Archive for November 2013

Florida & the Everglades

November, 2013

Florida

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale late Sunday November 10, 2013 and drove to Mizner Place, Weston, Florida. The resort was very nice and we attended a presentation on Monday morning which was very informative. Not wanting to do too much after a long day of travel the day before, we decided to go to Sawgrass Mill and pick up a few bits and pieces. Sawgrass Mill is the largest Premium Outlet Mall in the world and luckily for us they had huge markdowns for Veterans Day. We shopped at Nautica, Jones of New York, Clarks etc. Jim left his watch behind at home so bought a cheap tick a tick Timex. Quite stylish actually. We only bought tee shirts, shorts, sandals etc., some of which were 90% off the original price.

Tuesday we went into full swing and left the shopping behind. We drove to Fort Lauderdale and booked in for the Riverfront Cruise. After having lunch at Briny's we embarked on our cruise, duration 1 1/2 hrs. We cruised by the most amazing houses and yachts worth millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. Sadly most of these homes and yachts are rarely used, some maybe one or two weeks a year or the odd weekend and some have not been occupied for two years or more. How the rich live. It was a lovely day as we cruised the waterways seeing small two bedroom single story homes to massive homes with 22 bedrooms. The yachts have year round staff and some never move. The property taxes alone for one house was $64,000.00 US per month, $768,000.00 per year and that is a summer house. After disembarking we then walked along the riverfront boardwalk and onto Las Olas Boulevard. Not as impressive as we were lead to believe. It was very hot and we walked almost to the beach, around an hour but succumbed to a beach shuttle for the last little way. We strolled along Fort Lauderdale Beach for a while but the traffic was very noisy. We found a Haagendas Ice Cream shop and sat and enjoyed a cone each. Very delicious. One salted caramel truffle and the other Jim's was coconut and pineapple. We returned back down Las Olas by way of the Beach Shuttle and then walked back along the riverfront to the car park.

Wednesday we went to the Flamingo Botanical Gardens and Wildlife Refuge. It was cooler with some light rain at times. We took the tram around the 60 acre property and the driver gave a running commentary of the gardens and their history. 2,000 acres of dry muck land was purchased in 1926 by Mr Floyd & Mrs Jane Wray who turned it into a citrus plantation. After the death of Mr Wray, Jane sold all but 60 acres and placed it in trust in perpetuity. Their summer house remains on the property and is open for viewing. It is quite historical with many fascinating antiquities. The gardens are quite beautiful with many trees having been designated as the world's largest of their species in Florida. The wildlife refuge is quite spectacular. All of the animals and birds that live there are injured, have been rescued and are unable to be released back to the wild. Many that do come to the sanctuary are rehabilitated and released back into the wild. Those that stay are usually paired with others of their species that are injured and unable to fend for themselves, to breed, with their offspring being released into the wild. There are countless birds at the sanctuary, many of which are uninjured, but were bred there and choose to remain or come back at night to roost. Apart from the birds, there are many mammals including Florida Panthers, Bobcats, River Otters, Tortoises, Alligators, Opossums and Josh the black bear. Unlike the others Josh was not injured but hand reared as a cub and was used in educational programmes. When he was retired his home was a 20' x 20' enclosure which the authorities deemed to be too small and the living conditions not ideal. Flamingo Wildlife built him a new home including his own cave and a pool. Josh is neutered and prefers humans to other bears hence he is solitary and he weighs an almighty 600 lbs.

