Mexico/Belize Week 3

Today began with a walk along the beach. The highlight of the walk was a pod of dolphin feeding just off shore, not too far beyond the surf line. We could easily see them jumping and splashing; both adults and juveniles. A great show. We also had an osprey dive into the surf quite close to us. He didn’t get a fish but it was a close look at his fishing technique, including seeing how he paused in flight shortly after coming out of the water to shake the water out of his feathers, kind of like a dog shaking off. We also saw a weird sight. A bright orange Ring Billed Gull. Someone painted a gull bright orange, either s an experiment or more likely as a prank. It sure was a strange sight. Our final stop along the beach was a slow approach to a mixed group of gulls, terns and sanderlings. We got close enough to get some very good photos. After the beach we met the kids and headed to Fidelity National where Scott works, for their family holiday party. Lots of food and games for the kids, family photos, photos with Santa and holiday crafts. At one point we waited in line for about 15 minutes at the face painting table. When Garrett and Wyatt realized what it was, they both ran away, practically jumping into the shrubbery to get away. OK, no face painting. A fun afternoon, though Wyatt got very cranky at the end.

Day 15, the start of our third week. Our walk on the beach was les interesting and more windy than yesterday. After some shopping we went to the kids house and Scott, Garrett and Wyatt came with us to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. Tara stayed home to catch up on Xmas shopping and decorating) The alligator farm has thousands of alligators there as well as examples of the other 22 species of crocodilians. The kids enjoyed it and the grown ups did too. There is also a large section in the back of the farm where herons and egrets roost. Turns out the alligators hold down the population of raccoons, possums and other nest predators so many birds choose to nest here. After the farm, the boys came back to the motorhome to spend the night. This was our first time having them to ourselves overnight actually for 24 hours. It was exhausting fun. They watched a DVD movie then went to sleep about 11 PM. We went to sleep about 11:05

Wyatt slept ‘til 7:30, Garrett ‘til 8:30. We kept the boys occupied with some new toys while we did laundry. After lunch we went for a walk on the beach and collected some shells. Wyatt fell asleep on the way back from the beach so we left him in the car to sleep while we sat outside the motorhome, or “House-Car” as Garrett called it, reading, playing and making occasional trips to the nearby lake to throw in a few rocks. Scott and Tara came by about 6 for dinner and they left at about 8:30 with the boys. We will miss them, it was fun having them stay with us although we were ready for their parents to reclaim them. As I write this the quiet in the coach is delightful!

On the road again. This time a short trip to Manatee Hammock County Park in Titusville, FL which we will use as a base to explore the Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore. On the way south the motorhome suddenly veered off the road and headed straight for the outlet malls in St. Augustine. Sandy had fun at Chico’s while Carl spent the time talking to tech support trying to get our internet connection back. The rest of the drive was uneventful. The campground is quite nice. Shortly after we arrived we walked to the pier on the river and saw four Osprey circling overhead. Folks here are griping about the weather, low 50’s with a strong wind from the north. We’re not complaining, we just keep driving further south ;-).

We awoke to 42 degrees with a 25 knot wind from the north. We took or time getting going, packed a lunch and headed for the Merritt Island NWR. After a stop at the visitor center we took the seven mile wildlife drive and saw some great birds including Avocet and Roseate Spoonbill (a big beautiful pink bird with a very weird bill). Our picnic lunch was enjoyed inside the car since it was still chilly and windy. We then took another wildlife drive, spotted several alligators and birds, though no new ones. All together we saw 43 different birds today including one “Life” bird we had never seen before. Back at the coach we caught up on email, downloaded and reviewed our photos and did some internet shopping after dinner- sort of like an evening “at home”.

The Merritt Island NWR has a ranger led bird walk at 9 am so we were off early. This walk, mostly driving slowly in a full van, covered much of the same territory we covered yesterday but we learned a lot and saw new birds and animals with the guides. The guides were long time refuge volunteers and former teachers. They were funny and informative. We met a man who was full timing and spending the winter camped nearby. He had just submitted his application to volunteer at the refuge for the rest of the winter. We also met a couple from Princeton, NJ who were vacationing in the area. We ended up having lunch with them at a local seafood place (broiled Rock Shrimp - $10 for two dozen!!!). Fascinating couple; he is a social anthropologist teaching at Rutgers. As we exchanged stories about previous and planned trips we discovered they had lived in South Africa for several years while he was doing research. We spent much of the rest of lunch talking about how best to vacation in southern Africa and got some recommendations on South African wines as well. After lunch we headed north to visit a small park where there were good shorebirds at low tide. It was a good but not great. Following a brief stay there we drove west to Blue Springs State Park to see manatees. The water has gotten cold so the manatee congregate near the 72 degree water coming from the spring here. As we walked along the boardwalk, we saw 70 to 80 manatee resting in the shallow water, surfacing occasionally to breath. Sadly most of them have scars from boat propellers. It was neat to see so many of these threatened marine mammals. A very full and wonderful day. Tomorrow we head further south into the Keys.

A day of mostly uneventful driving from Titusville down to the lower Keys. We decide to take the Florida Turnpike instead of I-95 to avoid most of the trucks and white hair (no offence to our dear friends in FL!). For the motorhome and car the tolls are triple the car tolls but it only cost $24 to go from Ft. Pierce to Florida City. Once on to the Keys, we stopped at a wild bird rehabilitation center. Interesting displays of injured birds that cannot be released into the wild. Even more interesting were the wild birds that came to “visit”. There were hundreds of Brown Pelicans, Great Egrets and White Ibis sitting on the bird enclosures or feeding in the adjacent mangrove swamp. Also interesting was the experience of getting out of the tiny parking lot. We disconnected the car and backed the coach out of the long driveway and alongside the speeding traffic on US-1. The real excitement, though came a few miles further down the road when a car crossed the centerline and headed straight for us. He was about 2/3rds into our lane. Thankfully, the shoulder was wide enough and level enough for us to get out of the way. You don’t have too many options with 13 tons of motorhome and car going 50 mph! Now we have still one more thing to be thankful for and a large dose of adrenaline in our bloodstream. The remainder of the drive was quiet and we arrived at Bahia Honda State Park. We first heard about this place from a couple we met in Alaska. They were full timers and told us they loved this place and always spent 2 weeks (the max allowed) here in December. They advised us to call way in advance so I made these reservations last January! There are only about 60 sites on this narrow key, tucked between Florida Bay and the ocean. Unfortunately the oceanfront sites also face the highway bridge just offshore with all of the US-1 traffic noise. We are in a nice private wooded site.