I had been talking to Casey for a few years about taking a winter vacation in Key West. I had visited there during a road trip with some buds after getting out of the Army in the late 1970s. Back then, driving down the keys was an amazing experience. Back then, Key West was a seedy, raucous, and outrageously expensive place (especially given I was an unemployed Vet). What better destination to take my fair bride now? And heck, I'm unemployed once again – perfect! I have come full circle.
By way of background, I get emails from Jet Blue that often advertise a short purchase decision fuse, small departure window airfare specials
. I received one marketing a flight from Reagan Airport to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) for only $69 each way. I had 3 days to buy it and had to use it for brief travel window in March. I had to travel Tuesday-Thursday and would be required to wear red boxer-briefs on backwards during the flight. By the time Casey had cleared it with her work to take the time off within the small window of availability; all those $69 seats were gone. Therefore, I tried going to Kayak. Evidently a fare war started under equally peculiar travel rules. But in the end, United Airlines (UAL) would fly us from Dulles to FLL for $117 each round trip – total - SOLD!
Leaving the day before her birthday, we decided to call this our mutual birthday gifts to each other as well as our celebration for Ground Hogs Day, Valentine’s day, MLK Birthday, etc. That works! The UAL (actually Continental) flight down was great. A big 737 with large overhead space allowed us to avoid the $25 for the first bag fee
. In fact we figured we would not pack any bulky liquids since buying suntan lotion, shampoo, conditioner, etc. and just leaving it in Florida was much cheaper than the checking bags fee. Our little gift for local housekeeping ;-)
Add in a PayLess car rental, and we were good to go! While walking to get our car at the Airport garage, I was telling Casey how beautiful the drive down the Keys was – especially the 7 mile bridge and other similar locations where you are driving so close to the Aquamarine water. Naturally, she asked if I rented a convertible – yea, right. How about a little ugly red box? Turns out the Kia Soul is fairly popular among the "in" crowd in Florida. Strap your surf board and cooler to the top and hit the beaches.
Due to availability issues, I could not get into the B&B I wanted for our first night in Key West. I therefore, planned a “small” detour. We headed due west from FLL across the Everglades on Alligator Alley. Our first welcome to the Everglades area was provided by a pair of hungry looking vultures. We arrived at our destination - the metropolitan location of Chokoloskee, Florida (1/3 square miles total area). Chokoloskee sits in an area known as the 10,000 Islands adjoining the western edge of the Everglades not far from the city of Everglades. Our first adventure – a sunset Kayak Eco Tour.
Everglades Area Tours highly recommended the Sunset Rookeries Tour
. Casey loves birds. I signed up for it, but asked if it would be possible to do the Mangrove Tunnel Kayak Eco Tour in the evening instead since our next day tour would be in the same eco system – the 10,000 islands. Hours prior to our planned Sunset tour, I was contacted by our guide - Darlene Meadows. She indicated that weather conditions were not ideal for the Rookery tour and noted that we had asked about the Mangrove Tunnel. Would a change be OK? Could we be ready to go a bit earlier in order to get the best views prior to sunset? ABSOLUTELY! Our Sunset tour left from a convenient location within walking distance of the Parkway Motel and Marina.
Much to our surprise, our tour consisted of just Casey and me. This was going to be a private tour for the price of a group tour! Darlene made the Kayak tour of the Turner River - Mangrove Tunnel an amazing experience. Her warm, friendly, outgoing and professional demeanor put us at ease. She was extremely knowledgeable about the area, the ecosystems and the flora and fauna
. Her passion and enthusiasm was infectious. This tour lasted longer than we expected and was an amazing experience that we will never forget.
The remarkable experience began when Casey noticed one of the logs in the swamp was moving rapidly and appeared to have bulging eyes. This was the first of many Alligator sightings of the evening. As you will see from the pictures, the Mangrove Tunnel waterways are often narrow. Darlene would often rapidly paddle between us and land in order to place her Kayak between her Alligator friends and our kayak. She told us tales about the Alpha Male gator who she had gotten to know and had scarred its face with the necessary whack of a Kayak paddle one day. Evidently, this guy was being fed by some stupid human(s) and got bolder and bolder. He was recently “put down” by the park officials since he had started hanging out at the kayak launch point and eyeing the small children. His replacement, the new Alpha Male that Darlene was hoping to see, was never found. However, we did see lots of Alpha Male wantabes and momma gators with their babies.
We viewed all kinds of birds up-close and personal including: Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Great Egret, Tricolored Heron, Pelican, Bittern, Black Crowned Night Heron, Ibis and a few I have forgotten the names. We learned that the mangrove ecosystem includes three kinds of Mangroves – each with different ways of dealing with the salt it eliminates from the water.
As night fell, we concluded our tour and found the best dining open late at the Camellia Street Grill.
The Everglades has Gators!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Chokoloskee, Florida, United States
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