Thursday we drove to The Everglades to take a two hour eco pole boat tour. This was an amazing experience. The Shealy family have been operating these non motorized tours for four generations. Jack explained to me that it was like punting along an English river only with alligators. Our guide was Tommy Owen who gained worldwide fame by wrestling a Burmese python out of the river while taking people on a tour. Burmese pythons are an invasive species and unbalancing the eco system. They eat anything and everything they can get their jaws around, including alligators and can grow twenty feet long. Tommy thought that the snake that he was about to capture was around 6ft in length until he got hold of it and it was 10'. These pythons are enormously strong and wrapped itself around both of his wrists at one point. Not to be deterred Tommy persisted and caught the snake. The film went viral around the world on "You Tube" and appeared on CNN and BBC News. You can see it on Tommy's website phloridaphoto.us The two tourists in the boat certainly got their money's worth that day. Tommy took us along the Turner river which like all the rivers in the Everglades is very shallow fresh water. The water in the Everglades all comes from rainwater and flows gently to the sea. Our boat made barely a ripple, not disturbing the wildlife. We passed so closely to the alligators we could have touched them yet they made no attempt to move. As we entered the river the alligators were fairly large and as we made our way further into the swamp we passed juveniles and then babies. Alligators stay with their mothers until they are about three years old and about five feet long. By this time they are looking at the new hatchlings as food so they are then ostracized by their mothers who are very protective of their young. Apart from being up close and personal with the alligators we saw wonderful mangroves, cabbage trees and various other flora and fauna. The birds are very diverse, including anhingas, white herons, great blue herons, egrets. ibis and belted kingfishers. We also witnessed a beautiful green heron catch a baby turtle and eat it. Its a dog eat dog world. The Everglades are surreal and serene and these pole boat tours are the best way to see them. It was a phenomenal experience. After we thanked Tommy and left him to impart his wealth of knowledge onto his next two passengers, yes the boats only hold two people at a time, we went back to the headquarters and took a tour of Rick's babies. Rick has many rescued birds and reptiles and he is also a wealth of knowledge. His feathered and scaly friends all love him. His green winged Macaw from Brazil gently takes peanuts from his mouth, while he has a medium sized alligator which gives him a kiss. He has many snakes including rat snakes, Burmese Pythons of which two are albino and a massive Reticulated Python which is twenty feet in length, weighs 300 lbs and is ticklish. She is amazingly beautiful with iridescent blue markings and so soft to touch. We held some of the birds, the alligator and some of the snakes. It was a wonderful experience. (evergladesadventuretours.com)

Friday we took a very long drive to The Florida Keys. Unfortunately the weather was not great, grey and overcast and on the way back torrential rain. We got a little lost in the dark on the way back but managed to pick up the Tamiami Trail and found our way. Dinner was a little late but after the large lunch at Islamorada we did not need much. The Keys were fascinating. They are just like a giant causeway with shops, homes, hotels and businesses on either side strung together by bridges. At some points they are just the width of the road. Even though the road was long and the speed very slow we soldiered on all the way to Key West. We got out of the car and stretched our legs, had a walk along the pier, where a wedding was taking place and watched the daredevil pelicans dive into the shallow water headfirst to catch fish and then being harassed by the gulls trying to steal their catch. It was a long and arduous drive and we wouldn't do it again in one day. You need to spend at least a couple of nights there to appreciate the history and have better weather. Being so narrow it must be a nightmare if you have to be evacuated in a hurricane. One way in and one way out.

Saturday, after all of our activities of the past few days we decided to stay at the resort and maybe enjoy the pool, or not!!! Although it was very warm it was cloudy and rained on and off. We went and did some grocery shopping for lunch and dinner, did laundry, some packing and later when the weather cleared went for a long walk. Weston is actually very beautiful. It is lush and green with beautiful flowers, lots of water, both lakes and canals and less hectic than other parts of Florida and very accessible to The Everglades. Mizner Place, pronounced My not Miz, was an RCI Gold Crown Timeshare exchange. It is immaculately clean, well equipped and Bernice the concierge is the most knowledgable and helpful person that you could meet. She made our trip memorable.

Sandhill Cranes

Barn Owl

Bobcat

Pretend you are not looking!!!

Florida Panther

Pelican

Heron

Barbara on the Pole Boat

Barbara cuddling the Cockatoo

Jim Waiting for lunch at Briny's on the River Walk

Yachts on The River, Fort Lauderdale

Badly injured opossom

Flamingos

Not a dangerous species - roams free - likes to be petted

Barred Owl

Josh the 600 lbs Black Bear

I'm sleepy - don't bug me!

Waterfall - Flamingo Gardens

The Turner River - Everglades

Adolescent Alligator - Hanging Out!!!!

Turner River, Everglades

Green Heron with Baby Turtle - Lunch anyone ???

Jim with the Green Winged Brazilian Macaw

300 lbs x 20 ft - Ticklish Reticulated Python

I'm not hungry, yet!!!!!

Draw Bridge on the river Fort Lauderdale

22 Bedroom Mansion - cleaners required????

Jim with Rick's Alligator - He thought it was funny

Peter & Stephanie's Alaska Adventure 2013

August 15th we met our Australian friends Peter and Stephanie at SeaTac Airport, Seattle, Washington, USA. We checked in to our very comfortable downtown hotel " The Roosevelt" and went for a stroll around town. We took umbrellas just in case. Seattle is great city. We went to Pike Place Market and the waterfront. Took in a few stores on the way back and then had dinner at Anthony's on the Wharf. We had a table by the window and the food was scrumptious.

