Last Saturday we hopped on a plane and went to
for some fun and sun. Our first stop in the land of sunshine was McDonald's for one of my signature ginormous iced tea to rehydrate from the long flight. They had the coolest color-changing table. It changed color when we touched or set things on the table. As far as I was concerned, this could have been my final destination!
After leaving McDonald's we found this street sign. What's more perfect than coffee and the beach?
We toured through St. Petersburg on our way to Naples where we had planned on staying our first couple of nights. The Old Florida architecture was stunning. This house was a beautiful green stucco.
A close-up of the stucco shows it was artfully crafted into palm leaves. I was fascinated with it.
After a whirlwind tour of St. Petersburg we crossed the iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The blue skies and beautiful view was intoxicating after being cooped up in an aluminum can for the last several hours.
Using my phone, we searched out a motel, a beautiful vintage motor court called The Lemon Tree Inn. This would be the beginning of a close relationship with my phone's services locating and navigating abilities for the next week. It saved us many hours of "lostness" and found us some very cool places to stay.
Each of the rooms of the Lemon Tree Inn had adorable little mosquito-free screen porches. Mercifully, the mosquitoes were also on vacation for the winter and we didn't need to be confined in our porch.
This bicycle with flowers climbing on it made a for cute area divider and added a very tropical feel to an otherwise boring parking area.
Once we were settled in our room, we ran over to the Saturday market. The aging population of this area seems to be unable to function without dressing their multitude of little dogs in an incredible array of ridiculous outfits. As if that alone weren't enough to humiliate the poor little dogs, they get pushed through the streets of Naples in enclosed in doggie strollers. One stroller even sported a mini air conditioner for it's occupant.
Sadly, these photos prove that larger dogs are not immune to these antics. I wish I could push Bear around the ritzy streets of Naples in a giant stroller. Nothing says "Get the hell out of my way" like a German Shepherd plowing down the sidewalk in a stroller.
Sunday morning we drove down to Everglades City to see us some gators. Once again, we checked out the local architecture. The homes in this area were stilted so they wouldn't be overtaken in the regular flooding that happens in that area.
We grabbed an Everglades boat tour so we could go into the mangrove trails and check out the wildlife. As exciting as an airboat would be, we wanted to see stuff, not send it scurrying to the four corners of the earth. Here is yet another example of Florida architecture, this time on a waterway.
Our National Parks trained guide said this was a brown and white bird. Although he gave us the official name, he said there were lots of similar looking birds so just call them little brown and white birds. (If for some reason, Dave is reading this, don't hate me for lumping all brown and white birds into one easy category.)
Here's another "brown and white" bird except this one was about 10 times larger than the previous one. I do know this one happens to be a pelican.
More pelicans roosting on a hill by the canal. We were told the older pelicans had grey heads. I imagine this is the equivalent of those old guys that gather at McDonald's to drink coffee, tell war stories, and bash politicians each morning.
The low tide exposes the mangrove root in all their creepy glory. The mangroves around the world are a nursery for 2/3's of the world's fish population and we saw thousands of baby fish (fry) swimming in the protection of the mangroves.
I'm happier in the open and far away from those creepy-jeebie mangrove roots.I don't really mind boats, I mind that they are in water. I hate swimming in water that I can't see through, and this food rich water does not need a tourist
Here Bob looks like Jeff Dunham's curmudgeon Walter while he relaxes in the quiet wilderness searching for nature's wonders.
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I did not know that pelicans roost in trees. Those suckers are 10+ pounds. Do NOT stand around under the trees where pelicans are roosting. We all know what one seagull can do to a car!
A cormorant...has a fancier name that I don't remember...drying his wings after fishing in an alligator infested canal. Fun fact: Cormorants don't have naturally water repellent wing and they have to be fanned dry each time they get wet.
I just can't get over this giant pelican roosting in trees thing so here's another picture of an old-timer watching us from the safety of his predator-free perch.
I hopped out of the car to take a picture of this giant gator on the far side of the canal barely stopping to think I should check the near side before I bungled out too far.
I'm so glad I did 'cause as I slide to a stop I notice this hungry fellow just feet away watching me. You can see my shadow in front of him. It took a nanosecond for me to formulate an escape plan that counted on the fact that he could not reach the roof of our car faster than I could!
I was happy to see this heron was not eyeing me as a snack.
The mangrove leaves drop into the canal waters and deteriorate creating tannic acid that discolors the Everglade waters. It stains everything that's in it dark. That's why the gators in these parts are so dark. Tannic acid is what gives black tea it's dark color.
Check out this cute little turtle. Actually, he's not so little, he's just far away. He's about 18" across. There's another one climbing on the log behind him.
I didn't know it, but Naples is a very ritzy area. Even the stop signs have pretty little outfits to jazz them up.
The next morning we hopped back on the road to go north to see what there is to see. Along the way we saw this tough Harley biker packing heat in the form of a 102 degree puppy.
To be continued....
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