Ringling Brothers Museum and Ca D'Zan

Another neat stop on the trip was this museum and mansion, in Sarasota.  We stayed in a motel across the road.   We weren't sure if we could spend an entire day here, but we actually missed most of the 10 art galleries, which was really too bad.  

There is an amazing array of art, circus memorabilia, and artifacts...plus the beautiful specimen gardens filled with statuary.   Loved the banyan trees!

The mansion was immense, covered with glazed terracotta tiles....and granite.., lots of granite.  

There was lots of time and space to linger.  A great low-key kind of day.  Love that kind!!

Taste of Dunedin

One of our favourite non-nature outings of the trip was going to Dunedin for a Blue Jays Spring training game.  We headed to Florida Auto Exchange Park and took in a game on a very hot day.   Super memorable and good to see the Jays again!
And....we saw Greg Zaun and Jamie Campbell from Sportsnet.  They cover the Jays all season long. Neat to see them signing autographs too!

The Everglades - Day 3 - The Last Glimpse (really)

Occasionally, a single outing generates scads of photos.  Enough for its own post, even if it was only a part of a day. This sunset cruise out of Everglades City was such an outing :)  Only a handful of people on the boat. The weather was so warm, while it was still so very cold back home.  Just a light sweater was needed.   What a treat!

And the super bonus!? ...the dolphins playing in our wake.
And the American white pelicans on this little key....in the Gulf of Mexico.   The second largest land bird in North America.  The largest is the California Condor. 

Sometimes Plan B is the sweetest.

The Everglades - Day 3 - On Our Way Out

On this day we left Homestead, heading for Everyglades City, on the East side of the Everglades National Park.  We had hoped take a tram ride at Shark Valley but the parking lot was so full that we couldn't even get in the lane way.  Another plan B day...and you just roll with it. :)

We had planned an air boat ride, to get way out into the back reaches of the Everglades.  I was amazed at how plentiful the birds were.  Loved seeing them in their natural habitat...doing natural things. And alligators too, way in the back 40.  There was an educational talk about alligators this safari place had rescued.  Never a fan of animals in captivity, I suppose they have their role in educating the world that steps through their doors.

One of our favourite other stops on the way was Big Cypress National Preserve.  Amazing to see still another ecosystem in this area.  Loved getting into this shady marsh/swamp and see some different ferns. Even a nesting bald eagle.

And then it was time to head to the Gulf Coast Visitor's Centre, to round out the day with our alternative: a sunset cruise out onto the bay and around some the Keys.  Ahhh, another sunset.   Stay tuned!

The Everglades - Day 2 - A Bit of the Back Country/Water

This was also one of my favourite days.
It was a plan B day.
You can either spend your day regretting the loss of your A plan, or move onto Plan B.  Capital P. Capital B.  Isn't life just like that sometimes?

We had planned to head back out to the ocean and maybe do a bit more snorkeling, but the water was all churned up from an overnight storm.   On our way out of the park the previous day we had learned about Nine Mile Pond from a couple who was returning their canoe in Flamingo.Said it was their "favourite paddle in a long time".  This is just the way paddling people would say it.   We had just paddled the much traveled Buttonwood Canal to Coot Pond...and loved the idea of a different more intimate paddling experience.  An opportunity to paddle a more remote route = less people.

As much as I loved getting close ups of the wildlife on our previous day, I loved the wide open space and solitude of the second day.  I love the big sky and being on our own. 

We had to cross the pond to get to the mangroves. A bit of a challenge with the breeze, but doable.  You just put your back into it. :) The paths through the mangroves were twisty and winding and required a lot more maneuvering than paddling up and down the canal. It was slow going, but fascinating.   Amazing how these trees can grow when their root system is completely under water. And then the space opened up into this grassy area where the water was not more than a foot deep. The grass-less swath is an abandoned air-boat trail.  You can visibly see the impact that even air boats have in this wild but delicate place.   The residue floating in the water is not a build up of algae but the fluff/fuzz of the bull rushes.  

Always the alligators.

And then back to Homestead.
A relatively easy day.  We had a beverage by the pool. The water was 95 degrees and much too warm for Canadians.  All the Canadians were having a bevy on the pool deck, under the palm trees as the sun went down.  Under the roof of our own tiki umbrella.

When in Rome, eat what the Romans eat.  In our case, we really wanted to try a Cuban sandwich...and after consulting Google, we discovered that the best Cuban sandwich in Homestead was served at Mario's Family Restaurant two doors down from our hotel. We're almost foodies!! On our way back from Key West, we had "Conch Fritters" and Key Lime Pie!  And tomorrow's culinary adventures would include Gator Bites and Frog Legs.  Wish I had taken photos.  Next time for sure!!

One thing we noticed when we travel is that there aren't always good food choices at lunchtime.  You get tired of burgers day after day so we have started bringing a small insulated cooler from home when we go, and freeze a water bottle overnight in the hotel-room fridge, and pick up a foot long sub from Subway when we see one along the way.  And we often have a can of Pringles along.  Because I like chips!!