Kayaking the Estuary at Lover's Key State Park

Mary and I were up by 5:30 and got the tea and oatmeal ready. Mary was a little congested and didn’t sleep especially well, but the house is very quiet and our room is plenty dark for sound sleeping. After breakfast we loaded up to go back to the Lover’s Key State Park in Ft. Myers. We had hiked here on Monday and enjoyed it.

A line of cars was waiting to pay the $8 day use fee when we arrived, but it moved quickly. To our surprise, the park was not crowded, although it was busy. We rented two double sea kayaks at the visitor center for $63 each. The friendly lady at the counter gave us information about the kayak routes through the mangrove estuary and places where manatees and other wildlife have been sighted recently.

Mark, Cindy & Mark prepare the kayaks

I suppose we were comical boarding double kayaks while trying to not flip over, but we launched successfully with no one getting more than their feet wet. The park placed buoys along the five mile route every ¼ mile, making it easier to stay on course. There were a number of additional places to kayak into coves and side channels, but we always returned to the marked route.

Steve & Mary paddling in the estuary

We went up one channel under a footbridge where the kayak rental lady mentioned and saw at least four manatees, two large adults and two smaller juveniles. The two adults surfaced within a few feet of our kayaks and stayed around us as we drifted in the slack water. We headed back toward the main path and saw two kayaks watching something in the water. We paddled nearer and saw two large manatees playing in the water, so we stopped to watch. They were within ten feet of us when they submerged, then surfaced directly under our kayak! I can imagine the expression on our faces as our boat was lifted several inches above the water, nearly tipping over. Mark and Cindy were nearby laughing and wishing that the had been taking photos.

Mark & Cindy kayaking

We continued on the route, stopping near the midway point to get out and stretch before returning to the boat livery to return the kayaks, pfds and seats around 2 pm. Although we didn’t see any birds or wildlife on the trip that we hadn’t already seen, we were able to get close to many birds while on the water. There were lots of herons, egrets and ospreys that didn’t seem threatened by us in the kayaks.

We had a late lunch at the picnic area near the nature center with the peanut butter and crackers, dried and fresh fruit and nuts. Many people were leaving the park as we were having lunch so we decided to walk over to the beach area. Because the tide was lower, we were able to walk along the beach in both directions and past the point where we had to turn around on Monday. Lots of shells were exposed, many of them intact. The beach isn’t very wide on this key, but a fair number of people were sunbathing, reading, wading or fishing as we walked. It felt good to be walking around after sitting in a kayak for so long.

We had a restaurant recommendation from a local for The Fish House in Bonita Springs. We were looking for a place with good seafood but a relaxed atmosphere since we were still in beach attire. We had no trouble finding The Fish House, but the main the parking lot was full. However, the overflow lot just 100 yards away had plenty of spaces available. We were able to get seated quickly and ordered our meals. Mark had coconut shrimp, Cindy had crab cakes, Mary did the broiled, stuffed grouper, and I had the seafood platter with oysters, shrimp, clams and cod. Everyone enjoyed the meal.

We returned to the rental house and had mojitos as we relaxed. Mary and Cindy played a few games of cribbage, but I turned in around 9 o’clock.