Palm Beach Yacht Centre, Palm Beach, Florida

A container ship being loaded at Port Everglades

It was quite windy when we woke up this morning, we discussed whether it was a good day to travel. In the end, we decided to go since the whole day was in the protected intercoastal waterway, and we're glad we did. The travelling was great. We went under 18 bridges, 6 of which had to open for us. Luckily we didn't wait long at any of them. We also went by the very busy Port Everglades, which can have ocean going ships and cruise ships going every direction. Luckily, we saw some container ships being shunted around, others being loaded, and lots of cruise ships docked, but they didn't interfere with our travels at all (nor we with their's). We have passed by some huge beautiful homes in the past, but that is all we passed by today. It is hard to imagine that there are so many people with that kind of wealth such a small area. And many of these mansions have huge yachts docked in the front yard. However, we did see quite a few houses with "For Sale" signs on them.
Arrived here in Palm Beach just after 2. It was windy all day, but it didn't bother us as we travelled. However, the gusts as we tried to dock made docking rather challenging. This marina has very short finger docks, so we have had to figure out a new way to get on and off the boat. We  climb over the side of the aft deck, and land on the dock, or on a stool when the tide is in. Didn't know we could do it that way. The gate that we normally use is no where near the end of the finger dock.

A container shp being positioned by a tug

This small house is for sale if anyone is interested.

This price is for the lot between the house in the background (it is actually on the other street) and the intercoastal waterway.

We went by so many mega-yachts, as well as boats like this one that are a little different from the ordinary.

From beautiful boats to something you hate to see; it is a power cord going to one of the boats in the marina here with barnacles hanging from it. It obviously has been hanging in the water (ouch!!)

Went for a walk tonight, then ordered pizza for supper. The forecast is for winds for most of the rest of the week.  We will move on tomorrow to a marina that is better protected in the winds. Both winds and waves have us doing a lot of bouncing around here, even though we are securely tied to the dock.

Hollywood Municipal Marina, Hollywood, Florida

Had a surprise visit this morning from Dave and Donna Latchford, the people that we bought this boat from in 2008. They have been following our blog, are in Fort Lauderdale to start a cruise, and looked us up. It was so nice to see them. Then we met Louis and Louise from General Delivery for lunch. They have been in Fort Lauderdale for the past month, will stay another month before starting their journey up the east coast and home to Montreal. Nice to get caught up with them. They brought their boat down from where they dock it in Fort Lauderdale, docked right at the restaurant. While we were there, Louis' brother called; he was anchored right across the water from the restaurant, and right outside our marina. Small world.
Quiet afternoon just enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. The marina is right along the Intercoastal waterway, so the men enjoyed just watching all of the boats go by. Got together with Eddie and Nancy, Marlene and Scott for dinner. Will leave in the morning, head up to Palm Beach tomorrow.

Hollywood Municipal Marina, Hollywood, Florida

The Good Year blimp went over the boat today

Another warm sunny  day. We are enjoying this weather. Wayne and I walked to a store about 3 miles away to get some nozzles for our hose (somehow our's had broken and so had the one we had borrowed from Eddie). Anyway, found the hose nozzles and had  good walk. After lunch, Scott and Marlene, Nancy and Eddie and myself went over to the beach. The water was quite warm, more so than at the beach at Marathon. Later Marlene and I toured some shops along the beach. Wayne did some chores around the boat, then we got together for cocktails with some boaters from this marina. The six of us had hamburgers on the grill for dinner. Nice quiet day. We plan to get together with Louis and Louise tomorrow.

Hollywood Municipal Marina, Hollywood, Florida

The ship loading boats for transport. NaMaka was near the front. When we came by later in the evening, the back of the transport boat had been raised up out of the water.





At lunch at the Irish Pub

Scott and Marlene on the water taxi

One of our water taxis

We had a great day today. We took the water taxi into Fort Lauderdale, then took the one that does the tour of Fort Lauderdale. Had heard from Louis and Louise on General Delivery that NaMaka was being loaded on a ship for transport to France at Port Everglades today. As we passed Port Everglades on the water taxi, we are sure we saw NaMaka on the ship. Got off the water taxi at the Irish Pub near Las Olas Boulevard, had lunch at the Irish Pub. The Pub is decorated with all things nautical, lots of crab pot markers, small boats hanging from the ceiling,etc, and that is just on the patio. While we ate we watched the boats passing up and down New River. After lunch, the men watched boats passing and walked along the river looking at boats docked along the river while Nancy, Marlene and I went shopping on Las Alos Boulevard. It is a street with lots of shops and restaurants. None of us bought anything, but we had fun looking. Took the water taxi around the rest of the route and tour, the houses along the water and the yachts are absolutely amazing. Came back to Hollywood and the marina after dark, so saw the houses and boats along the river all lit up, well worth seeing. We plan to stay here until Monday, so will tour more of Hollywood over the next 2 days.

