February in Ft. Lauderdale...

Our travels South had several purposes including; explore new places, visit with local friends and relatives, enjoy a Caribbean cruise with friends from Chicago, and of course to escape the COLD winter weather up North!



Todd, Warren and Shonah on our first stop in the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida area.  We met Warren several years ago on a cruise in the Caribbean and have stayed in touch with him ever since.  After enjoying an afternoon of conversation and catching up, Warren treated us to one of his favorite neighborhood Thai restaurants for dinner - Thanks Warren!

Friends from Chicago Jeff, Sean, Todd and Shonah on our fourth Caribbean cruise together over the past eight years.  The 7 day chartered cruise included stops in Labadee, Haiti, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Sint Maarten/St. Martin (both the Dutch and French sides).



Todd and Shonah enjoying the quite large adirondack chairs and natural half-acre lawn on the top of our 2,800 passenger cruise ship, Celebrity Silhouette.



Jeff, Sean, Todd, and Shonah taking a selfie during an afternoon at sea.



Shonah, Sean and Todd enjoying one of the several themed parties (the Classic Disco T-dance) during the week long cruise.

 



Todd and Shonah on Orient Beach in Saint Martin (the French side).

 

Todd's Aunt Sue, Uncle Jim, Shonah, and Todd enjoying an afternoon barbeque at their condo complex in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida after the cruise.  Since the rest of Florida (and the country) were colder than Ft. Lauderdale, we decided to hang out and enjoy Ft. Lauderdale for a few weeks.

 

Clockwise from the top, Todd's Uncle Art, Aunt Sue, Shonah, Indrani, and Todd during a quick visit as Uncle Art and his friend Indrani were passing through Ft. Lauderdale in search of warmer weather.



Todd, Aunt Sue, Shonah, and Uncle Jim in front of our EarthRoamer that Aunt Sue enjoyed showing off to her neighbors.

Shonah and Todd introducing friends from Michigan Joanne and Dave to a jumping picture while they were docked in Stuart, Florida on their catamaran sailboat.  After many years of sailing up and down the East coast and into the Caribbean, Joanne and Dave decided to sell their boat to become full time RVers. 

Shonah and Joanne sporting the new Fedoras they acquired in Stuart, Florida.

Todd enjoying another FREE ranger led kayak tour, this time in Biscayne National Park South of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.



Kayaking through the mangrove forests of Biscayne National Park.



While kayaking, we were able to enjoy watching a mother manatee and her calf swim directly under our kayak!  Manatees, also known as Sea Cows, are mostly herbivorous marine mammals and can grow to 13 feet long and weigh as much as 1,300 pounds.  Neat, but also a little unnerving since it wouldn't have taken much for them to tip our kayak.



These Manatees were just hanging out in the harbor near the visitor center in Biscayne National Park.



In addition to one paddle like fin in the back, Manatees also have to arm like flippers in the front.



Manatees spend 50% of their day sleeping where they can stay under water for up to 20 minutes on a single heartbeat and breath.  The rest of their day is spent grazing in shallow water where they typically come up to breath every 3-5 minutes.



Clockwise from the top left, Gary, Cathy (Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim's friends with a small boat in Florida and a much bigger boat up North), Uncle Jim, Shonah, and Aunt Sue preparing to head out on a cruise of the Ft. Lauderdale canals and intercostal waterway.  Gary and Cathy hosted us for several hours of cruising and reminded us how much we miss our boat.



Ft. Lauderdale, Florida is home to an exceptional number of waterfront mansions, most of which also have huge luxury yachts in their "backyard".



And the yachts get bigger and bigger...



This mammoth yacht named Seven Seas is owned by Steve Spielberg.  I think both Indiana Jones and E.T. would be impressed.

On the Road Again...

It was nice taking some time off from travelling to visit family and friends in the Midwest over the holidays, but after an enjoyable two and a half months, it was time for us to hit the road on the next leg of our journey.  We've made our way to Florida where, in addition to enjoying the warm and sunny weather, we'll be meeting friends from Chicago for a Caribbean cruise during the first week of February.  After that, our plan is to spend about 4 months working our way up the East Coast.



