Florida Vacation 2004

This was my first vacation in quite a while, and all the better because I had nothing to do with the planning, booking, nothing. Joe organized the entire trip and managed to keep the location a surprise, even during the plane ride. He tried to goad me into asking him, but I remaine annoyingly stoic and refrained. Of course, when the snorkeling equipment arrived, I had somewhat of a clue...

After getting up at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am, we actually made our flight and landed in Miami, where I nudged Joe Sleepyhead to make sure he heard the connecting flight information; he just nods with his eyes still closed. Then I follow him around the Miami aiport like a lost puppy until we reach the car rental place. I thought we are staying in Miami..! Joe is at the counter an awfully long time but looky here, he has nabbed us a convertible... Wahoo, wind ruffling our hair, iPod annoying the locals, bare feet up on the dashboard...and very stupidly, skin exposed without sunscreen. Not anticipating the open roofed travel, we achieved a very impressive burns and are still shedding dermis daily.

Click on the thumbnail photos to skip my ramblings and link to pics from that part of the trip
DAY ONE: So, the first burnt leg of our trip was to the Everglades! Being an animal/nature nut, this was one of my favorite tr. I knew it was going to be a great day when we first entered the park and lo, there was a red shouldered hawk perched on a park sign reading "Fishing Reserved for the Birds". Other highlights included mugs shots with some crazy double crested cormorants, almost stumbling upon what looked to be a BIG mother alligator, a half sized babysitter (or she likes young suitors) and a sprinkling of the cutest gator babies. Audubon would have had a heyday in this refuge. By the way, here is the runing list of animals we saw here, mostly birds: BIRD ID LIST: Anhinga, Black vulture, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown Pelican, Cattle Egret, Double-crested Cormorant, Eurasian-collared Dove, Great Blue Herson, Great Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Ibis, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Snowy Egret, (By the way, if any of these have incorrect IDs, do tell me before my employer Audubon finds out! ;-) and gators! Oh, mebbe a turtle or two...
DAY TWO & THREE: First we went to Pennekamp for some sunning and snorkeling. Afterwards we decided to bring camping gear and stake out on the beach. Then we checked out Bahia Honda beach, which is apparantly the only natural beach in the Keys! The other beaches were formed from sand imported from Miami. Therefore the snorkeling was far superior and we made good use of many underwater disposeable cameras. Those photos have yet to be scanned, but here some of the scenic...scenery.
DAY FOUR: It was easy getting up early this time, in aniticpation of swimming with the dolphins! Joe had purchased this treat for me at Valentine's Day, and lemme tell you, TOTALLY worth the wait. These creatures were amazing up close, such personality and they feel like a thick innertube. We had training first, learning the various hand signs to interact with them, then we headed out to the lagoons where we gingerly dipped outsleves into the chilly water to meet our dolphins, Marina and her daughter Calusa. Little did we know there were spectators and we were part of the show as well. First we had our picture taken, then shook fins, then they imitated our actions (I danced the twist, Joe did the spitting water war), and then the best part: you float back with your feet straight out, and each dolphin puts its nose to each of your feet and pushes you out to sea. Then they leave you there, swim back around from behind allowing you to grab the dorsal fins on their back, and they cruise you back in, Neptune style. Fast. Then we took an afternoon snorkeling trip out to the coral reefs about a half hour out where the wildlife was so much more abundant and pristine. We snorkeled for hours then had lunch on the boat... well, Joe didnt quite finish his, feeling a little seasick ;-) However, he again saw more than I did, including a nurse shark!
DAY FIVE: We woke up around 4:30 am to drive then take a 2.5 hour hour boat ride (each way) to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. This imposing fort is on an entire island, where the infamous Dr Mudd, a friend of John Wilkes Booth, was villified and imprisoned unceremoniously in a dank dark cell. It must have been a strange dichotomy to be inside, and looking out at the pure white sands and turquoise waters from tiny peepholes. The snorkeling is reputed to be quite good as well, and as usual, Joe saw more creatures, including a sea turtle which I had just missed. There is also a protected nesting are that makes Hitchcocks The Birds look like little fuzzy ducklings. The sooty terns were whirling and screeching overhead, dive bombing and doing whatever it took to protect their offspring and territory. If you visit, bring a video camera, photos do not do it justice!
DAY SIX: Shopping for souvenirs. Eating more seafood. Did I mention we had key lime pie every single nite, sometimes more?? We also visited the Southernmost point a few times and checked out colorful Key West. Here are some miscellaneous photos, including our picturesque motel right on the harbor.
Other wildlife: Being a nature nut, you'll notice many of the pictures are of critters. Since most of the animals were in teh Everglades, here are the leftove ones that I do not quite remember where we saw them, or they just looked funy being plopped in the middle of the other photos. There are nto photos for all of these sadly, but we did collectively see: Barn Swallow, Ruddy Turnstones, Baby Golden Orb Spiders(?), a gecko, a fierce looking 2 inch lizard, Painted Turtless (?), a cricket, Sea turtle, Nurse Shark, Gars, Barracudas, Grouper, Angel Fish, Puffer Fish, countless other fishies...