Hollywood Municipal Marina, Hollywood, Florida

We couldn't figure out what this was in front of us, turned out to be a floating boat sales office under tow.

Some of the homes we saw as we passed Miami, we kept expecting to see Horatio Caine investigting a murder in one of them.



We saw all kinds of boats today, including a pirate ship



A huge container ship crossed the channel in front of us.



All of us posing by a small palm tree after dinner, in front of the small lake where the marina is situated. Marlene is taking the picture

 Left the anchorage this morning, hated to leave; it was so beautiful in that harbour. Most of our trip today was past the city of Miami. Wow!!! Huge skyscrapers, all colours. Huge boats along the waterway and in the canals. We didn't know where to look first. Saw a huge ray jumping in the water again today, dolphins first thing this morning. A huge container ship pulled out and across the channel in front of us. Passed a floating office for Lazzara boats, pulled by a SeaTow boat. Today, we passed under 9 bridges, we had to have 2 of them opened for us. Arrived early afternoon. A very friendly man from Scott and Marlene's dock offered to drive us to the grocery store, so Scott, Marlene, Nancy and I went. Then another nice man from the marina picked us up with our groceries. The man who brought us back from the store is here on his sailboat. He is from Jersey, brought the boat down here last fall. He went home for Christmans, was hit from behind in his car, when he came back had issues with vertigo or dizziness, so he can't go out on his sailboat. He had planned to go to the Bahamas, but if his vertigo doesn't improve, he won't be able to.  Got together with Scott and Marlene, Nancy and Eddie for a cooperative dinner tonight under the shelter at the marina office. Nice dinner with good company, and it is so nice to be able to sit out at night and be warm. We will stay here over the weekend, plan to tour Fort Lauderdale by Water Taxi tomorrow.

No Name Harbour, Key Biscayne, Florida

The crocodile

A view of the harbour from the restaurant window.

We are anchored in a beautiful little harbour just across from Miami. Left Gilbert's at Key Largo just after 8 this morning. We were getting ready to leave when someone spotted a crocodile swimming out from under the dock; a man had jumped in for a swim from a sailboat near us, we think perhaps he starled the crocodile. By the time we got a camera going, it was swimming away across the waterway. As we travelled north throuhg Florida Bay, then into Biscayne Bay, dolphins again travelled with us, stayed in our wake for a long time. We also saw a huge ray jumping in front of the boat. We could see the Miami skyline in front of us for much of the day. The harbour we are in is just across from the lower part of Miami. Apparently a huge development was planned for here, but the harbour had no name, so on the plans it just said No Name Harbour. The development didn't happen, but the name stuck. It is now a state park, with walking trails and a nice restaurant. We dinghied in to shore and had lunch at the resaurant, then walked into town to the grocery store. Nice walk. There were quite a few boats anchored here when we arrived shortly after noon, but many left as the day went on. Crawdad is here, as are a couple from Barrie, Ont on their sailboat. They are travelling to the Carribean for the next few years. Sat out on the bow of our boat and watched the sunset. We have made a big decision today. We have been talking about going to the Bahamas, but realized that we would be rushing through this area to be ready to make the crossing by the first part of March. Instead we will explore the east coast of Florida and the St. John's River more fully. Guess we will have to come back another time to go to the Bahamas. Tomorrow we will cruise past Miami, plan to go to Fort Lauderdale

Gilberts Family Paradise Resort, Key Largo, Florida

Wayne relaxing at the swimming pool

Our dinner under the tiki hut

Relaxing day today. I did laundry while Wayne did his engine checks. Joey and Rhonda with Rho-Jo came in for fuel on their way past, so had a little visit with them. Spent this afternoon in the pool, then going for a walk. Scott and Marlene, Nancy and Eddie, Wayne and I sat out on the dock, visited and watched boats go by for a while, then got together for a cooperative supper. Life is very relaxed here. We plan to leave in the morning, heading toward an anchorage south of Miami.