While there is no forest around, Deer such as this Stag are common in Mom & Dad's suburban backyard in Ohio



Dad, Todd, and Mom at home in Ohio



Mammoth Cave at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky is the world's longest known cave system with more than 400 documented miles of interlinked caves.

Cave formations of stalactites (hanging from the top), stalagmites (built from the bottom up) and columns (where the top and bottom meet) in Mammoth Cave in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Sunset from our camping spot near Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky



Cave formations inside Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.



In 1928, Leo Lambert and a team of excavators found a breathtaking waterfall located over 1,120 feet below the surface of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Lambert named the falls after his wife, Ruby, and opened the area as a public attraction in 1930 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

At 729 feet, Amicalola Falls in Amicalola Falls State Park, Georgia is the tallest cascading waterfall in the Southeast.  We reached the top after an excruciating climb of 604 steps.  Amicalola Falls State Park also contains the southern end of the famous 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail.

Shonah and Todd biking the trails in Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve in Gainesville, Georgia.  Alafia River State Park in Florida also had some great trails built and maintained by the SWAMP mountain bike club.



Todd, Shonah, and long-time friend Lisa who opened her home (and driveway) in Georgia to us for a wonderful dinner and some catching-up. 



Established in 1929 by Dr. Joel Watkins, the original Fresh Air Barbecue in Jackson, Georgia, is the oldest pit-cooked barbecue restaurant in Georgia still in its original location. It was our first, and definitely not our last, taste of true Southern barbecue.

Todd in front of a beautiful and massive Banyan Tree in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur. His works are considered unique to the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture."  The technical difficulties of working with glass forms are considerable, yet Chihuly uses it as the primary medium for installations and environmental artwork.  While passing through St. Petersburg, Florida we visited the Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Center.



Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin.  He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade.



His work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide.  He has been the recipient of many awards, including twelve honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.



Random kite boarders near our Dispersed Camping spot off I-275 just outside of St. Petersburg, Florida



A Manatee enjoying the river behind the Visitor Information Center at Myakka River State Park, Florida.



A typical adult American alligator's weight and length is 790 lb and 13.1 ft, but they sometimes grow to 14 ft long and weigh over 990 lbs.  This is one of many gators we saw travelling through Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park in Florida.



Included in the many types of birds we saw in the Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida were this Great Blue Heron and Great White Heron who were establishing their territory on the pond.



The Great Blue Heron prevailed, eventually chasing off the Great White Heron.



This Great Egret was taunting the Alligator who mostly hunts at night, but would have made an exception if the Great Egret had gotten closer.



Todd on the Canopy Walkway & Tower in Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida

Todd and Shonah at the top of the 70-foot tower in Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida.  Florida is the "flattest" state in the country with an elevation span from highest to lowest point of only 345 feet.

 

A Red Shouldered Hawk in Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida.

A pair of Turtles in Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida. 



We were reminded of Alaska when we saw these two Bald Eagles in Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida. 



A Roseate Spoonbill in Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida. 

 

A Little Blue Heron in Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida. 

A Snowy Egret (with reflection) in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida.



An Alligator shows off its rough exterior in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida.

A Great Egret (with reflection) in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida.



A Great Egret in flight in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida.



A Little Blue Heron hunting fish in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida.



A Stork in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida.  So, this is where babies come from...



An Osprey (with his dinner) in Everglades National Park, Florida.

 

A Pelican glides past a Seagull in Everglades National Park, Florida.



An Anhinga sunning himself along the coast of the Everglades National Park, Florida.



In addition to Mangrove Tree forests (in the distance), the swampy landscape of the Everglades includes Sawgrass Prairies.



Shonah enjoying our FREE Ranger led canoe trip in Everglades National Park, Florida.  We paddled through Mangrove Tree tunnels, directly over an Alligator (who thankfully didn't move) and saw "Croc-zilla".

Croc-zilla, a Crocodile, is roughly 13-feet long and may be about 75 years old.  Crocodiles may look similar to Alligators, but they come from different families.  Crocodiles inhabit salt water while Alligators are found in fresh water.  Due to it's unique geography, Everglades National Park in the only place in the world where you can paddle past both Alligators and Crocodiles on the same trip.