Swamp Monster

We took a boat ride through one little corner of the Okeefenokee Swamp. I loved it. The still, black waters are home to many turtles, alligators, fish and many flowering plants. We also saw birds, both big and small, and even happened upon some raccoons having a tussle up in a tree!

I love the way the water acts as a mirror:

The trees in some areas of the swamp were draped in Spanish Moss

(which is neither Spanish, nor moss!)

Here is one of the smaller gators, enjoying the warm day.

The "land" of the swamp is actually formed from beds of peat that break off from under water and float to the surface. Plants begin to grow and floating islands are created.

Open areas in the swamp are referred to as "prairies". 

There are many water trails through the swamp, and one can camp at specified camp sites. Somehow, I don't think our motorhome could make it to the sites!

We picked a perfect day for our ride. The temperatures were just right, for man and beast!
Well, not for mosquitoes... yet!
There day will come, and I do not care to be there at that time!

There were quite a few Cormorants and Anhingas in the trees. The birds looks similar and have similar habits. 

I found this chart comparing the two birds at 

Difference Between

Can you ID my bird?

Later Gator

We have seen more than a few alligators on our trip. The first alligators I saw were some babies in a tank at Pecan Park RV Reaort in Jacksonville. Although they are well fed, I felt sorry for babies being confined to a tank, and I felt sad for mama gator, having her babies taken. A mama gator probably can't/doesn't  experience emotions as the reptilian brain is more primitive than that of mammals and lacks a limbic system, where emotions are formed. But, I want to attribute emotions to mama gator as she will fiercely protect her young, even carrying them gently in her mouth.

Denis Philips put this shot on Facebook taken near Palm Harbor. FL. Aren't they cute? I wouldn't get very close!

Our group had its first sighting in the wild while on a glass bottom boat tour at Silver Springs State Park. We saw two gators. Our guide thought the larger gator was about 8' in length. The smaller gator, about 3 feet long, may have been a two to three year-old offspring of the first gator. The young gators have brighter yellow stripes on their tail (as seen in the one above) that begin to darken and aren't as evident when the gator is about four. It isn't unusual for young gators to stay near mom. Generally, we were told, a gator will grow about a foot a year. 

Young gator at Silver Springs

 As we ventured further south, we encountered more gators. We saw a few in The Everglades, and even spotted gator crossing signs. (I had to borrow this image from the Internet as I was never ready for the sign as we drove along the road.)

I saw dozens of gators on the boat ride through the Okeefenokee swamp. The weather had warmed up a bit and the gators were coming out of hibernation to bask in the sun. There were also many swimming in the water.  I was fascinated by watching them sink as our boat neared. They didn't leave a ripple, but simply submerged, like a submarine. Then, with a flick of their powerful tail, they vanished. 

Another interesting thing I learned is that birds will nest in areas where gators are found. They know, instinctively, that their nests are vulnerable to raccoons and snakes. Prey that gators will feed upon. A symbiotic relationship has been established. The birds nest above the gators. The gators benefit when the occasional offspring falls from the nest. 

This is a picture (again, borrowed from the Internet as I missed the shot as we drove by) of egrets nesting in the trees above the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. 

Turtle-iffic

We visited Jekyll Island and enjoyed a tour of the club and cottages. Beginning in the late 1800's, a club was begun for the wealthy. Members bought into the club for $600. A large clubhouse was constructed, and several of the members bought additional property to build "cottages". The cottages were not what most of us would picture when we hear the word "cottage"!

Indian Mound Rockefeller Cottage

Moss Cottage

As we were leaving the clubhouse,  having enjoyed a fabulous buffet, we stopped by the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. I loved the center and I am so glad that we visited. The center is relatively small, but it is packed with information and hands-on activities that invite attendees to learn more about sea turtles, the environment  and our role in protecting and sustaining plant and animal life. While going through the displays you learn about the lifecycle of the sea turtle and the different things that can impact the turtles, things that I had never considered such as the temperature of the water. Speaking of temperature, It is interesting to note that the sex of a turtle is determined by the temperature while they are nesting!  (Later we learned that the same thing is true with alligators.)

When you arrive at the sea turtle center you are given a card entitled "My Sea Turtle Journey". As you go through the center, learning more about the life of a sea turtle at each station, you randomly select a stamp for your card and the stamp determines your life as a sea turtle. 

