Everglades City

I was up first after sleeping until 6 am. It was nice to sleep in a bit and get up in time to start getting breakfast ready. I got water started for tea and oatmeal. We had raisins and walnuts to add in to the oats. Of course it took me longer since I was not familiar with the operation of the appliances and didn’t know where things are stored in the kitchen. Mary and I did a couple of quick German lessons before Mark and Cindy woke. We enjoyed the oats and tea then planned our day.

We decided to stick close to our lodging today, and Mary suggested Collier Seminole State Park nearby. The drive on the Tamiami Trail (Rt. 41) was easy. When we entered the park, the volunteer working the entrance told us that the area we were in had a short 1 mile trail and a 5 mile trail that was partially in water. Another park entrance had a 3.5 mile trail that was through the state park. We opted to walk the one mile trail but not the 5 mile one through thick mud. As we were exiting that part of the park, we picked up a trail pass for visitors. The $8 entrance fee to the park covered both areas.

The 3.5 mile hike was very beautiful through mangrove, palmetto and pine brush. We saw a few alligators, several snakes, many anoles and lots of birds of all types.

We returned our trail pass to the visitor center then sat on a bench overlooking the water with a few manatees. Our lunch was the usual peanut butter and crackers with the bottles of water that we picked up the night before.

After finishing lunch we drove to Everglades City stopping at the ranger station to pickup a map. We walked another short trail of less than a mile, but it had good signs pointing out local native plants. After our walk we drove to the historic 1906 Smallwood Store but didn’t stay there long.

We continued east on US 41 to the Big Cypress National Preserve visitor center. We walked behind the visitor center to the deck overlooking the water. A few alligators were there but no manatees that we saw. A ranger came out and told us that she was waiting for another ranger who had been out freeing an anhinga from a snarl of fishing line. We didn’t stay at the visitor center long and headed back toward the house. 

We stopped at a Publix for groceries and picked up fruit and a few other things for meals. We bought a rotisserie chicken and salad makings as well as precooked corn fritters and potato wedges. We went to the Publix Liquor Store and picked up a bottle of Bacardi rum for mojitos and Larceny bourbon for sipping at the house.

When we got back to the house we ate about half of the chicken along with the potatoes and corn. Everything was very good. We crashed and enjoyed a glass of the bourbon while Mary and Cindy played cribbage.