Gilberts Family Paradise Resort, Key Largo, Florida

One of many jelly fish. Glad we weren't in the water. They can give you a nasty sting.

Fellow cleaning his lobster traps on the back of his boat

Looks like he maybe dragged anchor. He is right up on shore.

Dinner at the tiki bar. Scott, Marlene, Nancy, Eddie and Wayne

We left Marathon early this morning. Wayne was ready to move, but I was sad to go. This is the first place that we have been at with consistently good warm weather, and it was beautiful. The first part of our trip was a ltitle rougher than we had anticipated. We came out through Sisters Creek, then followed the Hawk Channel up to Channel Five. Crossed into the intercoastal waterway at Channel Five, where the water smoothed out beautifully. The last half of the trip was great, but it was shallow, so required care to stay in the channel. As we left Marathon, we started seeing clear floating things in the water, looked like miniature crab pots but were actually jelly fish. For a good part of the way down to Channel Five they were thick in the water. Crab pots were also there, not so bad in the Hawk Channel, but very thick just after we went through the bridge at Channel Five. Also saw dolphins and a big turtle along the way. Travelled all day with Dream Fever and Nomad. Arrived here about 4 pm, seemed like a long day because of watching for the crab pots and shallow water. This is a resort and marina, so has a tiki hut bar and restaurant by the docks. Went down to the restaurant for dinner. It will probably be an early night tonight. We plan to stay here for 2 days, so will do chores and explore tomorrow. Might even try out the pool.

Marathon, Book Key Harbour, Florida Keys

View from the dinghy looking out Boot Key Harbour, boats at Sombrero Resort, then followed by boats at Sombrero Dockside.

Dinghy pulling at water skier

Marlene, Nancy and I on the back of Nomad

Scott, Wayne and Eddie on Nomad

View up the beach

Another beautiful day in paradise. Sunny and warm. Spent the morning getting organized to leave tomorrow, getting our route set on the Chart plotter. This afternoon took the dinghy around to the beach again. Nancy and Eddie had trouble with the dinghy motor, stopped on them just after they started. Eddie was unable to repair today, so they rode with us. Some of us (Eddie and I) wore bathing suits and actually went swimming. Wayne and Nancy stayed on the beach. Have been trying to limit the amount of salt in our diets, but have been licking the salt off my lips since swimming. Water was cool at first, then very nice, and of course the sun was good and warm when we got out. The beach was busy today. A group behind us under the shelter included a young man who was singing; we really enjoyed listening to him. We watched a water skier pulled by a dinghy. We hadn't thought that a dinghy would be able to do that, but the water skier seemed to be doing OK. Tonight we celebrated our last night here and being at the southernmost point of our trip by having a steak dinner. Got together with Eddie and Nancy and Scott and Marlene on Nomad and enjoyed bar-b-qued steak, potatoes, grilled vegetables, and key lime pie. We plan to leave in the morning to head up to Key Largo and Gilbert's Family Paradise Island Resort.

Marathon, Book Key Harbour, Florida Keys

Quiet day today after our very long day yesterday. Wayne did engine checks this morning, a few repairs. This afternoon we went for a long walk uptown, got a few groceries on the way back. It was another perfect day for weather, warm and sunny. Easy to just sit down on the aft deck and relax. Got together with Scott and Marlene, Nancy and Eddie for a combined dinner this evening. Will be early to bed.

