Winter 2006 - Western Florida

We drove to Manatee Park this morning, stopping along the way to buy some of the famous Honeybell oranges. The Manatee Park is built along a canal dug by Florida Power and Light to bring cooling water to their nearby power plant. FPL heats the water and the manatees are attracted to this warmer water in winter. Since it was 42 degrees when we woke up, there were lots of manatees. We wandered the boardwalk enjoying the sight of an occasional pair of nostrils breaking the surface. We also saw several mother calf pairs swimming together.

We then drove into Ft. Myers to visit the Edison/Ford Estate. This 20 acre site along the Caloosahatchee River was the winter home to Thomas Edison and his friend, Henry Ford. Unlike the vacation “cottages” of many wealthy people, neither of there were opulent. They were simple two story wood frame houses. The grounds have many exotic trees and plants. Unfortunately, Edison’s electrical laboratory where he conducted many of his experiments is no longer there. Edison, known as the “Wizard of Menlo Park”, the location of his main laboratory, held an astonishing 1093 patents. The garage at the Ford house does have several beautiful vintage (1911 – 1927) Ford cars and trucks. We also toured the botanical laboratory. Edison, Ford and their friend Harvey Firestone funded 11 years of research to find a source of rubber that would grow in the US. The lab was fascinating although they never found a commercially viable compound before the invention of synthetic rubber. The site also has the second largest Banyan tree in North America. We ate our picnic lunch under the Banyan tree then headed for Cape Coral where we hoped to see a Burrowing Owl. This small owl digs burrows in the ground and has established a significant presence in Cape Coral. We stopped at the visitor information center and the Historical Museum. They had pamphlets about the owl and the museum even had a stuffed example but no one could tell us where in the huge Cape Coral area we might spot the bird. We drove through the less developed northwest corner of Cape Coral to no avail. Back at the campground we hiked the short nature trail, grilled some shrimp and asparagus for dinner and spent the evening journaling and reviewing pictures.

While packing up the campsite this morning, Carl discovered that we had had overnight visitors. There were muddy raccoon paw prints on our barbeque. They were probably attracted by the smell of the shrimp we cooked last night. Once on the road we drove about 220 miles north to Crystal River, FL. We checked in at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park. We have not yet learned the origin of the name but it is a beautiful park with huge sites with lots of trees. After lunch we drove to Homosassa State Park where we saw several manatees up close and watched them feeding on the lettuce provided by the attendants. Back in the campground we went for a walk around the area and met a couple from the Seattle area who have been full timing since July. After dinner we took advantage of the campground wireless service to catch up on email and web site updates.

Another busy, delightful day. We returned to the Homosassa State Park to see the other wildlife. This park is used by the Fish and Wildlife Service as a rehabilitation and rest home for injured or “too tame” animals. They have a series of well designed, natural enclosures with Florida Panthers, Black Bears, Gray Foxes and dozens of interesting birds including Whooping and Sand Hill Cranes, Fulvous and Black bellied Whistling Ducks, Wood Ducks,Greater Flamingos, three Bald Eagles, several owls and other raptors. The curiosity highlight in this menagerie is Lucifer the Hippopotamus. This 6,000 pound African Hippo was brought to the park when it was a commercial tourist attraction, prior to becoming a State Park. The park wanted to get rid of all of the non-native animals but finding a home for three tons of hippo was tough. In addition, the park visitors wanted to keep Lucifer. The problem was solved when the Florida Governor officially made Lucifer a citizen of Florida!

After lunch, Sandy suggested we go to a local historical exhibit. We followed signs to “Heritage Village” and, Lo and Behold we are at a set of quaint shops. Sandy claims it was an honest mistake! She is forgiven since this place has a wonderful used book store where we bought 14 books. The motorhome groaned when he saw us coming with two bags of books.

For dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by one of the campers we met yesterday. He said the margaritas were huge. He was right. The food was just so-so but after drinking a margarita big enough to bathe in, the food was just fine!

In a world that is incessantly hyped, it is nice to encounter an understated business claim. We are camped in Carrabelle, FL. The front of the coach is right on the beach and ten feet from the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a small, low key park named Ho Hum RV Park. This view is anything but Ho-Hum! It was an easy 200 mile drive and after lunch and some chores, we went for a jog. We spent the evening relaxing (we do relax some times!!) and even watched some TV.

This morning we saw herons, egrets, willets, gulls, pelicans, grebes and dolphins . . and that was looking through our coach windshield before breakfast. There were dozens of birds in the gulf in front of us as the sun rose. What a wonderful spot. After breakfast we drove to St. George Island State Park. The facilities here, including the campground are still closed due to hurricane damage. The miles of Gulf beach were open, of course, and we made the most of it. The sand was firm for easy walking, the sun was warm yet the air was cool and we spent the rest of the morning on the beach. We then drove to Apalachicola, checked out the Estuarine Preserve Visitor Center with a wealth of natural history displays. After enjoying our picnic lunch we hiked the small nature trail to the marsh across from the center. Back to the coach by mid-afternoon for some relaxation looking out across the gulf. Life is still very, very good.

We were up well before the sun to drive 25 miles to Apalachicola in time for the 8 AM bird walk at the Estuarine Visitor Center. It was a leisurely two hour stroll along the nature walk and along the marina. Most of the birds we saw were common but we saw a few uncommon ones including a Swamp Sparrow Ruby Crowned Kinglet. After the birding, we went back to the campground to pack up and hit the road. Today’s destination is Grayton Beach State Park. Along the way we took the “scenic” route along the coast. We were appalled at what we found. In Panama City Beach we found mile after mile of high rise condos, some 18 stories high, most of them so close together we could seldom see the ocean. Further west there were a few open spaces but not many. The park we are in is beautiful but it’s about three miles of beach sandwiched between solid condos on each end. Thankfully they are only two to three stories high. We thanked the park ranger for preserving this sliver of beautiful beach for people to visit. We walked the beach then drove to Destin for dinner at a funky place called Fudpuckers.

Our first wildlife encounter was while eating breakfast. A gray squirrel climbed on the bird feeder we had put out and was trying to get to the seed. This was a so-called “squirrel proof” bird feeder so it took him a couple of minutes to get in.. Instead of gnawing through the bars or the metal protection around the feeding holes, he climbed to the top of the feeder, and much to our amusement, opened the lid of the feeder. His little squirrel head disappeared into the tube of seeds. After a couple of feedings, the top latched shut and he could no longer get in. That’s when he noticed that his vigorous shaking of the feeder to get in, shook lots of seed to the ground. So, plan B was to shake the feeder, climb down to the ground to eat the seeds then climb up to repeat the process. Very entertaining.

We hiked the park nature trail then walked west along the beach to the park boundary, once again marked by rows of condos. After lunch at the coach, we drove to what we remembered as a delightful seaside community of well spaced buildings and shops. Here too, 15 years has made a huge difference. The shops and condos were almost solid along the shoreline. Back to the campground, we better appreciated the sand dunes and sounds of crashing surf. After dinner we sat by a campfire basking in the glow and appreciating the experience of being in a state park. This concludes our time in Florida. In two days we will be inTexas.