Gliding over the Everglades
Woke up first and went outside to check about up on our camp. The first thing I noticed that there was movement on the clothesline. On top of my swimsuit, I saw the culprit. There were tiny crabs using my clothes line as a superhighway from the fence to the tree. I mean they were cute, but now I have crabby claws all up on our things.
We had some breakfast, we put our stuff away and back into the car. We were about to leave when I noticed that crab that I was looking at and poking it last night finally made it out of his hole and kind of was waving at us goodbye. I had to snap a picture. We headed out .
The first stop was Coral Castle in Homestead. A 5-foot man using only basic tools made this beautiful limestone castle. We took the 40-minute tour and enjoyed some ice cream.
Since we were in the area, We stopped at the Miami Brewing Company( in Homestead).We caught it just as it opened and ordered flights to try out new beer. I picked orange cream blonde ale, milk stout, and Shark Bait. I thought Shark Bait was going to be my favorite since I like it already but I loved the orange cream blonde ale. We also got to keep the big glass at the end.
We rolled out and turned into a long road that connects Tampa to Miami, the Tamiami Trail or 41. Soon as we pull into the road, the amount of people selling airboat rides was overwhelming. Before the trip, I said if the opportunity arise that we can go on a ride, we were going to take it. So here we are, seeing all those signs, trying to pick the right one.
First one we went to only took cash and the creepy guy on the counter directed us 2 miles down to an ATM. As we drove, we found Tigertail Airboat Tours. They took cards also. Boy I was glad that we picked that one. The man was about our age and very chill. His girlfriend was part of the tribe that lives in that area. They were both very nice. They have an animal rehab Island that they go to as part of the tour.
The airboat ride, the experience itself, was amazing. It's like you just glide over everything. I really felt at ease flying over the grass in the Everglades. It truly is the way to experience the Glades, not by some highway.
When we got to the island, he showed us all the rehab animals and and told us all their stories. We also got to hold some of the animals including alligators. Then he showed us where the tribe used to frequent before this business opened. The owner is the grandson of the tribe all grown (the owner wasn't there today though).
When the tour was over, we tried to continue on 41 but there was a horrible car accident. It closed both lanes of the small road. There was a way to get around it but my car couldn't do it so we had to turn around and go back to the beginning and go on the toll road Alligator Alley. It sucks driving back all that way but God knows when that road was going to open up again. We got to Naples, checked into a place and had breakfast for dinner at IHOP. We had to take out some road trip stops because we are running out of time. ( Since we couldn't continue on 41, we missed the Skunk Ape Research Center {Florida's Bigfoot} and Florida's smallest post office. {it's like a shed }) Had to pull Sarasota, and Orlando stops. Next time J.J. and I get a weekend off together, we'll go there. Hope I can visit my grandparents tomorrow at least for a little bit.I bet they'll love J.J.