Marathon, Book Key Harbour, Florida Keys

US Highway #1, mile 0

Yesterday was an interesting day. We left early to catch the bus down to Key West. It was only a few minutes late, no problem. Cost to ride the bus the 50 miles to Key West is $1.50 per person, then took a city bus in Key West for another $.50 per person. Walked down Duval Street, one of the main streets with all kinds of shops (mostly aimed at tourists), bars and restaurants. Visited Mallory Square, which looks out over the Gulf. Beautiful blue-green water, lots of boats anchored off-shore. A cruise ship was in the harbour, so streets were fairly crowded until it left a little later in the day. Nancy and I visited the Ernest Hemingway house. It is where he lived with his second wife from 1931 to 1940, and where he wrote half of all of his books. The one acre lot is home to 44 cats, many of which are poly-dactyl (6 toed). Apparently these 6 toed cats used to be considered good luck on the ships; Hemingway's sons delivered something to a ship and were given one of these cats as thanks. Hemingway was a cat lover and was delighted with the cat. The cats on the property today are all descendants of that original cat. The house has been kept as it was when he lived there. Apparently he had a relationship with a female reporter, and left for Cuba with the reporter; wife heard that the reporter was with him, so installed a very expensive in-ground concrete pool (Hemingway had previously gotten a price from a contracter and decided against it due to the expense). This was the only inground pool in the Keys at that time. When Hemingway returned, he saw the pool, knew that the were in trouble financially, took a copper penny out of his pocket and threw it at his wife, saying that she had spent all of his money, she might just as well have the last penny too. That penny is imbedded in the cement around the pool. Hemingway's friend at Sloppy Joes, the neighbourhod bar, was relocating so Hemingway asked if he could have the urinal out of the old bar to use to water the cats. He set it up near the pool. Angry wife asked that he move it, he said he would when she moved the pool. Urinal is still there, has been made into part of a fountain. Reporter soon became wife number 3. Wife number 2 lved in that house until her death. At Hemingway's death, sons sold the house to a family friend. She found people at her door constantly asking to see the house where Hemingway had lived, so finally had a tour company look after the house and give tours, while she moved elsewhere.
Visited mile 0, which is the end of US Highway #1. The other end is at mile 2377 at Fort Kent, Maine. Also went to the marker at the southernmost point of the US. Lunch at Fogerty's. Tried Sloppy Joes but all tables were taken and no one looked like they were leaving anytime soon. Sloppy Joes has live entertainment. Fogerty's was a little quieter, but very nice; they served huge amounts of food, and very good.
Wayne and Eddie visited West Marine in the afternoon, Nancy and I visited some of the shops.
We returned to Mallory Square for the sunset ceremonies, had a drink at the cafe along the water, then watched some of the many street acts in Mallory Square. There were acrobats, bag pipers, musicians, jugglers, street vendors, etc etc. Huge crowds, loked like a carnival.




Spiderman even comes to Mallory Square for the sunset ceremonies

Sunset at Mallory Square

Walked up the catch the city bus, we knew we were about 25 minutes early, but a beautiful evening, warm, full moon, no problem waiting for the bus and people watching (and there was lots to see). Bus arrived 15 minutes early, turned out it was the previous bus that was 45 minutes late. A supervisor was riding the bus, helping a new diver learn the route; some of the regulars commented on the fact that it was so late, the supervisor got quite cross with one drunk lady. Good entertainment on the bus. Met the bus to take us north to Marathon, nice bus, even had brakes that didn't make a scraping noise everytime they were applied. About half way to Marathon, the bus broke down; it was leaking fuel. We all got out, in the end waited on the side of the road for the next bus,which was about 1 1/2 hours later. Mind you, full moon, stars out, nice warm evening, we happened to stop by a gas station with a little store and bathrooms, could have been much worse. Got back to Marathon on the next bus after 11, so a very full day.

Somewhere on the side of the road in the Lower Keys

We are currently on the side of the road waiting for our replacement bus; our's broke down. Luckily it happened by a Mobile gas station and store so we could get a drink. Will write more tomorrow.

Sombrero Dockside Marina, Marathon, Boot Key Harbour, Florida

Another beautiful warm sunny day in paradise. Took the dinghies out Sisters Creek to the Atlantic side of the Key to a pretty little beach. Had a picnic lunch and walked on the beach. We went with Eddie and Nancy, Scott and Marlene from Nomad met us there. Eddie and Scott tried swimming, actually the water was cool but nice. The rest of us just enjoyed being at the beach. Explored the area on the way back, went down some of the canals and looked at the houses and the boats.
As we entered the harbor on Tuesday, and as we dinghied today, we passed huge radio transmitters with big fences around them and signs saying that is it a US government installation, "Keep Out". We are assuming it is the transmitters for Radio Marti, or Radio Free Cuba, which was established in 1983 by President Reagan, with the mission of fighting communism. The original idea was to try to hasten the fall of Cuban president Fidel Castro. Existing North American broadcasters objected to the plans; they feared that Cuba would retaliate by jamming existing commercial radio broadcasts in Florida, and they were right. Cuba did manage to disrupt US AM radio staion broadcasts in several states. Cuba continues to broadcast interference with US broadcasts directed at Cuba, trying to keep them from being heard in Cuba. The station does broadcast in Spanish, heard by Spanish speakers in the US and probably in Cuba.
Also went by the mooring fields. I can't begin to estimate how many boats are out in the harbour on mooring balls. The rows of boats just go on and on.
Got together with Nancy and Eddie and Scott and Marlene for dinner, nice evening.

