We've opted to do a private tour as we feel this might give us a chance to focus some of the trip more on what we are interested in and are told by the main tour guide that we are getting the second best tour guide available. Behind him of course. Our guide, Fern, brings us to the boat, goes over some back safety stuff and we are on our way well before the group tour pulls off the dock. On our way out we are welcomed to the view of a nuclear power plant. Our guide informs us that the cooling canals for the plant have provided an amazing habitat for the American Crocodile which used to be very endangered but is now recovering well since that same area is also off limits to the public. A strange good win for the environment and as the guide says Besides, what's more Florida than radioactive crocodiles
. On our cruise out of the harbor area we are greeted by a pair of dolphins swimming by for us. A great start to the tour! We continue through the tour and get some information about how the park came to be, the significance of the habitat and the geology of the area. He is very informative and very personable. We get to see a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret out hunting. I'm having a great time. We pull into a small lagoon area that was man made by dredging into a natural lake on one of the keys. It's very peaceful here. As we talk a bit about Skunk Ape with the tour guide he informs us that he has a band as well and their original name was Skunk Ape until they were informed that there was already a band by that name up in the panhandle area so they changed their name to Anhinga Anhinga. While we are talking music a little bit, a pair of manatees come up to the boat on their way out of the lagoon! One of them even takes a quick minute to pull some of the algae off of the back of the boat.
We then cruise on to Boca Chita Key which was apparently a party spot back in the day. There's a small coral lighthouse on the island that is completely ornamental but we are told that it provides a really good view of the sea grass bed and sometimes you can see stingrays or sharks swimming in it from up there. Instead of heading right up since the group tour is pulling in here right behind us, we go down to the beach to check out the tidal pools and such. There are a ton of little crabs, fish, hermit crabs, etc swimming and crawling about. As we look around a Great Egret lands to start fishing amongst the mangroves. It's all very Florida. Until some of the people from the group tour start wading out into the water and chase most of the animals away. So, we decide it's time to go up the lighthouse since they were clearly done there. Up we go after checking out a display about the parties and stuff that used to happen here including some elephants that were brought over the entertainment. At the top there is the incredible view that we were promised. You could see scars in the grass bed from boaters that went into places they weren't supposed to, a large area of sea grass and a great view of the Miami skyline. While we are taking it all in, in comes swimming a stingray. It's so cool to watch it glide in amongst the grass. We don't know what kind of magical power Fern has but it's almost like he's been predicting what we will see! Unfortunately this marks the end of the tour though and we head back to the docks. With a quick swing by the visitor center and museum before heading out of the day.
Unfortunately we hadn't made plans for dinner before hand and there is very little wireless internet available out here. So, I am tasked with finding a place for dinner. On our way out here I had seen that on Google Maps there was a Miller's Ale House near the hotel which I have always enjoyed. Unfortunately yet again, when we do have enough internet I am able to confirm that this location is coming soon. Boo. So I dig around some more to try to find a local place. I managed to find JJ's Cuisine for our late lunch which is a barbeque place. We go and it is clearly a little mom and pop kind of place. We order an appetizer of Corn Ribs
which is essentially corn that's been quartered and grilled so it curls up a bit and can be eaten like ribs. It sounds strange but the corn was excellently cooked and had some amazing sauces on it. The barbeque was great as well when it arrived and the owner came by and told us all about how he's attempting to open a new location in North Carolina. Okay I guess. Back to the hotel to do some blogging and getting caught up on other items.
Tomorrow, Fort Myers!