I was hatched under an artificial light situation, which means that upon hatching I might become confused and not know which way to go to get to the sea. I was a female turtle and I migrated to New England because I got caught in currents. I have to be very careful to make my way back south and not get caught in cold water as the season changes. If the water gets too cold my body functions will slow down to the point where I won't eat and might not even be able to swim. Most turtles have some sort of organisms that live on them. Some of these organisms don't impact their health and may even be helpful, others are not. I ended up with leeches which would suck my blood and could make me weak. I lived to be a juvenile turtle which means that I lived to be about 15 years of age.

We attended a "Meet the Turtles" presentation. If you happen to visit the Center, be sure to stick around for this presentation. It was very interesting. Our guide told us about each turtle; how they arrived at the center, what their condition was and how they were doing. 

A few of the tanks had mirrors angled over the tanks so visitors could see the turtles.

Most of these pictures are Kemp's Ridley turtles. When they tried to migrate to warmer, southern waters, they were caught in the "elbow" of Cape Cod. The water turned cold and the turtles' activity slowed down. They could not eat, and they had difficulty swimming. They were rescued and sent to the Georgia center for rehabilitation. 

As the waters near Jekyll Island warm up, the Kemp's Ridley turtles will be released.

This Green Sea Turtle was also impacted by cold water. He was finding it difficult to swim, so he was placed in a wading pool within the tank so he didn't have to expend energy to try to swim to the surface of the tank to breathe. As he gets stronger, the wading pool will be lowered, and eventually taken away.

The turtles at the center receive a number and a name. The turtles who were rescued in the Cape Cod area have Ben & Jerry's ice cream names. Popsicle is one of them. Dredge was rescued by.... a sea dredge!

In addition to the sea turtles, The Center rescues land turtles and fresh water turtles. Many of these are also on display until they are strong enough to be released. 

There's More Than One Way...

We had a few extra hours in St. Augustine, FL, and after consulting TripAdvisor, discovered that the St. Augustine Distillery is a highly recommended tourist stop. Well, heck, why not?  

We are so glad that we did! The tour is very interesting. The restoration of the building is fascinating. The tasting is fun.

When you enter the door for the tour an employee hands you a time card and explains that you are now an employee of the distillery. You clock in, using an antique time clock, and if you care to, fill out contact information on the bottom portion of the card. While you wait for the tour to begin you can enjoy a small museum that describes the contents of the different spirits, the distillation process, how ice was procured in days of yore, and how bottles were smuggled during prohibition in bundles of 6, called a “ham sack”. 

Ham Sacks in a wooden trunk

Legend has it (according to the St. Augustine distillery) that Bill McCoy sold his ship building business to sell high-quality whiskey from his schooner in International waters.

The distillery is located in the original St. Augustine ice manufacturing plant, which was constructed in 1905. The developers of the distillery worked to deconstruct changes made throughout the years in order to return the building to its original walls, ceilings, windows and floors. They did this without borrowing money from banks, instead tapping local resources for financial support to get the distillery off the ground.

The distillery began making spirits 18 months prior to our tour. They currently have gin, vodka and rum available, but the bourbon has not aged enough to be bottled and sold.

Scenes from inside the distillery

Bottles are filled and capped by hand

Following the tour through part of the distillery, we were treated to a taste of two cocktails, a Moscow Florida Mule and a gin and tonic. Our guide told us the history of the drinks as she mixed a sample, and then let us enjoy a refreshing taste.

Florida Mule

2 oz St. Augustine Vodka

2 oz Mule Mix (4 parts lime juice, 2 parks simple syrup, 1 part ginger juice)

Crushed Ice

Soda Water

Frest Mint*

*our guide showed us how to “clap” the mint between our palms to bruise the leaf and release the fragrant oils

This drink is traditionally served in a copper mug to retain its ice cold temperature.

Gin & Tonic

1.5 oz St. Augustine Gin

.5 oz strong tonic syrup

3 oz soda water

2-3 drops 18-21 Bitters (Grapefruit & Lavender)

Stir (don’t shake) and serve over ice. 

(our guide explained that the tonic water we are accustomed to seeing in the supermarket is bitter. Using the ingredients described above will make a much smoother drink. Based on the taste we were given - she was right!)

Tasting cocktails after the tour

Of course, the syrup and bitters were available in the gift shop, along with copper mugs, glasses, ice trays, jiggers, and…. bottles of vodka, gin or rum!

The distillery ran into some issues with the law when they first opened. It turned out that Florida distilleries are not allowed to sell spirits to individuals. The distillery operators approached the lawmakers and laws were changed so they could sell two bottles of each label to an individual once per year. Thus, visitors could buy two bottles of gin, two bottles of rum and two bottles of vodka. Someone (probably a lawyer) reviewed the law, and came up with a way to skirt the law! It's all in the interpretation. What if the distillery created different labels for the same product? Ah hah!