Nancy and Eddie heading to the beach

Maybe next time we'll take chairs

Wayne, Marlene and Scott

The dinghies were pulled up on shore when we arrived, the tide has now come in part way. Good thing Eddie brought his dinghy anchor.





Dockside Sombrero Marina, Boot Key Harbour, Marathon, Florida

Said goodbye to Jill and Richard on Finally and Tom and Linda on Q's End today, they are heading on up to Key Largo and then on to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Kathy and Richard in Rambler headed off today as well, but had to return with a problem with a sensor on the boat. This is the second time they have had to return with the same problem, reminds us of our issues with fuel last summer. Hope they are able to get it repaired quickly.
Marlene from Nomad, Nancy from Dream Fever and myself had a girls day out this morning, went shopping in Marathon. There are some neat stores. Then the men joined us for lunch at a place called Hurricane. That restaurant has lunch for $5. with some really good choices.  Toured some more stores after lunch, then stopped at the grocery store and picked up a couple of things, including fresh shrimp that they steam at the store. Dinner was salad and shrimp for Nancy and I, salad and hot dogs for the men. The shrimp was really good, may have to try that again. Watched the sun set past the sailboats in the morring field near us. Wonderful and peaceful.

Sign on the restaurant where we had lunch

Hurricane, restaurant with the $5. lunch

Sunset over Boot Key harbour; sailboat masts showing over the trees

Sunset over the mooring field

Can't get over how friendly everyone is here. It really seems to be a nice place to stay a while.

Marathon, Boot Key Harbour, Florida

We pulled anchor in Little Shark River early this morning, headed down to Marathon. It was choppy this morning, not bad to travel through but harder to see the crab pots. There were crab pots all over the place, we were travelling behind some other boats, and it looked like ships during the war. Suddenly one would turn one way, another would turn the other way, looked like they were trying to evade submarines or something, but it was actually just the blasted crab pots.
Got down to the bridge that connects the keys, as we went under the bridge we went from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. About noon the chop smoothed out and the travelling was beautiful on the water. We had dolphins travelling with us on and off during the day. Actually one was playing around the boat just after we pulled up the anchor this morning.
Arrived in Marathon early afternoon. We were greeted by several friends, Pete and JoAnne on Tony M, Tom and Linda on Q's End, Cathy and Richard on Rambler and several more. It was fun to meet them again, but I had an audience as I tried to throw a rope over a post off the bow of the boat, not so successfully. The audience seemed to have a lot to say about it. Anyway, the rope did eventually get over the post and we were docked. Scott and Marlene on Nomad are here as well, got here just ahead of us. Went for a walk with them tonight, saw some of the town and visited a Home Depot.
Several of the people here have been here for months and really like it here. They are making reservations to come back next year, and apparently to stay long term you do need to book months in advance.

Little Shark River, Florida

14 Feb. 2011
Left Naples this morning, a little later than anticipated. The price that we ended up paying was a little higher than we had expected and it took some time to discuss it. Naples is a beautiful place, and the boat club is great, but they do know how to charge. For anyone else going in there, make sure you know up front what it will cost.

The trip down to Little Shark River was beautiful . Afer days of high winds and waves on the Gulf, today was warm and sunny and very calm. As we travelled south, the water seemed to get greener, a really pretty colour of blue-green. We saw a few dolphins as we travelled. The only thing that kept us from being totally relaxed was crab pots. There were many strings of them intersecting and/or crossing our chosen path so we had to be on the alert at all times. We have anchored in Little Shark River with, I think, another 8 boats at least. This is a river in through the Everglades, surrounded by Mangrove trees. There is not a house or a light in sight. We will not be swimming or going to shore for a walk as apparently there are alligators.

As we pulled in, we got a call from Nomad, Scott and Marlene, they are also anchored here tonight on their way to Marathon. Moor Stuff, Married with Her and Scoperta are also here, so we will probably all travel together tomorrow morning. We sat out on the bow of Dream Fever and watched the sunset. It was wonderful. Cooked hamburgers on the Bar-b-que. One advantage of anchoring is that we can use the bar-b-que, many marinas will not allow you to use one on the boat. It will be early to bed tonight, ready for an early start in the morning.


