Wednesday, January 30, 2013

We are really enjoying our mornings here in Bonita Springs. Today started with coffee and hot muffins on the lanai.

I finally figured out the difference between a lanai and a screened porch. If it overlooks a lake and golf course or some other beautiful scene like ours does, it is a lanai. But, if it overlooks a busy highway or buildings, it is a plain ole’ screened porch!

Today we went to Everglades City for the express purpose to take an air boat ride. Last year we took a very short one on a boat that carried 20 people and spent all our time in a wide open space. This time we were on smaller boat and there were only 5 passengers.

I noticed that the tour company had a sign that alerted us that no refunds are given due to rain or bug as well as other usual requests.

Our tour was mostly on narrow waterways that wended through the mangrove tree forest.  Captain Shane was awesome and we were told many times by the locals that he is the best of all the guides in the area. He allowed us to sit in the Captain’s seat and “steer” the boat while photos were made. He also took photos for us with our cameras.

He readily admitted to us that he likes to go faster than the other guides and some of the time we were zipping around the twists and turns through those trees. Probably the most fun was when he revved up the engine to 30 mph after we reached a small bay.

A pelican flew in and landed on the front of the boat. I accused Shane of having trained the bird because it could not have been scripted any better.

We stopped at an area where there were several cute raccoons hanging out in the trees at the edge of the water. They were not scared of people and some of them came out on branches and stretched out looking like they were begging.

There was a huge alligator nearby in the water and we all hoped that the coons did not get too adventuresome.

Captain Shane pulled up a crab pot that belongs to his cousin and we were surprised to learn that there are blue crabs in this area,

 

We ate lunch at Camellia Street Grill which had been recommended to us. It was a beautiful day so we opted to eat outside.

Melli ate alligator. Cordell had a crab cake which he said was good, but could never compare to our Maryland crab cakes.

I found a sign that perfectly describes what this part of the country feels like to me.

Once lunch was finished, we went to look for the cache that was hidden in the grill’s parking lot. While we were searching for it a person who frequents the area stopped by and told us that he had never been able to find this cache. He hung around and watched us search. He identified the pepper tree which was part of the hint given for this cache. Finally, Melli found the cache and we insisted that our fellow geocacher take credit with us for the find. Another geocache was located next to a business that is named Rod & Gun Restaurant and Motel.

Part of our air boat tour included a walk on a boardwalk through a mangrove canopy. Several alligators were sited along the way. Part of the boardwalk included an area where a few gators and kept for show.. 

The handler, Chris, gave us many facts about alligators as he explained their features and their life styles. The best part was when he allowed each of us to hold an alligator that he has raised from “the egg”—Roscoe is his name.

 My opinion of these reptiles changed once I had this little sweetie in my hands. Roscoe was very, very soft. Of course they had his mouth muzzled because he has some might sharp tiny teeth!

 On our drive back from Everglades City, we stopped in an area where our guide, Shane, told us we were pretty much guaranteed to see manatees—especially since it was almost high tide. I grew weary of standing in the sun on the bridge so I went back to our car. It was a big mistake because Cordell and Melli saw a manatee swim under the bridge and they got an excellent view of it.

There was also an alligator swimming in the area and for a few minutes, I feared that it might come ashore where I was standing.

We drove behind a semi-tractor with an open trailer carrying a whole load of green “stuff”. We kept trying to guess what it was and finally when we were stopped at a traffic light, we were able to determine that it was filled with green tomatoes. Then we wondered just what was going to be done with those tomatoes. They would make a whole lot of fried green tomatoes!

We also saw a limo pulling a trailer and we had lots of ideas as to what might be inside that trailer.  Best guesses were that it was a rock band and all their instruments were in the trailer or it was a wedding party and all the decorations and flowers were inside.

When we finally got back to Bonita Springs it was near sunset. All of us were a bit tired after our exciting day so we made an easy decision to eat out rather than cook in. We had a really nice dinner outside at Coopers Steak and Seafood House and watched the sun set on this beautiful day. 

We are continued to be amazed by all the blessings we have had.