Next morning we went back to Pike Place for breakfast and another stroll around before checking out and off to the port for embarkation on "The Celebrity Solstice" to Alaska.

The weather was perfect the entire two days we spent in Seattle and we sailed away in glorious sunshine only to awake the next morning to thick FOG.. It did clear but we did not see the sun again until we sailed into Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. That being said, the Alaska coast is temperate rainforest and the previous few weeks had been unseasonably hot and sunny. The natives hated it and were glad that the temperatures had returned to normal. We had hoped that it would hold just a few more days for our trip but unfortunately umbrellas were the order of the voyage.

Day 2 was spent at sea. It was so nice to see some of the staff that we had come to know on the the same ship that we sailed back on from Australia, especially Linda our favourite assistant Maitre D'.

Day 3 we docked in Ketchikan. Peter and Stephanie had booked tours for each stop but we didn't join them as we had been on the Alaska Cruise twice before. It poured with rain in Ketchikan but we walked around the town, where we saw bald eagles and a sea otter, then up to the Fish Hatchery. The streams were black with salmon making their final journey back to where they were born and where after spawning they die. The closer they get to the end of their journey they undergo radical morphological changes. They lose their silvery blue colour and become very dark. The male salmon develop canine teeth, pronounced hooked jaws and some species grow large humps. Essentially they get to be very UGLY!!! However, the bears love them. In fact there are so many of them that the bears discard the male salmon selecting only the females, of which they only eat the roe, "caviar" to us, as it is the part richest in nutrients and probably the most delicious. We were told by a local man that if we took a taxi to a nearby creek we could watch this phenomena. After finally managing to hail a cab we set off on our adventure. It was deluging with rain but we were not to be deterred and were rewarded for our persistence. Although they were some distance away it was amazing to watch.

Day 4 took us to Tracy Arm Fjord. We cruised through this awesome waterway to the Sawyer Glacier. The captain maneuvered the ship so stealthily that you hardly felt it moving. The scenery was breathtaking and the glacier spectacular. After several hours of amazing vistas we sadly left them behind and sailed to our next port of call, Juneau. Juneau is the capital of Alaska and we disembarked here for a few hours before setting sail once again to arrive at our next destination Skagway, the next morning.

Day 5, we docked in Skagway at 7 am and after breakfast walked into town from the ship. Peter & Stephanie took a trip on the train to the White Pass and into the Yukon. This was the route used during the Klondike Gold Rush. The gold rush was not as glamorous as might be thought, with many men and horses losing their lives. Starvation and insanity was largely to blame for the deaths as well as falling of the edges of the pass. The weather conditions were also brutal much of the time. The history of this area is very interesting. We set sail again at 6 pm and cruised the Alaska Inside Passage.

Day 6 we spent at sea. This was the day that the passengers were treated to the most amazing brunch buffet. The main dining room was simply spectacular with the selection of magnificently prepared and presented food. We also went to the Tuscan Grill (speciality restaurant) for dinner that evening where we had an amazing table by the window and superb Italian food.

Day 7, we docked in Victoria, B.C and after having an early dinner we all took a trip to the Butchart Gardens, arguably the most beautiful gardens in the world and spectacular for all four seasons. The gardeners work relentlessly so that it never appears to be between seasons. Butchart Gardens was created from a disused quarry.

Day 8, we had breakfast and disembarked. We collected the truck from the car park and drove from Seattle to Vancouver. The weather was once again hot and sunny and we arrived at the Hotel Landis in downtown Vancouver to be pleasantly surprised with a very spacious two bedroom, two bathroom executive apartment. We set off on foot to walk around downtown, visiting the waterfront and learning much about the history of the city. We had a beverage in a pub on the waterfront and then walked across town to catch a water taxi to Granville Island where we had a lovely fish dinner. It was almost dark when we caught the water taxi back to the mainland and by the time we had walked back to our accommodation we were all very tired.

