep in sloughs, but 6 inches deep elsewhere, it flows toward the Gulf of Mexico. Plants and animals adapt to the wet and dry seasons, but unfortunately developers in the 1960s drained a great deal of the water from the Everglades and diverted it into canals which seriously damaged the ecosystem. Our airboat guide stated that the Department of Water Mismanagement (as he referred to it) often let too much water in during the dry season which destroyed nests and eggs or else stopped the water flow completely. Fortunately efforts are being made to restore the remaining Everglades. The white twigs you can see in the grass are cypress trees, conifers which actually lose their needle-like leaves and go dormant in the winter. The river of grass is made up of sawgrass which has spiny, sharp leaf blades. If you run your finger over it from the bottom to the top, you could probably draw blood. I know that from experience!

Another highlight - an anhinga eating a fish that it had just caught. They eat them head first so the tail does not get stuck in their throat on the way down. We also learned that if a bird catches a catfish, it must smash it against a hard surface several times to break all its bones and make it easier to swallow. This was what we called an alligator sleep-over. There were at least 8 or 9 alligators in this grassy area. Some were lying on top of each other. It was an amazing sight. I think this is an anhinga. I just liked the picture!! The water here is so clear. One of our guides told us that you can drink the freshwater anywhere in the Everglades with no fear of getting sick. Guess there's no beaver fever in Florida. This beautiful bird is an egret. The birds often stood within a few feet of the alligators showing absolutely no fear of them. Our first stop after entering the Park was Royal Palm. We hiked the Anhinga Trail through Taylor Slough and it was definitely the highlight of the day. It was a beautiful walk through the trees, grasses and ponds of the Everglades and we saw so many bird species and alligators in their natural habitat. Here is a great blue heron.

This, too, was an unusual sight for us. Hundreds of workers moved from field to field picking the crops as they ripen. This is how most Floridians irrigate their fields. After living in Lethbridge for so many years, it seemed rather archaic to us. December 28 - We decided to visit the southern end of the Everglades. To get there we travelled down Hwy 997 through Homestead to the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Centre. This part of Florida is mainly agricultural. We saw many different crops all in various stages of growth. The highway was also lined with dozens of greenhouses selling all types of palm trees, flowers, plants and shrubs. The field above was being prepared for planting. Plants grow up through the tiny holes in the long sheets of plastic that you can see in the back of the picture. I guess it helps with weed control.

If you look closely, you can see 4-5 baby alligators in the grass. Here's some alligator trivia in case you're interested. Momma alligators lay approximately 30 eggs at a time. The sex of the babies is determined by the temperature inside the nest during the first 3 weeks of incubation. Eggs at temperatures greater than +34 develop into males. Eggs at less than +30 develop into females. Eggs in between these temperatures develop into either males or females. Most of the babies are easy prey for other animals (including adult alligators), but those that do survive usually stay with their mom for 2-3 years.

December 27 - After spending a lonely Christmas Day (next year we'll be with family; Ted promised), we moved to Gator Park on Boxing Day. Gator Park campground is only about 15 miles from Shark Valley Visitor Centre, so we returned there on the 27th to hike its two trails and spend more time with the alligators. This gator hissed at Ted, but did allow him to get quite close. It's a good thing he didn't get too mad as they can run as fast as 37 kph for short distances. I don't think Ted can run that fast!

These are our friends, Bruce and Joyce Stoddard. Ted & Bruce grew up together in Vulcan. We really enjoyed our visit with them and their great hospitality - the first roast beef dinner we've had in months!! Mmmm good! The Everglades are a bird-watcher's paradise. This is an anhinga, often called a snakebird. Unlike most waterbirds, it does not have oil glands in its feathers to make them waterproof, so when it is finished diving for fish, it will perch on a tree branch and spread its wings to dry. If it becomes too waterlogged, it can drown and its wet feathers also make it difficult to fly. The males are shiny black while the females have brown feathers on their neck making it look like they are wearing a beige turtleneck. We also saw egrets, bald eagles, wood storks (an endangered species) and ibis, to name just a few.

We saw several turtles as well - red-bellied, orange-bellied and soft shell. This is a view of the Everglades from the top of the Observation Tower at Shark Valley Visitor Centre. You can see several "granddaddy" gators sunning themselves in the clearing. Most of these are males. Smaller gators avoid the larger ones as they are cannibalistic. Alligators require heat to digest their food which is why they lie in the sun during the day. Their body must reach a temperature of +32 for digestion to take place; otherwise the food rots in their stomach and they die. One day when the temperatures dipped to almost freezing, the weatherman referred to it as gator-killing weather. In the distance you can see outcrops of trees and plants such as mahogany, mangrove, gumbo limbo and strangler figs which are called hammocks. These provide a home to deer, bobcats, hawks, rabbits, etc.

This is one of the largest alligators that we saw. You can judge an alligator's age by its length (up to a point). For the first 5-6 years they grow about a foot a year. After the age of 6, they only grow a few inches a year. The average length is about 13 feet and they live to be 30 to 50 years of age. . . . took sole possession of the sunny spot! Note the smile on its face! Joyce has been to Shark Valley many times since they moved here in 2001 and said it was the first time she had seen one gator attack another. Were we lucky or what??? Once the second gator swam away, the first gator circled around and . . .

. . . the gator facing us hissed and lunged towards the other gator. Several of us were standing on the road watching and I don't know who moved more quickly to get out of the way - the second gator or the bystanders! December 23 - Our "love affair" with alligators began when we visited our friends, Bruce and Joyce Stoddard (originally from Calgary, AB) at Pembroke Pines near Fort Lauderdale. We drove south to the Everglades National Park Shark Valley Visitor Centre on the Tamiami Trail and within 5 minutes of parking, we were up close and personal with alligators. These two alligators were sunning themselves when all of a sudden . . .