Pelicans roosting in the trees in Little Shark River



Sunset at Little Shark River

Naples Boat Club, Naples, Florida

Cool this morning, but sunny. Nancy and I went to church at the Naples Community Church. Again this week, the people were friendly, the sermon was very good, the music was wonderful. The assistant minister has done a solo each week that we have been here, plus he leads the singing for the hymns. What a gift his has. Took the car to get groceries this afternoon, then took the car back to Enterprise. Wayne and I walked the 3 miles back from Enterprise, a good healthy walk. Met this evening with some friends from home, Jamie and Jeanette Hutchinson and Jamie's parents, Jim and Elaine. They are in Florida travelling by RV, and arrived in Naples today. Went out for dinner and a visit, it was so nice to see them.
Weather permitting, we plan to move south tomorrow. We will probably be staying either at Everglade City or anchoring in a river. In either case we will be in the Everglades where there doesn't seem to be much phone coverage, so I may not be able to add to the blog tomorrow evening.

Jamie and Jeanette, Elaine and Jim with Wayne

Naples Boat Club, Naples, Florida

Cooler this morning. Rained overnight, and stayed cloudy this morning. We took the car over to Fort Lauderdale, had lunch, then visited some big marine stores: Sam the Sailerman, West Marine and Boat Owners Warehouse. Sam the Sailerman has both new and used things, it is a big place with a lot of stock to look over. The West Marine is probably the biggest one we have seen yet, and Boat Owners Warehouse had some different things. It was a good afternoon poking around these stores. The drive over and back was on Highway 75, which is known as Alligator Alley, since it goes through the Everglades. We watched for alligators both going and coming, but they didn't seem to be out sunning in the open areas we could see. The highway has a high fence along both sides for miles and miles. We thought it was to keep the alligators out, but Nancy and Eddie tell us it is to keep the tourists away from the alligators. Apparently there is always someone trying to get their child to feed an alligator, and people have been killed.

Naples Boat Club, Naples, Florida

Fog and misty rain today but still nice to be out and about. We were having coffee on our back deck this morning, heard a splash, dolphins were playing in the empty slip across the dock from us. We watched them for some time, could have reached out and touched them. We assume they were chasing fish around the docks. One would slap his tail down every time he jumped, haven't seen that before. Got the rental car today and drove down to Marco Island. It is beautiful, wonderful homes and shopping. Huge houses, looks to be on the same economic level as Naples, which is pretty posh . Then we went on to Everglade City. It is actually quite a small town, and with smaller homes, more ordinary. Ate lunch at the historic Rod and Gun Club in Everglade City. It was built in 1864; still retains the dark wood interior, with mounted trophy fish and skins on the walls. There is a large porch with tables and chairs where one can have lunch, or an interior dining room. There are cottages for rent, and a dock whre boats can dock. There were 3 looper boats there, Moore Stuff, Married with Here and Scoperta, so we had a visit with them. They had just returned from an airboat ride, and said it was great. After lunch, we went to Captain Dave's and went for our airboat ride. It was an hour of whizzing through the Everglade mangrove forest. Saw a raccoon, many birds, and an alligator. He was swimming around a little bay, apparently watching for food on the shore. The driver told us that mangroves filter out 90% of the salt, which is why they can live with their roots in salt water. They also clean the water and so are an important part of the eco-system in this area. The Everglades has the 2nd largest mangrove forest in the world; the largest is in Bangladesh. Noticed that many of the mangroves are not looking healthy, tops are dead. The driver said that the cold winter last year killed or damaged many of them. The cold weather also killed 97 manatee in the Everglades National Park, as well as many other fish and snakes not used to the cold. Went to the Everglades museum which reviewed the history of the area, very interesting.

Pelicans like to ride on the front of the airboats. Some have legbands, which may indicate disease or injury, or that they were relocated from New Orleans out of the oily waters.

The alligator. The guide told us that the number of inches from eyes to nose is an indication of the length of the alligator. This one seemed to be about 8 inches from eyes to nose, so he was about 8 feet long.

Trophies on the wall of the Rod and Gun Club

On the airboat

Our airboat

We were whizzing along these narrow corridors between the mangroves

There was a railroad that came down through Southern Florida and the Everglades that carried cattle south for transport and sale to Cuba. With the embargo on trade with Cuba in 1959, the railroad went out of business