Travel Day
- US 41 to the Everglades, down to Little Havana, to downtown Miami
- SR A1A along Miami Beach
- I-95 and US 41 return to our motel
This morning we headed back out into the Everglades to a place called Gator Park for an airboat tour and wildlife show.
We had lunch first; gator bits and gator sausage. This tree sheltered the dining patio where we had our meal.
This is one of the little guys, likely destined to be a meal. The really big gators are kind of tough.
This is one of the big gators on display. He is in his own enclosure, likely because he will eat the smaller gators if he gets a mind to do so.
This fellow was hanging about in the trees yelling his lungs out periodically. It added character to the day.
As we waited, we caught the first part of the wildlife show. This is a legless Florida lizard known as a Glass Lizard. It is a true lizard but it has no legs. You can tell it is a lizard because of the eye placement, the head shape, and the position of the anus. A snake's bum is a long way down its body; this lizard has a bum about halfway down its body; the rest is tail. It's called a Glass Lizard because its tail breaks off if it is attacked. Then it regrows its tail, something a snake cannot do.
This guy came over for a look at us. Fortunately there is a fence between us.
The Great Egret is the largest bird in the Florida Everglades. This fellow is fishing in the shallow water.
Katherine at the helm. Watch Out!!!
I managed to transfer out of my wheelchair and into the airboat for the tour.
Katherine on the foredeck, waiting for the tour to start. She didn't know it, but right across the channel a gator is watching her; she's small, about dinner size for a good sized gator.
Here is the guy that was watching Katherine. We caught a glimpse of him as we headed out down the channel into the glades.
The Everglades by airboat. It was a loud, fast, and fun ride!
We saw a few more of these fellows along the way. A gator will attack anything which weighs the same as, or less than, itself. This guy would look at Katherine as a decent target; I would be a bit too large. Fortunately they don't know about wheelchairs and ALS.
This is an invasive toad species which was accidentally introduced into the Everglades back in the 1960's. It has, unfortunately, supplanted all the native Florida frogs by eating them.
The gator wrangler did regular shows, so we got to watch him all over again after our airboat tour.
The Moluccan Cockatoo is not a native of Florida, but he is a beauty to look at.
After leaving the Everglades, we headed into downtown Miami via Little Havana, a part of the city comprised primarily of Cubans who have escaped the Castro regime.
Downtown Miami in the background with the Biscayne Bay Marina in the foreground. We were headed across the bridge to Miami Beach when Katherine snapped this picture.
This is the main road down the middle of the various islands off the foreshore of Miami. In most cases it was lined with gigantic apartment buildings and fancy hotels. In this case, it's palm trees.
We stopped at South Beach in Miami Beach to take a look at the sand and the Atlantic Ocean.
This is a close as I can get to the beach or the ocean. Any further and my wheelchair gets stuck in the soft sand, even with my FreeWheel attached.
Katherine is ready to go back to the truck. Enough of this sand nonsense.
We headed back to our hotel as the sun was setting over the western horizon.
Looking back at downtown Miami from I-95.
We got back to our Motel 6, and had a modest meal. It's typically American; high in fat, high in salt, high in calories, with large portion sizes. I am gaining weight on this trip!