Saturday August 24th - we were up early, had breakfast and started our long drive to Golden B.C through the Rocky Mountains. We headed east on the Trans-Canada Highway and due to Peter's insatiable penchant for ice cream we stopped at The Dutchman Dairy, Sicamous, for some of the best ice cream on the planet. The ice creams must have been 2 lbs each. It took about an hour to eat them. Needless to say this added to the driving time. We stopped at Rogers Pass and then crossed the Continental Divide, arriving in Golden at the River to Peaks Inn, only to find that we had forgotten that there was a time change. It was now an hour later than we thought and we had not had dinner. Little mountain town restaurants, especially off season, do not always stay open very late. Luckily, we managed to sneak into the Island Restaurant just before closing. Phew!!!! We had a great meal in an enchanting place, so we didn't go to bed hungry.

Sunday August 25th - we left after breakfast and headed east to Alberta through the best part of the Rocky Mountains. We stopped in the pouring rain at Emerald Lake and the Twin Tunnels where we saw the Rocky Mountaineer train on its way to Vancouver. Luckily when we crossed into Alberta the sun came out and the rest of the day was beautiful. After saying goodbye to British Columbia we drove to Lake Louise and then along the Bow Valley Parkway to Banff. Only private vehicles can use this road, which protects the wildlife and the environment. Tour buses must use the highway. BORING!!!! Arriving in Banff we drove through the town, went to see the very famous Banff Springs Hotel and onto the Banff Springs Golf Course in search of the resident herd of Elk. We drove all the way round and didn't see one. After the June floods we decided that they must have headed to higher ground. Leaving the Golf Course we headed up to Sulphur Mountain and lo and behold we saw this magnificent bull elk. We went to view the Hot Springs and the mountain vistas are amazing from this vantage point. We were even rewarded by the lovely rainbow. From Banff we drove to Canmore where we had a nice dinner at The Rose and Crown before our final drive back home in De Winton.

Monday August 26th - was a day of catching up on laundry, grocery shopping, special riding boots for Peter and generally relaxing.

Tuesday August 27th - we took the train from the south end of the city to do a tour of downtown Calgary and were amazed at how well it had recovered from the floods just eleven weeks before, thanks to all the volunteers who put it back together. Just like Humpty Dumpty. We walked through Princes Island Park and saw how high the water had risen and the permanent damage to the banks. The river has totally changed course since the floods which were caused by ten inches of rain in 24 hours, which brought down the snowpack from the mountains. It was Canada's worse natural disaster in its history.

Wednesday August 28th - Today we headed southwest to Longview, along highway 22, to the Bar-U-Ranch where both The Virginian and The Sundance Kid were once employed. The ranch used to belong to Pat Burns and was a centre of international repute for breeding purebred cattle and the mighty purebred Percheron Horses. All Percheron horses in the world today can trace their lineage back to the Bar-U-Ranch breeding program. Although they still use Percheron horses at the ranch they are no longer bred there. From the ranch we headed further south to the Crowsnest Pass and Frank Slide. At 4:10am on the morning of April 29th, 1903, 90 million tons of limestone rock slid down Turtle Mountain and within 100 seconds obliterated the town of Frank. It remains Canada's deadliest landslide to this day. Turtle mountain's constant state of instability lead the First Nations people to name it "the mountain that moves". Approximately 90 people lost their lives that day most of whom remained buried. Some of those that survived were later killed in a coal mine disaster further along the road at the Hillcrest mine in 1914. 189 miners lost their lives, leaving 130 women widowed and 400 children fatherless. The mines in the Crowsnest Pass are now permanently closed and remain as shrines to those who lost their lives. We returned from Crowsnest Pass back along Highway 22 which is part of the Cowboy Trail. The scenery along this single lane highway is truly breathtaking. One rancher likes to display all kinds of hats on his fence posts. We finished our day trip by enjoying a lovely meal at our favourite restaurant in Okotoks, Pizzaberg, owned by Jag & Raman who were originally from Sydney, Australia.

Thursday August 29th - we started our day at Spruce Meadows, the world famous show jumping facility owned by the Southern family. We saw the Champions Welcome event a warm up tournament for the Masters the following weekend. Spruce Meadows is a magnificent facility and entry is usually free of charge due to the generosity of the Southerns. From here we took our picnic lunch to Elbow Falls in Kananaskis country. It was so sad to witness the devastation of this formerly most beautiful part of the province. How cruel Mother Nature can be???? With heavy hearts we drove home for our last night before we said "au revoir" to our dear friends.

Friday August 30th - We bade farewell to Peter & Stephanie at Calgary International Airport - YYC. Their flight left on time to Los Angeles and they were on their way home. NOT!!! On arriving at LAX their Qantas flight was cancelled and they had to overnight in L.A. so arrived home a day late..........................