Blog#32, On To The Tamiami Trail
It is Easter and we were up early to see sunrise. Our hotel faced the east, so it was perfect. We just walked across the street to the seawall. There were many other people already there waiting. I don’t know if that is because it is Easter, or if it happens daily, just like the people going to the other side to watch sunset. Anyway, it was beautiful.
Brian and Amelia, Easter Morning
This artist was just down from our hotel. Bad photo, but this is the front of his van/palette
And this is the back
We had a poor free breakfast and drove back through the Keys, stopping for lunch and sharing our first piece of key lime pie at the Key Lime Pie Factory. It was grand.
I was driving, so Brian could not stop us from stopping at one souvenir store to buy some stickers for our water bottles. He is still a crumudgeon about that, even having been without me for so long.
The very handsome woodstork
We drove to the Tamiami Loop Road, which actually goes several miles through Big Cypress National Park. It had changed some since I was there a few years back; the part we were on today is now paved and there are more houses out there- which means more traffic. But still a great place to get close to nature and be able to stop the car where and when you want.
And further down the road, the houses peter out and are few and far between. You start to get a sense of the old timers here- the Swamp People.
They have their own brand of humor.
This startled me big time. Creepy
Amelia went walking ahead of the car, since Brian and I were shooting photos. She came upon some people sitting outside their house at a table, drinking out of mason jars, I swear. She said hello, and they responded in kind. Then, as she walked further on, she told me she heard one of the women say to the others “Where the hell did she come from?”
Limpkin with Ibis in the background
You know this one by now
We caught up with Amelia, but not before Brian spotted the endandered tree snail. It looks like it belongs on the beach.
Tree snail
A warbler, but I don’t know which.
Amelia was tempted to touch a gator,but Brian dissuaded her. I went ahead and tried, but the gator booked it into the water.
We turned around to drive out, because we had gone less than 10 miles in…and the sun was setting. (Brian and I get a bit involved in the birding.) As we were leaving, I stopped to shoot a photo from my window, and heard rustlling in the bushes on the side of the road. This gator was starting out onto the road, saw me and froze. For about 10 seconds, then it was like he thought, “well if the Stupid American Woman ain’t gonna move, screw it. I gotta road to cross.” So out he came and walked right around the car. Amelia poked out through the sunroof and took video on her phone! It was amazing.
Whoa
And there he goes
George was delighted to show us his garden and all the unusual palms he has collected. He has a business providing foilage for events, including full grown palms. His garden is wonderful and we were given a lengthy tour by flashlight. We could only have enjoyed it more if A). It were daylight, (but it had lights in the trees for some of it and was quite romantic) and B). we had had some dinner in our bellies. The guesthouse was lovely, with a screened sitting area and then french doors leading into the living area/bedrooms. Full kitchen, nice bathroom, access to washer and dryer. It was a very good Airbnb, if I do say so. I picked it.
George steered us to the close-by gas station that was still serving food at 9pm. “The best Cuban food in South Miami”, he told us. We went and had Cuban food. It was good, it was cheap, it was plentiful… and we went to bed sated. Happy Easter.