Here are three of the four different "labels" of vodka!

3-2-1 Blastoff!

We lucked out! There was a scheduled launch of an Atlas V rocket while we were camped in Titusville. We were about 15 miles from the launch pad, and were told we could see it from the campground. A few of us managed to stay awake for the 11:04 PM launch. (that sort of thing is getting more difficult as I get older!) At the appointed hour, the horizon brightened, and shortly after we saw the ball of fire powering the rocket into the sky. Eventually the sound reached us. And not too long after that, the bright light grew smaller, and dimmer, until it was no longer visible. 

Waiting and watching the launch took me back to 1993 when we made the trek to Florida, with our best friends and their children, to watch the launch of space shuttle, STS-51(Discovery). 

Our son’s teacher’s brother (did you get that?), Frank Culbertson, was the commander of this mission. He had visited the kids' classroom and they were so excited to "know" an astronaut. We were kinda excited, too! We questioned why we even bothered to rent hotel rooms as we were out of the rooms by 4:00 AM to head to the viewing area. It was a long wait in the wee hours. When the shuttle launched, we were all transfixed. The children jumped up and down, squealing with glee(was it excitement, or the half dozen donuts they had consumed?!) Tears formed in my eyes. The trembling of the earth, and the following roar made my heart pound in my chest. Wow! What an experience!  

After that launch we took our kids to the Kennedy Space Center. I have pictures… but they are home and I am not. I do wish I could see them as I’d love to compare “Then” and “Now”.  I was very impressed with the changes in the Space Center over the last 23 years. The bus tour, included with admission, was informative. We were dropped at the Apollo Center. This long building houses a Saturn V rocket, suspended just over vistors' heads. Also in the building are two excellent multimedia exhibits showing the firing room and the lunar landing. In addition, the space center visitor complex has two 3-D iMax movies and other interesting exhibits. I was very impressed.

Iguana

I saw an iguana on a tree in Key West. I was so excited. How incredibly cool to see such a large lizard in its natural habitat!

Or so I thought. 

I was wrong!

Mr. Dreamy (smarty pants) told me so. 

After my Iguana sighting in Key West, Mr. Dreamy and I took a walk in a lovely park near Fort Lauderdale and happened upon two large iguanas. One of them was at least 4 feet long. I got as close as I could to take a picture, but they weren't willing to stick around. I mentioned how neat it was to see animals like that out in the wild. Mr. Dreamy commented that iguanas are not native to the US.

Sure enough, with a little research on the Internet, I discovered that iguanas are pests in south Florida. Pets that were released, or escaped into the wild, and iguanas escaping from ships do what animals do when their basic needs of food and shelter are met. They multiplied. They enjoy the warmth and the vegetation in the south Florida area, they have no natural predators, and they are thriving. 

And I thought our deer were a nuisance! I can't imagine finding scaly creatures in my trees, eating my mangos.  Hey wait, mangos don't grow in Colorado! I guess iguanas won't be a problem for me!

Lovely Lauderdale and a-Mazing Miami

Our group was treated to a bus tour of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and a boat tour through some of the canals. We learned the history of the area, and saw lots of sights. One could see, from the lovely art deco buildings in the city, that this has always been a popular area for vacations. And, as we were there during "spring break",  we could see that it is still a popular area for vacations. The streets were alive with people, mostly college-aged kids. The streets were crammed with cars. It took us over an hour to travel 6.8 miles one evening! The streets will be even more crowded as all of the tall condos under construction (we saw cranes on at least a dozen buildings) are completed and filled with residents. As pretty as it all is, I wouldn't want to live here!

In the morning we stopped at Vizcaya, the estate of James Deering (International Harvester). The home was decadent, having been designed around wall coverings, ceilings, tile, carvings and furnishings purchased in Europe on Deering's travels, in the late 1800's.

 The massive home was built around a central open courtyard, with porches and balconies overlooking Biscayne Bay and beautiful English gardens.

In the evening, we boarded the Jungle Queen and were treated to a narrated trip to their 'private island'. We passed mansions of the rich and famous, along with some older, smaller homes, that might only sell for a million or two. Our double-decker open boat, carrying close to 400 people was dwarfed by many of the yachts we passed.

Sadly, this photo is out of focus, but I had to include it. Three folks were evidently heading to a party down the canal. This gal had a bottle of vodka or gin, another gal looked like she had a 6 pack of beer and a fellow was with them in a kayak carrying some bags of chips. What a way to travel!

I've visited the area. I don't need to go back.... unless the stop is just a waypoint on a cruise going to some other delightful destination!