Florida Everglades Adventure--2009


Everglades Map

Jean, Audrey and I began our adventure in Everglades City, a mile long mangrove island with crab houses, shops, motels and marinas. After a frog leg basket lunch we took a boat tour of the Thousand Islands from the Everglades National Park. We then set off to find our evening lodgings, the Ivey House, a lovely welcoming eco hotel filled with European tourists We had drinks at the historic Rod and Gun Club and stone crabs, good conversation and a beautiful sunset at a little marina to end the day.

After a good breakfast we headed back to the Tamiami Trail. Our first stop was H. P. Williams Wayside to see more alligators. Then we headed east to Shark Valley. There we boarded a tram for a two hour tour of the park. A naturalist helped us identify the many birds and yet more alligators. We lunched at the Miccosukee Indian Village and took our first airboat ride. Audrey ended up with a cormorant in her lap. We saw a plethora of birds and still more alligators. After the ride we headed east again until we saw a tall building rising up from the swamp. This was the Miccosukee Indian Casino and our home for the night. The steak and lobster dinner was $6.95.

Day three started with a massage and some quiet time by the pool. We wanted one more airboat ride so we headed to the one advertised as the oldest in the Everglades, Coopertown. We still had that wind-blown look as we strolled into the Embassy Suites Miami lobby to join our friends at the DoDDS Florida Reunion. We had a wonderful bus/boat tour of the city. It felt strange visiting Miami Port without boarding a cruise ship.

On the drive back to Bradenton we couldn't resist a stop for some lucky alligator paws (for our Las Vegas trip?) and just one more order of stone crabs in Everglades City.





Click on the links below to join us as we travel through the Florida Everglades. Enjoy!